```

[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 74 (Friday, April 17, 2015)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21153-21158]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-09000]

=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Part 1026

[Docket No. CFPB-2015-0006]
RIN 3170-AA50

Submission of Credit Card Agreements Under the Truth in Lending 
Act (Regulation Z)

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Final rule.

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

SUMMARY: The Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection (Bureau) is 
amending Regulation Z, which implements the Truth in Lending Act, and 
the official interpretation to that regulation, to temporarily suspend 
card issuers' obligations to submit credit card agreements to the 
Bureau for a period of one year (i.e., four quarterly submissions), in 
order to reduce burden while the Bureau works to develop a more 
streamlined and automated electronic submission system. Other 
requirements, including card issuers' obligations to post currently-
offered agreements on their own Web sites, remain unaffected.

DATES: This final rule is effective on April 17, 2015.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Thomas L. Devlin, Counsel, or Kristine 
M. Andreassen, Senior Counsel, Office of Regulations, at (202) 435-
7700.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

I. Summary of the Rule

    The Truth in Lending Act (TILA), in section 122(d), requires 
creditors to post agreements for open-end consumer credit card plans on 
the creditors' Web sites and to submit those agreements to the Bureau. 
15 U.S.C. 1632(d). These provisions are implemented in Sec.  1026.58 of 
Regulation Z.\1\ 12 CFR 1026.58. The Bureau is finalizing amendments 
that it proposed in February 2015 \2\ to suspend temporarily the 
requirement in Sec.  1026.58(c) that card issuers submit credit card 
agreements to the Bureau for a period of one year (i.e., four quarterly 
submissions), in order to reduce burden while the Bureau works to 
develop a more streamlined and automated electronic submission system. 
Specifically, the Bureau is suspending the submissions that would 
otherwise have been due to the Bureau by the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 
2016. Beginning with the submission due on the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2016, card issuers shall resume submitting credit card 
agreements on a quarterly basis to the Bureau. The Bureau expects to 
consult with interested stakeholders before that date regarding 
resumption of the submission requirements and technical specifications 
for the new system. Other requirements under Sec.  1026.58, including 
card issuers' obligations to post currently-offered agreements on their 
own Web sites under Sec.  1026.58(d), remain unaffected.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \1\ Section 1026.58 uses the terms card issuer (or issuer) and 
credit card agreement (or agreement) in lieu of the terms creditor 
and open-end consumer credit card plan, respectively, that are used 
in section 122(d) of TILA.
    \2\ 80 FR 10417 (Feb. 26, 2015).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

II. Background

A. The Statute and Regulation

    In 2009, Congress enhanced protections for credit cards in the 
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD 
Act), which it enacted to ``establish fair and transparent practices 
related to the extension of credit'' in the credit card market.\3\ The 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) generally 
implemented the CARD Act's provisions in subpart G of Regulation Z. 
Section 204 of the CARD Act added new TILA section 122(d) to require 
creditors to post agreements for open-end consumer credit card plans on 
the

[[Page 21154]]

creditors' Web sites and to submit those agreements to the Board for 
posting on a publicly available Web site established and maintained by 
the Board. 15 U.S.C. 1632(d).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \3\ Public Law 111-24, 123 Stat. 1734 (2009).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Specifically, TILA section 122(d)(1) requires each creditor to post 
its credit card agreements on its own Web site, and section 122(d)(2) 
requires the creditor to provide its agreements to the Bureau (formerly 
the Board). TILA section 122(d)(3) requires the Bureau (formerly the 
Board) to establish and maintain on its publicly available Web site a 
central repository of the agreements it receives under section 
122(d)(2). The Board implemented these provisions in 12 CFR 226.58. 
With the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), authority to implement TILA 
transferred to the Bureau \4\ and the Bureau renumbered this provision 
in Regulation Z as Sec.  1026.58.\5\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \4\ Public Law 111-203, section 1100A, 124 Stat. 2081 (2010) 
(codified at 15 U.S.C. 1602 et seq.).
