3504 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

1Call Reports as of June 30, 2023. 

FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE 

CORPORATION 

12 CFR Part 328 

RIN 3064–AF26 

FDIC Official Signs and Advertising 

Requirements, False Advertising, 

Misrepresentation of Insured Status, 

and Misuse of the FDIC’s Name or 

Logo 

AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The Federal Deposit 

Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is 

amending its regulations governing use 

of the official FDIC sign and insured 

depository institutions’ (IDIs) 

advertising statements to reflect how 

depositors conduct business with IDIs 

today, including through digital and 

mobile channels. The final rule also 

clarifies the FDIC’s regulations 

regarding misrepresentations of deposit 

insurance coverage by addressing 

specific scenarios where consumers may 

be misled as to whether they are 

conducting business with an IDI and 

whether their funds are protected by 

federal deposit insurance. The final rule 

is intended to enable consumers to 

better understand when they are 

conducting business with an IDI and 

when their funds are protected by the 

FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage. 

DATES: The amendments made in this 

rule are effective April 1, 2024. 

Compliance is required by January 1, 

2025. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Division of Depositor and Consumer 

Protection: Luke H. Brown, Associate 

Director, 202–898–3842, LuBrown@

FDIC.gov; Meron Wondwosen, Chief, 

Supervisory Policy, 202–898–7211, 

MeWondwosen@FDIC.gov; Edward J. 

Hof, Senior Policy Analyst, 202–898– 

7213, EdwHof@FDIC.gov. Legal 

Division: Vivek Khare, Counsel, 202– 

898–6847, VKhare@fdic.gov; James 

Watts, Counsel, 202–898–6678, JWatts@

FDIC.gov; Chantal Hernandez, Senior 

Attorney, 202–898–7388, 

ChHernandez@fdic.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The FDIC 

is amending part 328 of its regulations, 

which includes requirements for use of 

the official FDIC sign and IDIs’ 

advertising statements, as well as 

misrepresentations of insured status and 

misuse of the FDIC’s name or logo. The 

final rule generally: (1) modernizes and 

amends the rules governing the display 

of the official sign in branches to also, 

for example, apply the rules to IDIs’ 

physical premises with different layouts 

and designs where consumers have 

access to or transact with deposits; (2) 

establishes and requires the display of 

the FDIC official digital sign on bank 

websites, mobile applications, and 

certain IDI automated teller machines 

(ATMs) and other like devices; (3) 

requires the use of disclosures 

differentiating deposits and non-deposit 

products across all banking channels, 

including digital channels; (4) clarifies 

the FDIC’s rules regarding 

misrepresentations of deposit insurance 

coverage by addressing specific 

scenarios where information provided 

to consumers may be misleading; (5) 

amends the definition of ‘‘non-deposit 

product’’ to include crypto-assets and 

specifically address safe deposit box 

services; and (6) requires IDIs to 

establish and maintain written policies 

and procedures addressing compliance 

with part 328. As explained below, the 

final rule is intended to enable 

consumers to better understand when 

they are conducting business with an 

IDI and when their funds are protected 

by the FDIC’s deposit insurance 

coverage. 

A. Policy Objectives 

The banking landscape has 

significantly changed since 2006, when 

the FDIC last updated its regulation on 

the official sign and advertising 

statement. For example, consumers are 

increasingly relying on internet and 

mobile banking channels to access IDI 

banking services, bank branches are 

continually evolving to serve depositors, 

and financial technology (fintech) 

companies are offering consumers new 

options and alternatives for accessing 

banking products and services. While 

these developments are beneficial, they 

may make it more difficult for 

depositors and consumers to understand 

when they are conducting business with 

an IDI and when their funds are 

protected by FDIC deposit insurance. In 

addition, the FDIC has observed an 

increase in misleading representations 

about deposit insurance on the internet, 

which can result in consumer confusion 

and harm. These types of misleading 

statements create uncertainty and could 

dilute and undermine the confidence 

that underpins banks and our nation’s 

broader financial system. 

To address ongoing market and 

technological developments, the 

amendments to part 328 are intended to 

achieve several policy goals. 

Specifically, the FDIC intends to bring 

the certainty and confidence historically 

provided by the FDIC official sign found 

at banks’ teller windows to IDI digital 

channels through which depositors are 

increasingly handling their banking 

needs today. These channels serve as 

the digital teller windows of the modern 

banking landscape, and it is critical that 

these channels provide clear, consistent, 

and accurate information about deposit 

insurance upon which consumers, 

businesses, and other entities may base 

their financial decisions. 

The final rule establishes sign 

requirements across all banking 

channels, including evolving digital 

channels, to better align with how 

depositors conduct business with IDIs 

today. The sign requirements are also 

intended to more clearly distinguish 

insured deposits from non-deposit 

products (which are not insured) and to 

help consumers distinguish IDIs from 

non-banks in the digital age. The final 

rule allows consumers, businesses, and 

other entities to better understand when 

their funds are protected by FDICs 

deposit insurance, and when they may 

not be insured. At the same time, the 

sign requirements are intended to 

permit flexibility for IDIs and other 

firms in the marketing of their products 

and services. 

The amendments to the FDIC’s rules 

regarding misrepresentations of deposit 

insurance coverage are intended to 

address specific scenarios where 

information provided to consumers may 

be misleading with respect to deposit 

insurance coverage. In particular, the 

FDIC is concerned that certain business 

relationships between IDIs and nonbanks may be confusing to many 

consumers. Consequently, the final rule 

requires clear disclosures that will 

better inform consumers as to when 

their funds are protected by FDIC 

deposit insurance. Further clarity in this 

area will be beneficial for both 

consumers and the industry. 

B. Background 

The FDIC is an independent federal 

agency and its mission is to maintain 

stability and public confidence in the 

nation’s financial system by, among 

other things, insuring deposits at all 

IDIs. Today, there are about 4,654 IDIs 

in the United States.1 Since 1933, the 

FDIC has taken action in accordance 

with its mission to restore public 

confidence in the banking system in 

times of financial turmoil, including the 

severe financial crisis of 2008 to 2013, 

during the financial stress associated 

with the coronavirus disease 2019 

(COVID–19) pandemic, and, most 

recently, when large regional banks 

failed in the first half of 2023. The FDIC 

has proactively sought to protect 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3505 

2As used in this document, the term ‘‘consumer’’ 

means any current or potential depositor, including 

natural persons, organizations, corporate entities, 

and governmental bodies. See 12 CFR 328.101. 

3 12 U.S.C. 1828(a)(1). Section 9 of the FDI Act 

provides the FDIC with the authority to prescribe 

rules and regulations as it may deem necessary to 

carry out the provisions of this Act or of any other 

law which it has the responsibility of administering 

or enforcing. 12 U.S.C. 1819(a) Tenth. 

4See subpart A to 12 CFR part 328 (§§ 328.0 

through 328.5–328.99). 

5See generally, 12 CFR part 328. 

6 71 FR 66098 (Nov. 13, 2006). 

7See 12 CFR 328.2. ‘‘Remote Service Facility’’ 

includes any automated teller machine, cash 

dispensing machine, point-of-sale terminal, or other 

remote electronic facility where deposits are 

received. 12 CFR 328.2(a)(1)(ii). 

8 12 U.S.C. 1828(a)(4). Section 18(a)(4) also 

provides the FDIC independent authority to 

investigate and take administrative enforcement 

actions, including the power to issue cease and 

desist orders and impose civil money penalties, 

against any person who misuses the FDIC name or 

logo or makes misrepresentations about deposit 

insurance. 12 U.S.C. 1828(a)(4)(C)–(D). 

Furthermore, under Federal law, it is a criminal 

offense to misuse the FDIC name or make false 

representations regarding deposit insurance. See 18 

U.S.C. 709. 

9 87 FR 33415 (June 2, 2022); Subpart B to 12 CFR 

part 328 (§§ 328.100 through 328.109). Subpart B 

establishes the process by which the FDIC identifies 

and investigates conduct that may violate section 

18(a)(4), the standards under which such conduct 

is evaluated, and the procedures the FDIC follows 

when formally and informally enforcing the 

provisions of section 18(a)(4). 

10Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), 

2021 National Survey of Unbanked and 

Underbanked Households (October 2022), https://

www.fdic.gov/analysis/household-survey/ 

2021report.pdf. 

11 Id. at 25. 

12 Id. 

13 Id. 

depositors and consumers,2 promote 

public confidence in insured deposits, 

and prevent false and misleading 

representations about the manner and 

extent of FDIC deposit insurance. 

Statutory Authority and Regulations 

Sign and advertising statement 

requirements for IDIs date back to the 

Banking Act of 1935 and are now set 

forth in section 18(a) of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act).3

Section 18(a) grants the FDIC authority 

to prescribe regulations with respect to 

these requirements, which are currently 

contained in subpart A to 12 CFR part 

328.4

The FDIC’s official sign and 

advertising statement regulations 

require IDIs to continuously display the 

FDIC official sign where insured 

deposits are usually and normally 

received in the bank’s principal place of 

business and at all of its branches and 

to use an official advertising statement, 

such as ‘‘Member FDIC,’’ when 

advertising deposit products and 

services, with few exceptions.5 The 

FDIC last made major amendments to 

these regulations in 2006.6 The 2006 

amendments refer to an IDI’s physical 

premises and ‘‘Remote Service 

Facilities’’ but do not specify other 

banking channels that have since 

evolved, such as digital banking 

channels.7

Section 18(a)(4) of the FDI Act 

prohibits any person from misusing the 

name or logo of the FDIC or from 

engaging in false advertising or making 

knowing misrepresentations about 

deposit insurance.8 The FDIC has broad 

statutory authority in this area and, in 

May 2022, issued specific regulations in 

subpart B to 12 CFR part 328 regarding 

false representations related to FDIC 

insurance and the misuse of the FDIC 

name and logo.9

Developments in Consumer Access to 

Banking and Financial Services 

In recent years, there have been 

significant changes in the provision of 

banking products and services, 

including the widespread use of digital 

banking channels as a critical and 

fundamental mechanism to access 

banking and financial services, the 

evolution of bank branches’ role in 

serving consumers, and an increasingly 

broad array of financial products offered 

through banking channels, including 

access to non-deposit products. The 

following overview of these trends is 

intended to provide context for the final 

rule, which seeks to enable consumers 

to better understand when they are 

conducting business with an IDI and 

when their funds are protected by the 

FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage. 

Many bank branches retain a 

traditional physical branch footprint, 

serving depositors primarily at teller 

windows or stations. According to the 

FDIC’s 2021 National Survey of 

Unbanked and Underbanked 

Households (Household Survey), 

roughly 63.4 percent of all banked 

households used a bank teller to access 

their accounts at least once in the last 

12 months, including 57.8 percent of the 

youngest banked households between 

the ages of 15 to 24, and 72.2 percent 

of the oldest banked households aged 65 

or older.10 However, IDIs have 

increasingly begun operating physical 

premises with different layouts and 

designs. These locations may include 

electronically-staffed kiosks, interactive 

ATMs that provide remote assistance 

with a teller, and teller-less cafe ́s with 

internet access where deposits can be 

accepted on tablets or through ATMs. 

The FDIC’s long-standing sign rules, 

focused on display of the official sign at 

teller windows or stations, need to be 

updated to reflect these market changes 

and the way banks and consumers 

conduct business. 

The FDIC’s long-standing sign rules 

also do not reflect the digital banking 

services now offered, such as online 

banking and mobile banking. For 

example, digital banking channels 

enable banks to receive customer 

deposits through remote deposit 

capture. For consumers that use these 

channels to make deposits, an IDI’s 

ATM, website, or mobile application 

effectively serves as a digital teller 

window. The results of the Household 

Survey show that the proportion of 

banked households that used mobile 

banking as their primary method of 

bank account access increased from 34.0 

percent in 2019 to 43.5 percent in 

2021.11 The proportion of banked 

households that used online banking as 

their primary method of bank account 

access was similar in 2019 (22.8 

percent) and 2021 (22.0 percent).12

Combined, 65.4 percent of banked 

households in 2021 used mobile or 

online banking as their primary method 

of bank account access, up from 56.8 

percent in 2019.13 Given that nearly 

two-thirds of banked households 

primarily access banking products 

through phones, computers, and other 

devices, the FDIC believes it is critical 

to update its rules and provide 

consistent sign requirements for digital 

channels. 

Banking customers are also offered an 

increasingly wide array of financial 

products and services, regardless of 

whether they are in a branch, using an 

ATM, or connecting with an IDI through 

digital channels. In many instances, IDIs 

offer both deposits and non-deposit 

products to consumers. For example, 

IDIs might allow depositors in their 

branches to consult with an investment 

adviser and purchase securities or 

mutual funds. Options to purchase nondeposit products are continuing to 

evolve, with some IDIs offering ATM or 

digital banking customers the ability to 

purchase crypto-assets with their funds. 

In some cases, an IDI may provide its 

customers who initially access the IDI’s 

website, ATM, or banking application 

the ability to purchase non-deposit 

products from a third party. Absent 

adequate signs or disclosures, 

simultaneous offering of both insured 

deposits and non-deposit products may 

lead bank customers (who are aware 

that the IDI is insured by the FDIC) to 

mistakenly conclude that all of the 

financial products being offered through 


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3506 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

14 85 FR 18528 (Feb. 26, 2020); 86 FR 18528 (Apr. 

9, 2021). 15Comments to the RFIs can be found on the 

FDIC’s website, available at: https://www.fdic.gov/ 

resources/regulations/federal-register-publications/ 

2020/2020-rfi-fdic-sign-and-advertisingrequirements-3064-za14.html and https://

www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federalregister-publications/2021/2021-rfi-fdic-officialsign-and-advertising-requirements-3064-za14.html. 

16 87 FR 78017, 78020 (Dec. 21, 2022). 

17 87 FR 33415 (June 2, 2022). 

18A public list of FDIC cease and desist letters 

related to violations of section 18(a)(4) of the FDI 

Act can be found on the FDIC’s website, available 

at: https://www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/ 

laws/section-18a4-of-fdi-act/. 

19Comments can be accessed at: https://

www.fdic.gov/resources/regulations/federalregister-publications/2022/2022-fdic-official-signadvertising-requirements-3064-af26.html. In 

response to a comment letter, the FDIC extended 

the comment period by 45 days to provide 

additional opportunity for the public to prepare 

comments to address the matters raised by the NPR. 

their bank’s website or application are 

FDIC-insured. 

Growth in the number of fintech 

companies has also blurred the 

distinction between IDIs and non-banks 

in the eyes of many consumers, 

increasing the potential for confusion 

regarding deposit insurance coverage. 

Business arrangements between IDIs 

and non-banks, including fintech 

companies, can take many forms and 

continue to evolve at a rapid pace. In 

some cases, such business arrangements 

can present the risk of consumer 

confusion. For example, an IDI and a 

fintech company might enter into an 

arrangement where the fintech company 

offers the IDI’s deposit products and 

services to the fintech company’s 

customers. In other instances, fintech 

companies might deposit their 

customers’ funds at an IDI. In such 

cases, the fintech company might 

represent to its customers that the 

customers’ funds are FDIC-insured, or 

that they are insured by the FDIC on a 

‘‘pass-through’’ basis, without noting 

that it is subject to certain conditions. 

The substantial increase in the number 

and types of arrangements and the 

various representations that companies 

are making regarding deposit insurance 

coverage may confuse many consumers. 

For example, inadequate disclosures 

may result in consumers not 

understanding whether they are dealing 

with an IDI, and whether their funds are 

insured by the FDIC. 

Industry Outreach—Request for 

Information 

In February 2020 and April 2021, the 

FDIC published Requests for 

Information (collectively, the RFIs) in 

the Federal Register to seek public 

input regarding potential modernization 

of the official sign and advertising rules 

to reflect changes in deposit-taking via 

physical branch, digital, and mobile 

banking channels.14 In response to the 

RFIs, the FDIC received 20 comments 

from trade associations, IDIs, and 

others.15 In addition, FDIC staff met 

with representatives from IDIs, a 

technology service provider, and 

consumer groups. Commenters 

generally recognized the importance 

and value of displaying FDIC signs and 

the advertising statement, and some 

commenters stressed that depositors 

place significant trust in FDIC signs. A 

summary of these comments was 

provided in the December 2022 Notice 

of Proposed Rulemaking (NPR or 

proposal) and the comments were 

considered as part of this rulemaking 

process.16

Previous Rulemaking 

On May 17, 2022, the FDIC issued a 

final rule adding a new subpart B to 12 

CFR part 328.17 The final rule describes: 

(1) the process by which the FDIC will

identify and investigate conduct that

may violate the prohibitions against

misuse and misrepresentation; (2) the

standards under which such conduct

will be evaluated; and (3) the

procedures that the FDIC will follow

when formally and informally enforcing

these prohibitions. While this

rulemaking was an important step, the

FDIC has observed an increase in the

number of instances where financial

services providers or other entities or

individuals have misused the FDIC’s

name or logo or have made

misrepresentations about FDIC

insurance. Although the FDIC

demanded that these non-banks cease

and desist from making false and

misleading statements, such actions by

non-banks caused continuing challenges

for consumers in determining whether

they are conducting business with an

IDI and whether their funds are

protected by the FDIC’s deposit

insurance coverage.18 This final rule

will provide further clarification of

subpart B to address these challenges,

particularly to address specific

situations where consumers may be

misled as to whether an entity is

insured by the FDIC or as to the nature

and extent of deposit insurance

coverage.

