Rusty Cloutier, Louisiana banker and former chairman of the Independent Community Bankers of America, was in Minneapolis yesterday to speak to a group of bankers gathered for the 35th anniversary celebration of United Bankers Bank, the country’s first bankers’ bank. Cloutier is author of “Big Bad Banks: How greed and ego among the big shots in banking and government created the crisis that wrecked our economy,” which was published last year.

Cloutier opened a 45 minute presentation with a news tidbit which shows why Congress created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau:

“Remember Bank of America when they came out two months and said they were no longer going to charge overdraft fees on ATM and debit card transactions?” Cloutier asked. “Bank of America announced a new product yesterday. The new product is called cash advance. If you go to an ATM for a withdrawal  and you don’t have the money, they give you the cash. If you use a debit card and you don’t have money in the bank, they will advance you the cash. The charge is $35 per occurrence.

“Give me a break. And you wonder why the CFPB came into existence.”

If this is true, I would expect outrage from regulators and consumer groups as news of this becomes known.