Benzinga - by Bibhu Pattnaik, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Earlier this month, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that Atlantic Union Bank, which holds assets of $20.5 billion, would reimburse a substantial sum of money to its customers.
What Happened: The move comes after the bank was implicated in illegally collecting overdraft fees amounting to millions of dollars.
Investigations by the CFPB revealed that Atlantic Union Bank had enrolled many of its customers into overdraft programs without their fully informed consent.
The bank's staff reportedly confirmed enrollments via phone before issuing the necessary written disclosures.
In response to these findings, the bank must pay back at least $5 million to the affected customers and an additional $1.2 million as a penalty to the CFPB’s victim relief fund.
The CFPB condemned the bank's actions and said, “Atlantic Union Bank harvested millions of dollars in overdraft fees through a host of illegal practices. Americans are fed up with junk fee scams and the CFPB will continue its work to ensure families are treated fairly.”
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Despite agreeing to the settlement, Atlantic Union Bank has not conceded any misconduct.
In a statement, the bank disagreed with the CFPB’s findings on these past practices while reaffirming its commitment to fair customer treatment and providing essential information for sound financial decision-making.
“We respectfully disagree with the CFPB’s conclusions about these historical practices and take very seriously our obligation to comply with applicable law. We are, and have always been, committed to treating our customers fairly and providing them with the information they need to help them make financial decisions that work for their lives,” the bank said.
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This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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