December 2022 Proposal and Comments 

On December 13, 2022, the FDIC 

Board approved an NPR on the FDIC’s 

sign and advertising requirements, rules 

on misrepresentation of insured status, 

and misuse of the FDIC’s name or logo. 

The FDIC sought to obtain input from 

the public for these proposed 

regulations in light of significant 

changes to bank branches and their role 

in serving consumers, the proliferation 

of digital channels as a critical and 

fundamental mechanism to access 

banking and financial services, and an 

increasingly broad array of financial 

products offered through banking 

channels, including access to nondeposit products. 

Specifically, the FDIC’s proposal 

aimed to modernize its sign and 

advertising requirements to reflect 

current banking practices, like deposittaking via physical branches and similar 

locations, digital banking channels, and 

ATMs. The proposal included three 

distinct signs relating to deposit 

insurance. The first pertained to the 

official sign displayed at IDIs’ principal 

places of business. The NPR proposed to 

modernize the requirements relating to 

display of the official sign to reflect 

developments in the marketplace. The 

second was for a new digital official 

sign that IDIs would be required to 

display on their digital deposit-taking 

channels, such as online banking 

websites, mobile applications, and 

ATMs. Third, the FDIC proposed 

requiring IDIs to display a non-deposit 

products sign indicating that such 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value 

(where the IDI offers both insured and 

uninsured, non-deposit products 

through the same channel) in order to 

address potential customer confusion 

regarding a product’s insured status. 

The FDIC also proposed limited 

amendments to its official advertising 

statement requirements to provide IDIs 

with an additional option for a 

shortened official advertising statement. 

Finally, the proposal included 

clarifications for the application of the 

misrepresentation statute in specific 

situations where consumers may 

misunderstand or be misled as to 

whether an entity is insured by the FDIC 

or the nature and extent of deposit 

insurance coverage. 

The NPR solicited comments on all 

aspects of the proposed rule. The 

comment period ended on April 7, 

2023. The FDIC received 17 substantive 

comments from financial institutions, 

industry groups, consumer 

organizations, investor advocacy groups, 

crypto-asset/blockchain groups, deposit 

networks, and third-party vendors.19

A number of comments were 

supportive of the proposal. More 

specifically, several comments 

supported the FDIC’s efforts to 

modernize its rules in light of changes 

and innovation in the marketplace and 

to provide further clarity through 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3507 

20As stated in the NPR, the term ‘‘branch’’ would 

be defined by reference to the FDI Act’s definition 

of ‘‘domestic branch,’’ 12 U.S.C. 1813(o). 

21Final 12 CFR 328.3(b) (emphasis added). 

22See 12 U.S.C. 1828(a)(1)(A), 1828(a)(2). 

23See final 12 CFR 328.3(b)(2). 

deposit insurance signage and 

advertisement requirements. Several 

comments also supported the FDIC’s 

efforts to ensure consumers fully 

understand the insured status of 

products offered by financial 

institutions. One commenter provided 

that the confusion over new and 

complex financial products could 

undermine public confidence in the 

safety and reliability of the mainstream 

banking system. 

A number of commenters expressed a 

desire for more flexibility regarding the 

proposed signage and disclosure 

requirements. Some commenters 

advocated for increased flexibility in the 

placement of both physical and digital 

signage, noting the costs entailed to 

comply with the proposed rule’s 

requirements. 

Several financial institutions 

provided that the proposed rule focused 

on community banks instead of nonbanks that falsify their insured status, 

and noted that banks already take 

affirmative steps to inform their 

customers about deposit insurance 

coverage. However, other commenters 

commended the FDIC’s effort to 

improve clarity for customers regarding 

deposit insurance coverage and reduce 

customer confusion, given the rise of 

various banking services offered by the 

third parties. 

Some comments advocated for 

stronger measures to address deposit 

insurance misrepresentations. 

Specifically, a commenter suggested 

that FDIC should expressly prohibit 

comparing an uninsured financial 

product to an insured product without 

clearly and conspicuously noting the 

difference between insured and 

uninsured status. 

Commenters also expressed views on 

an appropriate effective date for the 

rule. One commenter recommended a 

minimum 18-month implementation 

period before the final rule becomes 

effective. Another commenter requested 

that the requirements related to the 

digital sign be made effective after the 

industry has at least one year to comply. 

C. Final Rule and Discussion of 

Comments 

The FDIC has reviewed and carefully 

considered public comments received 

and is generally finalizing the rule as 

proposed, with some changes and 

clarifications, as described below. The 

amendments made by this final rule will 

take effect on April 1, 2024. However, 

full compliance with the amendments 

made by this final rule is extended to 

January 1, 2025. The extended 

compliance date is intended to provide 

sufficient time for financial institutions 

to put in place processes, systems and 

technological updates to implement the 

new regulatory requirements described 

below. 

1. FDIC Official Sign 

The FDIC did not receive comments 

on its official sign and will continue to 

use the existing design of the official 

sign, which, in addition to prominently 

bearing the name of the FDIC, includes 

statements indicating that each 

depositor is insured up to at least 

$250,000 and that the FDIC’s deposit 

insurance is backed by the full faith and 

credit of the United States government. 

In the proposed rule, the FDIC moved 

the reference to the display of the 

official sign to proposed § 328.3, 

including the language that the official 

sign must be in a size of 7′′ by 3′′ or 

larger with black lettering on a gold 

background. After further consideration, 

the FDIC is including the official sign 

size and color requirements as part of 

the official sign description under 

§ 328.2 for ease of reference under the 

final rule. The FDIC also continues to 

reference this language in the 

requirements for display of the official 

sign in § 328.3 under the final rule. 

2. Sign Requirements on IDIs’ Physical 

Premises 

Official Sign In an IDI’s Physical 

Premises 

Proposed Rule 

Section 18(a) of the FDI Act requires 

all IDIs to display at each place of 

business a sign or signs relating to the 

insurance of the deposits of the 

institution. The FDIC proposed updated 

signage requirements in § 328.3 to 

govern signage within an IDI’s premises. 

The proposed rule would have 

continued to require all IDIs to 

continuously, clearly, and 

conspicuously display the official sign 

in their principal place of business and 

all their U.S. branches.20 To 

accommodate evolving styles and 

footprints of branches, the proposed 

rule also would have required IDIs to 

display the FDIC official sign in any 

physical location where IDIs receive 

deposits other than teller windows or 

stations (referred to as ‘‘non-traditional 

branches’’ in the preamble to the 

proposed rule). 

Discussion of Comments 

One commenter suggested that the 

FDIC eliminate references to ‘‘nontraditional branches’’ and stated that 

non-branch locations should not be 

subject to the proposed rule’s sign 

requirement. The commenter further 

stated that the proposed rule’s 

requirements for physical premises 

would apply only to banks’ principal 

place of business and branches. The 

commenter expressed concerns that the 

term ‘‘non-traditional branch’’ could be 

over-inclusive and include non-branch 

locations, like deposit production 

offices. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC is revising § 328.3(b) to now 

require that: 

Each insured depository institution must 

continuously, clearly, and conspicuously 

display the official sign at each place of 

business where consumers have access to or 

transact with deposits, including all of its 

branches (except branches excluded from the 

scope of this subpart under § 328.0) and 

other premises in which customers have 

access to or transact with deposits, in the 

manner described in this paragraph (b).21

This requirement is consistent with 

section 18(a) of the FDI Act, which 

provides the FDIC authority to prescribe 

regulations for IDIs to display at each 

place of business a sign or signs relating 

to the insurance of deposits of the 

institution.22

With respect to the comment that 

requested the FDIC not use the term 

‘‘non-traditional branches,’’ the FDIC 

did not intend to affect how the term 

‘‘branch’’ is defined or interpreted in 

other regulations. In the preamble to the 

proposal, the FDIC used the term ‘‘nontraditional branches’’ to help 

distinguish such places of business from 

what are commonly viewed as the 

‘‘traditional branches’’ where deposits 

are usually and normally received at 

only teller windows. The FDIC intended 

for the term to describe the new layouts 

and designs that some IDIs are using 

where deposits are usually and 

normally received in areas other than 

teller windows or stations.23

However, to prevent potential 

confusion related to the term ‘‘branch’’ 

and its applications in other regulations, 

the preamble to the final rule will not 

refer to the term ‘‘non-traditional 

branches.’’ Rather, under the final rule, 

the signage requirements apply to an 

IDI’s places of business where 

consumers have access to, or transact 

with, deposits, including branches and 

other physical premises (e.g., cafe ́-style 

locations). As a result, the types of bank 

premises that were intended to be 

covered under the proposal are covered 

by the final rule. For example, under a 


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3508 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

24See infra Non-Deposits Sign on IDI’s Premises 

Section for discussion on the offering of nondeposit products. 

25As discussed, whether the display of the 

official sign is ‘‘large enough to be legible from 

anywhere in that area’’ means that the average 

customer can easily see and read the sign from a 

reasonable distance from that area depending on 

factors specific to the layout of the bank’s physical 

branch and the sign used, such as the size and 

shape of the physical location, the area where 

deposits are usually and normally accepted, a sign’s 

placement, a sign‘s size, and its font and colors. 

scenario where an IDI usually and 

normally receives insured deposits at a 

teller window or station and other areas 

within the same premise, then pursuant 

to the final rule, the IDI is required to 

display the official sign in accordance 

with the applicable signage 

requirements for each area as provided 

in § 328.3(b). 

Display of Official Sign When Deposits 

Received at Teller Windows or Stations 

Proposed Rule 

Under the proposed rule, if IDIs 

usually and normally receive deposits at 

teller windows or stations, IDIs would 

have been required to display the 

official sign at each teller window or 

station in a size of 7′′ by 3′′ or larger with 

black lettering on a gold background. 

The proposed rule would also have 

allowed flexibility with respect to 

display of the official sign where the IDI 

usually and normally receives deposits 

at teller windows or stations and only 

offers insured deposit products on the 

premises. In such instances, an IDI 

would have the option to display the 

official sign at one or more locations 

visible from the teller windows or 

stations in a manner that ensures a copy 

of the official sign is large enough so as 

to be legible from anywhere in that area. 

Discussion of Comments 

One commenter suggested that the 

FDIC provide IDIs with flexibility to 

display clear and conspicuous signage 

and disclosures best suited for a 

particular branch facility. The 

commenter further stated that branch 

managers and other employees are 

readily available onsite to answer 

customer questions and address any 

confusion to the extent a customer may 

have questions, even with the presence 

of clear, conspicuous disclosures. 

With respect to IDIs that only offer 

insured deposit products on the 

premises, one commenter requested 

clarification as to whether the proposed 

flexible option would apply if the IDI’s 

larger locations offer non-deposit 

products. The same commenter also 

commended the FDIC for providing 

flexibility in signage placement but 

sought an example of what the FDIC 

would consider a sign ‘‘large enough to 

be legible from anywhere in that area’’ 

to satisfy this flexible option. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC is finalizing the proposed 

requirements with respect to the display 

of the official sign when IDIs usually 

and normally receive deposits at teller 

windows or stations. The final rule will 

continue to require that IDIs display the 

official sign at each teller window or 

station in a size of 7′′ by 3′′ or larger, 

with black lettering on a gold 

background, if insured deposits are 

usually and normally received at teller 

windows or stations. 

As provided under the proposal, the 

FDIC believes that it is appropriate to 

allow additional flexibility with respect 

to display of the official sign in 

instances when the IDI usually and 

normally receives deposits at teller 

windows and stations and only offers 

insured deposit products on the 

premises. In such cases, the requirement 

to display the official sign at each teller 

window or station may be satisfied by 

displaying the official sign in one or 

more locations visible from the teller 

windows or stations, in a size large 

enough to be legible from anywhere in 

that area. This flexible option would 

apply to branches that do not offer nondeposit products on the premises even 

if the IDI’s other locations offer nondeposit products.24

Under the final rule, whether the 

display of the official sign is ‘‘large 

enough to be legible from anywhere in 

that area’’ means that the average 

customer can easily see and read the 

sign from a reasonable distance from 

that area. This would depend on factors 

specific to the layout of the bank’s 

physical premises or places of business 

and the sign used, such as the size and 

shape of the physical location, the area 

where deposits are usually and 

normally accepted, a sign’s placement, a 

sign’s size, and its font and colors. For 

example, if a bank’s place of business 

has two teller windows right next to 

each other and it posts one official sign 

between the teller windows that is large 

enough to be legible to depositors at 

both teller windows, that approach 

would meet the standard. Banks’ places 

of business vary significantly in size and 

layout, and the final rule is intended to 

provide banks the flexibility to account 

for these physical variations. 

Display of Official Sign When Deposits 

Received in Areas Other Than Teller 

Windows or Stations 

Proposed Rule 

Under the proposal, if an IDI usually 

and normally receives deposits in areas 

of the premises other than teller 

windows or stations, IDIs would have 

been required to display the official sign 

in one or more locations in a manner 

that ensures the official sign is large 

enough so as to be legible from 

anywhere in those areas. 

Discussion of Comments 

As discussed above, a commenter 

suggested that non-branch locations 

should not be subject to the proposed 

rule’s sign requirements. 

Final Rule 

Consistent with the proposal, the final 

rule provides that if insured deposits are 

usually and normally received in areas 

of the premises other than teller 

windows or stations (e.g., cafe ́-style 

locations), the IDI is required to display 

the official sign in one or more locations 

in a size large enough to be legible 

anywhere in those deposit-taking 

areas.25 The FDIC believes that such a 

requirement will help ensure that IDI 

customers are aware that their deposits 

are protected by deposit insurance. 

As discussed above, an IDI’s premises, 

including non-branch locations that 

receive deposits in areas other than 

teller windows or stations, are subject to 

the final rule’s requirements. For 

example, an IDI’s cafe ́-style location that 

does not receive deposits at a teller 

window or station, but where customers 

engage with bankers in an open area and 

customers have access to or transact 

with deposits, is subject to the sign 

requirements under the final rule. 

Non-Deposit Signage on an IDIs’ 

Physical Premises 

Proposed Rule 

When both insured deposits and nondeposit products are offered within the 

IDI’s premises (regardless of whether 

deposits are received at teller windows 

or stations or deposits are received in 

areas other than teller windows or 

stations), the proposed rule would have 

required IDIs to display a non-deposit 

sign within a segregated area and not in 

close proximity to the official sign. The 

proposed rule would have required that 

IDIs continuously, clearly, and 

conspicuously display signage 

indicating that the non-deposit 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value. 

Under the proposed rule, the 

definition of ‘‘non-deposit product’’ 

read as, ‘‘Any product that is not a 

‘deposit’, including, but not limited to: 

stocks, bonds, government and 

municipal securities, mutual funds, 

annuities (fixed and variable), life 


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26 87 FR 78017, 78033, 78036 (Dec. 21, 2022). 

27As noted above, this requirement is intended to 

be generally consistent with longstanding 

interagency guidance on the retail sale of nondeposit investment products that many institutions 

already follow and thus should be familiar to many 

consumers. 

28Final §§ 328.1, 328.101. 

29See infra Crypto-Assets Section for further 

discussion. 

30For purposes of part 328, subpart B, the ‘‘nondeposit definition’’ includes safe deposit boxes. 

insurance policies (whole and variable), 

savings bonds, and crypto-assets. For 

purposes of this definition, a credit 

product is not a non-deposit 

product.’’ 26

Discussion of Comments 

Non-deposit product definition. One 

commenter requested clarification on 

what products constitute a non-deposit 

product under the proposed rule, such 

that they would require the display of 

the non-deposit sign. Specifically, the 

commenter noted the proposal only 

included life insurance policies that are 

whole or variable and requested 

clarification as to whether other types of 

insurance offerings are also included in 

the definition. Moreover, the commenter 

requested clarification on whether safe 

deposit box services would be 

considered a non-deposit product 

requiring the display of the non-deposit 

sign. 

