Bank of America Under Investigation Over Unauthorized Accounts
Bank of America is under investigation by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau for unauthorized customer accounts that were opened to meet sales goals. In March 2019, the CFPB demanded that BofA provide documents concerning “unlawful acts or practices in connection with unauthorized consumer bank, credit card, and other accounts.” These Bank of America unauthorized accounts were allegedly opened back in 2014.
Yahoo reports that the probe came to light recently when on Tuesday the regulatory body posted the documents that it sought from the bank. The documents showed legal disputes between the CFPB and BofA over the past six months.
Wells Fargo was one of the major banks who had to settle for $142 million after a class action settlement related to the opening of unauthorized accounts. After that, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency already investigated more than 40 banks, including Bank of America, for similar wrongdoing. Based on that, the bank requested that the CFPB dismisses its demand.
BofA mentioned that before March 2017, customers that opened accounts with the bank were not required to provide signatures to serve as evidence of their intent. Instead, their authorization was captured via a digital interface. While the bank has changed this practice, it said that no evidence suggests that the practice it followed in the pre-2017 period promoted the opening of customer accounts without their authorization.