    \5\ 76 FR 79768 (Dec. 22, 2011).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    While TILA section 122(d) requires that creditors provide 
agreements to the Bureau, it does not specify the frequency or timing 
for these submissions. The implementing regulations in Regulation Z 
provide that submission of currently-offered agreements must be made 
quarterly. See Sec.  1026.58(c)(1). These quarterly submissions must be 
sent to the Bureau no later than the first business day on or after 
January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 of each year. The 
regulation also provides that, except in certain circumstances, card 
issuers must post and maintain on their publicly available Web sites 
the credit card agreements that the issuers are required to submit to 
the Bureau. See Sec.  1026.58(d).
    Under the current process, which has been used by the Bureau since 
its inception, card issuers submit agreements and agreement information 
to the Bureau manually via email. The Bureau believes this process may 
be unnecessarily cumbersome for issuers and may make issuers' own 
internal tracking of previously submitted agreements difficult. In 
addition, the current process for Bureau staff to manually review, 
catalog, and upload new or revised agreements to the Bureau's Web site, 
and to remove outdated agreements, can extend for several months after 
the quarterly submission deadline.\6\ The Bureau is working to develop 
a more streamlined and automated electronic submission system which 
would allow issuers to upload agreements directly to the Bureau's 
database. The Bureau intends for its new submission system to be less 
burdensome and easier for issuers to use. It also intends for the new 
system to enable faster posting of new and revised agreements on the 
Bureau's Web site.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \6\ The Bureau's database of credit card agreements is available 
at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/credit-cards/agreements/.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In order to reduce the burden on card issuers of continuing to use 
manual submission methods while the Bureau works to design, test, and 
implement a more streamlined and automated electronic submission 
system, the Bureau is temporarily suspending issuers' obligations to 
submit credit card agreements to the Bureau for a period of one year 
(i.e., four quarterly submissions), as described in more detail in the 
section-by-section analysis below. Issuers' obligations to post 
currently-offered agreements on their own Web sites are unaffected.
    The Bureau recognizes that its temporary suspension of the 
requirement that card issuers submit credit card agreements to the 
Bureau will temporarily reduce the access consumers, other external 
parties, and the Bureau itself have to a single repository of the 
agreements that would have been submitted during this one-year period. 
However, the Bureau expects that this temporary reduction will not 
impose significant costs on consumers, other external parties, or the 
Bureau itself for at least two key reasons. First, the Bureau is not 
modifying the requirement that card issuers post currently-offered 
agreements on their own Web sites in a manner that is prominent and 
readily accessible by the public (Sec.  1026.58(d)) or that card 
issuers make all open agreements available on their Web sites or to 
cardholders upon request (Sec.  1026.58(e)).
    Second, the Bureau intends to manually compile credit card 
agreements from certain large card issuers' Web sites as of 
approximately September 2015. Given the longstanding concentration in 
the credit card market, the Bureau believes that uploading agreements 
obtained from a relatively small number of issuers' Web sites to the 
Bureau's own Web site is sufficient to provide the agreement terms 
available to the overwhelming majority of credit card consumers in the 
U.S. as of the mid-point of the proposed suspension period.\7\ This 
will allow consumers to continue to use the Bureau's Web site to 
effectively compare agreements offered by various issuers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \7\ See, e.g., CFPB, CARD Act Report, at 13-14 (Oct. 1, 2013), 
available at http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201309_cfpb_card-act-report.pdf.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Overall, the Bureau expects that the marginal costs to consumers 
and other external parties from interrupted access during the 
suspension period are outweighed by the anticipated benefits of 
increased usability of the agreements and expedited availability of 
agreements on the Bureau's Web site after the Bureau implements a more 
streamlined and automated submission system. The Bureau intends to 
explore potential functionality for the new system that would improve 
external parties' ability to use the information efficiently and 
effectively, such as through improved reporting capabilities. In 
addition, by streamlining the submission process, the Bureau intends 
for the new system to also reduce burden on card issuers.

