How Capital One Exploited Millions for Billions

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Corporate Intent Exposed
3. The Corporations Get Away With It
4. The Cost of Doing Business
5. Systemic Failures
6. This Pattern of Predation Is a Feature, Not a Bug
7. The PR Playbook of Damage Control
8. Profits Over People
9. The Human Toll on Workers and Communities
10. Global Trends in Corporate Accountability
11. Pathways for Reform and Consumer Advocacy

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Introduction

If you want to see neoliberal capitalism in action—where promises of consumer benefit meet the grim reality of profit-maximization—look no further than the most damning evidence lodged against Capital One in a recent lawsuit filed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB). According to the Complaint (Case No. ____), Capital One allegedly misled millions of customers into opening and/or maintaining a savings account product known as “360 Savings” with the assurance they would receive “high interest” that remained among the “top” or “best” in the nation. The Complaint contends that Capital One, during a period of significant upward movement in interest rates, quietly introduced a new savings product, “360 Performance Savings,” that offered an interest rate substantially higher than the original one. Meanwhile, the bank froze the rate on “360 Savings” at just 0.30%—often lower than the national average for savings accounts, even as competitors’ offerings soared.

By obscuring the new product’s existence from existing “360 Savings” account holders, Capital One allegedly avoided paying over $2 billion in interest to loyal customers. The CFPB’s 32-page Complaint paints a picture of a carefully orchestrated plan that took advantage of consumers’ lack of awareness and their understandable belief that Capital One’s core promise of a “high interest” savings account remained valid over time.

Worse still, these alleged tactics—like strategic corporate name changes, rebranding, and funneling new customers into the superior “360 Performance Savings” while leaving older account holders in the dark—represent more than just a few isolated instances of corporate greed. The allegations against Capital One detail, in honest terms, the type of systemic failures under neoliberal capitalism that arise when deregulation, regulatory capture, and profit-maximization incentives converge, to the detriment of everyday savers.

In the sections that follow, we will dissect the CFPB’s principal allegations, connect them to the broader economic fallout that can be triggered by such corporate behavior, and highlight how corporate accountability measures often fall short when faced with institutions that build their businesses around complicated forms of consumer exploitation. From the corporate disclaimers about “market conditions” to the way interest rates remained at an alleged standstill for existing accounts, we will also see a pattern: **This isn’t a bug of late-stage capitalism—**it’s the very framework enabling massive banks to profit from unsuspecting account holders, all while proclaiming themselves champions of the consumer.

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Corporate Intent Exposed

Right at the heart of the CFPB Complaint is the contention that Capital One knowingly and systematically set out to obscure the introduction of its new “360 Performance Savings” product from existing customers, even though the new product was “identical in every material way” to the “360 Savings” product—except for one crucial difference: a rate that could be over 14 times higher. According to the CFPB, the “360 Performance Savings” frequently saw its interest rate climb in tandem with rising federal funds rates and broader market trends, hitting 4.25% by July 2024. Meanwhile, existing “360 Savings” accounts stayed frozen at 0.30%.

The Complaint indicates that from 2013 to 2019, Capital One heavily marketed its original product, “360 Savings,” as the go-to “high interest” or “high yield” savings tool, emphasizing repeatedly that the account offered “one of the nation’s top savings rates.” Capital One used to publish comparisons showing how its “360 Savings” rate outstripped both national averages and various competitor benchmarks. Customers were thus led to believe they were entering a long-term, safe, and passively beneficial relationship with Capital One—one where they would not have to constantly shop around for better rates, because Capital One allegedly promised to do the legwork for them by maintaining a rate at the top of the market.

Yet, internal changes behind the scenes in 2019 saw the introduction of “360 Performance Savings,” presented externally as yet another “top” or “best” interest rate product. The difference was that new customers were enrolled in the newly minted account with the higher rate, while existing “360 Savings” customers—often loyal for years—were not even notified of the new product or its substantially higher yield. Capital One’s new product was so similar, the Complaint notes, that there was no logical reason for a consumer to pick “360 Savings” if they knew “360 Performance Savings” existed. Both lacked account fees, both offered the same deposit and withdrawal methods, and both shared “360” branding. The crucial difference? The older product’s interest rate no longer moved with the market; the new product’s rate soared.

