Bank of America is fined $225 million for botching pandemic benefits
CBSN
Regulators are fining Bank of America $225 million for bungling the distribution of unemployment benefits amid the pandemic, and are ordering the bank to compensate more than 100,000 people in a dozen states as a result.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Thursday ordered the nation's second-largest bank to pay $125 million and compensate those hurt by unfair and deceptive practices related to a prepaid card program. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau also fined Bank of America an additional $100 million, accusing it of "botching the disbursement of state unemployment benefits at the height of the pandemic."
At issue: programs administered by Bank of America that largely used prepaid cards akin to a debit card on behalf of 12 states: Arizona, California, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Maryland, Michigan, New Jersey, Nevada, North Carolina and South Carolina, according to the OCC.
