Federal court blocks CFPB credit card late fee rule banking industry injunction halts $10B savings

US District Judge Mark Pittman, a Trump appointee in Fort Worth, Texas, grants a preliminary injunction blocking the Biden CFPB's rule capping credit card late fees at $8, one day before it was set to take effect. The rule would have saved 45 million Americans approximately $10 billion annually by cutting average late fees from $32 to $8. The judge cites a 5th Circuit ruling finding the CFPB's funding structure unconstitutional, though the Supreme Court later upholds that structure. The US Chamber of Commerce, American Bankers Association, and other industry groups had filed suit. The injunction means consumers continue to pay over $14 billion annually in credit card late fees while the case proceeds.