Bank of America accused of opening credit cards without customer consent

Bank of America has been ordered to pay out $150m (£116m) after it was found to have opened credit cards without customers' permission.

Regulators also discovered the bank "double-dipped" fees from customers and withheld promised reward bonuses.

The violations at the US's second largest bank affect hundreds of thousands of customers and date back to 2012 in some cases, said regulators.

Bank of America has not admitted or denied the investigation's findings.

The bank has been ordered to refund customers and pay a total of $150m in penalties to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

Customer refunds are expected to be worth more than $80m, the CFPB said.

The regulator said Bank of America illegally applied for and enrolled consumers in credit card accounts without their knowledge or authorisation to help bank employees reach sales incentive goals.

Customers were charged unjustified fees and "suffered negative effects to their credit profiles", said the CFPB.

Bank of America is also accused of double-dipping fees that were charged when a customer had insufficient funds in their account.

People were charged $35 when a transaction was declined. But Bank of America allowed fees to be repeatedly charged for the same transaction.

The lender said it has since ended charging the $35 fee for insufficient funds and reduced overdraft fees.

Rohit Chopra, director at the CFPB, said: "Bank of America wrongfully withheld credit card rewards, double-dipped on fees, and opened accounts without consent.

"These practices are illegal and undermine customer trust. The CFPB will be putting an end to these practices across the banking system."