On Thursday July 19, 2012, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) each published releases announcing action against Capital One for Unfair, Deceptive and Abusive Acts or Practices (UDAAP) in violation of Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission Act. This is the CFPBs first public enforcement action.
The bank will pay $150 million in damages to 2.5 million affected consumers. This includes $140 million to 2 million consumers identified by the CFPB who either initially enrolled in a product on or after August 1, 2010, or who tried to cancel a product on or after August 1, 2010. In a separate action the OCC ordered restitution for additional consumers harmed by unfair billing practices taking place between May 2002 and June 2011.
The bank will also pay $60 million in civil monetary penalties -$35 million to the U.S. Treasury on behalf of the OCC and $25 million to the CFPB.
The main message here is that UDAPP is getter hotter and hotter. Often in agency enforcement actions we see corrective action extending back to the date of the last examination. Here the bank is required to look back for nearly a decade.
Have you conducted a UDAAP risk assessment for your bank?
