Federal Reserve System June 14, 2007 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board proposes to amend Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act (TILA), and the staff commentary to the regulation, following a comprehensive review of TILA's rules for open- end (revolving) credit that is not home-secured. The proposed revisions take into consideration comments from the public on an initial advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) published in December 2004 on a variety of issues relating to the format and content of open-end credit disclosures and the substantive protections provided under the regulation. The proposal also considers comments received on a second ANPR published in October 2005 that addressed several amendments to TILA's open-end credit rules contained in the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act of 2005. Consumer testing was conducted as a part of the review. Except as otherwise noted, the proposed changes apply solely to open-end credit. Disclosures accompanying credit card applications and solicitations would highlight fees and reasons penalty rates might be applied, such as for paying late. Creditors would be required to summarize key terms at account opening and when terms are changed. The proposal would identify specific fees that must be disclosed to consumers in writing before an account is opened, and give creditors flexibility regarding how and when to disclose other fees imposed as part of the open-end plan. Periodic statements would break out costs for interest and fees. Two alternatives are proposed dealing with the ``effective'' or ``historical'' annual percentage rate disclosed on periodic statements. Rules of general applicability such as the definition of open-end credit and dispute resolution procedures would apply to all open-end plans, including home-equity lines of credit. Rules regarding the disclosure of debt cancellation and debt suspension agreements would be revised for both closed-end and open-end credit transactions. Loans taken against employer-sponsored retirement plans would be exempt from TILA coverage.