CFPB fines Atlantic Union Bank $6.2M for overdraft practices

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) took action Thursday against Atlantic Union Bank for enrolling thousands of customers in overdraft programs covered by the Electronic Fund Transfer Act without the proper consent. The consent order covered both in-person consumers and consumers who opened accounts by phone.  

The CFPB is ordering Atlantic Union to refund at least $5 million in illegal overdraft fees and pay a $1.2 million penalty to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.

Specifically, the CFPB claims the bank violated federal law by:

• Charging fees without proper consent, as employees sought oral confirmation from in-person customers to enroll in overdraft coverage before providing them with the required written disclosures describing the terms of service, even though the consumers were required to sign the completed opt-in disclosure forms to complete the account opening process.
• Misleading customers about the terms and costs of overdraft coverage when they opted in to overdraft coverage by phone as Atlantic Union Bank employees did not clearly explain which transactions were covered by the service and made other misleading statements about the terms and conditions of the service.