B. Comments on the Proposed Rule

    On February 26, 2015, the Bureau proposed to amend Sec.  1026.58, 
the Regulation Z provision on internet availability of credit card 
agreements, to temporarily suspend the requirement in Sec.  1026.58(c) 
that card issuers submit credit card agreements to the Bureau for a 
period of one year (i.e., four quarterly submissions), in order to 
reduce burden while the Bureau works to develop a more streamlined and 
automated electronic submission system. The comment period closed on 
March 13, 2015. In response to the proposal, the Bureau received seven 
comments from financial institutions, credit union trade associations, 
and others. The Bureau discusses relevant comments in the section-by-
section analysis below. Several commenters also urged the Bureau to 
take other actions beyond the scope of the proposal.

III. Legal Authority

    The Bureau is issuing this final rule pursuant to its authority 
under TILA sections 105(a) and 122(d)(5). TILA section 105(a) 
authorizes the Bureau to prescribe regulations to carry out the 
purposes of TILA. These regulations may contain such classifications, 
differentiations, or other provisions, and may provide for such 
adjustments and exceptions for any class of transactions, that in the 
Bureau's judgment are necessary or proper to effectuate the purposes of 
TILA, facilitate compliance with TILA, or prevent circumvention or 
evasion of TILA. TILA section 122(d)(5) authorizes the Bureau to 
promulgate regulations to implement section 122(d), including, among 
other things, establishing exceptions to TILA sections 122(d)(1) and 
(2) in any case where the

[[Page 21155]]

administrative burden outweighs the benefits of increased transparency.
    The Bureau is exercising its rulemaking authority pursuant to TILA 
sections 105(a) and 122(d)(5) to, in effect, change the period for 
creditors' submission of agreements to the Bureau from quarterly to 
annually, for a period of one year. The Bureau is also exercising its 
exception authority under TILA sections 105(a) and 122(d)(5) to 
temporarily suspend the agreement submission requirements in Sec.  
1026.58(c), as it concludes that the burden to issuers of continuing to 
submit agreements under the current cumbersome, manual process while 
the Bureau works to develop a more streamlined and automated electronic 
submission system outweighs the benefits of transparency to consumers 
and other external parties of access to those agreements via the 
Bureau's Web site during the suspension period. Further, the Bureau 
believes that a temporary suspension will effectuate the purposes of 
TILA and facilitate compliance therewith.

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis

Regulation Z

Subpart G--Special Rules Applicable to Credit Card Accounts and Open-
End Credit Offered to College Students

Section 1026.58 Internet Posting of Credit Card Agreements 58(g) 
Temporary Suspension of Agreement Submission Requirement Proposed Rule
    As discussed above, Sec.  1026.58 describes how card issuers must 
comply with the provisions of TILA, as amended by the CARD Act, that 
require creditors to post agreements for open-end consumer credit card 
plans on the creditors' Web sites and to submit those agreements to the 
Bureau. Specifically, Sec.  1026.58(c) governs submission of agreements 
to the Bureau, Sec.  1026.58(d) governs the requirement that issuers 
post currently-offered agreements on the issuers' own Web sites, and 
Sec.  1026.58(e) governs the requirement that issuers make cardholder 
agreements for currently open accounts available to cardholders.
    In the proposed rule, the Bureau proposed to add Sec.  1026.58(g) 
to Sec.  1026.58. The Bureau proposed, in Sec.  1026.58(g)(1), to 
temporarily suspend the quarterly credit card agreement submission 
requirement in Sec.  1026.58(c) for submissions that would otherwise be 
due to the Bureau by the first business day on or after April 30, 2015; 
July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. The Bureau 
proposed to add comments 58(g)-1 and -2 to further clarify the terms of 
the suspension, and to explain in more detail what issuers must include 
in their submissions due on the first business day on or after April 
30, 2016.
    Section 1026.58(d) requires a card issuer to post and maintain on 
its publicly available Web site the credit card agreements that the 
issuer is required to submit to the Bureau under Sec.  1026.58(c). The 
Bureau proposed Sec.  1026.58(g)(2) to provide that the suspended 
submission requirement in proposed Sec.  1026.58(g)(1) would not affect 
card issuers' obligations to post agreements on their own Web sites as 
required by Sec.  1026.58(d) during the temporary suspension period. 
