To: All Member Banks and Others Concerned in the Third Federal Reserve District
Attention: Chief Executive Officer and Chief Compliance Officer
Subject: UNIFORM STANDARDS FOR DISCLOSURES UNDER CONSUMER PROTECTION REGULATIONS - REQUEST FOR COMMENT
Summary:
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has announced proposed rules to establish more uniform standards for providing disclosures under five consumer protection regulations: B (Equal Credit Opportunity) (163 KB, 7 pages); E (Electronic Fund Transfers) (174 KB, 8 pages);M (Consumer Leasing) (166 KB, 7 pages); Z(Truth in Lending) (300 KB, 19 pages); and DD(Truth in Savings) (163 KB, 7 pages).
Establishing a more uniform standard, and defining more specifically the standard for providing disclosures, is intended to help ensure that consumers receive noticeable and understandable information that is required by law in connection with obtaining consumer financial products and services. In addition, consistency among the regulations should facilitate compliance by institutions. Under most of the consumer financial services and fair lending laws administered by the Board, consumers must be provided with disclosures that are “clear and conspicuous.” This standard is currently defined using similar but not identical language in the various regulations. The proposed rules provide a more specific definition for “clear and conspicuous” and include examples of how to meet the standard.
The Board is also proposing additional amendments to Regulation Z and the staff commentary that interprets and implements the regulation. An interpretive rule of construction would be added to clarify that the word “amount” represents a numerical amount throughout Regulation Z. Proposed updates to the staff commentary provide guidance on consumers’ exercise of rescission rights for certain home-secured loans. The proposal also includes several technical revisions to the staff commentary.
Date: Comment on the proposed rules is requested by January 30, 2004.
For Further Information: Regarding Regulations Z and DD: Krista P. DeLargy and Elizabeth A. Eurgubian, Attorneys; regarding Regulation E: Daniel Lonergan, Counsel, and Ky Tran-Trong, Senior Attorney; regarding Regulation M: Jane E. Ahrens, Senior Counsel, and David A. Stein, Counsel; and regarding Regulation B: Minh-Duc Le, Senior Attorney, and David A. Stein, Counsel; Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at (202) 452-3667 or 452-2412. Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) users may contact 202/263-4869.