Basic Search  |  Summaries  |  Advanced Search

Violation Tracker Individual Record

Company: Bank of America
Current Parent Company: Bank of America
Penalty: $10,000,000
Year: 2022
Date: May 4, 2022
Offense Group: consumer-protection-related offenses
Primary Offense: consumer protection violation
Violation Description: The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) finalized an enforcement action against Bank of America for processing illegal, out-of-state garnishment orders against its customers' bank accounts. Bank of America unlawfully froze customer accounts, charged garnishment fees, garnished funds, and sent payments to creditors based on out-of-state garnishment court orders that should have been processed under the laws and protections of the states where the consumers lived. Bank of America also violated the law by inserting unfair and unenforceable language into customer contracts that purported to limit customers' rights to challenge garnishments. The CFPB's order requires Bank of America to refund or cancel imposed fees from unlawful garnishments, review and reform its system for processing garnishments, and pay a $10 million civil penalty.
Level of Government: federal
Action Type: agency action
Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Civil or Criminal Case: civil
HQ Country of Current Parent: USA
HQ State of Current Parent: North Carolina
Ownership Structure of Current Parent: publicly traded
Major Industry of Current Parent: financial services
Specific Industry of Current Parent: banking
Source of Data: (click here)
Source Notes: If an online information source is not working, check the Violation Tracker Data Sources page for an updated link.
Current parent company note: Parent-subsidiary relationship is current as of the most recent revision listed in the Update Log.