On May 1, 2018, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) entered into a consent order with a national bank for deceptive marketing and banking practices that allegedly resulted in violations of federal law.
According to the consent order, the OCC alleged that the bank had violated Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act, 15 U.S.C. § 45(a)(1), for failing to act in a manner consistent with its representations to consumers. Specifically, the OCC found that the national bank had represented in its marketing materials and disclosures that it would waive annual, original, and/or overdraft protection transfer fees for certain consumer and business banking customers, but failed to do so for some consumers from at least 2002 to 2016. The OCC further found that, between 2010 and 2017, the bank represented that its overdraft protection services of between $5 and $10 per overdraft would be effective the business day following election; however, in practice the protection took up to three business days to take effect, resulting in overdraft charges to some consumers.
The consent order acknowledges that the bank plans to reimburse affected consumers and also imposes a civil monetary penalty of $15,000,000.