The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has slugged Bank of America with a huge $250 million settlement over the bank’s "consumer abuses."
The bank was accused of opening accounts without permission, charging unfair overdraft fees and failing to honor credit card benefits.
“Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent,” said Rohit Chopra, director of the CFPB. “These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust.”
The bank had a practice of charging $35 for declining a transaction for insufficient funds, and was accused of "double dipping" and charging more than once for the same transaction. Its practice of opening credit card accounts without asking was alleged to have started over a decade ago.
“We voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all non-sufficient fund fees [last year]," BofA said in a statement earlier Tuesday, adding that “revenue from these fees has dropped more than 90 per cent.”
Following the large win, the CFPB has an appetite to continue to fine banks. "The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system," Chopra continued.
It’s not been a great few weeks for the country’s second largest bank — it delayed a dividend after the Federal Reserve assessed the bank in a stress test exercise last week, and the week before it saw a paper loss of over $100 billion following its decision to pump deposits into debt markets.
Canadian stocks are on a roll in 2025 as the country prepares to name a new Prime Minister.
Two C-level leaders reveal the new time-saving tools they've implemented and what advisors are doing with their newly freed-up hours.
The RIA led by Merrill Lynch veteran John Thiel is helping its advisors take part in the growing trend toward fee-based annuities.
Driven by robust transaction activity amid market turbulence and increased focus on billion-dollar plus targets, Echelon Partners expects another all-time high in 2025.
The looming threat of federal funding cuts to state and local governments has lawmakers weighing a levy that was phased out in 1981.
RIAs face rising regulatory pressure in 2025. Forward-looking firms are responding with embedded technology, not more paperwork.
As inheritances are set to reshape client portfolios and next-gen heirs demand digital-first experiences, firms are retooling their wealth tech stacks and succession models in real time.
