The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau denied Bank of America Corp.'s request to dismiss an inquiry into its practices regarding the opening of customer accounts.
The regulator issued a civil investigative demand in March that contained four interrogatories, six requests for documents and a request for a written report.
Director Kathy Kraninger rejected the banking giant's argument that the inquiry should be dismissed because it has already submitted sufficient evidence that it did not open accounts without customers' consent.
Kraninger also rejected BofA's arguments that the civil investigative demand is burdensome, saying the company did not specify how so. She also noted that BofA did not "meaningfully engage" in the meet-and-confer process to raise its concerns regarding the demand.
"Even if BAC had meaningfully engaged in the meet-and-confer process, it has not established that the CID should be set aside or modified on the basis of burden," Kraninger said.
The CFPB chief also rejected BofA's request to limit information requests to no earlier than March 1, 2014, and for the document requests to be dismissed. She also rejected the bank's request to give confidential treatment to the petition.
The unauthorized opening of customer accounts was one of the most notable scandals Wells Fargo & Co. was involved in. It resulted in the Federal Reserve prohibiting the company from growing beyond 2017-end levels.
