NEW YORK, May 30 (UPI) — Bank of America has been hit with a $30 million fine for violating the rights of accounts owned by U.S. military servicemembers, officials said.
The violations reportedly involve 73,000 different bank accounts belonging to the military members, the {link:New York Times reported: “https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/30/business/dealbook/bank-of-america-fined-for-violations-of-military-relief-law.html?_r=0″,nw}.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (O.C.C.) said {link:the bank violated the rights: “https://www.nasdaq.com/article/bank-of-america-to-pay-30-million-fix-violations-on-servicemembers-accounts-20150529-00938″,nw} of servicemembers and failed to ensure it was complying with a federal law designed to ease financial stresses on those in the military.
The law, known as the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, seeks to ease financial strain on servicemembers as a mode to help them cope with other stresses brought on by military service.
The law limits how much interest banks can charge on servicemembers’ accounts while they are deployed, and prevents banks from repossessing vehicles and foreclosing homes on soldiers without a court order.
