Commerce Bank to Pay $18.3M to Settle Overdraft Suit

Commerce Bancshares Inc.'s banking unit has agreed to pay $18.3 million to settle a class action involving overdraft fees.

A complaint filed in December 2010 alleged that Commerce Bank improperly charged overdraft fees on certain debit card transactions, the $20.5 billion-asset company said Friday in a regulatory filing. The Kansas City, Mo., company did not admit any wrongdoing and said it agreed to the settlement in order to resolve the case and avoid further expense.

The settlement still must be approved by the court.

The case was originally filed in a U.S. district court in Missouri but was transferred to federal court in Miami where it became part of a proceeding involving about 30 banks. The complaint alleged that the banks manipulated the order in which customers' debit card payments were processed as to maximize the fees the companies charged.

Earlier this year Bank of America Corp. agreed to pay $410 million to settle similar claims.