The government’s consumer watchdog on Tuesday sued Capital One for alleging “cheating” customers out of billions in interest payments. The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) accused the banking giant of freezing interest rates for its 360 Savings account at low levels as rates rose, despite promising the nation’s “best” and “highest” interest rates.  In 2019, Capital One created a separate “360 Performance Savings” account that paid significantly more interest than the 360 Savings. But Capital One obscured the new product to prevent customers from switching, the CFPB alleged, costing consumers more than $2 billion in interest payments. “The CFPB is suing Capital One for cheating families out of billions of dollars on their savings accounts,” said CFPB Director Rohit Chopra, a nominee of President Biden. “Banks should not be baiting people with promises they can’t live up to.” Capital One said in a statement that the 360 Performance Savings account was "marketed widely, including on national television." “We are deeply disappointed to see the CFPB continue its recent pattern of filing eleventh hour lawsuits ahead of a change in administration. We strongly disagree with their claims and will vigorously defend ourselves in court," Capital One said in a statement. Chopra is expected to be fired as CFPB director by President-elect Trump as soon as Inauguration Day. Between December 2020 and August 2024, the CFPB alleged Capital One kept the Savings 360 interest rate fixed at 0.3 percent. While interest rates were near zero during the pandemic, the Federal Reserve hiked rates to a 22-year high between March 2022 and July 2023, to a range of 5.25 to 5.5 percent. In August 2024, the 360 Performance Savings rate was more than 14 times higher than the Savings 360 rate, according to the CFPB. Capital One said it is "proud" of its 360 product offerings — and the rates they offer with no fees or minimums and accounts available in mere minutes.