These alleged tactics exposed, says the CFPB, a corporate intent to maintain an image of consumer-friendliness while internally reaping the gains of not paying out billions in interest obligations. The logic is straightforward: Because “360 Savings” customers trusted the bank’s marketing and believed the product would continue to reflect top-tier market rates, they often took no action. Many were likely unaware that Capital One had pivoted to a new product altogether.

Finally, while the bank had routinely touted how the “360 Savings” rate was pegged to “market conditions” and competitor offerings, the Complaint highlights that from December 2022 onward, the old account’s rate hovered below or at the national average, drastically undercutting the promise of being a “top” or “best” rate. This consistent gap, combined with the lack of transparency around “360 Performance Savings,” is a key part of the Bureau’s argument that Capital One engaged in deceptive and abusive practices in violation of the Consumer Financial Protection Act (CFPA), the Truth in Savings Act (TISA), and Regulation DD.

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The Corporations Get Away With It

So how can a major financial institution allegedly freeze interest rates, maintain a public image of “best in class,” and still leave consumers to languish at 0.30% while new account holders enjoy much higher returns? The CFPB’s filing offers insight into how “obscuring” the existence of a better product—especially within the same company—can be a powerful strategy. According to the Complaint, Capital One took multiple steps to ensure the original account holders remained unaware:

1. Name Similarities: By retaining the “360” branding and only adding “Performance” in the name, Capital One created confusion among consumers. Many existing customers had no reason to think “360 Performance Savings” was different from what they already had, especially since the entire “ING Direct” legacy product had been rebranded to “360 Savings” years ago.
2. Website Tweaks: The Complaint details how references to “360 Savings” in marketing and webpage content were replaced by “360 Performance Savings,” with no obvious disclaimers alerting current customers that a superior product now existed. If a curious consumer searched “Capital One high-yield savings,” they might find references to “360 Performance Savings”—but the website gave no real clarity that the old product had effectively been replaced.
3. Employee Gag Orders: The CFPB highlighted alleged internal instructions forbidding branch staff from proactively discussing “360 Performance Savings” with “360 Savings” customers. Employees were told to mention the product only if a customer specifically asked about switching or complained about a low rate. By restricting employees in this way, the bank dramatically reduced the likelihood that existing customers would learn they could convert to the higher-paying account with minimal effort.
4. Marketing Misdirection: While new prospects and other categories of existing customers (like credit card or CD holders) received offers for “360 Performance Savings,” the bank excluded “360 Savings” holders from these promotional pushes. This prevented old account holders from stumbling upon the new product in targeted ads or direct mail offers.

These allegations underscore the myriad ways regulatory gaps or loopholes can be leveraged by sophisticated financial institutions. The Truth in Savings Act (TISA) requires clarity around interest rates and product terms. However, TISA does not necessarily force banks to unify or standardize rates across seemingly identical accounts, nor does it require them to automatically upgrade old customers to new rate offerings. According to the CFPB, that shortcoming made it possible for Capital One to keep the “360 Savings” product on the books as a “distinct” offering—while still marketing it, until early 2019, as “high interest.”

When large corporations exploit the complexities of federal financial regulations—especially in an era of deregulation—there is ample room to drive up shareholder value. For Capital One, the alleged result was sidestepping more than $2 billion in interest payments over a multi-year period, according to the Complaint. In the short term, it “got away with it” by ensuring the average existing saver would remain complacent, loyal, or simply unaware of the better alternative.

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The Cost of Doing Business

Behind every “cost-saving” decision or profit-maximization ploy, there are real-world economic consequences—and in the context of the CFPB’s allegations against Capital One, the “costs” cut deeper than many might imagine.