Non-deposit sign design. With respect 

to the design of the non-deposit sign, 

one commenter stated that it would not 

be necessary for the FDIC to fully 

standardize the design, but 

recommended the FDIC set minimum 

standards for the sign such as a 

minimum font size. Another commenter 

supported standardization of the nondeposit sign and suggested a 

standardized icon, such as the red 

circle-backslash symbol overlaid on the 

word ‘‘FDIC’’ or ‘‘FDIC-insured’’ with 

the phrase ‘‘NOT FDIC-insured’’ 

underneath the symbol. 

Display of non-deposit sign. Some 

commenters requested that the FDIC 

take a less prescriptive approach with 

respect to the non-deposit sign 

requirements and adopt a more flexible 

approach that can change with evolving 

technology and business practices. Two 

commenters suggested that the FDIC 

adopt a single, centralized disclosure 

approach to address deposit and nondeposit products rather than separate 

signage requirements. Another 

commenter raised concerns that the 

costs of segregating physical signage 

across multiple branch locations would 

be challenging in smaller branch 

locations and requested further 

clarification when separation would be 

required for institutions with various 

service offerings. 

One commenter requested the FDIC 

define the term ‘‘offers’’ in relation to 

the offering of non-deposit products on 

the IDI’s physical premises that would 

require the display of the non-deposit 

sign. The commenter stated that they 

understood ‘‘offers’’ to mean that the 

bank has personnel on the premises 

who are licensed to sell non-deposit 

products but would exclude locations 

without onsite staff licensed to sell nondeposit products. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC is finalizing the proposed 

requirement to display non-deposit 

signs when both insured deposits and 

non-deposit products are offered within 

the IDI’s premises. The final rule’s nondeposit sign requirement applies to both 

an IDI’s places of business where 

deposits are received at teller windows 

or stations and an IDI’s places of 

business where deposits are received in 

areas other than teller windows or 

stations (e.g., cafe ́-style locations). 

Under the final rule an IDI generally 

must physically segregate the areas 

where non-deposit products are offered 

from areas where insured deposits are 

usually and normally accepted, and 

display a sign in the non-deposit areas 

indicating that non-deposit products: 

are not insured by the FDIC; are not 

deposits; and may lose value.27 An IDI 

is required to continuously, clearly, and 

conspicuously display this non-deposit 

sign; however, the final rule does not 

include specific design or size 

requirements. To minimize the potential 

for consumer confusion, the final rule 

prohibits display of non-deposit signs in 

close proximity to the official FDIC sign. 

Non-Deposit Product Definition 

Through the proposed rule, the FDIC 

intended to provide further clarity on 

the types of products that would 

constitute non-deposit products. In 

response to comments related to the 

non-deposit definition, the FDIC 

acknowledges that the proposed 

definition, as written, could be read as 

excluding products that would 

otherwise constitute a non-deposit 

product. Accordingly, the final rule 

generally retains the current nondeposit definition with minor changes, 

discussed in further detail below. 

The final rule defines a non-deposit 

product as: ‘‘[A]ny product that is not a 

‘deposit’, including, but not limited to: 

insurance products, annuities, mutual 

funds, securities, and crypto-assets. For 

purposes of this definition, credit 

products and safe deposit box services 

are not non-deposit products.’’ 28

The definition under the final rule 

provides a non-exclusive list of general 

examples of the types of products that 

constitute non-deposit products that is 

consistent with the long-standing 

definition, updated to include ‘‘cryptoassets.’’ 29 However, the FDIC agrees 

with a commenter that safe deposit 

boxes should not be included in the 

definition for purposes of requiring 

display of the non-deposit sign under 

part 328, Subpart A, and has revised the 

definition under the final rule to clarify 

the treatment of safe deposit boxes.30

Banks have a longstanding history of 

providing safe deposit box services to 

consumers to store valuables in a 

private, secure section of the bank. 

Accordingly, IDIs are not required to 

display the non-deposit sign in areas 

where IDIs provide safe deposit boxes 

and offer no other non-deposit products. 

Design of Non-Deposit Sign 

Consistent with the proposal, the final 

rule requires IDIs that offer both deposit 

and non-deposit products at their 

physical premises to display a nondeposit sign in a continuous, clear, and 

conspicuous manner with information 

indicating that non-deposit products: 

are not insured by the FDIC; are not 

deposits; and may lose value. The FDIC 

is not standardizing the design of the 

non-deposit sign as the FDIC believes 

the rule strikes a proper balance in 

providing IDIs flexibility, but also helps 

prevent consumer confusion by 

requiring signs informing consumers of 

the risks associated with non-deposit 

products. With respect to the comment 

to use red circle-backslash over ‘‘FDIC’’ 

or ‘‘FDIC-insured,’’ the FDIC views the 

suggestion as potentially confusing to 

consumers. With respect to the 

recommendation that the FDIC set 

minimum standards for the sign such as 

a minimum font size, the final rule, as 

proposed, requires that the sign be 

displayed in a continuous, clear, and 

conspicuous manner. As such, the FDIC 

believes this standard will help mitigate 

potential concerns regarding minimum 

font sizes and standards to ensure that 

consumers are able to view clearly the 

non-deposit sign. Accordingly, the FDIC 

is not adopting this recommendation 

and is not standardizing the design of 

the non-deposit sign. 

Display of the Non-Deposit Sign 

Under the final rule, the FDIC 

requires IDIs that offer both insured 

deposits and non-deposit products to 

clearly delineate and distinguish areas 

where activities related to the sale of 

non-deposit products occur from the 


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31See Interagency Statement on Retail Sales of 

Non-deposit Investment Products, FIL–9–94 (Feb. 

17, 1994), available at: https://www.fdic.gov/news/ 

financial-institution-letters/1994/fil9409.html. 32 Id. 

33FDIC’s national consumer campaign (‘‘Know 

Your Risk. Protect Your Money’’), available at: 

https://www.fdic.gov/news/campaigns/know-yourrisk/index.html. 

areas where insured deposit-taking 

activities occur. The FDIC believes 

requiring display of the non-deposit 

sign in a physically segregated area 

would more effectively mitigate the 

potential for consumer confusion than a 

centralized disclosure as recommended 

by some commenters, as it would better 

alert consumers when products are not 

insured. Further, given that the final 

rule does not require standardization of 

the non-deposit sign and provides IDIs 

flexibility regarding the design of the 

non-deposit sign, the FDIC believes that 

the approach taken in the final rule is 

responsive to commenter concerns on 

flexibility. 

With respect to comments noting 

concerns on the costs of segregating 

physical signage across multiple 

locations and requesting further 

clarification on when separation would 

be required, the non-deposit sign 

requirement is intended to be generally 

consistent with practices described in 

the longstanding interagency guidance 

on the retail sale of non-deposit 

investment products.31 As a result, the 

FDIC has added a provision to the final 

rule, generally consistent with 

longstanding guidance, noting that in 

limited situations in which physical 

considerations present challenges to 

offering non-deposit products in a 

distinct area, institutions must take 

prudent and reasonable steps to 

minimize customer confusion. This 

guidance has informed many 

institutions’ current approaches, and 

thus should be familiar to many IDIs 

and consumers. 

Consistent with the interagency 

guidance, the FDIC expects IDIs to 

minimize the possibility of consumer 

confusion when delineating the areas 

where non-deposit activities take place 

from areas where insured deposit-taking 

activities occur. The FDIC intends for 

the delineation requirement to include 

some flexibility, depending on the 

circumstances. For example, IDIs could 

conduct non-deposit related activity in 

separate areas or in areas that are not in 

close proximity to where deposits are 

taken by using a desk, cubicle, 

partitions, railings, planters, a separate 

room, or other indicator that the area is 

distinct and separate from the deposittaking area. In the limited situations 

where IDIs experience challenges in 

physically segregating products, IDIs 

must take prudent and reasonable steps 

to minimize consumer confusion, 

consistent with the regulation’s 

requirements. 

In response to the commenter 

requesting clarification on the term 

‘‘offers’’ for purposes of displaying the 

non-deposit sign under part 328, the 

FDIC interprets ‘‘offers’’ to capture 

situations where customers are 

presented with or sold non-deposit 

products within an IDI’s physical 

premises. This could include situations 

where personnel are not physically 

present on the bank premises, but the 

IDI presents or sells non-deposit 

products to consumers within the 

bank’s premises. As an example, nondeposit signs are required in areas 

where the consumer is offered nondeposit products within an IDI’s 

physical premises by personnel through 

an electronic communication device 

(e.g., an interactive kiosk or tablet). 

Relevance of Non-Deposit Sign 

Requirements to Interagency Statement 

of Policy 

The federal banking agencies have 

previously issued guidance to IDIs they 

supervise relating to the retail sale of 

non-deposit investment products.32 The 

FDIC’s proposed rule stated that its nondeposit sign requirement was intended 

to be consistent with the practices 

described in this longstanding 

interagency guidance. Specifically, the 

proposed rule’s non-deposit sign 

requirements were similar to disclosures 

related to sales of non-deposit products 

described in the interagency guidance. 

Use of Electronic Media or Varied Signs 

To Satisfy Official Sign and NonDeposit Sign Requirements on IDIs’ 

Premises 

Proposed Rule 

Under the proposed rule, IDIs would 

have had the option to display the 

official sign and non-deposit sign 

through the use of electronic media. The 

proposed rule also would retain certain 

provisions of existing regulations that 

provide IDIs with flexibility in 

displaying the official sign. Under the 

proposal, IDIs would have the option to 

display the official sign in locations on 

the premises other than those required 

under the rule, except for in areas where 

non-deposit products are offered. For 

locations where display of the official 

sign is required, IDIs could choose to 

display signs that vary from the official 

sign in size, color, or material, provided 

that the sign is no smaller than the 

official sign, has the same color for the 

text and graphics, and includes the 

same content. 

Discussion of Comments 

Commenters supported the proposed 

option to use electronic media to 

display the official sign and non-deposit 

sign. One commenter recommended that 

the FDIC produce educational, 

captioned consumer videos to be 

displayed on digital signage within an 

IDI’s lobby. 

Final Rule 

The final rule adopts the proposal to 

provide IDIs the flexibility to utilize 

electronic media to satisfy sign 

requirements on an IDI’s premises. This 

provision allowing IDIs to use electronic 

signs applies to both display of the 

official sign and non-deposit signage, 

where required, and would similarly be 

subject to the continuous, clear, and 

conspicuous display standard. 

Accordingly, a rotating display will not 

satisfy the ‘‘continuous’’ requirement 

applicable to the display of official sign 

and non-deposit sign. 

The final rule also retains certain 

provisions of current regulations that 

provide IDIs with flexibility in 

displaying the official sign. IDIs have 

the option to display the official sign in 

locations on the premises other than 

those required under the rule, except for 

in areas where non-deposit products are 

offered. For locations where display of 

the official sign is required, IDIs may 

choose to display signs that vary from 

the official sign in size, color, or 

material, provided that the sign is no 

smaller than the official sign, has the 

same color for the text and graphics, and 

includes the same content. 

Under the final rule, the FDIC will not 

require IDIs to display FDIC-produced 

videos within their physical premises. 

The FDIC is, however, undertaking 

several efforts to educate consumers 

regarding deposit insurance and the role 

of the FDIC, including a public 

awareness campaign on deposit 

insurance launched in October 2023.33

3. Sign Requirements for Digital 

Deposit-Taking Channels 

The final rule will facilitate banks 

providing consumers with clear, 

consistent, and accurate digital 

disclosures to promote consumers’ 

understanding of when they are 

interacting with an IDI and when their 

funds are protected by the FDIC’s 

deposit insurance coverage. At the same 

time, the FDIC intends to permit some 

flexibility for IDIs with respect to digital 

sign requirements. As such, the FDIC is 


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finalizing sign requirements related to 

IDI digital channels, with some changes 

and clarifications, as described below. 

a. FDIC Official Digital Sign 

Proposed Rule 

Under the proposal, an IDI would 

have been required to clearly, 

continuously, and conspicuously 

display a newly established digital sign 

on the IDI’s homepage, landing and 

login pages or screens, and transactional 

pages or screens involving deposits, to 

the extent applicable. The proposal 

further provided that a digital sign 

displayed in a continuous manner, near 

the top of the relevant page or screen in 

close proximity to the IDI’s name, 

would be considered ‘‘clear and 

conspicuous.’’ The proposed digital sign 

was intended to visually communicate 

to consumers that they are conducting 

business with an IDI rather than a nonbank. The proposal provided that the 

FDIC expected the digital sign to be an 

abbreviated version of the official sign 

and that it would prominently bear the 

name of the FDIC and the statement that 

insured deposits are backed by the full 

faith and credit of the U.S. Government. 

Discussion of Comments 

Some commenters raised concerns 

that the proposed changes in digital 

signage design and placement were 

overly prescriptive and may be difficult 

to implement due to technological and 

budgetary limits. However, other 

commenters supported the proposed 

requirement, noting the importance of 

ensuring that bank customers are made 

fully aware of situations where deposit 

insurance is present and is separate and 

distinct from product offerings that do 

not include deposit insurance. 

With respect to the placement of the 

proposed digital sign on the IDI’s 

homepage, landing and login pages or 

screens, one commenter offered that 

home pages and landing pages are not 

the primary point of interaction between 

banks and customers, noting that home 

pages are generally used for marketing, 

not customer transactions. As such, the 

commenter believed only pages with 

transactional capacity should be subject 

to the proposed signage requirement. 

Some commenters questioned the 

necessity of displaying the same digital 

signage on each subsequent screen after 

a customer has logged in, and thought 

that the rules were unclear regarding 

internal transfer screens between FDICinsured products after log-in. One 

comment noted that having the digital 

sign on login and other pages could 

imply to customers that deposit 

insurance applies to all products on the 

website. 

Several commenters recommended 

that the FDIC adopt a more flexible 

approach where banks could place the 

digital sign on the bank’s web page. One 

commenter noted that many websites 

use a basic template that carries through 

each successive web page and that 

template could contain the required 

statement. To allow for further 

flexibility in implementation and 

compliance, a commenter suggested that 

the FDIC add a ‘‘reasonable person test’’ 

when assessing the digital signage 

requirements in order to allow banks to 

continue to innovate. Another 

commenter provided that there would 

be no significant difference for a 

consumer in placing the FDIC official 

digital sign at the top of the page in 

close proximity to the bank name, other 

than increased costs for the IDIs. Other 

commenters supported the proposal to 

place the sign at the top of the screen 

to comply with the clear and 

conspicuous requirement. 

The FDIC notes that a specific 

question was asked as part of the NPR 

about the design of the digital sign but 

no comments were received in response 

to this question. 

Final Rule 

After carefully considering the 

comments received, the FDIC is 

adopting this part of the proposed rule 

as final and will require IDIs to display 

the FDIC official digital sign ‘‘clearly 

and conspicuously’’ in a continuous 

manner, near the top of the relevant 

page or screen, and in close proximity 

to the IDI’s name. The FDIC is finalizing 

a design for the FDIC official digital sign 

that consists of ‘‘FDIC’’ along with the 

following text: ‘‘FDIC-Insured- Backed 

by the full faith and credit of the U.S. 

Government.’’ Below is the design for 

the FDIC official digital sign under 

§ 328.5: 

The final rule establishes a clear 

standard to promote consistency in the 

use and application of the FDIC official 

digital sign by IDIs. The rule specifies 

the color, size, and font to establish an 

easily recognizable, consistent digital 

sign to convey the certainty and 

confidence historically provided by the 

FDIC official sign at banks’ teller 

windows. Recognizing the variability in 

the design and color of IDI websites, the 

final rule also provides an alternative 

color if the specified colors, navy blue 

and black, would not be legible against 

the background design colors of the 

IDI’s web page or mobile banking 

application. 

The final rule requires ‘‘FDIC’’ in the 

FDIC official digital sign to be displayed 

with a wordmark size of 37.36 x 15.74px 

in navy blue (hexadecimal color code 

#003256), with ‘‘FDIC-Insured—Backed 

by the full faith and credit of the U.S. 

Government’’ in Source Sans Pro Web 

font (regular 400 italic), 12.8px, 

displayed in black (hexadecimal color 

code #000000) lettering. If the official 

FDIC digital sign in these colors would 

be illegible due to the color of the 

background, the final rule requires the 

‘‘FDIC’’ and the one line of smaller type 

to the right of ‘‘FDIC’’ to both be 

displayed in white (hexadecimal color 

code #FFFFFF). 

