Federal regulators announced on Tuesday that Bank of America has been found to have violated consumer financial protection laws by engaging in practices such as charging excessive fees, withholding credit card rewards, and opening fraudulent accounts, all to the detriment of its customers.

Consequently, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has ordered Bank of America (BAC) to pay over $100 million in restitution to affected customers and $90 million in penalties.

Additionally, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has imposed $60 million in fines on the bank, CNN reported.

As the second-largest bank in the United States, with a customer base of 68 million individuals and small businesses, Bank of America’s actions have raised concerns, drawing comparisons to the Wells Fargo scandal from the previous decade, which involved unauthorized account openings on a massive scale.

In a statement, CFPB Director Rohit Chopra emphasized that Bank of America had wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, engaged in fee double-dipping, and opened accounts without customer consent.

He described these practices as illegal and damaging to customer trust. The CFPB aims to put an end to such practices across the banking system.

Written by staff