The Bureau proposed comment 58(g)-3 to further explain this provision 
and provide several examples.

Comments

    The Bureau solicited comment on its proposal to temporarily suspend 
the obligation card issuers would otherwise have had under Sec.  
1026.58(c) to submit credit card agreements to the Bureau for the four 
quarterly submissions that would otherwise be due to the Bureau by the 
first business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 
31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. Commenters generally supported the 
proposed rule, and no commenter opposed the proposed temporary 
suspension. All of the trade association commenters stated that they 
found the current manual submission system for credit card agreements 
to be cumbersome. Those same commenters, along with others, agreed that 
issuers' continuing obligation to post currently-offered credit card 
agreements on their Web sites would ensure that most interested 
consumers could access available credit card agreements.
    Trade association commenters urged that the Bureau should consult 
with financial institutions before finalizing new technical 
specifications for the submission of credit card agreements, including 
one commenter who supported releasing those specifications through the 
notice-and-comment process. The Bureau did not solicit comment 
regarding the technical specifications that will be associated with a 
new submission system; nonetheless, the Bureau expects to consult with 
financial institutions, trade associations, or both to test and refine 
the system before using it with industry generally. The Bureau does not 
anticipate soliciting comment regarding the technical specifications 
that will be associated with a new submission system.
    A commenter from an academic public policy center suggested that, 
rather than temporarily suspending the submission requirement for a 
period of one year, the Bureau should remove the submission requirement 
entirely.\8\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \8\ As noted above, the submission requirement was mandated by 
Congress's amendments to TILA in the CARD Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    One commenter addressed an option that the Bureau considered but 
ultimately did not propose, under which credit card issuers would be 
required, at the end of the one-year suspension period, to submit all 
agreements that they would have been required to submit during the 
suspension period. That commenter argued that the burden imposed by 
such a requirement would not be justified by the limited benefit 
resulting from a more complete database of agreements.

Final Rule

    The Bureau is adopting Sec.  1026.58(g), and the proposed 
commentary to that section, as proposed. As noted above, none of the 
comments received opposed the one-year temporary suspension, and most 
supported the Bureau's efforts to develop a more streamlined and 
efficient electronic submission system for credit card agreements. None 
of the comments discussed the specific language of the proposed 
regulatory text or commentary. After reviewing the comments received in 
response to the proposal, the Bureau believes that a one-year 
suspension represents the best balance between fulfilling the 
Congressional mandate in TILA section 122(d) and easing the compliance 
burden on credit card issuers arising from the manual submission system 
inherited by the Bureau while the Bureau works to develop a more 
streamlined and automated electronic submission system.

V. Effective Date

    The Bureau proposed to make its temporary suspension of Sec.  
1026.58(c) effective immediately after publication of this final rule 
in the Federal Register. The Bureau sought comment on the proposed 
effective date, including on whether a later effective date would be 
more appropriate. None of the comments received by the Bureau 
explicitly addressed the proposed effective date.
    An agency must allow 30 days before a substantive rule is made 
effective, unless, among other things, the rule ``grants or recognizes 
an exemption or relieves a restriction'' \9\ or ``as otherwise provided 
by the agency for good cause

[[Page 21156]]

found and published with the rule.'' \10\ The Bureau believes that this 
rule recognizes an exemption from or relieves a restriction on issuers' 
obligations to submit credit card agreements to the Bureau, and does 
not create any new requirement. Accordingly, the 30-day delay in 
effective date does not apply and the Bureau finds good cause to make 
this rule effective immediately upon publication in the Federal 
Register, in order to reduce burden while the Bureau works to develop a 
more streamlined and automated electronic submission system for credit 
card agreements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \9\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(1).
