CA 16-4

July 13, 2016

TO THE OFFICERS AND MANAGERS IN CHARGE OF CONSUMER AFFAIRS 

SECTIONS:

Applicability to Community Banking Organizations: This guidance applies to all 

institutions supervised by the Federal Reserve, including those with total consolidated 

assets of $10 billion or less.

SUBJECT: Repeal of Regulation AA and Publication of Revised Examination 

Procedures for Section 5 of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Act

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank 

Act) repealed the Board’s authority to write rules that address unfair or deceptive acts or 

practices, which were contained in Regulation AA. Regulation AA included the Board’s 

"credit practices rule," which prohibited banks from using certain practices to enforce 

consumer credit obligations and from including these practices in their consumer credit 

contracts. The Dodd-Frank Act provides the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau 

separate authority to promulgate rules to identify and prohibit unfair, deceptive, or 

abusive acts or practices.

Consequently, the Board repealed Regulation AA.1

 This letter also serves as 

notice that the Board has retired the corresponding Regulation AA examination 

procedures (Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices: Credit Practices Rule). Supervised 

institutions are reminded that it is the Board’s view that the unfair or deceptive acts or 

practices described in its former credit practices rule could violate the prohibition against 

unfair or deceptive acts or practices in section 5 of the FTC Act and Title X of the DoddFrank Act, even in the absence of a specific regulation governing the conduct.2

 1 See 81 Fed. Reg. 8133 (Feb. 18, 2016), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2016-02-18/pdf/2016-

03228.pdf.

2 Refer to CA 14-5.
2

The Board is also publishing a revised version of the examination procedures for 

Section 5 of the FTC Act3 that reflects the repeal of Regulation AA. These examination 

procedures – including the incorporated March 11, 2004 joint statement issued with the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, which outlines the standards to be used in 

determining whether specific acts or practices by state-chartered banks are unfair or 

deceptive4 – are otherwise unchanged. 

If you have any questions, please contact Amal Patel, Senior Supervisory 

Consumer Financial Services Analyst, at (202) 912-7879, or Tim Robertson, Manager, at 

(202) 452-2565. In addition, questions may be sent via the Board’s public website.5

Sincerely, 

Carol A. Evans

Associate Director

Attachment:

• Revised Federal Reserve Examination Procedures for Section 5 of the FTC Act

Cross-references:

• CA 04-2 “Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices by State-Chartered Banks” 

(March 11, 2004)

• CA 14-5 “Interagency Guidance Regarding Unfair or Deceptive Credit Practices” 

(August 22, 2014)

Supersedes:

• CA 07-8 “Consumer Compliance Examination Procedures for the Unfair or 

Deceptive Acts or Practices Provisions of Section 5 of the Federal Trade 

Commission Act” (November 6, 2007)

 3 These examination procedures were originally issued under cover of CA 07-8.

4 The joint statement was originally issued as a standalone document under cover of CA 04-2.

5 See http://www.federalreserve.gov/apps/contactus/feedback.aspx.