Bank of America (BAC) has announced it will end its longstanding practice of requiring customers to submit to binding arbitration for disputes of credit card and other lending, according to a report in The Wall Street Journal.

Customers can now take the banking giant to court to settle disputes, which could expose the bank to more risk as arbitration has generally favored the bank.  Bank of America is the first major bank to withdraw from the arbitration process, but the Journal reported that others, including Citigroup (C), are watching the move closely.  The bank will continue to require customers to submit to arbitration for its securities business.

The move is effective immediately.