Bank of America Ordered to Refund Customers $100 Million

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced Tuesday that it ordered Bank of America to refund $100 million to customers and pay $150 million in fines.  

Key Quotes: According to a press release on the CFPB website, the fines are in response to Bank of America “systematically double-dipping on fees imposed on customers with insufficient funds in their account, withholding reward bonuses explicitly promised to credit card customers, and misappropriating sensitive personal information to open accounts without customer knowledge or authorization.” The press release quoted CFPB Director Rohit Chopra stating, “These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system.” According to a statement sent to outlets across the spectrum, the bank no longer charges fees cited in the CFPB report, stating, “We voluntarily reduced overdraft fees and eliminated all nonsufficient fund fees in the first half of 2022. As a result of these industry-leading changes, revenue from these fees has dropped more than 90 percent.”

Details: Apart from the $100 million refund, Bank of America will pay $90 million in penalties to the CFPB and $60 million in penalties to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. 

How the Media Covered It: Outlets across the spectrum are covering the story prominently. While the Associated Press (Lean Left bias) reported the revised Bank of America overdraft fee to be $15, Fox Business (Lean Right bias) reported it as $10.