    \10\ 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

VI. Section 1022(b)(2) of the Dodd-Frank Act

A. Overview

    In developing this rule, the Bureau has considered potential 
benefits, costs, and impacts.\11\ The Bureau has consulted, or offered 
to consult with, the prudential regulators, the Department of the 
Treasury, and the Federal Trade Commission, including regarding 
consistency with any prudential, market, or systemic objectives 
administered by such agencies.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \11\ Specifically, section 1022(b)(2)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act 
calls for the Bureau to consider the potential benefits and costs of 
a regulation to consumers and covered persons, including the 
potential reduction of access by consumers to consumer financial 
products or services; the impact on depository institutions and 
credit unions with $10 billion or less in total assets as described 
in section 1026 of the Dodd-Frank Act; and the impact on consumers 
in rural areas.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Pursuant to TILA section 122(d)(3), the Bureau maintains on its 
public Web site a repository of the consumer credit card agreements 
that card issuers submit pursuant to TILA section 122(d)(2), as 
implemented in Sec.  1026.58(c). The electronic folders in the 
repository are organized by quarter, back to the third quarter of 2011, 
reflecting the transfer of authority to implement TILA from the Board 
to the Bureau pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. For each quarter, the 
repository contains a copy of each agreement, in PDF format, that was 
available to consumers as of the end of that quarter. The repository 
also contains, for each quarter, a spreadsheet that provides certain 
identifying information about each agreement and the issuer thereof.
    The Bureau proposed to amend Sec.  1026.58(g) to temporarily 
suspend the requirement in Sec.  1026.58(c) for card issuers to submit 
credit card agreements to the Bureau. The Bureau is finalizing the 
amendments to Sec.  1026.58(g) as proposed. Card issuers will not be 
required to make quarterly submissions to the Bureau for the 
submissions that would otherwise be due by the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 
2016. Consequently, the Bureau will not provide these agreements on its 
Web site. As discussed previously, however, the Bureau intends to 
manually compile credit card agreements from certain large card issuer 
Web sites as of approximately September 2015 and post those agreements 
on its Web site. Card issuers will resume submitting agreements on a 
quarterly basis to the Bureau beginning with the submission due by the 
first business day on or after April 30, 2016. The Bureau is not 
modifying the requirement that card issuers post currently-offered 
agreements on their own Web sites in a manner that is prominent and 
readily accessible by the public (Sec.  1026.58(d)) or that card 
issuers make all open agreements available on their Web sites or to 
cardholders upon request (Sec.  1026.58(e)).

B. Potential Benefits and Costs to Consumers and Covered Persons

    The Bureau is not aware of any significant costs to consumers that 
might arise from the temporary suspension of the quarterly submission 
requirement and the absence of these agreements on the Bureau's Web 
site. While the Bureau's Web site can assist consumers in comparing 
credit card agreements when shopping for a new card, the Bureau 
believes that most consumers are not likely to use the repository to 
identify desirable credit cards, in part because they would not know if 
they qualified for the cards they identified. The Bureau believes that 
consumers are more likely to identify a number of cards for which they 
qualify before comparing the terms and conditions for those cards. 
These terms and conditions will remain readily available to consumers 
on the issuers' Web sites. Similarly, a consumer who wanted to replace 
a lost agreement would likely find it easier to contact the issuer than 
to search the repository because the agreement might no longer be 
available to new cardholders, in which case the consumer would need to 
search across multiple quarters to find the agreement, and even then 
might lack confidence that she had found the version of the agreement 
that applied to her.
    On the other hand, the Bureau recognizes that consumers who would 
qualify for almost any card on the market and who want to learn about 
the features of a large number of products might find the repository 
useful. The final rule might increase the cost to these consumers of 
searching for desirable credit cards. The Bureau believes that this 
cost would be small, however, given that the Bureau is suspending the 
submission requirement for just four quarters. In addition, as 
discussed in more detail below, the Bureau will manually collect 
agreements from certain large issuers' Web sites at the midpoint of the 
suspension period, which will mitigate this cost to consumers. The 
Bureau requested comment on this point but did not receive any 
responses. Similarly, the Bureau recognizes the possibility that 
entities may use the information in the repository to develop more 
competitive products or extract information that they could sell or 
otherwise provide to consumers or third parties. However, the Bureau 
believes that this is unlikely given that the agreements, while 
generally in searchable PDF format, do not contain uniform data or text 
fields that would provide the same type of information in fixed 
locations across files. The Bureau requested comment on this point as 
well but did not receive any responses. A commenter from an academic 
public policy center noted that the information that these entities 
need would remain on the issuers' Web sites.
