Capital One is facing a lawsuit from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) over allegations that it “cheated millions of consumers” out of billions of dollars in interest payments on its high-interest savings accounts. The bank allegedly froze interest rates on its flagship 360 Savings account at low levels despite rising nationwide, and then launched a new account with better rates without informing existing customers.
The CFPB claims that Capital One’s marketing tactics, including using words like “top” and “highest” to describe the interest earned from the 360 Savings account, were deceptive. However, when rates rose nationally, the bank lowered and froze the rate on 360 Savings accounts at just 0.30%. Meanwhile, a new Performance Savings account was launched with rates increasing from 0.40% in 2022 to 4.35% in January 2024.
The CFPB alleges that Capital One schemed to keep existing customers in lower-yielding accounts by obscuring the existence of the higher-rate Performance Savings account. The agency is seeking to stop the bank’s alleged unlawful conduct, provide redress for harmed consumers, and impose civil money penalties.
Source: https://edition.cnn.com/2025/01/14/investing/capital-one-cfpb-ruling/index.html