RSSTCF National Bank has settled with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau over allegations it “tricked” consumers into enrolling in its overdraft protection program.
The Minnesota bank has agreed to pay $25 million in restitution to customers who were charged overdraft fees and has agreed to an injunction to prevent future violations. The proposed order filed today would also impose a civil money penalty of $5 million.
This penalty would be adjusted to account for a $3 million penalty imposed by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency in a separate order entered today. Today’s action was taken in coordination with the OCC, with which the bureau worked closely on this matter.
The CFPB initially filed its suit against TCF in January 2017 under the bureau’s former director, Obama appointee Richard Cordray.
Banks must first obtain a consumer’s consent before they can lawfully charge overdraft fees on one-time debit purchases and ATM withdrawals. The bureau alleged in its lawsuit that, when attempting to obtain this consent, TCF obscured the fees it charged and made consenting to overdraft fees seem mandatory for new customers to open an account.
TCF National Bank is headquartered in Wayzata, Minn., and operates approximately 318 retail branches across Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Michigan, Colorado, South Dakota and Arizona.