The FDIC official digital sign aligns 

with the statutory provisions in section 

18 of the FDI Act on the display of 

signage at each IDI’s principal place of 

business relating to the insurability of 

deposits and, consistent with section 18 

of the FDI Act, the FDIC official digital 

sign includes a statement that insured 

deposits are backed by the full faith and 

credit of the U.S. Government. The FDIC 

appreciates the issues raised by 

commenters with respect to the FDIC 

official digital sign, including 

supporting flexibility and ensuring the 

new FDIC official digital sign does not 

cause depositor confusion. Given the 

discussion above regarding the 

increased use of mobile banking, as well 

as the FDIC’s interest in protecting 

consumers, the FDIC believes the 

requirement to display the FDIC official 

digital sign will promote consumer 

confidence in the Nation’s banking 

system and benefit IDIs by assisting 

consumers in more easily identifying 

IDI websites. 

The FDIC believes that the use of the 

FDIC official digital sign by IDIs will 

assist consumers in better 

understanding when they are 

conducting business with an IDI and 

when they are interacting with a nonbank entity. Seeing the FDIC official 

digital sign on all IDI websites and 

mobile applications will promote 

awareness that consumers are doing 

business with FDIC-insured institutions. 

Display of the FDIC official digital sign 


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FDIC FDIC-Insured - Backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government 
3512 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

34Some IDIs currently display non-deposit 

disclosures in small font near the bottom of web 

pages and application screens. Consumers are 

unlikely to notice such disclosures and may 

mistakenly believe that non-deposits products are 

covered by FDIC insurance. Such display of nondeposit disclosures would not satisfy the clear, 

continuous, and conspicuous display requirement 

of the proposed rule. 

by any non-bank third party would 

improperly imply that the non-bank is 

FDIC-insured and would constitute a 

misrepresentation under part 328 

subpart B. 

The FDIC official digital sign must be 

displayed on the (1) initial or homepage 

of the website or application, (2) landing 

or login pages, and (3) pages where the 

customer may transact with deposits. 

For example, the FDIC official digital 

sign should be displayed where an IDI’s 

mobile application allows customers to 

deposit checks remotely, because this 

electronic space is in effect a digital 

teller window. 

In response to comments related to 

technical issues and potential costs, the 

FDIC recognizes the commenters’ 

concerns. But several comments also 

highlighted the importance and value of 

clear and conspicuous signage to 

prevent consumer confusion. The FDIC 

believes that the benefits of the FDIC 

official digital sign outweigh the 

concerns about costs. To alleviate those 

concerns the FDIC is reviewing options 

to provide IDIs with technical assistance 

or guidance to assist in implementing 

the FDIC official digital sign 

requirements. The FDIC will also review 

options to provide an image of the FDIC 

official digital sign to IDIs upon request 

at no charge, similar to the process by 

which the FDIC provides banks with 

physical official signs. 

b. Digital Display of Non-Deposit 

Signage 

Proposed Rule 

Under the proposed rule, if a digital 

deposit-taking channel offers access to 

deposits, as well as non-deposit 

products, IDIs would have been 

required to clearly, continuously and 

conspicuously display a non-deposit 

sign indicating that the non-deposit 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value. 

To satisfy this proposed requirement, 

the proposed rule would have required 

the continuous display of the nondeposit sign (referred to as the ‘‘static’’ 

non-deposit sign) on each IDI page 

relating to non-deposit products and 

prohibit displaying the non-deposit sign 

in close proximity to the FDIC official 

digital sign. The FDIC would expect the 

non-deposit signage to be in a 

prominent place, in an appropriate size, 

and displayed in a continuous manner 

for any consumer accessing the page to 

notice. The proposal provided, however, 

that institutions would have flexibility 

in the way they market non-deposit 

products and did not specify design or 

size requirements for this non-deposit 

sign. 

In addition, under the proposed rule, 

IDIs would have been required to 

display this non-deposit sign via a ‘‘onetime’’ notification when consumers 

initially access a page related to nondeposit products (referred to as the onetime notification). The notification 

would have provided an initial, 

prominent display of the non-deposit 

information to alert consumers that they 

are dealing with non-deposit products 

that are not covered by FDIC insurance. 

Moreover, consumers would need to 

take action to dismiss the notification 

before accessing the relevant page or 

screen. 

Discussion of Comments 

Commenters generally recommended 

that the FDIC consider the costs related 

to implementing the digital signage 

requirements for IDIs and to ensure that 

the requirements are not overly 

burdensome for consumers and the 

industry. 

More specifically, several commenters 

raised concerns that the increased 

digital signage requirements would 

increase costs for banks without 

countervailing benefits for consumers. 

While agreeing with the sentiment 

behind the proposed pop-up 

requirement, two commenters noted 

that creating pop-ups can be 

operationally complex and may be 

burdensome for smaller institutions to 

implement. Similarly, another 

commenter raised technical concerns 

and suggested a reduction of the 

repetitive disclosures. 

One commenter recommended that 

the FDIC only finalize a requirement for 

non-deposit disclosures to be included 

statically on the applicable pages, and 

not require affirmative consumer action 

regarding such disclosures. 

Some commenters also stated that the 

proposed digital signage requirements 

could lead to customer confusion and 

create a suboptimal customer 

experience. Relatedly, another 

commenter stated that the proposed 

digital pop-up message could degrade 

the customer experience and may cause 

difficulties for screen readers used by 

disabled customers. 

One commenter expressed 

appreciation about the ability of ‘‘popups’’, ‘‘speedbumps’’, or ‘‘overlays’’ to 

notify consumers of non-deposit 

products and ensure that they remain 

properly informed. However, the 

commenter also asserted that to reflect 

the various business models, products, 

and services, as well as adequately 

respect the importance of a consumer’s 

experience in the increasingly 

competitive online financial services 

market, the FDIC should allow banks to 

work with their non-bank partners to 

ensure proper disclosure and ensure 

that these disclosures are properly 

applied to the various online platforms 

and consumer experiences. 

Several commenters supported the 

proposed requirements, noting that it 

would be beneficial for customers to 

know a given entity’s or product’s 

insured status. One commenter 

advocated for the FDIC to require IDIs 

to explicitly mark every financial 

product as either insured or non-insured 

and advocated for a more 

comprehensive disclosure statement. 

Non-Deposit Digital Signage in Final 

Rule: Requirements When Non-Deposit 

Products and Deposit Products Are 

Offered Through Same Digital DepositTaking Channel 

After consideration of the comments 

responding to the proposed non-deposit 

digital signage requirements, the FDIC is 

finalizing certain aspects of the proposal 

and modifying other aspects as 

described below. 

The FDIC is finalizing the 

requirement for IDIs to clearly and 

conspicuously display the ‘‘static’’ nondeposit signage on its digital deposittaking channels. More specifically, if an 

IDI’s digital deposit-taking channel 

offers access to both deposits at the IDI 

and non-deposit products, the IDI must 

clearly and conspicuously display 34

signage indicating that the non-deposit 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value. 

This signage must be displayed on each 

IDI page relating to non-deposit 

products and may not be displayed in 

close proximity to the FDIC digital sign. 

The static non-deposit language 

described above will provide an 

important disclosure aimed at 

addressing potential customer confusion 

regarding the insured status of 

particular products offered by IDIs. 

Separately, the FDIC acknowledges 

the commenters that discussed the onetime non-deposit notification 

requirement increasing costs, being 

operationally complex, and creating a 

suboptimal customer experience. The 

FDIC has concluded that having two 

separate disclosures relating to nondeposit products on an IDI’s digital 

channel—the ‘‘static’’ signage and the 

one-time notification—are unnecessary. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3513 

35 ‘‘Remote Service Facility’’ includes any 

automated teller machine, cash dispensing 

machine, point-of-sale terminal, or other remote 

electronic facility where deposits are received. 12 

CFR 328.2(a)(1)(ii). 

36The FDIC would not view postage stamps sold 

at ATMs to require these disclosures. 

One such disclosure will sufficiently 

inform consumers and mitigate risks. As 

such, and in response to commenter 

concerns, the FDIC is only retaining a 

part of the proposed one-time 

notification requirement and is 

narrowing the scope for when the onetime notification is provided. 

Under the final rule, IDIs will only be 

required to display a one-time 

notification when a bank customer 

accesses non-deposit products from a 

non-bank third party via an IDI’s digital 

deposit-taking channel such as through 

a hyperlink (or similar weblinking 

feature). For example, if an IDI’s digital 

channel offers a third party’s securities 

product that requires the bank customer 

to leave the IDI’s website and access the 

securities product on the third party’s 

website, then the IDI will be required to 

provide the bank customer with a ‘‘one 

time’’ notification before the customer 

leaves the IDI’s digital channel. 

Moreover, under the final rule, the 

‘‘one time’’ notification requirement 

will not apply broadly to all consumers 

accessing the IDI’s website; instead, it 

will only apply to bank customers that 

have logged into their respective 

account at a particular IDI website. The 

‘‘one time’’ notification will be required 

per web session, which is the period of 

interaction between a bank customer 

and the IDI’s digital channel, starting 

when the customer logs in and ending 

when the customer logs off. 

Consistent with the proposal, the 

‘‘one time’’ notification must be clearly 

and conspicuously displayed and 

indicate that the non-deposit products: 

are not insured by the FDIC; are not 

deposits; and may lose value. The onetime notification could include, for 

example, an IDI using a ‘‘pop-up’’, 

‘‘speedbump’’, or ‘‘overlay’’ that 

displays a notification to the customer 

that the customer must dismiss before 

accessing the content related to nondeposit products on the third party’s 

website. 

Bank customers, who log in to their 

bank’s website and can access nondeposit products through their IDI’s 

deposit-taking digital channel, may 

click on a hyperlink that takes them to 

an IDI’s non-deposit page or click on a 

hyperlink that, unbeknownst to the 

customer, causes them to leave the 

bank’s website to access non-deposit 

products offered or presented by a third 

party. From the FDIC’s perspective, this 

raises two areas of elevated risk 

regarding customer confusion and 

potential harm because a bank customer 

is moving: (a) from an IDI to a non-bank; 

and (b) from an FDIC-insured deposit 

area to a non-deposit area. Further, bank 

customers that are accessing the third 

party’s website will not have the same 

benefit of the ‘‘static’’ non-deposit 

signage that will be available on IDI 

digital channels. 

As described above, one commenter 

recommended that the FDIC allow 

banks to work with their non-bank 

partners to ensure proper disclosure and 

ensure that these disclosures are 

properly applied to the various online 

platforms and consumer experiences. 

Given that certain non-bank third 

parties may offer both deposit products 

through a bank partner and non-deposit 

products on its website, IDIs will have 

discretion to provide customers with 

additional disclosure information as 

part of its one-time notification related 

to products offered by the non-bank 

third party, which may further 

minimize customer confusion. 

The final rule’s narrower, less 

burdensome, one-time non-deposit 

notification responds to several 

commenters’ concerns, while still 

mitigating the broader consumer 

protection risks by enabling bank 

customers to better understand when 

they are doing business with an IDI and 

when their funds are protected by the 

FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage. 

Regarding the comment about digital 

pop-up disclosures causing issues for 

disabled customers that use screen 

readers, the FDIC encourages IDIs to 

ensure that their pop-up notifications 

can be as accessible to screen reader 

users as any other web content. 

4. Automated Teller Machines and 

Similar Devices 

Proposed Rule 

The FDIC proposed amendments to 

update § 328.4 signage requirements for 

IDIs’ ATMs and other remote electronic 

facilities that receive deposits. The FDIC 

sought to ensure that depositors receive 

necessary disclosures regarding deposit 

insurance as banks continue to devise 

new ways to provide services to their 

customers. The proposed rule intended 

to capture banking kiosks and other 

devices currently defined as ‘‘Remote 

Service Facilities’’ 35 that receive 

deposits. This section of the proposed 

rule was not intended to address online 

and mobile banking channels, which are 

considered ‘‘digital deposit-taking 

channels.’’ 

The proposed rule would have 

required electronic display of the FDIC 

official digital sign on IDIs’ ATM and 

like devices. The proposed rule 

provided that the official FDIC sign 

must be electronically displayed clearly 

and conspicuously. ATMs and like 

devices would be required, at a 

minimum, to display the FDIC official 

digital sign on the home page or screen 

and each transaction page or screen 

relating to deposits. 

The proposed rule would have further 

required electronic non-deposit signs 

where an IDI’s ATM or like device both 

receives deposits for an IDI and offers 

access to non-deposit products.36 In this 

instance, the ATM or like device would 

be required to clearly, continuously, and 

conspicuously display electronic 

disclosures indicating that non-deposit 

products are not insured by the FDIC, 

are not deposits, and may lose value. 

The proposed rule would have required 

the display of these disclosures on each 

transaction page or screen relating to 

non-deposit products. 

Discussion of Comments 

Generally, commenters expressed 

concern over the difficulty or cost in 

implementing the proposed signage 

requirements for ATMs. Some 

commenters noted that costs will 

disproportionately affect community 

banks who rely on third-party vendors 

that provide ATM operating software; 

one commenter noted that software 

changes take time, and these vendors 

would be expected to prioritize large 

banks. Another commenter noted that a 

handful of third-party vendors are 

utilized by many banks, and the 

proposed changes would create supply 

bottlenecks as digital platforms are 

individualized for each bank. Three 

commenters specifically requested 

additional time—ranging from at least 

one year to up to 18 months—in order 

to comply with any new requirements 

imposed for physical or software signs 

on ATMs or similar devices. Relatedly, 

another commenter urged the FDIC to 

consider allowing banks to use a 

physical sign at their ATMs instead of 

an electronic one. 

A few comments sought clarity or 

expressed concern on the scope of the 

proposed ATM signage requirements. 

One commenter requested that the FDIC 

clarify whether the proposed ATM 

provision would only apply to ATMs 

and similar devices that receive 

deposits, excluding facilities that only 

provide balance, transfer, or withdrawal 

capabilities. Another commenter 

requested that the FDIC exclude 

Interactive Teller Machines (ITMs) from 

the ATM and like devices requirements 

as the commenter believed that ITMs do 


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3514 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

37 12 CFR 328.3(c). 

38 12 CFR 328.3(a). 

39 12 CFR 328.3(d)(10). 

not have any transaction screens visible 

and do not perform bank branch 

functions. One commenter requested 

that the FDIC clarify whether nondeposit signage requirements apply to 

the owner of the ATM and not the 

depository bank, if they are not the 

same. 

Commenters representing consumer 

groups were supportive of the proposed 

rule changes relating to ATMs and 

similar devices. One commenter 

believed the proposed rules were 

beneficial because consumers do not 

have the opportunity to seek 

clarification from bank employees at an 

ATM, like they would at a bank or bank 

branch. One commenter advocated for 

more stringent signage requirements for 

ATMs, recommending that the FDIC 

require IDIs to display disclosures on 

each screen that references a deposit or 

non-deposit product. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC has carefully considered 

these comments and is adopting certain 

parts of the proposed ATM signage 

requirements, with changes discussed 

below. The FDIC appreciates the 

comments and concerns provided 

regarding the costs of the proposed 

requirements and a need for additional 

time and the impact of potential 

changes on community banks who often 

rely on third parties to support 

operating and maintaining ATMs. The 

FDIC believes that the benefits of the 

new ATM signage requirements 

outweigh the potential costs; however, 

additional flexibility is warranted in 

certain situations. The new ATM 

requirements under the final rule will 

provide clear information to consumers 

as to when they are engaging with 

insured deposit products and when they 

are engaging with non-deposit products. 

For an IDI’s ATM or like device that 

receives deposits but does not offer 

access to non-deposit products, the final 

rule provides flexibility to meet the 

signage requirement by either (1) 

displaying the FDIC official digital sign 

as described in § 328.5 on ATM screens, 

or (2) displaying the physical official 

sign as described in § 328.2 by attaching 

or posting it to the ATM. However, IDIs’ 

ATMs or like devices that accept 

deposits and are put into service after 

January 1, 2025, must display the 

official digital sign (with no option to 

satisfy the requirement through display 

of the physical official sign). This 

approach provides IDIs with flexibility, 

consistent with some comments the 

FDIC received, and provides additional 

time to make related system and process 

revisions and updates. 

