American Express announced Friday that several federal agencies are investigating their selling practices for credit and consumer cards for small businesses.
Company said in a regulatory filing that it received a grand jury subpoena from the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York in January for its selling practices for its small business credit cards.
It also received a Civil Investigative Demand from the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to obtain information about sales practices related to consumers, the filing said.
The company also said it began responding to a regulatory inquiry led by the Office of the Comptroller of Currency (OCC) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) in May about “ historical selling practices related to the sale of certain small business cards. ”
The company said it is “cooperating with all of these questions and continuing to improve our controls over our sales practices.”
“We do not believe this matter will have a material adverse effect on our business or the bottom line,” it added.
The DOJ had no comment and the CFPB said it would not comment on ongoing enforcement work, including confirming or denying pending cases.
The OCC did not immediately return a request for comment from The Hill.
The Wall Street Journal reported last month that several US financial institutions were investigating the company’s sales practices, citing people familiar with the matter. Those agencies were the OCC, along with Inspector General from the Treasury Department, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Reserve.
Multiple current and former employees previously told the paper that some sellers had tricked or armed small businesses into signing up for tickets to boost sales.
Updated: 9:30 PM