A lawsuit accusing Fifth Third Bank of misleading customers about the true cost of its Early Access loans has been granted class-action status by a federal judge in Cincinnati.
The Early Access program allows Fifth Third's personal checking customers to take out short-term loans against their next direct deposit, according to the bank.
The lawsuit, first filed in 2012, accuses the downtown Cincinnati-based lender of violating the Truth in Lending Act by deceiving customers about the annual percentage rate they would pay on the loans.
The annual percentage rate can be 15 times higher than what Fifth Third claims, according to the lawsuit, originally filed on behalf of two borrowers.
The class-action certification granted on March 26 by U.S. District Judge Michael Barrett would allow hundreds of thousands of Fifth Third customers who took out Early Access loans prior to May 1, 2013 to sign onto the lawsuit.
As a result, the lawsuit could cost the bank hundreds of millions of dollars.
Fifth Third declined to comment on the lawsuit.
"While we cannot comment on the pending litigation, Fifth Third's commitment is to put our customers first'' the company said in a statement to The Enquirer.
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