Article Review Assignment
Breana Picchiottino
School of Business, Liberty University Online
BUS 201: Intermediate Business Computer Applications
Professor Angela Shearry-Sneed
March 3rd, 2025
Living in the modern age of technology, there is very little information that the average
individual does not have access to on their mobile device. As technology continues to make
advancements, most corporations have adapted their business models to include the use of
such technology to gather and store the data of their consumers. While the collection and
subsequent storage of such data from consumers may seemingly help with business operations
and convenience for the consumer, the potential for misuse at the hands of these corporations
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is a threat that must be discussed. This review will focus on a past precedent of corporate data
misuse and provide insights on the ethical dilemma and the biblical response.
In 2022, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a government agency empowered
by the Consumer Financial Protection Act, took action against U.S. Bank for illegally accessing
customer information and opening accounts without their permission (Consumer Financial
Protection Bureau, 2022). Such practices originally began due to pressure from the bank for its
employees to act as sales representatives with the products and services offered by the bank.
Ultimately, sales goals were added as part of the job requirement which lead to employees
unlawfully pulling stored client data and using it to open unauthorized accounts. The
investigation conducted by the CFPB found that such practices had been going on for over a
decade all while U.S. Bank was aware. Not only were they aware, but they actively continued to
implement sales campaigns that provided monetary compensation to employees for selling
bank products and failed to implement systems that would detect and delete unauthorized
accounts. The impact of such unethical behavior was widespread for the affected consumers
who had to deal with closing the unwanted accounts, negative impacts to their credit scores,
improperly charged fees, and the exploitation of their personal data. The judgement handed
down by the CFPB includes a fine of $37.5 million as well as retribution for the individuals who
were affected detailing refunds for the costs and fees including interest (Hrushka, 2022).
Having examined the past precedent of corporate misuse of data, it is crucial to go a step
further in unearthing the unethical behavior at play in this situation. Upon completion of their
investigation, the CFPB concluded that U.S. Bank was in direct violation of the “Consumer
Financial Protection Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth in Lending Act, and the Truth in
Savings Act” (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 2022). The report detailed these violations
in three main areas. First, the bank exploited the personal data of its clients without
authorization which violated the Fair Credit Reporting Act. Second, they opened accounts
without the permission of the client which violates the Consumer Financial Protection Act and
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the Truth in Lending Act. Lastly, they failed to provide clients with the appropriate disclosures
for the opening of the accounts - a violation of the Truth in Savings Act. Serving as the fifth
largest bank in the US, U.S. Bank has a responsibility to protect the data of its clients and ensure
that they are running operations in a manner that is integrous and maintains the trust of the
consumer. Although this sentiment would hold true for any corporation in which the consumer
entrusts their personal information, dealing specifically with an individual's finances and money
makes often requires an added layer of security and discreteness. Instead of prioritizing the
safety of the consumer in regards to their personal data, U.S. Bank prioritized profits and
created a work environment that encouraged unethical use of data at the consumer's expense.
Such private personal information should have never been used without the permission of the
client and U.S. Bank should have established safeguards to prevent and halt these practices.
Their failure to do so while being educated on the occurrence poses serious ethical concerns
that thanks to the investigation of the CFPB are finally being addressed.
Having reviewed the situation at hand, what biblical context can be appropriately
applied to unethical behavior demonstrated by U.S. Bank? I believe the first issue that must be
addressed is the pursuit of profits. 1 Timothy 6:10 notes that the love of money is the root of all
evil and when one is eager for money, they pierce themselves with many griefs (The New King
James Bible, 1982, 1 Tim. 6:10). While profit is not an inherently bad thing, especially when
operating a business, the desire for profit over obtaining it ethically creates problems as evident
in the provided example. The Bible cautions individuals to not love money and pursue it to such
an extent that morals are compromised as that approach will always lead to negative
consequences.
Furthermore, the issue of misuse regarding the consumer data is spoken to in Ephesians 4:28.
This verse instructs one to not steal but instead labor honestly with his own hands (The New
King James Bible, 1982, Eph. 4:28). Although originally entrusted with client data, U.S. Bank was
not given unlimited permission to use the data however they pleased and by illegally pulling the
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data to open unauthorized accounts they were stealing the personal information of their
clients. As outlined in Exodus 20:15, “You shall not steal” (The New King James Bible, 1982, Exo.
20:15). Instead of stealing client information, the bankers should have worked diligently to open
accounts in a truthful and legitimate manner. U.S. Bank should have also encouraged their
employees to meet such goals in a manner that proved beneficial to both the employees
careers and work ethic as well as the reputation of the bank. Ultimately, the conduct of U.S.
Bank could be cautioned against with one main verse - Leviticus 19:11 which notes, “You shall
not steal; you shall not deal falsely; you shall not lie to one another” (The New King James
Bible, 1982, Lev. 19:11). The Bible clearly speaks against operating a business in unethical ways.
Theft, deception, and fraudulent activities should always be looked down upon as ways to
advance as they will never bring to fruition genuine prosperity.
The temptation for corporations to abuse the data entrusted to them by their clients is
only growing with the use of technology and the need to compete. However, as evident through
the judgement against U.S. Bank, stealing and exploiting client data will never provide true
growth to a company. Unethical business practices are usually brought to light as actions always
have consequences. As per biblical guidance, corporations today should strive to operate
ethically and off the values of integrity and trust. Pursuing ethicality and valuing hard, honest
work over unethical shortcuts and misuse of data will help lead corporations to genuine success
and make for a better society,
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References
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. (2022, July 28). CFPB Fines U.S. Bank $37.5 Million for
Illegally Exploiting Personal Data to Open Sham Accounts for Unsuspecting
Customers. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-fines-us-bank-37-5-
millionfor-illegally-exploiting-personal-data-to-open-sham-accounts-for-
unsuspectingcustomers/
Hrushka, A. (2022, July 28). CFPB fines U.S. Bank $37.5M over customer data misuse. Banking
Dive. https://www.bankingdive.com/news/us-bank-fined-375m-personal-data-
fakeaccounts-CFPB/628365/
The New King James Bible. (1982). Thomas Nelson.
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