Open Meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the States of Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, W. Virginia and the District of Columbia), 8427-8428 [05-3219]

Download as PDF Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 33 / Friday, February 18, 2005 / Notices Mendocino Coast Ry., Inc.—Lease and Operate, 360 I.C.C. 653 (1980). This notice is filed under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(7). If it contains false or misleading information, the exemption is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d) may be filed at any time. The filing of a petition to revoke will not automatically stay the transaction. An original and 10 copies of all pleadings, referring to STB Finance Docket No. 34659, must be filed with the Surface Transportation Board, 1925 K Street, NW., Washington, DC 20423– 0001. In addition, a copy of each pleading must be served on RoseMichele Weinryb, Weiner Brodsky Sidman Kider PC, Fifth Floor, 1300 19th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20036– 1609. Board decisions and notices are available on our Web site at https:// www.stb.dot.gov. Decided: February 11, 2005. By the Board, David M. Konschnik, Director, Office of Proceedings. Vernon A. Williams, Secretary. [FR Doc. 05–3170 Filed 2–17–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4915–01–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service Open Meeting of the Joint Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: An open meeting of the Joint Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted via teleconference. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. DATES: The meeting will be held Wednesday, March 16, 2005, at 1 p.m., Eastern Time. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Barbara Toy at 1–888–912–1227, or 414–297–1611. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988) that an open meeting of the Joint Committee of the Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (TAP) will be held Wednesday, March 16, 2005, at 1 p.m. Eastern time via a telephone conference call. If you would like to have the Joint Committee VerDate jul<14>2003 15:41 Feb 17, 2005 Jkt 205001 of TAP consider a written statement, please call 1–888–912–1227 or 414– 297–1611, or write Barbara Toy, TAP Office, MS–1006–MIL, 310 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203–2221, or FAX to 414–297–1623, or you can contact us at https:// www.improveirs.org. Due to limited conference lines, notification of intent to participate in the telephone conference call meeting must be made with Barbara Toy. Ms. Toy can be reached at 1–888–912–1227 or 414– 297–1611, or by FAX at 414–297–1623. The agenda will include the following: monthly committee summary report, discussion of issues brought to the joint committee, office report, and discussion of next meeting. 8427 because we are always interested in community input, we will accept public comments. Please contact Mary Ann Delzer at 1–888–912–1227 or (414) 297– 1604 for additional information. The agenda will include the following: Various IRS issues. Dated: February 14, 2005. Bernard Coston, Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. [FR Doc. 05–3218 Filed 2–17–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4830–01–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Internal Revenue Service BILLING CODE 4830–01–P Open Meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the States of Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, W. Virginia and the District of Columbia) DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury. Internal Revenue Service ACTION: Notice. Open Meeting of the Area 5 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the States of Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and Texas) SUMMARY: An open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted (via teleconference). The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. Dated: February 14, 2005. Bernard Coston, Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. [FR Doc. 05–3217 Filed 2–17–05; 8:45 am] AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Treasury. ACTION: Notice. SUMMARY: An open meeting of the Area 5 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be conducted. The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is soliciting public comment, ideas, and suggestions on improving customer service at the Internal Revenue Service. DATES: The meeting will be held Monday, March 14, 2005, at 2 p.m. Central Time. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mary Ann Delzer at 1–888–912–1227, or (414) 297–1604. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988) that a meeting of the Area 5 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be held Monday, March 14, 2005, at 2 p.m. Central Time via a telephone conference call. You can submit written comments to the panel by faxing to (414) 297–1623, or by mail to Taxpayer Advocacy Panel, Stop1006MIL, 310 West Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI 53203–2221, or you can contact us at https:// www.improveirs.org. This meeting is not required to be open to the public, but PO 00000 Frm 00091 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 DATES: The meeting will be held Tuesday, March 15, 2005, from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. e.t. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Inez E. De Jesus at 1–888–912–1227, or 954– 423–7977. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988) that an open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be held Tuesday, March 15, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET via a telephone conference call. If you would like to have the TAP consider a written statement, please call 1–888–912–1227 or 954–423–7977, or write Inez E. De Jesus, TAP Office, 1000 South Pine Island Rd., Suite 340, Plantation, FL 33324. Due to limited conference lines, notification of intent to participate in the telephone conference call meeting must be made with Inez E. De Jesus. Ms. De Jesus can be reached at 1–888–912–1227 or 954– 423–7977, or post comments to the Web site: https://www.improveirs.org. The agenda will include the following: Various IRS issues. E:\FR\FM\18FEN1.SGM 18FEN1 8428 Federal Register / Vol. 70, No. 33 / Friday, February 18, 2005 / Notices Dated: February 14, 2005. Martha Curry, Acting Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel. [FR Doc. 05–3219 Filed 2–17–05; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4830–01–P DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY Office of Thrift Supervision [No. 2005–05] Guidance on Overdraft Protection Programs AGENCY: Office of Thrift Supervision, Treasury (OTS). ACTION: Final guidance. SUMMARY: OTS is issuing this final Guidance on Overdraft Protection Programs (Guidance). This Guidance is intended to assist savings associations in the responsible disclosure and administration of overdraft protection services. DATES: This Guidance is effective February 18, 2005. