Consumer Bank Fined $9 Million in Settlement

The U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has fined Citizens Bank for violating the Truth in Lending Act. The Act is supposed to protect consumers against credit card billing and credit card practices.

The $9 million fine surrounds a claim that the bank did not process credit card disputes in an efficient and fair way. Specifically, the CFPB claimed that the bank denied fraud claims in certain circumstances without due process in investigating the claims.

Rohit Chopra from the CFPB said, “As outstanding credit card debt approaches $1 trillion, the CFPB will be closely watching the conduct of the credit card industry.” The suit covered the time period from 2010 through 2016, so the claims are more than 7 years old.

The fine was actually issued as a settlement, and Citizens Bank publicly disagreed with the CFPB’s stance. The bank went on to say that the issues were resolved a long time ago, and were self-identified. The bank also noted that it was a fraction of its credit card customers.

Citizens Bank is based in Rhode Island and operates branches in several states. It is a subsidiary of Citizens Financial Group, which has more than $200 billion in assets. The bank has had very few issues surrounding customer service and is one of the largest consumer banks in the country.

Fraud prevention is one of the key issues surrounding the banking industry, and is one of the main focuses of government agencies.