On August 2, 2017, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) announced that it had entered into a consent order with a national bank, resolving allegations as to the bank’s allegedly unlawful credit reporting activities.

According to the CFPB, the bank violated several federal laws with respect to its reporting practices, including the Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §§ 1681(m)(a)(3)(A),1681s-2(a)(8)(E)(iii), Regulation V, and the Consumer Financial Protection Act, 12 U.S.C. §  5536(a)(1)(A).  Specifically, the CFPB alleged that the bank: (i) failed to establish appropriate processes for furnishing accurate information to national specialty consumer reporting agencies (NSCRAs); (ii) failed to inform consumers of their right to dispute inaccurate information that the bank supplied to credit reporting agencies; and (iii) failed to provide key information to consumers concerning the bank’s denial of their checking account applications.

Under the terms of the consent order, the bank is required to pay $4.6 million in civil penalties to the CFPB and change several of its reporting and contact practices for consumers.  The order also requires that the bank submit to on-going compliance monitoring.