Investor Alert: Kaplan Fox Announces Investigation Of Fifth Third Bancorp
NEW YORK, April 15, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP (www.kaplanfox.com) is investigating claims on behalf of investors of Fifth Third Bancorp ("Fifth Third" or the "Company") (NASDAQ: FITB). A complaint has been filed against the Company on behalf of investors that purchased Fifth Third securities between February 26, 2016 and March 6, 2020, inclusive (the "Class Period").
On March 2, 2020, Fifth Third filed an Annual Report on Form 10-K with the SEC, reporting the Company's financial and operating results for the quarter and year ended December 31, 2019 (the "2019 10-K"). According to the 2019 10-K, U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB") staff "notified Fifth Third that it intends to file an enforcement action in relation to alleged unauthorized account openings."
However, according to the complaint, the true scope of the Company's alleged wrongdoing, and potential liability with respect to unauthorized account openings, was left undisclosed in the 2019 10-K, and was actively downplayed by the Company, thereby causing the Company's stock price to continue to trade at artificially inflated prices throughout the remainder of the Class Period.
Then, on March 9, 2020, the CFPB announced that it had filed a lawsuit against Fifth Third Bank in federal court, disclosing significant additional information concerning its investigation into the Company that the Company had previously failed to disclose. Specifically, the CFPB "allege[d] that for several years," and until at least 2016, "Fifth Third [Bank], without consumers' knowledge or consent: opened deposit and credit-card accounts in consumers' names; transferred funds from consumers' existing accounts to new, improperly opened accounts; enrolled consumers in unauthorized online-banking services; and activated unauthorized lines of credit on consumers' accounts." The CFPB further alleged that, "despite knowing since at least 2008 that employees were opening unauthorized consumer-financial accounts, Fifth Third [Bank] took insufficient steps to detect and stop the conduct and to identify and remediate harmed consumers." Consequently, the CFPB concluded that Fifth Third Bank "violated the Consumer Financial Protection Act's prohibition against unfair and abusive acts or practices as well as the Truth in Lending Act and the Truth in Savings Act and their implementing regulations."
If you are a member of the proposed Class, you may move the court no later than June 8, 2020 to serve as a lead plaintiff for the purported class. You need not seek to become a lead plaintiff in order to share in any possible recovery. If you would like to discuss the complaint or our investigation, please contact us by emailing [email protected] or by calling 646-315-9003.
This press release may be considered Attorney Advertising in some jurisdictions under the applicable law and ethical rules.
Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, with offices in New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago and New Jersey, has many years of experience in prosecuting investor class actions. For more information about Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP, you may visit our website at www.kaplanfox.com. If you have any questions about this Notice, your rights, or your interests, please contact:
Donald R. Hall
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP
850 Third Avenue, 14th Floor
New York, New York 10022
(646) 315-9003
E-mail: [email protected]
Laurence D. King
KAPLAN FOX & KILSHEIMER LLP
1999 Harrison Street, Suite 1560
Oakland, California 94612
(415) 772-4704
Fax: (415) 772-4707
E-mail: [email protected]
SOURCE Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP
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