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Maurice McClung, Program Manager, Market Conduct, Thrift Policy, (202) 906–6182; Richard Bennett, Counsel, Regulations and Legislation Division, (202) 906–7409, Office of Thrift Supervision, 1700 G Street, NW., Washington, DC 20552. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background OTS has developed this final Guidance after careful consideration of comments received on the proposed Interagency Guidance on Overdraft Protection Programs, 69 FR 31858 (June 7, 2004) (proposed guidance) issued by the Federal Financial Institution Examination Council (FFIEC) agencies, i.e., the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA). It addresses a service offered by insured depository institutions commonly referred to as ‘‘bounced-check protection’’ or ‘‘overdraft protection.’’ This service is sometimes offered to transaction account customers as an alternative to traditional ways of covering overdrafts (e.g., overdraft lines of credit or linked accounts). While both the availability and customer acceptance of these overdraft protection services have increased, aspects of the marketing, disclosure, and implementation of some of these programs have raised concerns for OTS. VerDate jul<14>2003 15:41 Feb 17, 2005 Jkt 205001 The proposed guidance identified the historical and traditional approaches to providing consumers with protection against account overdrafts and contrasted these approaches with the more recent overdraft protection programs that are marketed to consumers. The Agencies also identified some of the existing and potential concerns surrounding the offering and administration of such overdraft protection programs that have been identified by Federal and State bank regulatory agencies, consumer groups, financial institutions, and their trade representatives. In response to these concerns, the Agencies provided proposed guidance in three primary sections: Safety and Soundness Considerations, Legal Risks, and Best Practices. In the section on Safety and Soundness Considerations, the Agencies wanted to ensure that financial institutions offering overdraft protection services adopt adequate policies and procedures to address the risks associated with these services. The Legal Risks section of the proposed guidance outlined several federal consumer compliance laws, generally alerted institutions offering overdraft protection services of the need to comply with all applicable Federal and State laws, and advised institutions to have their overdraft protection programs reviewed by legal counsel to ensure overall compliance prior to implementation. Finally, the proposed guidance set forth Best Practices that serve as positive examples of practices that are currently observed in, or recommended by, the industry. Broadly, these Best Practices address the marketing and communications that accompany the offering of overdraft protection services, as well as the disclosure and operation, of program features. The Agencies received a total of over 320 comment letters in response to the proposed guidance. Comment letters were received from depository institutions, trade associations, vendors offering overdraft protection products, and other industry representatives, as well as government officials, consumer and community groups, and individual consumers. II. Overview of Public Comments The Agencies received comments that addressed broad aspects of the proposed guidance, as well as its specific provisions. Many industry commenters, for instance, were concerned about the overall scope of the proposed guidance and whether it would apply to financial institutions that do not offer bounce protection programs but do cover the PO 00000 Frm 00092 Fmt 4703 Sfmt 4703 occasional overdraft on a case-by-case basis. Commenters also addressed the three specific sections of the proposed guidance. In regard to the Safety and Soundness section, for example, many industry commenters suggested extending the charge-off period from 30 days to either 45 or 60 days because they believed a longer charge-off period would provide consumers with more time to repay overdrafts and avoid being reported to credit bureaus as delinquent on their accounts. Comments were also received addressing technical reporting and accounting issues. The Agencies received numerous comments regarding the Legal Risks section, particularly the Truth in Lending Act (TILA) and Equal Credit Opportunity Act (ECOA) discussions. For instance, many consumers and consumer group comments stated that overdraft protection should be considered credit covered by TILA’s disclosures and other required protections. They likened the product to payday lending, which is covered by TILA. Many industry commenters argued against the coverage of overdraft programs by TILA and the Board’s Regulation Z, and urged that the payment of overdrafts does not involve credit and finance charges requiring the disclosures and protections afforded by this body of law. Lastly, many commenters offered specific criticisms or recommended edits with respect to particular Best Practices identified in the proposal. Several industry commenters sought general clarification of whether examiners would treat the Best Practices as law or rules when examining institutions offering overdraft protection services. III. Final Guidance This final Guidance incorporates changes made by OTS to provide clarity and address many commenter concerns. Language has been added to clarify the scope of the Guidance. The Safety and Soundness section expressly states that it applies to all methods of covering overdrafts. The introduction to the Best Practices section clarifies that while OTS is concerned about promoted overdraft protection programs, the Best Practices may also be useful for other methods of covering overdrafts. In response to the comments regarding the Safety and Soundness section, OTS now indicates that overdraft balances, including uncollected fees, should generally be written off when considered uncollectible, but no later than 60 days from the date first overdrawn. This OTS E:\FR\FM\18FEN1.SGM 18FEN1

