August 5, 2022

U.S. Bank Fined $37.5 Million for Allegedly Opening Accounts Without Consumers’ Knowledge

Lori Kalani, Bernard Nash

Cozen O'Connor

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Cozen O'Connor

The CFPB entered into a Consent Order with U.S. Bank National Association over allegations that U.S. Bank pressured and incentivized its employees to open unauthorized accounts, in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Truth in Savings Act.
According to the CFPB, from 2010 through 2020, U.S. Bank allegedly imposed sales pressure and sales goals as part of bank employees’ job requirements, leading employees to use consumers’ credit reports and sensitive personal data to apply for and open deposit accounts, credit cards, and credit lines without consumers’ knowledge or consent. Affected consumers were charged fees on unauthorized accounts; suffered negative impacts to their credit profiles; lost control over personal identifying information; and expended time and effort investigating, seeking closure of unwanted accounts, and monitoring and mitigating harm.
Under the terms of the Consent Order, U.S. Bank will pay a $37.5 million penalty and must remediate all harmed customers for unlawfully charged fees and costs, implement policies to prevent future violations of applicable law, and refrain from future violations, among other things.

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