Bank of America $410 Million Overdraft Fee Accord Approved

Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the largest U.S. lender by assets, won preliminary court approval for a $410 million settlement with consumers who claimed the bank illegally charged excessive overdraft fees.

U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King in Miami today tentatively approved the accord between about 1 million account holders and the bank, according to minutes from a hearing posted on the court’s website. A final approval hearing is set for November. The judge will award plaintiff attorneys’ fees from the $410 million fund, said one of the lead lawyers for the consumers, Jeremy Alters.

Anne Pace, a spokeswoman for Charlotte, North Carolina- based Bank of America, said the bank already has made changes to its overdraft policies, including the elimination of overdraft fees for debit card transactions and reduced fees for customers who overdraw their accounts.

“We’re pleased to reach a fair resolution to this matter,’’ she said.

Institutions including Citigroup Inc., JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Wells Fargo & Co. were named in related lawsuits. Today’s settlement is only with Bank of America. Bank of America didn’t admit any liability in the cases, Alters said.

The case is In Re Checking Account Overdraft Litigation, 09-02036, U.S. District Court, Southern District of Florida (Miami).

To contact the reporter on this story: Laurence Viele Davidson in Atlanta at lviele@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net