WASHINGTON (WUSA) -- You know those overdraft fees you sometimes get hit with from your bank? The government's new consumer-watchdog agency is launching an investigation into those fees.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau plans to ask banks for information about how overdraft fees affect consumers, how overdraft protection is marketed and what information consumers receive.
The move could result in new rules or even lawsuits if the banks are accused of violating consumer laws.
Overdraft fees didn't even exist 15 years ago, but by 2009 they were generating tens of billions of dollars for banks.