    The Bureau believes that the final rule will provide issuers with a 
minor but tangible benefit. For the third quarter of 2014, 446 issuers 
had 1,833 agreements in the Bureau's database. While 169 issuers had 
just one agreement, the median number of agreements per issuer was two 
and the average was four. Four issuers had over 50 agreements. In the 
third quarter alone, 103 issuers submitted 429 agreements; the median 
and mean were again two and four, respectively. Three issuers submitted 
over 25 agreements. All issuers will be able to suspend their 
submissions for four quarters, which will remove some compliance 
burden. The Bureau believes that the burden is small on average, 
although it may be higher for the entities that provide a large number 
of agreements.\12\ The Bureau requested

[[Page 21157]]

comment on this point but did not receive any responses.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \12\ The Bureau notes that card issuers who submit a smaller 
number of agreements to the Bureau, but that only submit new and 
amended agreements and notice of withdrawn agreements, may have 
higher compliance costs than issuers who resubmit each quarter all 
agreements that are currently available to consumers. Thus, using 
the number of agreements submitted each quarter does not strictly 
track compliance cost. However, the Bureau expects that the number 
of agreements submitted and compliance cost are correlated even for 
those who submit all available agreements each quarter because they 
still have to ensure they are not sending agreements that are no 
longer offered to new customers or are entirely defunct.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    As noted above, the Bureau recognizes the possibility that entities 
could use the information in the repository to develop more competitive 
products or extract information that they could sell or otherwise 
provide to consumers or third parties. However, as mentioned above, the 
Bureau believes that this is unlikely given the difficulties in using 
files in PDF format for this purpose. To the extent that entities are 
inclined to use the files in the repository to extract information, the 
Bureau believes that manual collection of the credit card agreements 
from certain large card issuer Web sites as of approximately September 
2015 and posting those agreements on the Bureau Web site will mitigate 
the impact of the proposed rule on these entities.
    A commenter from an academic public policy center argued that the 
submission and record repository requirements in TILA sections 
122(d)(2)-(3), implemented in Sec.  1026.58(c), impose costs without 
evidence of benefits (and most likely with few benefits). This 
commenter recommended that the Bureau suspend the submission 
requirement permanently instead of temporarily. The commenter did not, 
however, dispute the Bureau's consideration of the benefits and costs 
of Sec.  1026.58(g) relative to the baseline defined by the current 
statute and implementing regulation. More generally, the Bureau seeks 
through this rulemaking and the associated development of a more 
streamlined and automated electronic submission system to increase the 
benefits and reduce the costs of the submission and repository 
requirements, and is not considering other changes at this time.
    As an alternative, the Bureau considered coupling the temporary 
suspension with a requirement to provide the Bureau, after the 
suspension expired, with the agreements that they would have been 
required to submit if not for the suspension. Compared to the final 
rule, this alternative would have imposed smaller costs on consumers 
and provided smaller benefits to issuers. Since the costs to consumers 
under the final rule are small to begin with, the Bureau believes that 
the final rule is superior to the alternative. A commenter from an 
academic public policy center opposed this alternative, arguing that 
the additional compliance costs associated with requiring issuers to 
collect and submit the additional agreement was not justified by the 
marginal benefit to consumers.

C. Impact on Covered Persons With No More Than $10 Billion in Assets

    The majority of banks and credit unions that provide agreements 
under Sec.  1026.58(c) have no more than $10 billion in assets. Thus, 
the majority of banks and credit unions that will benefit from the 
final rule have no more than $10 billion in assets. On the other hand, 
larger banks and credit unions generally provide the Bureau with more 
agreements each quarter. Thus, the final rule will generally provide 
larger banks and credit unions with a greater reduction in burden 
compared to that obtained by banks and credit unions with no more than 
$10 billion in assets.
