NEW YORK — Complaints against banks are soaring, suggesting that new laws and regulations put in place since the financial crisis two years ago aren’t dampening Americans’ anger over overdraft fees and foreclosure practices they view as unfair.
If the trend continues, experts say, it will set banks on a collision course with their customers and lead to tougher rules that will hurt earnings.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency estimates that complaints from customers of the 1,500 banks it regulates will hit 80,000 this year.
That would be the highest level in the 15 years it has recorded them and more than double the 2008 total. The Better Business Bureau and state attorneys general also report big increases.
Regulators say the surge has put them on high alert. The Federal Reserve and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. have issued new guidelines, and regulators have hired additional staff as they seek to resolve each complaint.
Elizabeth Warren, the Harvard professor chosen by President Barack Obama to set up the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, said she is frustrated with how banks find ways to skirt new laws that ban certain practices. “We need fundamental change . . . that will address the real, underlying issues,” she said in a Dec. 2 speech to the Consumer Federation of America.
Officials at Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo and Citigroup told The Associated Press they are listening to their customers closely and hiring additional staff to deal with problem areas such as mortgages.
“Customer relationships are the backbone of banking, and banks are constantly striving to meet customer demands,” said Peter Garuccio, spokesman for the American Bankers Association.