Agencies

[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 33 (Friday, February 18, 2005)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8427-8428]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-3219]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY

Internal Revenue Service


Open Meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel (Including the 
States of Delaware, North Carolina, South Carolina, New Jersey, 
Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia, W. Virginia and the District of 
Columbia)

AGENCY: Internal Revenue Service (IRS), Treasury.

ACTION: Notice.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: An open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be 
conducted (via teleconference). The Taxpayer Advocacy Panel is 
soliciting public comments, ideas, and suggestions on improving 
customer service at the Internal Revenue Service.

DATES: The meeting will be held Tuesday, March 15, 2005, from 1:30 p.m. 
to 3 p.m. e.t.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Inez E. De Jesus at 1-888-912-1227, or 
954-423-7977.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Notice is hereby given pursuant to section 
10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App. (1988) 
that an open meeting of the Area 2 Taxpayer Advocacy Panel will be held 
Tuesday, March 15, 2005 from 1:30 p.m. to 3 p.m. ET via a telephone 
conference call. If you would like to have the TAP consider a written 
statement, please call 1-888-912-1227 or 954-423-7977, or write Inez E. 
De Jesus, TAP Office, 1000 South Pine Island Rd., Suite 340, 
Plantation, FL 33324. Due to limited conference lines, notification of 
intent to participate in the telephone conference call meeting must be 
made with Inez E. De Jesus. Ms. De Jesus can be reached at 1-888-912-
1227 or 954-423-7977, or post comments to the Web site: https://
www.improveirs.org.
    The agenda will include the following: Various IRS issues.


[[Page 8428]]


    Dated: February 14, 2005.
Martha Curry,
Acting Director, Taxpayer Advocacy Panel.
[FR Doc. 05-3219 Filed 2-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4830-01-P
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.