The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) today sued Capital One and its parent company, Capital One Financial Corp., alleging they cheated millions of consumers out of more than $2 billion in interest payments. The CFPB alleges that Capital One promised consumers that its flagship “360 Savings” account offered the nation’s “best” and “highest” interest rates. In reality, however, even as interest rates broadly rose nationwide, the bank kept this account’s rate locked at an extremely low level.
At the same time, Capital One launched a nearly identical new product, “360 Performance Savings,” which simply paid more interest. At its peak, the rate was more than 14 times higher than that of 360 Savings. On top of that, Capital One did not specifically notify 360 Savings account holders about the existence of the new product, and instead allegedly tried to keep them in the dark about these more favorable accounts. The CFPB believes Capital One deliberately concealed the existence of this new product, causing millions of consumers to lose more than $2 billion in interest.
From 2012 to 2024, Capital One repeatedly lowered and then froze the 360 Savings interest rate at 0.30%. As market rates rose, the newly launched 360 Performance Savings account offered a much higher rate, reaching 4.35% in January 2024. The CFPB’s position is clear: through this lawsuit, the agency seeks to hold Capital One accountable for its conduct, secure compensation for affected consumers, and impose civil penalties on the company. Those penalties would go directly to the CFPB’s victims relief fund.
