CFPB · Mid-pack CFPB posture
Sterling Bancorp
212 CFPB complaints · 20 states · top issue Managing an account.
Sterling Bancorp has 212 consumer complaints in the CFPB public database. Timely response is 96.2%; 5.7% closed with relief; top product Checking or savings account. Allegations, not regulatory findings.
- Mid-pack CFPB posture
- -85.7% filings 2017 to 2026
CFPB relief outcome brief
CCDB company sterling-bancorp
5.7% relief · 96.2% timely · 212 filings · Checking or savings account
Same-product relief peers
Nearest relief peer: Customers Bancorp, Inc (5.7% relief)
Sterling Bancorp closes 5.7% with relief, above the 1.3% industry median among companies with ≥10 complaints. How CFPB response codes work →
How 212 complaints split on narrative text
CFPB records optionally include a consumer narrative. These two counts add to this company's total filings, volume of text present, not a finding about severity.
CFPB benchmark: response within 15 calendar days of filing.
Share closed with monetary or non-monetary relief.
Sterling Bancorp complaint mix by product
- Checking or 104 49.3% – 11% relief
- Mortgage 90 42.7% – 1% relief
- Debt collection 4 1.9% – 0% relief
- Credit reporting, 4 1.9% – 0% relief
- Money transfer, 4 1.9% – 0% relief
- Payday loan, 3 1.4% – 0% relief
- Credit reporting 2 0.9% – 0% relief
How Sterling Bancorp's 212 complaints split across CFPB product categories. Resolution rate badge = % closed with monetary or non-monetary relief.
Complaints by Product
| Product | Complaints |
|---|---|
| Checking or savings account | 104 |
| Mortgage | 90 |
| Debt collection | 4 |
| Credit reporting, credit repair services, or other personal consumer reports | 4 |
| Money transfer, virtual currency, or money service | 4 |
| Payday loan, title loan, or personal loan | 3 |
| Credit reporting or other personal consumer reports | 2 |
| Credit card or prepaid card | 1 |
Concentrated filing states for Sterling Bancorp
Top states by attributed CFPB complaint volume for this company
- Leading state
- NY
- 64.6% of this company's filings
Sterling Bancorp falling annual filings
Annual filing volume from the CFPB public database
- 2026
- 2
- -85.7% vs 2017
Top States
| State | Complaints |
|---|---|
| NY | 137 |
| CA | 9 |
| NJ | 8 |
| IL | 6 |
| VA | 6 |
| FL | 6 |
| TX | 3 |
| MA | 3 |
| CT | 3 |
| GA | 3 |
| MD | 2 |
| WA | 2 |
| NV | 1 |
| SC | 1 |
| MO | 1 |
| MI | 1 |
| DC | 1 |
| OR | 1 |
| NC | 1 |
| OH | 1 |
Top Issues
| Issue | Complaints |
|---|---|
| Managing an account | 79 |
| Trouble during payment process | 49 |
| Struggling to pay mortgage | 22 |
| Closing on a mortgage | 11 |
| Closing an account | 11 |
| Problem with a lender or other company charging your account | 8 |
| Applying for a mortgage or refinancing an existing mortgage | 7 |
| Incorrect information on your report | 4 |
| Opening an account | 4 |
| Attempts to collect debt not owed | 3 |
| Improper use of your report | 2 |
| Problem caused by your funds being low | 2 |
| Money was not available when promised | 2 |
| Credit limit changed | 1 |
| Managing, opening, or closing your mobile wallet account | 1 |
| Took or threatened to take negative or legal action | 1 |
| Problem with additional add-on products or services | 1 |
| Charged fees or interest you didn't expect | 1 |
| Problem with a company's investigation into an existing issue | 1 |
| Fraud or scam | 1 |
Yearly Trend
| Year | Complaints | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 14 | 100% |
| 2018 | 44 | 100% |
| 2019 | 40 | 100% |
| 2020 | 56 | 100% |
| 2021 | 51 | 94.1% |
| 2022 | 2 | 100% |
| 2023 | 1 | 0% |
| 2024 | 2 | 0% |
| 2026 | 2 | 0% |
Source: CFPB Consumer Complaint Database
What the CFPB record shows about Sterling Bancorp
Sterling Bancorp's 212 logged complaints stay concentrated: only 20 states show a filing. Only 25.9% of filings carry a written consumer narrative, so most of this record is coded categories rather than verbatim complaint text. Records run from 2017 through 2026-05-29.
Sterling Bancorp answers 96.2% of complaints inside the CFPB's tracked window and closes 92% with a written explanation. 5.7% end in monetary or non-monetary relief for the consumer. Consumers disputed just 0% of responses after the company replied. "Checking or savings account" draws the most filings, most often for "Managing an account."
A complaint is a consumer-reported allegation, not proven wrongdoing. See the disclaimer below for how volume relates to company size, and cross-check against the CFPB Consumer Complaint Database directly before drawing conclusions about Sterling Bancorp.
Compare beyond geography
Nationwide peers by volume & timely response
Two PlainComplaint-derived comparison paths for Sterling Bancorp: nearest filing volume and nearest CFPB timely-response rate among companies with at least 100 logged complaints. State breakdowns above stay geographic; these neighborhoods vary by metric.
Similar filing volume
Nearest companies by total CFPB complaints. This record: 212.
Similar timely response rate
Nearest companies by CFPB 15-day timely-response %. This record: 96.2%.
Disclaimer: This data is from CFPB public records. PlainComplaint does not provide financial advice. A complaint does not indicate that a company has violated any law or regulation. Complaint volumes are influenced by company size, customer base, and market presence. Use this data as one of many inputs when evaluating a company.
Data sourced from official public datasets for Sterling Bancorp (96.2% timely; 5.7% relief). methodology.
Retrieved and formatted by PlainComplaint · vintage June 2026 · Mid-pack CFPB posture