U.S. Bank to pay $36M in CFPB, OCC settlements

U.S. Bank agreed to pay nearly $36 million total in separate settlements with the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) for allegedly impeding consumers’ access to their unemployment benefits during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Both agencies announced fines of $15 million against U.S. Bank on Tuesday, while the CFPB ordered the bank to pay an additional $5.7 million in redress.

From August 2020 through at least March 2021, U.S. Bank had “deficient processes for permitting consumers to regain access to their unemployment benefits in a reasonable timeframe following account freezes,” according to the OCC’s press release.