For Immediate Release:
Press Contact:
media@consumerfed.org
CFPB permanently dismisses Capital One Bank from an enforcement action alleging that it cheated consumers out of interest payments on savings accounts.
February 27, 2025 | WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, the CFPB permanently dismissed its enforcement action against banking behemoth, Capital One. The complaint alleges that Capital One touted its 360 Savings account product as providing the highest interest rates, but froze these accounts at a lower rate while simultaneously offering better-earning savings account products to other customers. Capital One took steps to obscure these better-paying accounts from its 360 Savings customers, which had the effect of cheating them out of more than $2 billion in interest payments.
“The CFPB was created to be a watchdog for big banks, not a lapdog, and dismissing this case is a gift to Capital One,” said Erin Witte, CFA’s Director of Consumer Protection. “Two billion dollars is a drop in the bucket for Capital One–less than half a percent of its total assets—but returning this money would make a huge difference to the hardworking Americans who trusted Capital One to safeguard their savings and were kept in the dark about how to earn more.”
Acting CFPB Director Russell Vought—key architect of the right-wing Project 2025 playbook—has undermined the agency’s mission, refusing to comply with nearly 90 congressional mandates designed to protect consumers and halting 38 pending CFPB enforcement actions. Dozens of staff—including the student loan ombudsman—have been illegally fired, and the agency’s headquarters have been shuttered for weeks.
Background
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) is the nation’s top watchdog protecting Americans against predatory lenders and corporate fraudsters. Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) have taken over the CFPB, including gaining access to sensitive data and confidential supervisory information that the CFPB gathers from companies in order to keep consumers safe. Vought has also brought the oversight work of the consumer protection agency to a halt, closing the HQ offices and directing staff to stay home.
Created in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis, Congress gave the explicit directives to establish offices and programming dedicated to protecting vulnerable consumers, issue regulations to govern particular industries, and ensure transparent access to information about consumer financial products. Since opening its doors, the CFPB has directly obtained over $21 billion in relief for over 205 million people from companies that illegally cheated consumers. This includes more than $5 billion in relief for Americans with student debt, and uncovering evidence that led to the U.S. Department of Education cancelling $188.8 billion of student debt for 5.3 million borrowers. The CFPB has been hard at work over the last decade and is broadly popular among both Democratic and Republican voters, and the agency has received support across many different sectors.
In addition to returning billions of hard-earned dollars back to the pockets of consumers, the CFPB has issued regulations that promote fairer and more competitive credit markets, and investigated hundreds of businesses that rip off members of the military, students, seniors, and everyday Americans.
Further Reading
CFA press release on Dismissal of Solo Funds enforcement action: CFPB Sides with Predatory Lender Over Defrauded Consumers
Student Borrower Protection Center (SBPC) and CFA memo identifying 38 active enforcement actions: Trump and Vought Desert Consumers and Working Families Amid Violations by Predatory Financial Companies
SBPC and CFA memo identifying 87 congressionally imposed mandates Director Vought is refusing to perform: Advocates Applaud Lawsuits Challenging Trump and Vought’s Corrupt and Unlawful Attempt to “Delete” Consumer Watchdog Agency, CFPB
CFA press release on CFPB workers ordered to stop working: CFA Statement in Response to Announcement That the CFPB Will Halt Supervisory Work
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About Consumer Federation of America
Consumer Federation of America is an association of non-profit consumer organizations that was established in 1968 to advance the consumer interest through research, advocacy, and education.
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