1. Lost Consumer Wealth: The Bureau’s Complaint pegs the bank’s alleged avoided interest payments at over $2 billion. Everyday savers who thought they were reaping the benefits of a “top-tier” interest rate ended up subsidizing the bank’s bottom line. For many households, that additional interest could have meant greater savings for education, unexpected medical bills, or a financial cushion during emergencies.
2. Erosion of Public Trust: When a major financial institution markets itself as a champion of consumer-friendly policies but freezes the interest for loyal customers at a subpar rate, public trust erodes. In the broader context, such actions risk triggering a crisis of confidence in the banking sector as a whole—an especially dangerous proposition if people begin to doubt the fairness of deposit accounts that are historically seen as safe havens.
3. Shareholder Pressure: From the perspective of big banks under neoliberal capitalism, there is relentless pressure to maximize profits for shareholders. As the CFPB allegations suggest, paying out billions more in interest runs contrary to short-term profit goals. While beneficial for stock valuations in the near term, it disenfranchises loyal account holders in the long run. Indeed, the complaint repeatedly references how the bank’s internal decisions on interest rates hinged less on consumer benefit and more on cost avoidance.
4. Impact on Economic Growth: Savers, especially those with modest means, rely on interest accrual as part of their financial stability. By effectively denying them their full share of market-rate interest, large financial institutions potentially reduce the spending power of local communities. That has a ripple effect on community-based businesses and can exacerbate wealth disparity—a hallmark problem in late-stage capitalism.

In sum, this is not merely an accounting error or a minor TISA violation. If the Bureau’s assertions hold, Capital One’s maneuver effectively siphoned funds from everyday people’s pockets to bolster corporate margins. The “cost of doing business” thus becomes a euphemism for corporate tactics that privilege short-term gains over the long-term prosperity of depositors, local economies, and society at large.

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Systemic Failures

The question arises: How was this allowed to continue, even as interest rates soared? The answer lies in the broader ecosystem of deregulated financial markets, weakened enforcement, and a legislative environment frequently shaped by corporate lobbying. Here are some key systemic failures relevant to understanding the allegations:

1. Deregulation Trends: Over the decades, many stringent regulations on the banking sector have been relaxed under the banner of promoting free markets or stimulating growth. This environment can provide large institutions the latitude to create new products with little obligation to migrate or notify existing account holders.
2. Regulatory Capture: When major corporations engage heavily in lobbying efforts, there’s a risk that regulatory agencies end up underfunded, outmaneuvered, or politically pressured to limit their actions. Although the CFPB is one of the few agencies specifically established to protect consumers, it often faces significant pushback from powerful interests in Congress or the industry itself.
3. Information Asymmetry: A central theme in the CFPB’s allegations is that consumers were never informed a better product even existed. By controlling the flow of critical information—indeed, allegedly forbidding employees from mentioning the new account—Capital One wielded the type of power that, in many well-functioning markets, is considered unacceptable. Under better consumer protection laws, or stronger mandates that existing account holders must be migrated or fully informed of new interest changes, this outcome might have been prevented.
4. Profit Incentives: In a system dominated by neoliberal economics, corporations are primarily beholden to shareholders—not depositors. It’s standard practice to roll out new “superior” products for marketing while letting older accounts stagnate. Although this tactic might seem unethical to many, it is not uncommon in a financial world oriented around maximizing returns to corporate leadership and investors.
5. Enforcement Delays: Even when agencies like the CFPB act, the timeline often lags behind the actual harm done. The lawsuit itself, filed in January 2025, references conduct going back as far as 2013 and, more specifically, from 2019 onward regarding the “360 Performance Savings” rollout. The damage, if proven, has already been inflicted for years before meaningful action surfaced.

From these alleged systemic failures emerges an uncomfortable truth: In today’s financial landscape, unscrupulous corporate practices can endure for a long time. Whether it’s because laws remain riddled with loopholes or because the agencies tasked with oversight are effectively outspent and out-lobbied, the results are the same—the public bears the cost while the corporation reaps the reward.

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This Pattern of Predation Is a Feature, Not a Bug

We often talk about corporate corruption and corporate greed as if they are aberrations in an otherwise fair system. However, the Complaint’s depiction of Capital One’s alleged conduct underscores a deeper truth: Predatory strategies often function as a standard component of late-stage capitalism.

