Bank of America agrees to pay $250 million settlement over consumer abuse claims

investing.com:

Investing.com -- Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) has agreed to pay out $250 million in fines and compensation to settle several consumer abuse charges, including the opening of accounts without authorization, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said Tuesday.

Bank of America's penalties will be split between a $100M payment to harmed consumers and $150M in fines to the CFPB and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

In a statement, the CFPB claimed that the bank «systematically» double-dipped on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account, withheld reward bonuses explicitly promised to credit card customers, and misappropriated «sensitive personal information» to open accounts without consent.

«These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra.

In response, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said it had „voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all non-sufficient fund fees“ in the first half of 2022, noting that its revenue from these has dropped by „more than 90%.“