For an IDI’s ATM or like device that 

both receives deposits and offers access 

to non-deposit products, the final rule 

requires that such ATMs must: (a) 

display the official digital sign clearly, 

continuously, and conspicuously on the 

home page or screen and on each 

transaction page or screen relating to 

deposits; and (b) clearly, continuously, 

and conspicuously indicate that nondeposit products are not insured by the 

FDIC, are not deposits, and may lose 

value on each transaction page or screen 

relating to non-deposit products by 

January 1, 2025. The FDIC believes that 

clear signs differentiating the insured 

and uninsured products is important in 

this setting because customers often 

interact with ATMs alone, including 

when bank branches are closed or in 

areas that are isolated or where there are 

no bank branches. In such situations 

bank customers would not have an 

opportunity to ask clarifying questions 

of a bank representative or for bank staff 

to ensure that customers fully 

understand whether a product is 

covered by FDIC deposit insurance. 

The final rule also provides that 

degraded or defaced physical official 

signs would not meet the ‘‘clearly, 

continuously, and conspicuously’’ 

standard. For example, an official sign 

defaced such that portions are illegible 

would not ‘‘clearly’’ signal or notify 

consumers that they are dealing with an 

FDIC-insured depository institution’s 

ATM. However, if an ATM’s physical 

digital sign is, for example, slightly 

diminished, minimally blemished, or 

superficially damaged, these 

circumstances would be considered de 

minimis for the purposes of determining 

whether a physical official sign meets 

the ‘‘clearly, continuously, and 

conspicuous’’ standard for the purposes 

of compliance with the final rule. 

In addition, the final rule includes 

specific design features of the digital 

official sign, including specifics about 

colors, size, and font which should 

assist in implementation. In response to 

the comments on the scope of the rule, 

the final rule’s ATM provisions apply to 

an IDI’s automated teller machines or 

other remote electronic facilities that 

receive deposits. If an IDI’s remote 

electronic facility receives deposits and 

is labeled an ITM (instead of an ATM), 

the official sign requirements in part 

328 apply; however, if an ITM does not 

receive deposits, it is not subject to the 

rule. 

In some cases, where there is a 

deposit-taking ATM or like device, the 

owner of the ATM and the IDI may not 

be the same. As noted above, § 328.4 

applies to ‘‘IDIs’ automated teller 

machines or like devices.’’ In 

determining whether an ATM or like 

device is an IDI’s, the FDIC will 

consider circumstances such as the 

ATM or like device’s location, branding, 

whether it is operated by the IDI, and 

other factors that reasonably indicate it 

is an IDI’s ATM. Under the final rule, 

for such in-scope ATMs and like 

devices, the official digital sign and 

non-deposit signage requirements under 

§ 328.4 apply. 

In response to the comment on 

recommending more stringent 

requirements, the FDIC does not 

consider more stringent signage 

requirements as necessary to achieve its 

policy goals. For certain in-scope ATMs, 

the signage requirements under the final 

rule apply to each transaction page or 

screen for deposits and, if applicable, 

non-deposit products. 

5. Official Advertising Statement for 

IDIs 

Proposed Rule 

The FDIC proposed limited 

amendments to the advertisement 

statement requirements applicable to 

IDIs. Specifically, the FDIC proposed to 

expand IDIs’ options for use of a short 

advertising statement to include the 

term ‘‘FDIC-insured.’’ 

Currently, IDIs must include the 

official advertising statement in all 

advertisements that promote deposit 

products.37 The term advertisement 

means a commercial message in any 

medium that is designed to attract 

public attention or patronage to a 

product or business.38 The FDIC views 

this definition to include advertising 

published through social media 

channels. 

The current regulation allows IDIs to 

use the short title ‘‘Member of FDIC’’, 

‘‘Member FDIC’’, or a reproduction of 

the symbol of the corporation (defined 

in § 328.2(b)). In addition to these 

options, to provide additional 

flexibility, the proposed rule would 

allow the use of ‘‘FDIC-insured’’. 

The FDIC also proposed to make a 

technical correction to the reference to 

the deposit insurance limit found in 

paragraph (d)(10) of the current 

regulation, which states that ‘‘deposits 

or depositors are insured by the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation to at 

least $100,000 for each depositor.’’ 39 As 

a technical correction, the proposed rule 

would instead reference the standard 

maximum deposit insurance amount 

(currently $250,000), as established by 

Congress. 


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40See 12 U.S.C. 1828(a)(4). 

41See §§ 328.100 through 328.109. 

42These examples are intended to be illustrative, 

rather than an exhaustive list of ways in which a 

non-bank might misrepresent its insured status. 

Any use of the official advertising statement, FDICAssociated Terms, or FDIC-Associated Images that 

inaccurately states or implies that the non-bank is 

insured by the FDIC will violate the final rule. 

Discussion of Comments 

A comment letter submitted by 

several non-profit organizations 

opposed the addition of the term ‘‘FDICinsured’’ for use as a shortened form of 

the official advertising statement and 

suggested that IDIs continue to use the 

shortened forms of the advertising 

statement found in the existing 

regulation (‘‘Member of FDIC’’ or 

‘‘Member FDIC’’). The commenters 

stated that when IDIs offer products that 

are not FDIC-insured, their use of the 

term ‘‘FDIC-insured’’ could be 

misleading and poses risk of consumer 

confusion. The commenters asserted 

that the purported benefit to IDIs of 

increased flexibility is not worth this 

risk of increased consumer confusion. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC appreciates the concern 

about risk of consumer confusion 

stemming from use of the term ‘‘FDICInsured.’’ However, the FDIC believes 

that restrictions on usage of the 

advertising statement (including a 

shortened form) in connection with 

non-deposit products sufficiently 

mitigate any risk of consumer 

confusion. 

Specifically, IDIs are prohibited from 

using the official advertising statement 

in any advertisement relating solely to 

non-deposit products. IDIs are also 

prohibited from using the official 

advertising statement in any 

advertisement relating solely to hybrid 

products, which are products that have 

both deposit product features and nondeposit product features. IDIs may use 

the official advertising statement in 

advertisements containing information 

about both insured deposit products and 

non-deposit or hybrid products, but are 

required to clearly segregate the official 

advertising statement from any portion 

of the advertisement that relates to the 

non-deposit products. These restrictions 

are part of the existing regulation and 

were included in the proposed rule. The 

FDIC is including these same 

restrictions in the final rule, meaning 

that consumers should not, for example, 

see statements indicating that a 

particular IDI is ‘‘FDIC-Insured’’ made 

in connection with advertisements 

related solely to non-deposit products. 

The FDIC is finalizing the advertising 

statement provisions of the final rule as 

proposed. Under the final rule, IDIs will 

have the option to use ‘‘FDIC-Insured’’ 

as a short form of the official advertising 

statement to satisfy advertising 

statement requirements. Subject to 

limited exceptions, IDIs are required to 

include the official advertising 

statement in all advertisements that 

promote either deposit products and 

services or non-specific banking 

products and services offered by the 

institution. The advertising statement 

must be in a size and print to be clearly 

legible. 

In addition, as noted in the proposed 

rule, the FDIC does not intend for the 

digital sign requirement to overlap with 

the general advertising statement 

requirements that apply to IDIs. For 

example, the advertising statement 

would not be required on web pages 

where an IDI displays the digital official 

sign, such as a homepage. In these 

situations, under § 328.6(d)(10), the 

advertising statement is unnecessary 

because the inclusion of the digital 

official sign makes it clear that the IDI 

is insured by the FDIC. However, IDIs 

remain responsible for complying with 

the official advertising statement 

requirements for other qualifying 

advertisements, including those 

contained on other web pages. 

As under existing regulations, the 

final rule provides that a non-English 

equivalent of the official advertising 

statement may be used in any 

advertisement, provided that the 

translation has the prior written 

approval of the FDIC. The FDIC is also 

considering making available to the 

public approved translations of the 

official advertising statement in several 

common languages on its website or 

through other means in the future to 

support IDIs’ efforts to communicate 

with their non-English-speaking 

customers. 

6. Misrepresentations and Material 

Omissions by Any Person 

Proposed Rule 

Section 18(a)(4) of the FDI Act,40 and 

its implementing regulations in subpart 

B to part 328,41 prohibit any person 

from misusing the name or logo of the 

FDIC, engaging in false advertising, and 

making knowing misrepresentations 

about deposit insurance. In the NPR, the 

FDIC stated that it may be beneficial to 

provide further clarity on the 

application of the statutory prohibition 

on misrepresentations in specific 

situations where consumers may be 

misled as to whether an entity is 

insured by the FDIC and the nature and 

extent of deposit insurance coverage. 

The FDIC proposed to amend subpart B 

to expressly address these situations, 

making clear when specific statements 

or omissions constitute a 

misrepresentation under section 

18(a)(4). 

Use of the Official Advertising 

Statement or FDIC-Associated Terms or 

Images 

Consumers have historically 

identified the use of the official 

advertising statement (such as ‘‘Member 

FDIC’’), FDIC-Associated Terms, or 

FDIC-Associated Images to signify that 

they are dealing with an IDI and will 

receive the protection of FDIC deposit 

insurance. The official advertising 

statement, FDIC-Associated Terms, and 

FDIC-Associated Images have 

increasingly been used by non-banks 

that purport to deposit their customers’ 

funds at IDIs. As discussed in the NPR, 

the FDIC believes that use of the official 

advertisement, FDIC-Associated Terms, 

or FDIC-Associated Images in such 

instances presents a high risk of 

confusing consumers as to whether they 

are dealing with an IDI and whether 

deposit insurance applies to their funds. 

To address this risk, the proposed rule 

would have amended § 328.102(a) and 

§ 328.102(b) to clarify specific 

circumstances under which use of the 

official advertising statement, FDICAssociated Terms, or FDIC-Associated 

Images by a non-bank would constitute 

a misrepresentation of insured status as 

it would inaccurately imply that the 

non-bank is FDIC-insured. For example, 

under the proposed rule, a non-bank’s 

use of the ‘‘Member FDIC’’ logo on its 

website or in its marketing materials 

would have been a misrepresentation 

unless that logo is next to the name of 

one or more IDIs. The NPR also stated 

that a non-bank’s use of either the FDIC 

official sign or the FDIC official digital 

sign would be a misrepresentation if it 

inaccurately implies that the non-bank 

is insured by the FDIC and backed by 

the full faith and credit of the U.S. 

Government. Similarly, the NPR stated 

that a non-bank’s use of FDICAssociated Terms in statements 

suggesting that the non-bank is insured 

by the FDIC would constitute a 

misrepresentation.42

Failure To Disclose That a Person Is a 

Non-Bank Is a Material Omission When 

a Statement Is Made Regarding Deposit 

Insurance 

Non-banks that purport to deposit 

their customers’ funds at IDIs sometimes 

make statements regarding deposit 

insurance coverage for those funds. 

Absent additional context, to the extent 

such statements suggest that FDIC 


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3516 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

43For example, ‘‘ABC Co. is not an FDIC-insured 

depository institution; banking services provided by 

XYZ Bank, Member FDIC.’’ 

44See §§ 330.5, 330.7. For pass-through deposit 

insurance to apply, a consumer’s funds must first 

be on deposit at an IDI. In addition: (1) the deposit 

account records of the IDI must disclose a basis for 

pass-through coverage, such as a custodial or 

agency relationship; (2) the identities and interests 

of the actual owners of the funds must be 

ascertainable either from the records of the IDI or 

records maintained in good faith and in the regular 

course of business by another party; and (3) the 

relationship that provides the basis for pass-through 

deposit insurance coverage must be genuine, with 

the deposited funds actually owned by the named 

owners. Additional requirements apply to 

arrangements involving multiple levels of 

relationships. 

deposit insurance will protect 

consumers in the event of the nonbank’s insolvency, they likely 

misrepresent the insured status of the 

non-bank. To minimize the risk of 

consumer confusion, the proposed rule 

provided that if a non-bank makes 

statements regarding deposit insurance 

for its customers, it is a material 

omission for the non-bank to fail to 

clearly and conspicuously disclose that 

it is not itself an FDIC-insured 

institution and that the FDIC’s deposit 

insurance coverage only protects against 

the failure of an FDIC-insured 

depository institution. In the NPR, the 

FDIC stated that this additional 

disclosure is necessary to prevent 

consumers from misinterpreting a nonbank’s assertions regarding deposit 

insurance coverage. The FDIC noted that 

some non-banks already include such 

language on their websites, often 

identifying the partner IDI through 

which banking services are provided.43

The proposed rule did not prescribe 

specific disclosure language; however, it 

explained that a statement that a person 

is not an FDIC-insured bank and deposit 

insurance covers the failure of an 

insured bank would be considered a 

clear statement for purposes of this 

provision. The proposed rule aimed to 

give non-banks that wish to make 

statements regarding deposit insurance 

coverage some flexibility in how they 

communicate the required information. 

Failure To State That Non-Deposit 

Products Are Not Insured by the FDIC 

Is a Material Omission When a 

Statement Is Made Regarding Deposit 

Insurance 

The FDIC’s experience suggests that 

deposits and non-deposit products are 

increasingly being offered to consumers 

in ways that fail to distinguish which 

products are insured by the FDIC. For 

instance, marketing materials might 

emphasize the deposit insurance 

protection that applies to some products 

while failing to make clear that not all 

of the products offered are FDICinsured. In other instances, firms have 

represented to their customers that nondeposit products are eligible for deposit 

insurance coverage, which has led 

consumers to believe, mistakenly, that 

their money or investments are 

protected by deposit insurance. In the 

NPR, the FDIC stated it believes that 

where banks or non-banks make 

statements regarding deposit insurance 

in a context where deposits and nondeposit products are involved, 

additional information is necessary to 

ensure that consumers understand 

which products are subject to deposit 

insurance. To prevent consumer 

confusion, the proposed rule provided 

that if a person makes statements 

regarding deposit insurance in a context 

that involves both deposits and nondeposit products, it is a material 

omission to fail to disclose that nondeposit products are not insured by the 

FDIC, are not deposits, and may lose 

value. For example, under the proposed 

rule, if a non-bank’s website offered 

customers the option to have their funds 

deposited at an IDI and protected by 

deposit insurance or invested in nondeposit products, it would be a material 

omission if the non-bank’s website 

failed to state that the non-deposit 

products are not insured by the FDIC, 

are not deposits, and may lose value. 

Failure To State That Requirements 

Apply to Pass-Through Deposit 

Insurance 

The FDIC has a long history of 

providing ‘‘pass-through’’ deposit 

insurance coverage, meaning that 

deposits placed at an IDI by a third 

party on behalf of one or more owners 

are insured as if deposited directly at 

the IDI by the owner(s). Pass-through 

insurance allows each owner of the 

funds in such an arrangement to be 

separately insured up to the statutory 

deposit insurance limit, currently 

$250,000, even if the total deposits of all 

owners (in the aggregate) exceeds the 

$250,000 limit. Pass-through insurance 

only applies, however, if certain 

regulatory requirements are satisfied.44

Arrangements that rely on passthrough insurance have become 

increasingly common, with non-banks 

often claiming to provide the protection 

of pass-through deposit insurance for 

consumers’ funds. Such representations, 

however, may be inaccurate, mislead 

consumers, and fail to apprise them of 

the risk they face in the event that the 

pass-through deposit insurance 

requirements have not been satisfied. If 

the pass-through requirements are not 

met, consumers’ funds may not be fully 

insured in the event the IDI where their 

funds have been deposited were to fail. 

In the NPR, the FDIC would have 

required that parties that make 

statements regarding the application of 

pass-through deposit insurance make 

additional disclosure to promote 

awareness of this risk. 

The proposed rule provided that if a 

person makes statements regarding passthrough deposit insurance for its 

customers’ funds, it is a material 

omission to fail to clearly and 

conspicuously disclose that certain 

conditions must be satisfied for passthrough deposit insurance coverage to 

apply. The proposed rule would not 

require a person making a statement 

regarding pass-through deposit 

insurance to list the specific conditions 

that must be satisfied; simply 

referencing that conditions must be 

satisfied would be sufficient under the 

proposed rule. The proposed rule also 

did not prescribe specific disclosure 

language, providing flexibility in how 

parties may wish to express the required 

information. For example, under the 

proposed rule, if a website for a 

financial product were to state that 

consumers’ funds are eligible for passthrough deposit insurance, it would be 

a material omission to fail to clearly and 

conspicuously state that certain 

conditions must be satisfied in order for 

pass-through insurance to apply. 

