Consumer Bureau Action Tracker

CFPB – Fifth Third Bank


State

Nationwide

target

Fifth Third Bank

Topics

Enforcement, Fair Lending, Auto Loans

In 2015, the CFPB, along with the Department of Justice, took action against Fifth Third Bank, alleging that the bank “discriminated against black and Hispanic consumers by charging some higher interest rates on auto loans with no justification related to credit-worthiness.” The CFPB ordered the bank to pay $21 million to those it discriminated against, as an investigation found that minority borrowers at Fifth Third Bank had been forced to pay “$200 more in interest” per month “than they should have.”

  • Fifth Third Bank, at the time of this administrative filing, was “Ohio’s largest bank by assets” and “the ninth-largest bank indirect auto lender in the United States.” The bank is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. [Teresa Dixon Murray, “Fifth Third discriminated on auto loans, CFPB says,” The Plain Dealer, 09/28/15]
  • A joint investigation by the federal agencies found that the bank “violated the Equal Credit Opportunity Act by charging black and Hispanic customers higher dealer markups on auto loans than white borrowers.” There was no correlation between the conditions of the loans and the borrower’s credit worthiness. “The higher rates cost thousands of minority borrowers extra finance charges. The customers paid an average of $200 more in interest from January 2010 through this month than they should have paid.” These were additional, separate charges that the bank “engaged in illegal credit card practices.” [Teresa Dixon Murray, “Fifth Third discriminated on auto loans, CFPB says,” The Plain Dealer, 09/28/15]
  • Fifth Third was ordered “to pay $18 million to minority auto loan customers and $3 million to credit card customers” and “to change its pricing and compensation structure to reduce the chance of discrimination” in the settlement. [Teresa Dixon Murray, “Fifth Third discriminated on auto loans, CFPB says,” The Plain Dealer, 09/28/15]

Status

Inactive or Resolved


2015-CFPB-0024 9/28/2015 9/28/2015

CFPB Takes Action Against Fifth Third Bank for Auto-Lending Discrimination and Illegal Credit Card Practices
http://www.consumerfinance.gov/policy-compliance/enforcement/actions/fifth-third/

  • Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB)
  • Administrative filing
  • None
  • Bank
  • $10,500,000
  • Not Available

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