    One trade association commenter noted the discussion of these 
effects in the proposal and urged the Bureau to consider the 
implementation and ongoing costs associated with the new process. As 
explained in the Background section of the proposed rule, the Bureau 
intends for its new submission system to be less burdensome and easier 
for issuers to use. Thus, the Bureau intends the new system to reduce 
ongoing costs to covered persons relative to the baseline. The Bureau 
expects that any one-time transition cost will be small and quickly 
recovered through lower ongoing costs.

D. Impact on Access to Credit

    The Bureau does not believe that there will be an adverse impact on 
access to credit, or any other consumer financial products or services, 
resulting from the final rule. The final rule imposes no direct 
requirements on consumer financial products or services or providers of 
consumer financial products or services or on the eligibility of 
consumers for consumer financial products or services. As discussed 
above, the final rule imposes at most a minor additional cost on 
certain consumers searching for a credit card.
    As noted above, the Bureau recognizes the possibility that entities 
could use the information in the repository to develop more competitive 
products or extract information that they could sell or otherwise 
provide to consumers or third parties. However, the Bureau believes 
that this is unlikely given the difficulties in using files in PDF 
format for this purpose and the fact that the suspension would last for 
just four quarters. Thus, the final rule should not inhibit activities 
that would improve access to credit such as the development of more 
competitive credit products or products that would reduce search costs.

E. Impact on Consumers in Rural Areas

    The Bureau does not believe that the final rule will have a unique 
impact on consumers in rural areas.

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, requires each 
agency to consider the potential impact of its regulations on small 
entities, including small businesses, small governmental units, and 
small nonprofit organizations. The RFA defines a ``small business'' as 
a business that meets the size standard developed by the Small Business 
Administration pursuant to the Small Business Act.
    The RFA generally requires an agency to conduct an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis (FRFA) of any rule subject to notice-and-comment 
rulemaking requirements, unless the agency certifies that the rule will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The Bureau also is subject to certain additional procedures 
under the RFA involving the convening of a panel to consult with small 
business representatives prior to proposing a rule for which an IRFA is 
required.
    Neither an IRFA nor a FRFA is required for this rule because it 
will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. The Bureau does not expect the rule to impose costs on 
small entities. As discussed above, the Bureau believes that the rule 
will cause a small reduction in costs on all issuers, including small 
entity issuers, who would otherwise be required to submit agreements to 
the Bureau.
    Accordingly, the undersigned certifies that the final rule will not 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities.

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), Federal agencies are generally required to seek the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for information collection 
requirements prior to implementation. This final rule will amend 
Regulation Z, 12 CFR part 1026. The collections of information affected 
by this final rule have been previously reviewed and approved by OMB in 
accordance with the PRA and assigned OMB Control Number 3170-0052. 
Under the PRA, the Bureau may not conduct or sponsor and,

[[Page 21158]]

notwithstanding any other provision of law, a person is not required to 
respond to an information collection unless the information collection 
displays a valid control number assigned by OMB. The Bureau has 
determined that this final rule will not impose any new recordkeeping, 
reporting, or disclosure requirements on covered entities or members of 
the public that would constitute collections of information requiring 
approval under the PRA.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1026

    Advertising, Consumer protection, Credit, Credit unions, Mortgages, 
National banks, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements, Savings 
associations, Truth in lending.

Authority and Issuance

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Bureau amends 12 CFR 
part 1026, as follows:

PART 1026--TRUTH IN LENDING (REGULATION Z)

0
1. The authority citation for part 1026 continues to read as follows:

    Authority:  12 U.S.C. 2601, 2603-2605, 2607, 2609, 2617, 5511, 
5512, 5532, 5581; 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.

Subpart G--Special Rules Applicable to Credit Card Accounts and 
Open-End Credit Offered to College Students

0
2. Section 1026.58 is amended by adding paragraph (g) to read as 
follows:

Sec.  1026.58  Internet posting of credit card agreements.

* * * * *
    (g) Temporary suspension of agreement submission requirement--(1) 
Quarterly submissions. The quarterly submission requirement in 
paragraph (c) of this section is suspended for the submissions that 
would otherwise be due to the Bureau by the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 
2016.
