Consumer watchdog CFPB dismisses $2 billion case against Capital One

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has officially dismissed its enforcement action against Capital One Bank, which had been accused of cheating consumers out of interest payments on their savings accounts. Several other cases have been dismissed in recent days. 

The CFPB’s case alleged that Capital One failed to properly credit interest to customers as promised. However, after reviewing the case, the agency decided to permanently drop the enforcement action. This means Capital One will not face penalties or further legal action related to these claims.

The enforcement action originally accused Capital One of misleading consumers by not paying the full interest on certain savings accounts. The case focused on whether the bank had violated consumer protection laws by failing to credit interest correctly or by providing unclear terms about how interest was calculated.

The CFPB initially sought to hold the bank accountable for potential losses suffered by customers. However, with this dismissal, the agency has effectively ended its pursuit of penalties against Capital One.

Capital One Bank has consistently denied any wrongdoing and maintained that its interest payment practices were in compliance with regulations. With the CFPB dropping the case, the bank will not be required to make any restitution payments or policy changes.

What This Means for Consumers

The dismissal of the enforcement action means that Capital One customers who were affected will not receive compensation as part of this case. However, the CFPB said it continues to monitor banking practices to ensure that financial institutions adhere to consumer protection laws.

For consumers concerned about interest payments on their savings accounts, experts recommend regularly reviewing account statements and understanding the terms and conditions of their banking agreements.

With this decision, Capital One is cleared of the CFPB’s allegations, and the case is officially closed.

Other cases dismissed

The CFPB also dropped cases against Rocket Homes and Vanderbilt Mortgage, just weeks after a leadership change under the Trump administration.

The actions signal a major shift in enforcement priorities under the new administration. The lawsuits were initially filed under former CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, whom President Trump fired shortly after taking office.

President Trump has defended his administration’s crackdown on the CFPB, calling it an agency "set up to destroy people." 

Besides Capital One, the dismissed cases were:

• Vanderbilt Mortgage: The agency alleged that the Berkshire Hathaway-owned lender pushed consumers into unaffordable loans for manufactured homes.
• Rocket Homes: The CFPB claimed the company illegally steered potential borrowers to Rocket Mortgage, limiting competition in the mortgage market.

The dismissals were filed “with prejudice,” meaning the CFPB cannot refile these cases in the future.