Fifth Third Beats Investor Suit Alleging Fake Accounts, for Now

Fifth Third Bancorp is free for now of investor accusations about a purported fake accounts scheme that drew CFPB attention, although the plaintiffs can try adding more facts, a federal judge in Illinois said in an opinion docketed Tuesday.

The Cincinnati-based bank’s investors accused it of not telling them about conduct that spurred a Consumer Financial Protection Bureau enforcement action and led to a stock drop. But they didn’t allege facts giving rise to a strong inference that Fifth Third or its executives intended to deceive them, the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois said.

The ...