• Wealth Disparity Rises: When consumers miss out on billions in potential interest, that’s money that could have circulated back into local economies or boosted the financial security of middle- and lower-income families. Instead, it’s effectively redistributed upward—aggravating wealth disparity, a problem that is well-documented in the current economic climate.
• Profit Hiding in Plain Sight: The notion that “360 Savings” was quietly rebranded and replaced by “360 Performance Savings” highlights how easy it can be to mask corporate moves behind minor product name changes. In the broader economy, we see this pattern mirrored: one set of customers or employees is locked into outdated terms while a new wave of clientele or workforce receives marginally better conditions. The systemic friction discourages mass migration to the improved product or service.
• Routine and Widespread: Corporate rebranding to segment consumer pools is hardly new. Whether it’s greenwashing in the case of environmental claims or union-busting in labor disputes, corporations regularly implement strategies to maintain profitability at the expense of consumer or worker welfare. The CFPB’s allegations simply provide another vivid case study of how these tactics aren’t accidental outliers but fundamental methods of operation within a system that expects perpetual profit growth.

In short, if the allegations are accurate, Capital One’s actions did not happen in a vacuum; rather, they reflect a designed functionality of our current economic system. Predatory or exploitative tactics are often the norm, aided by the dogma that “corporations must maximize shareholder returns at any cost.” The resulting corporate corruption, it must be stressed, reveals a systemic pattern well beyond the scope of one lawsuit.

Quote #1:
“This is not a bug of the system; it’s the system itself—an economy where corporate greed is rewarded while everyday savers lose.”

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The PR Playbook of Damage Control

Whenever corporations face allegations of consumer harm, they often pull from a well-established PR playbook. The Complaint makes clear that Capital One engaged in marketing that consistently assured consumers of “high rates” and “top savings” while the real interest rate, for many, remained at a fraction of the new product’s yield. Although the Complaint focuses on the period up to August 2024, it implies that Capital One’s stance might follow a predictable arc of public relations spin:

1. Deny or Downplay: Typically, the first public communication from a bank might include carefully worded statements like, “We believe these allegations are baseless” or “We have always acted in the best interests of our customers.” While the exact verbiage from Capital One is not detailed in the Complaint, the pattern is well-known: corporations move quickly to shape the narrative.
2. Greenwashing-Style Diversions: Though it’s more commonly discussed in environmental contexts, the principle applies to financial products as well. The bank’s promotional materials often highlight community projects or philanthropic endeavors to shift focus away from controversy. The Complaint notes numerous examples of marketing that hammered in the idea of a “great everyday rate,” overshadowing the reality.
3. “Updates” or “Improvements”: Facing scrutiny, corporations might quietly adjust the product’s name or rate structure—potentially presenting it as a beneficial improvement, even though it might come too late for the millions who missed out. If confronted by regulatory agencies or lawsuits, the corporate stance often is, “We have already addressed these issues,” in hopes of pacifying further investigation.
4. Settlement and Silence: The final stage, if regulators push back strongly, is often a settlement. That might include a financial penalty or restitution, though historically, such penalties are often a fraction of the illicit profits gleaned from the original strategy. According to the CFPB, it aims to ensure redress for harmed consumers, but such settlements rarely deter future wrongdoing in the broader financial sector.

Quote #2:
“The question is not if the corporation will spin the story, but how much spin the public will accept.”

In this sense, the “PR Playbook” is not a single, distinct entity. Rather, it’s a fluid set of tactics honed by decades of corporate lobbying, media control, and public cynicism. If the facts alleged by the CFPB hold true, Capital One’s PR strategy in response may reflect these timeless techniques of deflection and rebranding.

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Profits Over People

At its core, the CFPB’s allegations highlight the conflict between shareholder-driven business models and corporate social responsibility. The Bank is accused of establishing “360 Performance Savings” at a time when federal funds rates and the broader savings account marketplace were offering increasingly high returns. In a fully transparent environment, the prudent choice would have been to inform or automatically upgrade existing “360 Savings” customers. Instead, if the Complaint is accurate, Capital One quietly siphoned new customers into the higher-yield product without issuing a broad, clear announcement to older customers—thus saving billions in interest expenses.