    (2) Posting of agreements offered to the public. Nothing in 
paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall affect the agreement posting 
requirements in paragraph (d) of this section.

0
3. In Supplement I to Part 1026, under Section 1026.58--Internet 
Posting of Credit Card Agreements, add 58(g) Temporary Suspension of 
Agreement Submission Requirement to read as follows:

Supplement I to Part 1026--Official Interpretations

* * * * *

Section 1026.58--Internet Posting of Credit Card Agreements

* * * * *

58(g) Temporary Suspension of Agreement Submission Requirement

    1. Suspended quarterly submission requirement. Pursuant to Sec.  
1026.58(g)(1), card issuers are not required to make quarterly 
submissions to the Bureau, as otherwise required by Sec.  
1026.58(c), for the submissions that would otherwise be due by the 
first business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; 
October 31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. Specifically, a card issuer 
is not required to submit information about the issuer and its 
agreements pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(i), new credit card 
agreements pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(ii), amended agreements 
pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(iii) and (c)(3), or notification of 
withdrawn agreements pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(iv) and (c)(4) 
through (7) for those four quarters.
    2. Resuming submission of credit card agreements to the Bureau. 
Beginning with the submission due on the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2016, card issuers shall resume submitting credit 
card agreements on a quarterly basis to the Bureau pursuant to Sec.  
1026.58(c). A card issuer shall submit agreements for the prior 
calendar quarter (that is, the calendar quarter ending March 31, 
2016), as specified in Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(ii) through (iv) and 
(c)(3) through (7), to the Bureau no later than the first business 
day on or after April 30, 2016.
    i. Specifically, the submission due on the first business day on 
or after April 30, 2016 shall contain, as applicable:
    A. Identifying information about the card issuer and the 
agreements submitted, including the issuer's name, address, and 
identifying number (such as an RSSD ID number or tax identification 
number), pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(i);
    B. The credit card agreements that the card issuer offered to 
the public as of the last business day of the calendar quarter 
ending March 31, 2016 that the card issuer had not previously 
submitted to the Bureau as of the first business day on or after 
January 31, 2015, pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(ii);
    C. Any credit card agreement previously submitted to the Bureau 
that was amended since the last business day of the calendar quarter 
ending December 31, 2014 and that the card issuer offered to the 
public as of the last business day of the calendar quarter ending 
March 31, 2016, pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(iii) and (c)(3); and
    D. Notification regarding any credit card agreement previously 
submitted to the Bureau that the issuer is withdrawing, pursuant to 
Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(iv) and (c)(4) through (7).
    ii. In lieu of the submission described in comment 58(g)-2.i.B 
through D, Sec.  1026.58(c)(1) permits a card issuer to submit to 
the Bureau a complete, updated set of the credit card agreements the 
card issuer offered to the public as of the calendar quarter ending 
March 31, 2016. See comment 58(c)(1)-3.
    3. Continuing obligation to post agreements on a card issuer's 
own Web site. Section 1026.58(d) requires a card issuer to post and 
maintain on its publicly available Web site the credit card 
agreements that the issuer is required to submit to the Bureau under 
Sec.  1026.58(c). Pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(g)(2), during the 
temporary suspension period set forth in Sec.  1026.58(g)(1), a card 
issuer shall continue to post its agreements to its own publicly 
available Web site as required by Sec.  1026.58(d) using the 
agreements it would have otherwise submitted to the Bureau under 
Sec.  1026.58(c). For example, for purposes of Sec.  1026.58(d)(4), 
a card issuer must continue to update the agreements posted on its 
own Web site at least as frequently as the quarterly schedule 
required for submission of agreements to the Bureau set forth in 
Sec.  1026.58(c)(1), notwithstanding the temporary suspension of 
submission requirements in Sec.  1026.58(g)(1). Similarly, for 
purposes of Sec.  1026.58(d)(2), agreements posted by a card issuer 
on its own Web site must continue to conform to the form and content 
requirements set forth in Sec.  1026.58(c)(8).
* * * * *

    Dated: April 13, 2015.
Richard Cordray,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2015-09000 Filed 4-15-15; 4:15 pm]
 BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P
```