TCF Financial Corp. agreed to pay $30 million, including $25 million to customers, to settle a disagreement with regulators over the way it offered overdraft protection on ATM and debit-card transactions from 2010 to 2013.
The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency investigated the company, Minnesota's third-largest bank, for the way it presented customers with a choice for overdraft protection.
The company said it agreed to a consent order rather than proceed through a lawsuit that would take time and money. The OCC found that TCF's written disclosures to consumers about the overdraft service complied with its regulations. But it and the other federal agency questioned whether the bank gave a balanced presentation of choices for customers during the period.
TCF said there was a possibility that some customers may not have fully understood their options for accepting or rejecting the overdraft service from 2010 to 2013.
No customer was signed up for the service who did not consent in writing, TCF said, and the company didn't automatically enroll anyone in it. People who didn't use the service were not charged.
TCF said it is still working out with federal regulators how to pay restitution but said it expects to offer a credit to existing customers and send a check to former customers. The company expects to begin payments before the end of the year, a spokeswoman said. The company set up a website at TCFBankSettlement.com for customers to learn more.
As part of settling the dispute, TCF will pay $3 million to the OCC and $2 million to the BCFP, the agency that until recently was known as the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, or CFPB.
Evan Ramstad • 612-673-4241