Discussion of Comments 

Some commenters recommended that 

the rule require entities to disclose 

certain information that they believed 

was necessary to avoid material 

omissions when making statements 

about deposit insurance. For example, 

one commenter suggested that the FDIC 

impose several specific requirements, 

presumptions, and enforcement 

practices on any advertising relating to 

digital assets. Another commenter 

suggested that the FDIC prohibit nonbanks from using the words ‘‘banking’’ 

and ‘‘bank account’’ to describe their 

products or services offered, and that a 

non-bank’s failure to comply should 

constitute a material omission. 

With respect to statements referencing 

deposit and non-deposit products, one 

commenter suggested that the FDIC 

should make clear that comparing an 

uninsured financial product to an 

insured one without clearly and 

conspicuously noting the difference in 

insurance status is a misrepresentation. 

Another commenter similarly suggested 

that it would be a material omission for 

a non-bank to fail to disclose that its 

non-deposit products are not FDICinsured. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3517 

45See 87 FR 33415, 33418 (June 2, 2022). 46See final 12 CFR 328.102(b)(4)(iv). 

In connection with the proposed passthrough provision, one commenter 

suggested that it should be a material 

omission for entities that are not FDICinsured to advertise pass-through 

deposit insurance without setting forth 

all the conditions necessary to receive 

such coverage. Another commenter 

suggested that requiring a clear and 

conspicuous disclosure that certain 

conditions must be satisfied for passthrough insurance, without more, could 

lead a depositor to wonder what those 

conditions might be and question 

whether pass-through claims will be 

honored. 

One commenter requested 

confirmation as to whether hyperlinking 

would be permissible for the required 

disclosures. Specifically, the commenter 

requested confirmation that a non-bank 

entity placing deposits through a 

deposit network would still be 

permitted to hyperlink to the list of 

network banks to satisfy this provision 

under the new rule, as previously stated 

in the preamble to the 2022 final rule.45

The same commenter also requested 

confirmation that a non-bank would be 

permitted to hyperlink to required 

disclosures that a non-bank is not a 

bank and that pass-through insurance 

coverage is subject to conditions. 

Final Rule 

As generally provided in the proposal, 

with specific changes noted below, the 

FDIC is amending subpart B to expressly 

address additional examples that violate 

part 328, making clear when specific 

statements or omissions constitute a 

misrepresentation under section 

18(a)(4). Moreover, the FDIC reiterates 

that the specific examples set forth in 

the final rule are part of a nonexhaustive list of conduct that violates 

part 328. The FDIC has the authority to 

take action against conduct that 

constitutes a prohibited 

misrepresentation about deposit 

insurance, regardless of whether it is 

among the non-exhaustive list of 

examples included in the final rule. 

The FDIC has been, and will continue 

to be, consistently proactive in 

enforcing its requirements and taking 

appropriate action whenever it becomes 

aware of prohibited conduct. 

Use of the Official Advertising 

Statement or FDIC-Associated Terms or 

Images 

The final rule adopts the proposed 

amendments to § 328.102 to clarify 

specific circumstances under which use 

of the official advertising statement, 

FDIC-Associated Terms, or FDICAssociated Images by a non-bank would 

constitute a misrepresentation of 

insured status. In a technical change 

from the proposal, the final rule corrects 

an amendment to § 328.102. Proposed 

§ 328.102(b)(4)(i) stated, without 

limitation, a false or misleading 

representation is deemed to be material 

if it states, suggests, or implies that, ‘‘A 

person or Uninsured Financial Products 

are insured or guaranteed by the FDIC’’. 

The final rule corrects the reference to 

‘‘A person’’ to ‘‘A person other than 

Insured Depository Institution’’ and 

moves this amendment to new 

§ 328.102(b)(1)(iv).46

Failure To Disclose That a Person Is a 

Non-Bank Is a Material Omission When 

a Statement Is Made Regarding Deposit 

Insurance 

The FDIC is adopting the proposal 

that if a non-bank makes statements 

regarding deposit insurance for its 

customers, it is a material omission for 

the non-bank to fail to clearly and 

conspicuously disclose that it is not 

itself an FDIC-insured institution and 

that the FDIC’s deposit insurance 

coverage only protects against the 

failure of an FDIC-insured depository 

institution. With respect to the comment 

on prohibiting non-banks from using the 

words ‘‘banking’’ and ‘‘bank account,’’ 

the final rule’s amendments to subpart 

B are limited to addressing 

misrepresentations concerning deposit 

insurance, which is the focus of section 

18(a)(4) of the FDI Act. A non-bank’s 

use of the terms ‘‘bank’’ or ‘‘banking 

account’’ does not itself misrepresent 

deposit insurance status. However, such 

usage may violate other laws, including 

state banking laws or laws that address 

deceptive practices. 

As stated above, the final rule makes 

clear that it is a misrepresentation for an 

entity that is not insured by the FDIC to 

state, suggest, or imply that it is FDICinsured. Further, the final rule 

specifically notes that the FDIC 

considers it to be a material omission for 

an entity that is not an IDI to make 

statements about deposit insurance 

without clearly and conspicuously 

disclosing that it is not an IDI and that 

FDIC insurance only covers the failure 

of IDIs. The FDIC concludes that these 

provisions adequately address 

commenters’ concerns regarding 

situations where an entity that is not 

FDIC-insured suggests that it is. 

Failure To State That Non-Deposit 

Products Are Not Insured by the FDIC 

Is a Material Omission When a 

Statement Is Made Regarding Deposit 

Insurance 

The final rule adopts the proposal 

that, if a person makes statements 

regarding deposit insurance in a context 

that involves both deposits and nondeposit products, it is a material 

omission to fail to disclose that nondeposit products are not insured by the 

FDIC, are not deposits, and may lose 

value, subject to the clarifications 

below. The FDIC believes that the final 

rule addresses commenters’ concerns 

regarding misrepresentations about 

uninsured financial products and nondeposit products as the rule helps 

mitigate potential consumer confusion 

when deposit insurance statements are 

made in the context of deposit and nondeposit products. Under the final rule, 

if a non-bank’s website offered 

customers the option to have their funds 

deposited at an IDI and protected by 

deposit insurance or invested in nondeposit products in close proximity, it 

is a material omission if the non-bank’s 

website failed to state that the nondeposit products are not insured by the 

FDIC, are not deposits, and may lose 

value. 

Non-bank digital wallets. The FDIC 

recognizes that certain non-banks offer 

payment products that are not FDICinsured that allow consumers to store, 

send, or receive fiat money, for example 

U.S. dollars, electronically. While these 

products are not insured by the FDIC 

and therefore are vulnerable to the risks 

related to the non-bank’s insolvency, 

they do not otherwise fluctuate in value. 

Accordingly, the FDIC believes that 

requiring non-banks to disclose to 

consumers that such products ‘‘may lose 

value’’ may not be beneficial. As such, 

if a non-bank offers customers access to 

deposit products and a digital wallet 

where funds placed in a digital wallet 

are not covered by FDIC deposit 

insurance, it will not be a material 

omission for the non-bank entity to not 

include ‘‘may lose value’’ with respect 

to such digital wallet products. It will be 

a material omission for the non-bank to 

fail to disclose that any such uninsured 

products are: ‘‘not insured by the FDIC 

and are not deposits’’. The FDIC 

believes that a disclosure that the 

product is not a deposit and not FDICinsured strikes a reasonable balance by 

providing consumers with sufficient 

information if they utilize these digital 

wallet products from non-bank entities 

that also offer deposit products. The 

FDIC also notes that if the non-bank 

offers other non-deposit products as 


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3518 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

47 12 CFR 328.102(a). 

48See proposed 12 CFR 328.102(b)(5)(i). 

49See final 12 CFR 328.102(b)(5)(i) (emphasis 

added). 

defined by part 328, including nondeposit products as part of its digital 

wallet on its website, it must disclose 

that the non-deposit product ‘‘may lose 

value’’ in addition to disclosing that the 

products are ‘‘not a deposit, not FDIC 

insured’’. 

Proximity. It has been the FDIC’s 

experience that it is more likely that a 

consumer will be confused about the 

application of deposit insurance to nondeposit products, when the deposit 

product is being offered in close 

proximity to the non-deposit product by 

the non-bank. For example, the FDIC 

has seen that some non-banks provide 

‘‘mixed advertisements’’ where deposit 

products and non-deposit products are 

offered on the same web page or as part 

of a single social media post. As such, 

the FDIC believes that such offerings, in 

close proximity, represent clear 

scenarios where it would be a material 

omission for the entity to fail to disclose 

that the non-deposit product is not 

insured by the FDIC, is not a deposit, 

and may lose value. 

Non-deposit products unrelated to 

financial or investment products. The 

intent of this particular clarification in 

the final rule is to ensure that 

consumers understand when deposit 

insurance applies, particularly when a 

non-bank is offering both deposits and 

non-deposit products. From the FDIC’s 

experience, consumers are more likely 

to be confused about the application of 

deposit insurance when a non-bank 

offers deposit products and non-deposit 

products that are financial products 

subject to investment risks. Services or 

products offered by a non-bank that are 

unrelated to financial or investment 

products and physical goods are 

generally not the type of non-deposit 

product that would confuse consumers 

about deposit insurance. While the FDIC 

generally would not expect non-banks 

offering these types of non-deposit 

products to provide disclosures that the 

non-deposit product is not insured by 

the FDIC, is not a deposit, and may lose 

value, the non-bank is nevertheless 

prohibited from representing or 

implying that the non-deposit products 

are insured or guaranteed by the FDIC.47

Failure To State That Requirements 

Apply to Pass-Through Deposit 

Insurance 

The FDIC is finalizing the proposal 

that if a person makes statements 

regarding pass-through deposit 

insurance for its customers’ funds, it is 

a material omission to fail to clearly and 

conspicuously disclose that certain 

conditions must be satisfied for passthrough deposit insurance coverage to 

apply. Under the final rule, a person 

making a statement regarding passthrough deposit insurance is not 

required to list the specific conditions 

that must be satisfied; simply 

referencing that conditions must be 

satisfied is sufficient. The final rule also 

does not prescribe specific disclosure 

language, providing flexibility as to how 

parties may express the required 

information. 

With respect to the comments 

recommending that entities list all the 

conditions necessary to receive passthrough coverage, the FDIC believes that 

the final rule strikes an appropriate 

balance with making consumers aware 

of the risks they face without inundating 

them with a technical recitation of the 

pass-through conditions. Further, such 

technical information may be 

impracticable for some types of 

advertisements due to the amount of 

text required to adequately disclose the 

requirements. The FDIC believes that 

the final rule’s approach reflects a better 

balance, as it puts consumers on notice 

that pass-through insurance is not 

automatic or guaranteed and empowers 

them to raise questions or concerns. 

The FDIC remains concerned, 

however, that even with this notice, it 

is challenging to consumers to assess 

the risks related to the likelihood of 

receiving pass-through insurance given 

its technical legal requirements. In 

addition, consumers would not have 

access to banks’ or non-banks’ records to 

directly confirm that applicable 

conditions have been met. Given these 

circumstances, the FDIC is considering 

options for conducting qualitative 

consumer testing of deposit insurance 

disclosure language, including regarding 

pass-through coverage, to assess 

consumers’ understanding and whether 

there are other disclosure language 

options that are more effective and 

beneficial for consumers. In the event 

the FDIC identifies disclosure language 

through consumer testing that would 

improve consumer understanding of the 

risks related to pass-through coverage, 

the FDIC could consider options to 

promote use of the disclosure. 

The FDIC is also considering whether 

additional public education efforts 

would be valuable to help consumers 

understand the differences in deposit 

insurance coverage when working with 

IDIs directly as compared to non-bank 

entities. Earlier this year, the FDIC 

launched its ‘‘Know your Risk. Protect 

your Money.’’ national public awareness 

campaign to help consumers better 

understand deposit insurance and how 

it protects their money. This campaign 

complements the final rule’s intended 

purposes, including helping consumers 

understand when they are interacting 

with an IDI and when their funds are 

protected by the FDIC’s deposit 

insurance coverage. 

Hyperlinking to Material Information 

In the NPR, the FDIC proposed to 

maintain the existing provision that it is 

a material omission for a non-insured 

entity that advertises deposit insurance 

to fail to identify the IDIs with which 

the representing party has a direct or 

indirect business relationship for the 

placement of deposits and into which 

the consumers’ deposits may be 

placed.48

As explained in the proposal, the 

FDIC is concerned that certain business 

relationships between IDIs and nonbanks may be confusing to consumers 

and proposed to require clear 

disclosures that would better inform 

consumers as to when their funds are 

protected by FDIC deposit insurance. 

The proposed rule made clear that it is 

a prohibited misrepresentation to fail to 

clearly and conspicuously disclose 

material information necessary to avoid 

a false statement, suggestion, or 

implication about deposit insurance. 

After considering the comment received 

on hyperlinking to the list of network 

banks, the FDIC is amending 12 CFR 

328.102(b)(5)(i) in the final rule to 

expressly state that it is a material 

omission for a non-insured entity that 

advertises deposit insurance to fail to 

clearly and conspicuously identify the 

IDIs with which the representing party 

has a direct or indirect business 

relationship for the placement of 

deposits and into which the consumers’ 

deposits may be placed.49 The addition 

of this language harmonizes this 

provision with the other specific 

examples in the final rule and makes 

clear that information about where 

funds may be placed must be clear and 

conspicuous. To the extent that a nonbank entity places deposits through a 

deposit network, it may satisfy this 

requirement by clearly and 

conspicuously identifying the deposit 

network and each IDI in the deposit 

network or by providing a clear and 

conspicuous hyperlink to a current list 

of all the IDIs that are part of such a 

network. 

Further, the FDIC will evaluate the 

clear and conspicuous requirement in 

the context of the statement the 

information is material to, including the 

information’s proximity, placement, and 

prominence in relation to the statement. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3519 

50See Federal Trade Commission, .com 

Disclosures: How to Make Effective Disclosures in 

Digital Advertising, available at: https://

www.ftc.gov/system/files/documents/plainlanguage/bus41-dot-com-disclosures-informationabout-online-advertising.pdf. 51See 88 FR 37920 (June 9, 2023). 

In particular, the FDIC believes that 

Federal Trade Commission guidance 

provides helpful principles for 

determining whether hyperlinks to the 

list of deposit network IDIs are 

sufficiently clear and conspicuous.50

In response to the comment on 

hyperlinking to other disclosures, the 

FDIC generally believes that 

hyperlinking to the required 

disclosures—that a non-bank is not an 

FDIC-insured depository institution, the 

FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage only 

protects against the failure of an FDICinsured depository institution, and passthrough insurance coverage is subject to 

conditions—would not satisfy the ‘‘clear 

and conspicuous’’ standard in 

§ 328.102(b)(5) under the final rule.

Failure to include these disclosures

with statements regarding deposit

insurance could result in consumer

confusion as to whether an entity is

FDIC-insured and the extent of deposit

insurance coverage.

7. Policies and Procedures for IDIs

Proposed Rule

The FDIC proposed requirements for 

IDIs to establish written policies and 

procedures to comply with part 328 that 

are commensurate with the nature, size, 

complexity, scope, and potential risk of 

the deposit-taking activities of the 

institution. As part of these policies and 

procedures, IDIs would also need to 

include, as appropriate, provisions 

related to monitoring and evaluating 

activities of persons that provide 

deposit-related services to the IDI or 

offer the IDI’s deposit-related products 

or services to other parties. 

a. Signs and Advertising Statement

The proposal provided that such

policies and procedures could include, 

for example, measures that an IDI would 

take to ensure compliance with the 

proposed sign and advertising 

requirements when the IDI changes its 

advertising strategy or engages with, or 

expands into, new physical or digital 

deposit-taking channels. For example, 

this could include, if applicable, 

establishing procedures to ensure that 

the IDI’s technology (e.g., websites and 

mobile applications) is capable of 

implementing the proposed signs and 

advertisement statement requirements 

across all digital deposit-taking 

channels. 

b. Certain Third-Party Relationships and

Misrepresentations

The proposal also provided that to the 

extent a third party has a business 

relationship with, and is serving as a 

deposit-taking channel for, an IDI, 

sound risk management would compel 

the IDI to be aware of the activities of 

the third party to ensure that the 

availability of deposit insurance is not 

being misrepresented. As such, the 

proposal would have required IDIs, as 

appropriate, to establish policies and 

procedures that include provisions 

related to the deposit-related services 

that a third party provides to the IDI or 

deposit-related products or services 

offered by the third party to other 

parties. These policies and procedures 

would include, as appropriate, 

provisions related to monitoring and 

evaluating whether such third parties 

are in compliance with subpart B. 

c. Reservation of Authority

The proposal reserved the FDIC’s

authority to take appropriate actions, 

including supervisory or enforcement 

actions, against any person that violates 

part 328. The existence of adequate 

policies and procedures would not 

preclude the FDIC from taking actions 

against IDIs or third parties to address 

violations. 