Within neoliberal capitalism, corporations are typically praised for “financial innovation” and “maximizing efficiency,” but we rarely see the conversation dwell on whether that “innovation” prioritizes everyday consumers. Indeed, a repeated theme in the Complaint is that Capital One prevented its own employees from freely mentioning to “360 Savings” account holders that a “superior” product existed. This tactic might reflect a broader managerial stance that value for the consumer is only beneficial to the extent it doesn’t undercut short-term profitability.

To many observers, these allegations reveal a culture of corporate greed—the singular pursuit of profit at the expense of fundamental fairness. Underlying this dynamic, we see:

• Exploitation of Consumer Trust: Savers reasonably assumed that the “360 Savings” product would continue to deliver a competitively high rate, trusting in Capital One’s longstanding brand reputation. That trust, based on the CFPB’s claims, was used against them.
• Misalignment of Incentives: The bigger the spread between existing customers’ low interest rate and the new product’s higher interest rate, the greater the bank’s overall profit margin. This is an institutional misalignment that underscores how one group—corporate shareholders—benefits at the direct expense of depositors.
• Sidelining Public Health and Welfare: Although this case does not allege direct physical harm, every instance of alleged corporate misconduct can ripple out to social health. When families miss out on critical interest income, it can degrade their ability to handle emergencies, pay for healthcare, or invest in education. Over time, entire communities are affected if wages, returns on savings, and capital inflows fail to keep pace with corporate gains.

In short, the alleged wrongdoing strikes at the heart of corporate ethics: do large institutions owe a duty to treat existing customers equitably, or is it fair game to quietly migrate new customers to higher-yield products while older ones remain locked in outdated terms?

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The Human Toll on Workers and Communities

Though the Complaint focuses predominantly on the harm to depositors, the broader ramifications can extend beyond individual customers’ finances:

1. Everyday Workers: Often, the depositors impacted by low rates are working individuals trying to build a financial safety net. As the Complaint recounts, many “360 Savings” customers mistakenly believed they were in one of the highest-yielding products available. Deprived of billions in potential interest collectively, these workers might have been forced to take on part-time jobs, reduce spending on healthcare, or delay retirement plans, all to compensate for the missing growth in savings.
2. Community-Level Effects: When residents in a community lack spending power due to lower-than-promised returns, local economies can feel the pinch. Small businesses, especially in marginalized or lower-income areas, might see reduced foot traffic. Over time, compounding financial strain can dampen the vibrancy and sustainability of the neighborhoods, reinforcing wealth disparity.
3. Financial Confusion and Stress: The Complaint emphasizes how Capital One’s alleged strategy was to keep consumers in the dark. This can sow distrust and psychological stress, making consumers reluctant to bank or invest for fear of further deception. Combined with rising living costs, stagnant wages, and mounting debt, the sense of betrayal can fuel cynicism about the entire financial system.
4. Employees Caught in the Middle: Although the Complaint does not include a detailed account of employee testimonies, it highlights that Capital One employees were instructed not to proactively mention “360 Performance Savings” to existing “360 Savings” holders. Such policies can create tension within the workforce, who might be forced to withhold helpful information from customers, effectively becoming instruments of a policy they might personally see as unfair. This approach can erode morale and compromise workers’ sense of integrity.

This is where consumer protection lawsuits, like the CFPB’s, often take on a moral dimension that extends well beyond TISA or CFPA compliance. When a company’s marketing claims do not align with its internal interest-rate policies, entire groups—families, communities, and employees—feel the downstream effects.

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Global Trends in Corporate Accountability

From Wells Fargo’s fake accounts scandal to ongoing investigations into misleading green bonds at major banks worldwide, the global financial sector regularly grapples with scandals that erode public trust. The CFPB’s Complaint against Capital One fits into a broader mosaic of how late-stage capitalism fosters conditions for repeated wrongdoing:

• Deregulatory Momentum: Both in the U.S. and abroad, many financial institutions operate in environments where the impetus is to reduce regulatory “burdens” and allow market forces to chart their own course. Without robust oversight, banks can more readily design products that exploit consumer inertia or confusion.
• Increasing Wealth Disparity: Around the world, the gulf between top income earners and median households widens every year. Financial institutions that allegedly funnel billions away from local communities through questionable or deceptive mechanisms inadvertently accelerate these disparities.
• Gaps in Enforcement: Even well-meaning regulatory bodies face systemic constraints in staff, authority, or budgets. Internationally, those constraints vary. In many emerging markets, corruption or insufficient resources can cripple enforcement. In advanced economies, corporate lobbying heavily influences the shape and application of rules.
• Short Memories: Consumers sometimes have short memories, especially when overshadowed by other crises. Repeated scandal cycles can numb the public—leading to minimal backlash, short news cycles, and limited impetus for real reform. Banks, aware of these patterns, sometimes roll the dice that they can weather any reputational hits.

