Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Sues Capital One

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau sued Capital One for cheating millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments.

CFPB;s lawsuit against Capital One, N.A., and its parent holding company, Capital One Financial Corp., alleges that Capital One promised its “360 Savings” account paid one of the nation’s  highest interest rates on savings.

While savings interest rates rose throughout the country, Capital One froze the interest rate on those accounts at a low level. At about the same time, Capital One started a new ,almost identical product called “360 Performance Savings.” The new account type differed only in paying up to more than 14 times the 360 Savings interest rate.

The bank did not notify holders of 360 Savings accounts about the new product. CFPB says Capital One obscured the new product from 360 Savings account holders. This cost millions of those account holders over $2 billion in lost payments.

CFPB’s lawsuit aims to stop this unlawful conduct, gain remedies for harmed account holders, and assess civil money penalties to be paid into CFPB’s victims relief fund.

Click here for more details from the CFPB announcement.