Federal Reserve System – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Board is inviting the public to nominate qualified individuals for appointment to its Consumer Advisory Council, whose membership represents interests of consumers, communities, and the financial services industry. New members will be selected for three- year terms that will begin in January 2009. The Board expects to announce the selection of new members in early January.

Background. On June 15, 1984, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) delegated to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) its approval authority under the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), as per 5 CFR 1320.16, to approve of and assign OMB control numbers to collection of information requests and requirements conducted or sponsored by the Board under conditions set forth in 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1. Board-approved collections of information are incorporated into the official OMB inventory of currently approved collections of information. Copies of the Paperwork Reduction Act Submission, supporting statements and approved collection of information instruments are placed into OMB's public docket files. The Federal Reserve may not conduct or sponsor, and the respondent is not required to respond to, an information collection that has been extended, revised, or implemented on or after October 1, 1995, unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number.

The Agencies are publishing four documents that set forth Illustrations of Consumer Information for Hybrid Adjustable Rate Mortgage Products. The illustrations are intended to assist institutions in implementing the consumer protection portion of the Interagency Statement on Subprime Mortgage Lending adopted on July 10, 2007, and in providing information to consumers on hybrid adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) products as recommended by that interagency statement. The illustrations are not model forms and institutions may choose not to use them.

The Board and the Commission are publishing for comment proposed rules to implement the risk-based pricing provisions in section 311 of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), which amends the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The proposed rules generally require a creditor to provide a risk-based pricing notice to a consumer when the creditor uses a consumer report to grant or extend credit to the consumer on material terms that are materially less favorable than the most favorable terms available to a substantial proportion of consumers from or through that creditor. The proposed rules also provide for two alternative means by which creditors can determine when they are offering credit on material terms that are materially less favorable. The proposed rules also include certain exceptions to the general rule, including exceptions for creditors that provide a consumer with a disclosure of the consumer's credit score in conjunction with additional information that provides context for the credit score disclosure.

The Federal Reserve Board (Board) proposes to amend Regulation DD, which implements the Truth in Savings Act, and the staff commentary to the regulation, to provide additional disclosures about account terms and costs associated with overdrafts. The proposed amendments would set forth content and timing requirements for a notice to consumers about any right to opt out of an institution's overdraft service. Requirements for disclosing overdraft fees on periodic statements would be expanded to apply to all institutions and not solely to institutions that promote the payment of overdrafts. The proposed amendments also address balance disclosures provided in response to balance inquiries from consumers.