BoA Cooperating With CFPB Probe Into Unauthorized Credit Card Accounts

In a civil investigation that recently came to light, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is looking into Bank of America as part of a probe that came out of the phony accounts scandal at Wells Fargo. The Bureau is now trying to determine if Bank of America also went against the law through the opening of accounts for credit cards without customer authorization, American Banker reported.

The investigation surfaced when the CFPB posted documents on the web that covered its wrangling with the firm. Bank of America, however, has contended that a demand for emails, as well as other records, in March 2019 is unduly burdensome. It was also reportedly asking the agency to close the probe. In July, CFPB Director Kathleen Kraninger denied the petition.

A lawyer for the bank reportedly said in one of the documents that the bank determined specific cases of “potentially unauthorized credit card accounts.” However, he noted that the identified accounts were “vanishingly small” in number. And Andy Aldridge, a Bank of America spokesperson, said per the report that the bank is working as fast as possible to get the CFPB the information it requires.

“These issues have been thoroughly investigated and we have worked with regulators to confirm that we have the right processes and controls in place to govern our sales practices, and that we have not experienced any systemic issues.” Aldridge said in an email, according to reports. “We will continue to cooperate with the CFPB and look forward to demonstrating why they should reach the same conclusion.”

In separate news, a network to better coordinate financial innovation among federal and state regulators is being rolled out by the CFPB in partnership with several states per a press release from the body earlier this month. The American Consumer Financial Innovation Network (ACFIN) aims to augment shared purpose such as competition, inclusion and access.