By Maria Armental
Bank of America Corp. has agreed to pay a $30 million civil
penalty and correct violations on about 73,000 accounts of U.S.
military members.
The bank is one of several institutional companies that agreed
to review their records to identify borrowers who were eligible for
additional protections under the Servicemembers Civil Relief
Act.
Among other things, the act allows military personnel called to
active duty to have their mortgage rates capped at 6% and protects
them from nonjudicial foreclosure and repossession.
The agreement covers the bank's practices dating to at least
2011 tied to credit card and deposit overdraft collections
litigation and account servicing for customers who were protected
under the act.
The bank had previously settled similar violations with the
Justice Department regarding home foreclosures.
Under the consent order with the Office of the Comptroller of
the Currency, signed Friday, Bank of America is to set up a
compliance committee to oversee how the bank adheres to the
law.
The company has indicated in legal documents that it has
completed several plans to address the violations and reimburse
eligible service members.
"We have taken significant steps over the last several years,
and will take further steps now, to ensure we have the right
controls and processes in place to meet--and exceed--what is
required by law and what our customers deserve and expect," said
Andrew Plepler, Bank of America global corporate social
responsibility and consumer policy executive.
Write to Maria Armental at maria.armental@wsj.com
Access Investor Kit for Bank of America Corp.
Visit
http://www.companyspotlight.com/partner?cp_code=P479&isin=US0605051046
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires