First Community Bankshares in Bluefield, Va., will settle a lawsuit tied to its overdraft practices.
The $3.2 billion-asset company disclosed in a regulatory filing that its bank plans to create a $4.8 million settlement fund and forgive up to $500,000 in assessed but unpaid fees.
The lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia in June 2022, alleges that the bank breached deposit account agreements and was unjustly enriched by collecting overdraft fees with respect to certain debit card transactions.
The bank, which had already set aside $3 million as an estimated liability tied to the case, was also accused of assessing more than one nonsufficient funds fee on items presented multiple times for payment.
First Community neither admitted or denied wrongdoing as part of the settlement, which it agreed to “in order to resolve the litigation and avoid further expense.”