Article Text
Navy Federal Credit Union will no longer be required to refund $80 million in overdraft fees charged to service members after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau dismissed a settlement reached in late 2024.
The agreement had also required the Vienna-based credit union to pay a $15 million penalty. Its withdrawal is one of several reversals by the CFPB as the Trump administration dismantles enforcement actions initiated under President Joe Biden.
The case involved “authorized positive overdraft fees.” Those charges occur when a financial institution approves a debit card purchase while an account has enough money, then imposes an overdraft fee when the transaction settles days later and the balance has fallen.
The CFPB found that Navy Federal charged such fees between 2017 and 2022. The credit union later ended the practice and refunded some affected members.
When the original settlement was announced, Navy Federal said it had cooperated fully with the investigation and believed it had complied with applicable laws and regulations.
The bureau offered little explanation for terminating the consent order, which states that Navy Federal agreed to its withdrawal. Under acting CFPB Director Russell Vought, who also serves as the president’s budget director, the agency has withdrawn roughly half a dozen consent orders and ended other settlements with financial-services companies.
Navy Federal welcomed the decision and defended its overdraft program, saying it helps members pay for necessary purchases without taking on long-term debt or using payday lenders. The credit union maintained that it complied with the law and called the CFPB’s termination of the order appropriate.
With approximately 14 million members and $180 billion in assets, Navy Federal is the nation’s largest credit union by a wide margin. Ranked alongside traditional banks, it would be the country’s 24th largest by assets.
Although Vought has sharply reduced the CFPB’s mission and scope, the bureau has previously identified financial issues affecting service members as a priority. It did not immediately respond to a request for comment.