The federal
financial institutions supervisory agencies today issued proposed regulations
that would give consumers the chance to "opt out" before a
financial institution uses information
provided by an affiliated company to market its products and services to the
consumer.
The proposed rulemaking would
implement the affiliate marketing provisions in section 214 of the Fair and
Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act), which adds a new section
624 to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA).
The proposal generally would prohibit an institution from using certain
information about a consumer it receives from an affiliate to make a
solicitation to the consumer unless
the consumer has been given notice and an opportunity to opt out of the
solicitation. An institution that has a pre-existing business
relationship with the consumer would not be subject to this marketing
limitation. Nothing in the new
affiliate marketing opt out supercedes or replaces the provisions in section
603 of the FCRA concerning the right to opt out of the sharing of information
among affiliates, although there is some overlap between the two opt out
requirements.
The
proposal is being issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration,
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of Thrift Supervision.
Comment on
the proposed rulemaking is requested within 30 days of its publication in the
Federal Register, which is expected shortly.
The Federal Register notice is attached.
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Attachment
Media Contacts:
Federal Reserve Susan
Stawick (202) 452-2955
FDIC Frank Gresock (202)
898-6634
NCUA Cherie Umbel (703) 518-6330
OCC Dean DeBuck (202)
874-5770
OTS Erin Hickman (202)
906-6677