The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency has terminated a consent order effectively freeing U.S. Bank from a regulatory action it inherited as part of its acquisition of MUFG Union Bank, according to American Banker.
The OCC issued the now-resolved consent order in September 2021, targeting MUFG Union for failing to meet federal information technology security guidelines, including its information security and operational risk controls. The order was issued just one day before U.S. Bank announced its $8 billion acquisition of Union Bank from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.
U.S. Bank “evaluated and incorporated these regulatory concerns into all aspects of the deal process,” the bank said in a statement in September 2021. “The company believes it can successfully remediate the issues applicable to MUFG Union Bank in connection with the transaction, and that the order will not restrict U.S. Bancorp’s ability to operate and grow its business as planned.”
The bank's sale was finalized in December 2022, roughly six months after initially expected.
The OCC gave conditional approval to the merger, noting the deal might have a positive impact on financial stability, including applying U.S. Bank’s stronger enterprise government framework to MUFG Union.
The integration of MUFG Union Bank's operations wrapped up last summer,according to American Banker.
The consent order termination comes almost nine months after U.S. Bank agreed to pay $15 million to the OCC to settle allegations that MUFG Union deceived customers about fee discounts and waivers tied to its private bank program and safe deposit box rentals. Additionally, the lender failed to waive monthly fees associated with mortgages at the bank, though it claimed to do so.
MUFG Union self-identified the violations and will reimburse the affected customers, the OCC said.
“The impacted customers and accounts were remediated by Union Bank. We look forward to serving the needs of all our customers now that we have successfully converted Union Bank customers to U.S. Bank,” the lender told Banking Dive in a statement in June.
