Associated Bank in Green Bay, Wis., has agreed to pay $13 million to exit a class-action lawsuit that accuses it and other banks of processing debit card transactions in a manner that maximized fees from overdrafts.
The $21.6 billion-asset unit of Associated Banc-Corp said in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Monday that the settlement will free it from all claims related to the multidistrict suit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida.
Initially filed in Wisconsin federal court in 2010, the suit accused Associated of intentionally manipulating the order in which it processed debit transactions in a way that triggered more overdrafts and, in turn, more profits. The suit was later consolidated into a class action involving some roughly 30 banks.
Associated is at least the fourth bank to reach a settlement in the case. In October, Union Bank in San Francisco and Iberiabank Corp. in Lafayette, La., agreed to pay $35 million and $2.5 million, respectively, to exit the class action, and earlier this year Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay roughly $400 million to settle claims against it.
Associated said in Monday's SEC filing that it had already set aside funds relating to the lawsuit and that the $13 million settlement would not have a material impact on its year-end financial results.
Associated's shares were trading at $9.84 late Tuesday, down about 1% from Monday's close.
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