Taken together, the allegations in this lawsuit serve as a potent reminder that financial oversight remains a patchwork of partial solutions, and that the logic of profit over public good is globally entrenched. Systemic transformation—if it is to happen at all—requires more robust enforcement and a fundamental reshaping of how corporate accountability is conceived and pursued.

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Pathways for Reform and Consumer Advocacy

If the CFPB proves its allegations in court, the question then becomes: What do we do about it? How do we ensure that billions in lost interest returns to consumers and that the economic fallout from such alleged misconduct is minimized? Moreover, how can we stop similar patterns of deception from recurring under neoliberal capitalism?

1. Stricter Regulatory Oversight: Strengthening TISA and Regulation DD requirements could mandate that banks automatically migrate or notify existing customers whenever a materially identical product offers a significantly higher rate. Tighter rules around “unfair and deceptive” marketing could reduce the risk of banks using broad branding claims, like “best rates,” without ongoing evidence.
2. Increased Transparency: Banks could be compelled to provide a mandatory disclosure of all available deposit products—and their rates—on a single webpage for existing customers. Additionally, consumer regulators could require that any time a financial institution launches a new product in the same category, it must proactively communicate the change to existing account holders.
3. Penalties That Deter: If allegations are proven, the final settlement or judgment against Capital One should, ideally, exceed the “cost of doing business.” In other words, restitution plus significant penalties can create a real deterrent effect. Corporate accountability is most meaningful when financial repercussions outweigh the potential benefits of similar future misconduct.
4. Grassroots Consumer Advocacy: Outside of the courtroom, everyday people can hold banks accountable by collectively demanding better transparency. Efforts by consumer advocacy groups to educate depositors and compare interest rates across institutions can reduce the advantage banks gain from a lack of public awareness. Public campaigns might name and shame institutions that keep old account holders at lower rates.
5. Reimagining Corporate Structures: On a philosophical level, some call for limiting the power of shareholder returns in driving corporate decision-making. This more radical approach underlines that so long as profit maximization is the sole directive, large-scale deception or exploitation remains likely. An alternative might include mandatory representation of consumer or employee voices on corporate boards, or public banking initiatives that do not revolve around extracting maximum profits.

In all, the CFPB’s lawsuit, if successful, could yield critical reforms—from increased redress to new national standards of best practices. But reforms only matter when vigorously enforced. For them to be more than cosmetic changes, we need collective recognition that the current system rewards (and even incentivizes) the type of exploitative behavior alleged in the Complaint.

Quote #3:
“Meaningful reform demands more than apologies and settlements—it requires corporate accountability that hits where it hurts: executive bonuses and shareholder payouts.”

Conclusion

The allegations against Capital One paint a devastating picture of how seemingly mundane financial products—like savings accounts—can become vehicles of large-scale deception under the logic of late-stage capitalism. From concealing a new high-yield product to quietly freezing an old product’s interest rate and reaping billions in avoided payouts, the entire episode, if proven, offers a potent reminder of how consumers often serve as profit centers rather than genuine partners in financial growth.

In the end, the human toll—in lost savings, broken trust, and eroded financial security—outweighs any corporate justification. And that is the real story to share, a story that demands not just reflection but concrete action to ensure that such systemic corruption is confronted head-on:

It is high time the financial industry learned that when it comes to the welfare of everyday savers, evasive tactics and empty promises are more than a corporate embarrassment—they are a fundamental betrayal of the public trust.

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The CFPB has a press release about this: https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-sues-capital-one-for-cheating-consumers-out-of-more-than-2-billion-in-interest-payments-on-savings-accounts/

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