July 2 (Reuters) - US Bancorp, one of the 10 largest U.S.
banks, has agreed to pay $55 million to settle lawsuits accusing
it of imposing excessive overdraft fees on customers.
The settlement by the Minneapolis-based lender was revealed
on Monday, six days after a $90 million accord with
similarly-sized PNC Financial Services Group Inc was announced.
It is part of nationwide customer litigation against 35
lenders over the fees, which are typically assessed when
customers overdraw their checking accounts by using debit cards.
Brought on behalf of millions of customers, the lawsuits
accused banks of ordering transactions from largest to smallest,
rather than processing them in chronological order. They said
this let banks charge overdraft fees, which are typically $25 to
$35, sooner and more often because account balances fell faster.
Fourteen lenders have settled, according to lawyers for the
customers. Bank of America Corp's $410 million accord is the
largest, followed by a $137.5 million settlement with Royal Bank
of Scotland Group Plc's Citizens Financial unit and a $110
million settlement with JPMorgan Chase & Co.
US Bancorp's settlement requires approval by U.S. District
Judge James Lawrence King in Miami. He oversees litigation over
the fees, which was consolidated before him in 2009.
Teri Charest, a US Bancorp spokeswoman, said the bank is
pleased to resolve the matter and has made changes in recent
years in how it handles customer accounts.
Citigroup Inc, Wells Fargo & Co and Capital One Financial
Corp are among the larger banks that have not settled.
The case is In re: Checking Account Overdraft Litigation,
U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida, No.
09-md-02036.
For US Bancorp: Barry Davidson of Hunton & Williams
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel)
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