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USAA Federal Savings Bank is a unit of San Antonio-based financial giant USAA.
U.S. banking regulators have slapped USAA Federal Savings Bank with a poor evaluation for falling short on rules barring discriminatory and unlawful credit practices.
In an evaluation released Wednesday, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) said it found evidence that the San Antonio-based financial institution had racked up 6,477 violations of the Federal Trade Commission Act.
USAA Bank landed a rating of "Needs to Improve," the level above the OCC's lowest ranking: "Substantial Noncompliance."
In its report, OCC called out USAA Bank for failing to offer promised interest rate discounts on auto loans. Regulators also said bank officials hadn't improved its "compliance risk management performance" since the OCC conducted its last evaluation in 2018.
The Express-News first reported the story locally.
In a statement emailed to the Current, USAA Bank officials said the demerits in the OCC's review stem from a product the bank no longer offers. However, theydeclined to provide details on the scrapped product.
Bank officials also said the institution's overall performance on the OCC's review improved during its 2019-2021 rating period.
"Our specific performance ratings were High Satisfactory for the Lending and Service tests and Outstanding for the Investment test," the statement said. "We remain focused on serving USAA members with excellence and consistent with applicable laws and regulations."
This week's review marked the second consecutive failing grade for USAA Bank from the OCC on its compliance with the federal Community Reinvestment Act. The institution also landed a "Needs to Improve" in March 2019.
The bank is a unit of San Antonio-based USAA, which provides an array of financial services to military service members, veterans and their families. While USAA is frequently lauded in customer-service polls, the banking unit has faced fines from regulators in recent years.
In March 2022, thefederal Financial Crimes Enforcement Network hit USAA Bank with a $140 million fine, alleging it failed to adequately monitor for potential money-laundering activity.
The feds also penalized USAA Bank two other times since 2019 over alleged violations of banking laws.
In 2020, the OCC fined the institution $85 millionfor violations of federal rules that it said constituted a "pattern of misconduct." A year earlier,the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ordered the bank to pay a combined $15.5 million in penalties and restitutionover allegations that it skirted banking laws.
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