Bernanke Says Debit ‘Swipe’ Rules May Cause Bank Failures

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke said lawmakers should have “reason to be concerned” that an exemption for smaller lenders from U.S. caps on debit-card “swipe” fees won’t work and may cause banks to fail.

“I can’t say with certainty, but I think there is good reason to be concerned about it,” Bernanke said in response to a question at a Senate Banking Committee hearing today in Washington. If the exemption doesn’t work, “it’s going to affect the revenues of the small issuers, and it could result in some smaller banks being less profitable or even failing,” he said.