Comments 

Some commenters expressed concerns 

that the proposed policies and 

procedures requirement was not aligned 

with existing interagency third-party 

risk management guidance. In addition, 

commenters recommended excluding 

non-contractual relationships from the 

scope of the rule and clarifying that the 

involvement of non-marketing related 

deposit services does not automatically 

implicate the proposed rule. Other 

commenters requested the FDIC cover 

only third parties with a contractual 

relationship with the IDI addressing the 

offering or sales of the IDI’s insured 

deposits, and only relationships 

involving marketing and public 

dissemination of information on FDIC 

deposit insurance. Another commenter 

requested that the FDIC exclude deposit 

products traded in secondary markets, 

such as certificates of deposit, because 

IDIs have no control over 

representations made to secondary 

market purchasers. 

Final Rule 

Under 12 CFR 328.8, the FDIC is 

finalizing the policies and procedures 

requirement for IDIs as proposed. As 

part of the final rule, IDIs must establish 

and maintain written policies and 

procedures to achieve compliance with 

part 328. Such policies and procedures 

must be commensurate with the nature, 

size, complexity, scope, and potential 

risk of the deposit-taking activities of 

the IDI and must include, as 

appropriate, provisions related to 

monitoring and evaluating activities of 

persons that provide deposit-related 

services to the IDI or offer the IDI’s 

deposit-related products or services to 

other parties. 

This new requirement is consistent 

with the Interagency Guidance on 

Third-Party Relationships: Risk 

Management that was issued earlier this 

year.51 The interagency guidance 

underscores that a banking 

organization’s use of third parties can 

increase its risk, and that the use of 

third parties does not diminish or 

remove a banking organization’s 

responsibility to perform all activities in 

a safe and sound manner and in 

compliance with applicable laws and 

regulations, including those related to 

consumer protection. 

Here, the policies and procedures 

established and maintained by IDIs will 

facilitate compliance with part 328, 

including by ensuring that appropriate 

monitoring is conducted and 

evaluations are performed regarding 

activities of certain persons that provide 

deposit-related services to IDIs or offer 

an IDI’s deposit products or services to 

other parties. The policies and 

procedures will help ensure activities 

are conducted in compliance with 

applicable laws and that IDIs are aware 

of whether certain third parties are in 

violation of subpart B of part 328. 

Having these policies and procedures in 

place will help mitigate the risks of 

consumer harm and confusion, 

consistent with the statutory purpose 

underlying section 18(a) of the FDI Act 

and the FDIC’s mission to maintain and 

promote public confidence in the 

banking system. 

IDIs should include reasonable 

provisions regarding compliance with 

part 328 in their policies and 

procedures, including addressing for 

example: the use of FDIC-Associated 

Terms or FDIC-Associated Images by 

third parties in a manner that 

inaccurately states or implies that a 

person other than an IDI is insured by 

FDIC; statements made that represent or 

imply that an advertised product is 

insured by the FDIC but fail to identify 

the IDI; and ensuring the marketing and 

advertising information or materials 

presented or made available to 

prospective depositors by third parties 

do not misrepresent the insurability of 

the IDI’s financial products. The FDIC 


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3520 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

52 ‘‘Uninsured Financial Product’’ is currently 

defined to include non-deposit products, hybrid 

products, investments, securities, obligations, 

certificates, shares, or financial products other than 

insured deposits. 

53See FDIC Press Release PR–60–2022, FDIC 

Issues Cease and Desist Letters to Five Companies 

for Making Crypto Related False or Misleading 

Representations About Deposit Insurance (Aug. 19, 

2022); FDIC Press Release PR–9–2023, FDIC 

Demands Four Entities Cease Making False or 

Misleading Representations About Deposit 

Insurance (Feb. 15, 2023). 

expects that IDIs, as appropriate, will 

implement, or enhance, current policies 

and procedures related to training staff 

to review any marketing and advertising 

materials about the IDI’s deposit 

products and services and to monitor 

and evaluate compliance with part 328. 

With respect to the comments related 

to the scope of the third parties’ 

activities, IDIs should establish and 

maintain policies and procedures to 

evaluate and monitor, as appropriate, 

any deposit insurance-related 

representations made by third parties 

that provide deposit-related services to 

the IDI or offer the IDI’s deposit-related 

products or services to other parties. 

More specifically, IDIs should consider 

the extent to which their third-party 

relationships involve representations or 

statements subject to part 328, and the 

role third parties have in crafting or 

presenting such representations or 

statements for prospective depositors. 

For example, a third-party relationship 

for web hosting services may not 

warrant policies or procedures for 

compliance with part 328 to the extent 

the third party simply publishes and 

hosts content developed and directed by 

the IDI. However, if the IDI offers a 

deposit account through or by a nonbank third party on a consumer-facing 

website with the branding and 

marketing of a non-bank third party, 

that third party may be making 

representations to consumers to 

describe the product’s characteristics in 

a manner that is covered by part 328 

subpart B. This would warrant that the 

IDI include provisions in its policies 

and procedures to monitor and evaluate 

compliance with part 328 by the third 

party. The IDI should also consider 

steps that it would take to mitigate any 

misrepresentations related to deposit 

insurance that could cause potential 

consumer confusion and harm regarding 

a product provided by the IDI. 

Commenters also suggested that the 

policies and procedures requirement 

should exclude non-contractual 

relationships. While the FDIC 

understands that IDIs often have 

provisions in their contracts with third 

parties to review certain marketing 

materials, the FDIC believes that 

limiting the scope of this requirement to 

only situations where IDIs have 

contractual relationships with third 

parties would not capture IDI 

relationships with certain third parties 

that the rule is intended to capture. 

In response to commenter concerns 

about the scope of this requirement, the 

FDIC notes that the policies and 

procedures related to certain third 

parties are required to be commensurate 

with the nature, size, complexity, scope, 

and potential risk of the deposit-taking 

activities. With regard to third-party 

relationships, IDIs will be expected to 

utilize a risk-based approach in 

determining the nature and extent of the 

policies and procedures that are needed 

to monitor and evaluate certain third 

parties’ compliance with part 328 

subpart B. For example, there may be 

third parties that have long-standing, 

well-established relationships with the 

IDI such that the third party has been 

offering products and services on the 

IDI’s behalf for many years and 

appropriately representing deposit 

insurance. In such instances, the IDI 

might deem the relationship to be one 

that warrants less extensive monitoring 

and evaluation, depending on the 

relationship and potential risk. The 

FDIC notes, however, that such 

relationships could experience 

significant changes, including in 

personnel, risk management 

philosophy, or new types of products 

offered, that may warrant more 

extensive policies and procedures. 

Likewise, the IDI may be involved in 

nascent relationships with novel 

arrangements and products that present 

a greater risk of consumer confusion and 

warrant more extensive monitoring and 

evaluation. As such, IDIs should ensure 

that the nature and scope of the policies 

and procedures under the final rule are 

tailored to the risks identified. The 

policies and procedures should 

effectively identify, address, and 

mitigate potential deposit insurance 

misrepresentations identified by the IDI. 

It is also prudent for policies and 

procedures to include provisions 

ensuring that third parties that provide 

marketing or joint marketing services, 

web and other electronic channel 

design, or similar services, are aware of 

the IDI’s compliance responsibilities 

under part 328. 

Finally, the FDIC notes that if a nonbank misrepresents deposit insurance, 

the FDIC would still expect to devote 

attention to taking action against the 

non-bank, formally or informally, under 

part 328 subpart B, regardless of the 

presence of a bank partner. 

8. Crypto-Assets 

Proposed Rule 

Among other things, part 328 

prohibits any person from representing 

or implying that any uninsured 

financial product is insured or 

guaranteed by the FDIC.52 This 

prohibition applies to advertisements, 

publications, and other disseminations 

of information. The FDIC has noted a 

number of misrepresentations of deposit 

insurance coverage for crypto-assets,53

and proposed to amend part 328 to 

reinforce that representations regarding 

deposit insurance in the crypto-asset 

marketplace fall within its scope. 

Specifically, the FDIC proposed to 

amend the definitions of ‘‘Non-Deposit 

Product’’ and ‘‘Uninsured Financial 

Product’’ in subpart B to include cryptoassets and define crypto-asset as ‘‘any 

digital asset implemented using 

cryptographic techniques.’’ 

The proposed rule also included 

crypto-assets in subpart A’s definition of 

‘‘non-deposit product’’ using the 

definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ described 

above. Accordingly, the non-deposit 

sign requirements proposed in subpart 

A would apply to crypto-assets. For 

example, if an IDI’s ATM offered 

customers the ability to purchase 

crypto-assets, the ATM would be 

required to clearly, continuously, and 

conspicuously display disclosures 

indicating that the crypto-assets are not 

insured by the FDIC, are not deposits, 

and may lose value. 

Discussion of Comments 

Commenters generally supported the 

FDIC’s efforts to address deposit 

insurance misrepresentations involving 

crypto-assets. Commenters also 

supported including crypto-assets in the 

definition of ‘‘uninsured financial 

product’’ and applying disclosure 

requirements for non-deposit products 

to crypto-assets. One commenter noted 

that misrepresentations made by 

prominent crypto-related entities 

demonstrate the necessity of the FDIC’s 

proposed rules. 

Commenters also raised concerns 

with the proposed definition of ‘‘cryptoasset.’’ A venture capital firm 

commented that the proposed definition 

of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ was over inclusive and 

vague. Specifically, the commenter 

explained that ‘‘cryptographic 

techniques’’ could refer to a variety of 

technologies not associated with the 

crypto-asset ecosystem, such as the endto-end encryption technology that 

secures common communications 

applications. The commenter stated that 

the broader context of the FDIC’s 

proposal did not indicate an intent to 


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54See 12 U.S.C. 1813(l). 55See Fact Sheet, What the Public Needs to Know 

About FDIC Deposit Insurance and Crypto 

Companies (July 28, 2022), available at: https://

www.fdic.gov/news/fact-sheets/crypto-fact-sheet-7- 

28-22.pdf. While blockchain technology may be 

used for purposes other than the creation of cryptoassets, the FDIC is not expressing a view with 

respect to whether a product employing such 

technology could meet the definition of a ’’deposit’’ 

in this final rule. 

56Call Reports as of June 30, 2023. 

57According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023, 

there were 4,496 IDIs with assets less than $10 

billion operating 33,479 branches and 158 IDIs with 

assets at least $10 billion operating 44,133 

branches. 

capture such usage. The commenter 

recommended an alternative definition 

and suggested that it did not present the 

same ambiguities as the proposal, 

making the amendment to part 328 more 

practicable. 

A trade association and a consortium 

composed of banks and technology 

firms each raised the concern that the 

proposed definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ 

could be problematic for banks that seek 

to employ blockchain technology in 

offering their deposit products. These 

commenters suggested that the proposed 

rule’s broad definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ 

might be read to include a traditional 

deposit product if the bank offering it 

were to employ blockchain technology. 

The consortium stated that equating a 

traditional deposit product to the 

crypto-asset products offered by nonbanks would disadvantage regulated 

financial institutions and deter banks 

from leveraging blockchain technology 

to improve their products. 

Another trade association stated that 

regulators will need to pay close 

attention to the rapidly expanding 

landscape of bank products, particularly 

offerings involving cryptocurrencies and 

tokenized assets that reside on 

blockchains. The commenter further 

stated that as tokenization increases in 

popularity, the risk of a traded asset 

being confused with a bank deposit will 

increase as customers navigate complex 

product offerings that blur the lines 

between bank deposits and non-deposit 

products. 

Final Rule 

The FDIC recognizes that the 

proposed definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ 

may have been over inclusive for the 

purposes of this regulation. This 

definition was not intended to capture, 

for example, the use of encrypted 

communications technology by firms 

developing or offering financial 

products. As pointed out by 

commenters, however, the proposed 

definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ included 

language (‘‘any digital asset 

implemented using cryptographic 

techniques’’) susceptible to a broad 

interpretation. The FDIC notes that the 

proposed definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ 

was limited to ‘‘digital asset[s]’’ that are 

implemented using cryptographic 

techniques, and it is not clear that 

traditional deposit products could be 

considered ‘‘digital assets.’’ 

Nevertheless, the FDIC agrees that the 

proposed definition was somewhat 

ambiguous in this respect. 

While one commenter recommended 

an alternative definition for the term 

‘‘crypto-asset,’’ the FDIC is concerned 

that the commenter’s proposed two-part 

test—(1) that the asset confers 

economic, proprietary, or access rights 

or powers, and (2) is recorded using a 

cryptographically secured distributed 

ledger or similar technology—could be 

too narrow to capture some digital 

assets that are broadly recognized as 

crypto-assets by market participants 

today. This could be interpreted to 

exempt digital assets lacking certain 

specific characteristics from the 

regulations regarding misrepresentation 

of deposit insurance, which would be 

inconsistent with the FDIC’s policy 

goals. The FDIC is also mindful that, as 

noted by a commenter, the landscape of 

these products continues to evolve 

rapidly. 

The FDIC further notes that the 

proposed definition of ‘‘uninsured 

financial product’’ included any 

financial product that is not a deposit. 

The definition’s enumerated list of 

uninsured products serve as examples, 

rather than an exhaustive list, of the 

products that are not insured by the 

FDIC. In determining whether a 

particular product is an ‘‘uninsured 

financial product’’ for purposes of part 

328, the test is whether that product 

falls within the statutory definition of 

‘‘deposit.’’ 54 The FDIC also notes that, 

of the products listed in the proposed 

definition of ‘‘uninsured financial 

product,’’ only ‘‘crypto-asset’’ was 

specifically defined in the proposal. 

In light of this, the final rule adopts 

a more flexible approach better suited to 

an evolving landscape. While ‘‘cryptoasset’’ is included in the products listed 

in the definition of ‘‘uninsured financial 

product,’’ the FDIC is not including a 

specific definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ in 

part 328. The FDIC believes this 

approach will signal that 

representations regarding deposit 

insurance in the crypto-asset 

marketplace are subject to the 

prohibitions of section 18(a) and part 

328, like other financial products, 

without relying on a specific regulatory 

definition of ‘‘crypto-asset’’ that could 

quickly become obsolete. The FDIC has 

publicly stated that crypto-assets are not 

insured by the FDIC.55 As noted above, 

the test of whether a particular financial 

product is an ‘‘uninsured financial 

product’’ will continue to be based upon 

application of the statutory definition of 

‘‘deposit,’’ and is by its nature fact 

specific. 

D. Expected Effects 

Costs 

The costs of the final rule will be 

incurred by IDIs, as well as some nonbanks that may need to update 

disclosures or marketing materials. This 

section addresses these two groups 

separately. 

Costs to IDIs 

According to data from recent Reports 

of Condition and Income (Call Reports), 

the FDIC insures the deposits of 4,654 

IDIs operating approximately 80 

thousand branches in the United 

States.56 These IDIs are currently subject 

to the existing requirements of part 328, 

so the costs incurred by these IDIs due 

to the final rule will be limited to 

activities to ensure compliance with the 

new provisions in the final rule and 

ameliorated by the extent to which IDIs 

are already complying with the new 

provisions. These activities include 

updating the display of FDIC signs in 

both physical and digital locations 

where deposits are normally received 

(including ATMs and websites), creating 

and maintaining signs for non-deposit 

products, segregating areas related to the 

sale of non-deposit products from areas 

where insured deposits are normally 

received, and ensuring that FDIC signs 

are not displayed in close proximity 

with non-deposit product signs. 

Data on the costs of updating the 

displays of signs and segregating 

physical areas within bank premises are 

unavailable, but the FDIC expects these 

costs would depend on the number of 

branches operated by each IDI as well as 

the complexities of each IDI’s branches 

and other premises. The FDIC expects 

that larger banks are more likely to have 

branches that are nontraditional, 

complex, and/or offer both deposit and 

non-deposit products. For purposes of 

the final rule, the FDIC estimates that 

IDIs with less than $10 billion in assets 

will spend, on average, approximately 

one hour per year to complete these 

activities at each branch while IDIs with 

at least $10 billion in total consolidated 

assets (assets) will spend, on average, 

approximately two hours per year per 

branch, for a total estimated annual 

burden of approximately 120 thousand 

hours per year across all IDIs 57 at an 


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58 Dollar costs for this analysis are based on a 

$82.38 total hourly cost of compensation, a 

weighted average of the 75th percentile hourly 

wages reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics 

(BLS) National Industry-Specific Occupational 

Employment and Wage Estimates (OEWS) across 

five occupational groups in the Depository Credit 

Intermediation sector, as of May 2022, and adjusted 

by 1.51 to include non-wage compensation and 1.05 

to account for the change in the seasonally adjusted 

Employment Cost Index for the Credit 

Intermediation and Related Activities sector 

(NAICS Code 522) between March 2022 and June 

2023. For this analysis, the FDIC uses the following 

estimated occupational burden weights and 

occupational hourly labor costs: 14.6 percent for 

executives and managers at $131.66 per hour, 2.8 

percent for lawyers at $169.85 per hour, 35.7 

percent for compliance officers at $65.27 per hour, 

28.5 percent for IT professionals at $103.74 per 

hour, and 18.3 percent for clerical workers at $37.09 

per hour. 

