On September 28, 2022, the CFPB ordered Regions Bank to pay $50 million into the CFPB’s victims relief fund and to refund at least $141 million to customers harmed by its illegal surprise overdraft fees. Regions Bank is based in Alabama with more than $160 billion in consolidated assets and operates approximately 1,700 retail branches and 2,000 ATMs across 16 states. It offers and provides an array of financial products and services to consumers, including deposit accounts, credit cards, and lines of credit.
According to the CFPB, Regions charged customers surprise overdraft fees on certain ATM withdrawals and debit card purchases from August 2018 through July 2021, even after telling consumers they had sufficient funds at the time of the transactions. The CFPB also found that Regions management was aware about the surprise overdraft fee practices but they chose to wait while Regions pursued changes that would generate new fee revenue.
The consent order issued by CFPB:
Requires Regions to provide at least $141 million in redress to affected consumers;
Bans Regions from charging authorized-positive fees; and
Assesses a $50 million fine, which will be deposited into the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
The CFPB’s press release can be found here.
The consent order can be found here.
