On February 16, 2023, the CFPB published a summary of its key findings after the Bureau requested information from the largest credit card companies in the U.S. regarding their practices around suppressing actual payment information from the nationwide consumer reporting system. These companies included JPMorgan Chase, Citibank, Bank of America, Capital One, Discover, and American Express.
In 2020, the CFPB published research showing that the largest credit card companies had started to deliberately suppress the actual payment amount borrowers repay on their credit card bills from the nationwide consumer reporting system. Results of the research showed that over a short period in early 2014, the largest credit card companies began to suppress this information. According to the CFPB, credit card companies’ failure to report actual payment data means that millions of people’s credit reports are missing fundamental information about their credit card repayment behavior that could help many of them receive better financial offers and potentially save billions of dollars in interest expenses.
In May 2022, the CFPB announced that it had sent letters to the CEOs of the nation’s six biggest credit card companies asking them if they ever furnished actual payment information, and for those that suppress actual payment information, the Bureau inquired why and what they might do to change their practice. Below is the summary of the CFPB’s key findings from the responses to the voluntary information request, including information from follow-up discussions with industry participants:
Major market players made the change to suppress data within a short period of time. The responses indicated that one large credit card company moved first, and other players suppressed data shortly thereafter.
Credit card companies didn’t say when they would restart reporting actual payment information. In general, the companies didn’t specify when they would return to their previous practice of reporting actual payment information, and in some cases, companies explicitly stated they did not intend to do so.
Companies suppressed data to limit competition. The responses suggested companies withheld information in an attempt to make it harder for competitors to offer their more profitable and less risky customers better rates, products, or services.
Read the CFPB’s blog post here.
The summary of CFPB’s key findings can be found here.
