Kelly McNamara Corley, general counsel at the operator of the Discover and Pulse interbank networks, is to be monitored by the company’s board of directors and an independent auditor as she implements revisions jointly imposed by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

Refunds and penalties

According to a report in Corporate Counsel magazine, under the settlement the regulators also require the company – whose Discover card is the third largest credit card brand in the US -- to refund $200 million to some 3.5m cardholders, as well as paying $14m in civil penalties.
According to the report, the regulators ordered the company’s board to ‘participate fully in the oversight of Discover’s compliance management system, and take full responsibility for ensuring that appropriate policies and procedures are in place’.
Ms McNamara Corley declined to comment on the situation, instead referring to a statement from chief executive David Nelms: ‘We have worked hard to earn the loyalty of our card members, and we are committed to marketing our products responsibly.’