recent YORK — A U.S. watchdog is suing pool One for allegedly misleading consumers about its offerings for high-gain reserves accounts — and “cheating” customers out of more than $2 billion in lost gain payments as a outcome.
In a complaint filed Tuesday, the buyer monetary Protection Bureau took aim at pool One’s promises and handling of its “360 reserves” accounts. Despite promoting 360 reserves as an account that provides one of country’s highest gain rates, the CFPB alleges that pool One froze its rate at a low level for at least several years, even as rates rose nationally.
At the same period, the CFPB adds, the lender created “360 act reserves,” which saw a much higher rate develop. But the agency says that pool One did not notify 360 reserves accountholders about this recent offering and “instead worked to keep them in the dim” — alleging that the business marketed the products similarly to obscure their distinction and forbade employees “from proactively telling” those with 360 reserves accounts about 360 act reserves.
These actions cruel pool One “illegally avoided paying billions in gain to millions of consumers,” the CFPB wrote in its Tuesday complaint. The agency says it’s seeking to impose civil penalties and provide monetary relief to those impacted.
“Banks should not be baiting people with promises they can’t live up to,” CFPB Director Rohit Chopra said in a prepared statement.
In response, pool One said that it strongly disagreed with the CFPB’s allegations and plans to “vigorously defend” itself in court. The banking giant added that it was “deeply disappointed to view the CFPB continue its recent pattern of filing eleventh-hour lawsuits ahead of a transformation in administration.”
pool One also maintained that all of its 360 banking products “propose great rates” — and have “always been available in just minutes to all recent and existing customers without any of the usual industry restrictions.”
According to disclosures on the pool One’s website, 360 reserves accounts currently carry an gain rate of just under 0.50%. 360 act reserves accounts have an gain rate of about 3.74%.
That means the rate for 360 act reserves is nearly 7.5 times higher than that of 360 reserves today. But the CFPB says they’ve been farther apart in the history. In July 2024, the agency notes in Tuesday’s complaint, the 360 act reserves rate was more than 14 times that of 360 reserves.
The CFPB alleges that pool One kept the rate for its 360 reserves accounts at 0.30% between December 2020 through at least August 2024. The rate for 360 act reserves, by contrast, climbed from 0.40% in April 2022 to as high as 4.35% at the commence of 2024 — falling slightly to 4.25% by August, the agency noted Tuesday.
The CFPB’s complaint against pool One comes less than one week before the Jan. 20 inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump. Despite the transformation in administration, some declare this litigation could still survive. Analyst commentary from TD Cowen on Tuesday noted that the CFPB still brought enforcement actions under Trump’s first term, for example, although such litigation may also be easier to settle under the incoming administration.