59According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023: 

$23 million = 4,654 IDIs × 60 hours per IDI × $82.38 

per hour. 

60According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023: 

$4 million = 4,496 IDIs × 10 hours per IDI × $82.38 

per hour + 158 IDIs × 20 hours per IDI x $82.38 per 

hour. 

61According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023: 

$31 million = 4,654 IDIs × 80 hours per IDI × $82.38 

per hour. 62The FDIC estimates that twelve of the 

seventeen hours are recordkeeping costs under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act. The five remaining hours 

are regulatory costs of compliance that are not 

under the Paperwork Reduction Act. 63According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023: 

$7 million = 4,654 IDIs × 17 hours per IDI × $82.38 

per hour. 64See United States Census Bureau, 2020 SUSB 

Annual Data Tables by Establishment Industry, 

available at: https://www.census.gov/data/tables/ 

2020/econ/susb/2020-susb-annual.html, last 

retrieved on October 23, 2023. 

65Assuming the same average hourly wage as 

calculated for IDIs: 1,500 non-banks × 2.5 hours per 

non-bank × $82.38 per hour = approximately $300 

thousand. 1,500 non-banks × 1 hour per non-bank 

× $82.38 per hour = approximately $125 thousand. 

estimated annual cost of approximately 

$10 million.58

The costs of complying with the final 

rule’s requirements for digital deposittaking channels will also depend on the 

complexities of each IDI’s digital 

deposit-taking operations. The FDIC 

expects that larger banks are more likely 

to have more complex digital operations 

or offer both deposit and non-deposit 

products through their digital deposittaking operations. For purposes of the 

final rule, the FDIC estimates that, on 

average, IDIs will incur a one-time 

burden of sixty hours to update their 

digital operations to incorporate the 

requirements in the final rule, at an 

approximate cost of $23 million for the 

industry.59 The FDIC also estimates that, 

in years subsequent to the enactment of 

the final rule, IDIs with less than $10 

billion in assets will spend, on average, 

approximately ten additional hours per 

year to comply with the digital deposittaking operation requirements of the 

final rule, while IDIs with at least $10 

billion in assets will spend, on average, 

approximately twenty additional hours 

per year, at an estimated annual cost of 

approximately $4 million for the 

industry.60

Finally, all IDIs must update their 

policies and procedures to comply with 

the final rule. These policies and 

procedures are required to include, as 

appropriate, provisions related to 

monitoring and evaluating whether 

certain third parties are in compliance 

with subpart B. The FDIC recognizes 

that the costs to implement and 

maintain these policies and procedures 

will vary across IDIs in ways that 

depend on the specifics of each IDI’s 

operations or relationships with certain 

third parties. For purposes of the final 

rule, the FDIC estimates that, on 

average, IDIs will incur a one-time 

burden of eighty hours to update their 

policies and procedures to incorporate 

the requirements in the final rule, at an 

approximately cost of $31 million for 

the industry.61 The FDIC also estimates 

that, in years subsequent to the 

enactment of the proposed rule, IDIs 

will spend, on average, approximately 

seventeen additional hours per year to 

ensure that their policies and 

procedures maintain compliance with 

the final rule,62 at an estimated annual 

cost of approximately $7 million for the 

industry.63 Based on the preceding 

analysis, the FDIC expects that the 

banking industry will incur 

approximately $64 million in the first 

year after adoption and approximately 

$20 million in each subsequent year to 

comply with the amendments to part 

328. 

Costs to Non-Banks 

The FDIC does not have direct data on 

the number of non-banks that will be 

affected by the final rule. FDIC staff 

believe that the non-banks affected by 

the final rule would generally be 

classified in the following North 

American Industry Classification 

System (NAICS) industries: 

Miscellaneous Financial Investment 

Activities (NAICS Code 523999), 

Financial Transaction Processing, 

Reserve & Clearinghouse Activities 

(NAICS Code 522320), Computer 

System Design and Related Services 

(NAICS Code 5415), and Investment 

Advice (NAICS Code 523930). 

According to recent Census data, there 

were 148,235 firms in these NAICS 

industries in 2020, the most recent year 

for which such data is available.64

However, not all of these firms enter 

into agreements with IDIs or otherwise 

engage in operations related to insured 

deposits; FDIC staff believe that the 

number of non-banks engaged in such 

operations is likely considerably less 

than the number of IDIs. For purposes 

of the final rule, the FDIC estimates that 

the number of affected non-banks will 

be approximately one percent of firms 

in the NAICS industries listed above. 

Therefore, the FDIC estimates that 

approximately 1,500 non-banks will be 

affected by the proposed rule. 

Non-banks have been statutorily 

prohibited from falsely representing that 

uninsured financial products are FDICinsured for many years. Thus, the final 

rule will not create a new prohibition on 

such misrepresentations, but will clarify 

the types of communications that can 

materially misrepresent deposit 

insurance coverage. The non-banks 

affected by the final rule may need to 

update their disclosures and marketing 

materials to ensure that they neither 

misuse the FDIC’s official sign or any 

FDIC-associated terms or images, nor 

omit or fail to clearly and conspicuously 

disclose material information that could 

lead to a reasonable consumer being 

unable to understand the extent or 

manner of deposit insurance provided. 

For purposes of the final rule, the FDIC 

estimates that, on average, each nonbank will spend an additional 2.5 hours 

in the first year to implement these 

changes and one hour per year to 

maintain compliance with the 

amendments to subpart B, for a total 

cost of approximately $300 thousand for 

the first year and $125 thousand for 

each subsequent year across all nonbanks affected by the rule.65

E. Benefits 

Provided that affected entities are not 

already complying with certain aspects 

of the final rule, the FDIC expects the 

final rule to produce benefits for the 

general public by providing clarity, and 

requiring affected entities to provide 

such clarity, to consumers about the 

extent to which or the manner in which 

products are insured by the FDIC. This 

clarity is expected to help consumers to 

more clearly understand when they are 

conducting business with IDIs and 

when their funds are protected by FDIC 

deposit insurance, thereby helping them 

avoid incurring financial losses as a 

result of investing in products they 

mistakenly thought were FDIC-insured. 

The final rule will reduce ambiguity 

about the nature of deposit insurance in 

situations where non-deposit products 

are offered by IDIs, where insured 

deposits are advertised by non-banks, or 

where both non-deposit products and 

deposit products are offered at the same 

location. The final rule will extend 

these benefits to digital deposit-taking 

channels where physical segregation is 


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66There have been at least 165 such instances 

recently. See FDIC, 2019 Annual Report, at 38 and 

FDIC, 2020 Annual Report, at 47. 

67See e.g., Hancock Whitney Bank Comment 

Letter to 2021 RFI (May 24, 2021); Kasasa Comment 

Letter to 2020 RFI (March 24, 2020) (stating that the 

official sign should not be required on an IDI’s 

website or mobile applications but suggesting the 

FDIC require, at minimum, the FDIC advertising 

statement on certain pages). 

68See Hancock Whitney Bank Comment Letter to 

2021 RFI (May 24, 2021); American Bankers 

Association and Bank Policy Institute joint 

comment letter to 2021 RFI (May 21, 2021); Kasasa 

Comment Letter to 2020 RFI (March 24, 2020). 

69 5 U.S.C. 601 et seq. 

70The SBA defines a small banking organization 

as having $850 million or less in assets, where an 

organization’s ’’assets are determined by averaging 

the assets reported on its four quarterly financial 

statements for the preceding year.’’ See 13 CFR 

121.201 (as amended by 87 FR 69118, effective 

December 19, 2022). In its determination, the ’’SBA 

counts the receipts, employees, or other measure of 

size of the concern whose size is at issue and all 

of its domestic and foreign affiliates.’’ See 13 CFR 

121.103. Following these regulations, the FDIC uses 

an insured depository institution’s affiliated and 

acquired assets, averaged over the preceding four 

quarters, to determine whether the insured 

Continued 

not possible. The final rule will also 

require the clear, conspicuous, and 

consistent use of the official FDIC sign 

and symbol in both physical and digital 

locations. These requirements are 

expected to enhance consumers’ 

recognition of the FDIC’s guarantee and 

reassure them of the nature of deposit 

insurance for those products. This effect 

will reinforce the role of FDIC deposit 

insurance and may bolster confidence in 

the U.S. banking sector. 

As discussed previously, the final rule 

will further clarify the FDIC’s 

procedures for evaluating potential 

violations of section 18(a)(4). The final 

rule will generally be consistent with 

existing practices used by the FDIC with 

respect to these matters. Furthermore, 

the final rule will not affect the 

application of related criminal 

prohibitions under 18 U.S.C. 709. 

Therefore, the FDIC believes that this 

aspect of the final rule is unlikely to 

have any significant effect on formal or 

informal enforcement of the section 

18(a)(4) prohibitions. 

By providing the clarity described 

above, the FDIC believes the final rule 

is likely to curtail instances in which 

IDIs or non-banks potentially misuse or 

misrepresent the FDIC’s name or logo.66

Consumers’ uncertainty as to the safety 

of their funds may weaken the 

confidence that underpins bank stability 

and our nation’s broader financial 

system. The final rule is likely to reduce 

the frequency of these types of instances 

going forward. The FDIC does not have 

the data to quantify the cost savings of 

this effect but expects that the reduction 

in such instances would strengthen 

public confidence in the FDIC deposit 

insurance and the nation’s banking 

system. 

The FDIC invited comment on the 

expected effects of the proposed rule. 

Some commenters opined that burden 

costs borne by smaller banks may be 

similar to or even higher than those 

borne by larger banks. Other 

commenters noted that the increased 

digital signage requirements, including 

the pop-up requirements, may require 

smaller banks to adopt more complex 

and costly digital platforms. The FDIC 

recognizes that there will be variation in 

the costs of compliance across banks 

and that some small banks may incur 

higher compliance costs than others. 

After consideration of the public 

comments, the final rule has narrowed 

the one-time notification requirement to 

reduce the cost and complexity while 

also achieving the relevant policy goals, 

and maintains the hourly compliance 

estimates presented in the proposed 

rule. The cost estimates described in 

this section reflect the FDIC’s 

supervisory experience that larger banks 

have, on average, higher costs for the 

maintenance of signage at their physical 

branches and the maintenance of their 

digital operations. 

F. Alternatives Considered 

The FDIC has considered a number of 

alternatives to the final rule that could 

meet its objectives in this rulemaking, 

including proposals suggested by 

commenters in response to the 2020 and 

2021 RFIs and the NPR. Some of these 

alternatives have been discussed above 

and additional alternatives are 

described below. For the reasons 

described, the FDIC views the final rule 

as the most appropriate and effective 

means of achieving its policy objectives 

with respect to part 328. 

Alternatives to Digital Official Sign for 

Digital Deposit-Taking Channels 

With respect to digital deposit-taking 

channels, the FDIC considered 

alternatives to the digital official sign 

required by the final rule, including 

plain text signage and disclosure 

requirements.67 As discussed above, the 

FDIC official digital sign is intended to 

quickly and visually convey to 

consumers that they are dealing directly 

with an IDI rather than a non-bank 

entity. This distinction is critical to 

understanding the risks a consumer 

faces, and the FDIC believes that it 

warrants a requirement for consistent 

visual signage. Plain text signage or 

disclosures would not achieve this 

objective as effectively. 

Official Advertising Statement 

Requirements—Allow ‘‘One-ClickAway’’ Disclosures 

Some commenters recommended that 

the FDIC adopt a ‘‘one click away’’ 

approach for electronic or digital 

advertisements (where the advertising 

statement may not be immediately 

visible to consumers but could be 

reached through one mouse click) in 

order to permit greater flexibility in 

advertising formats.68 The FDIC believes 

that the final rule better meets its 

objectives, as a ‘‘one click away’’ 

approach places the burden on 

consumers to obtain the necessary 

information and makes it less likely that 

they will do so. In addition, the 

advertising statement options available 

to IDIs under the final rule allow 

significant flexibility in advertising 

formats, as IDIs could use short titles 

including ‘‘Member of FDIC’’, ‘‘Member 

FDIC’’, or ‘‘FDIC-insured’’. The FDIC 

believes that these options are sufficient 

to permit advertising flexibility. 

Additional Disclosures Requiring a 

Consumer’s Signature for Non-Deposit 

Products Offered Within an IDI’s 

Physical Premises 

One commenter recommended that 

the FDIC require written and oral 

disclosures with respect to the sale or 

recommendation of any non-deposit 

product offered within an IDI’s premises 

and to require a consumer’s signature 

affirming their understanding. The FDIC 

believes that such additional 

requirements would be overly 

burdensome for IDIs. Accordingly, the 

final rule will not adopt this 

recommendation. However, nothing 

contained in this regulation should be 

read to limit the authority of any state 

or Federal agency or individual under 

any other laws that may require such 

disclosures. 

G. Administrative Law Matters 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA) 

generally requires an agency, in 

connection with a final rule, to prepare 

and make available for public comment 

an initial regulatory flexibility analysis 

that describes the impact of a proposed 

rule on small entities.69 However, a final 

regulatory flexibility analysis is not 

required if the agency certifies that the 

final rule will not have a significant 

economic impact on a substantial 

number of small entities. The Small 

Business Administration (SBA) has 

defined ‘‘small entities’’ to include 

banking organizations with total assets 

of less than or equal to $850 million.70


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depository institution is ’’small’’ for the purposes of 

RFA. 

71Call Reports as of June 30, 2023. 

72 Id. 

73 Information collection is defined under OMB’s 

regulations at 5 CFR 1320(c). Certain requirements 

in part 328 for public disclosure of the FDIC name 

and/or logo are not information collections. See 5 

CFR 1320(c)(2). 

Generally, the FDIC considers a 

significant economic impact to be a 

quantified effect in excess of 5 percent 

of total annual salaries and benefits per 

institution, or 2.5 percent of total 

noninterest expenses. The FDIC believes 

that effects in excess of these thresholds 

typically represent significant effects for 

FDIC-supervised institutions. For the 

reasons described below, the FDIC 

certifies that the final rule will not have 

a significant economic impact on a 

substantial number of small entities. 

As described in the Expected Effects 

section, the proposed rule is expected to 

affect all institutions whose deposits are 

insured by the FDIC, as well as nonbanks who may potentially use the 

official FDIC sign, advertising 

statements, or otherwise make 

representations that their products are 

insured or guaranteed by the FDIC. 

According to recent Call Reports, there 

are 4,654 IDIs.71 Of these, 

approximately 3,373 are considered 

small entities for the purposes of RFA.72

These small IDIs operate approximately 

13 thousand deposit-taking offices. The 

number of deposit-taking offices at each 

small IDI ranges from 1 to 21. As 

discussed in the Expected Effects 

section, the FDIC expects affected IDIs 

with less than $10 billion in assets, 

which are likely to have less complex 

deposit-taking operations and fewer 

offices than larger IDIs, to spend, on 

average, 60 hours to update their digital 

operations, 80 hours to implement 

policies and procedures, and seven 

hours to update physical signage at 

branches in the first year. At average 

labor costs of $82.38 per hour, the 

expected first-year costs of complying 

with the proposed rule would average 

less than a percent of the small IDIs’ 

total annual salaries and benefits. These 

expected first-year costs would exceed 

five percent of the total annual salaries 

and benefits for fewer than 20 small IDIs 

(comprising less than one percent of the 

total number of affected small IDIs). For 

subsequent years, the costs of 

maintaining compliance are even 

smaller. Thus, the proposed rule would 

not significantly affect a substantial 

number of small IDIs. 

As described in the Expected Effects 

section, the FDIC estimates that 1,500 

non-banks would be affected by the 

final rule. The FDIC does not have data 

on the number of non-banks that would 

be considered small entities for the 

purposes of RFA. As a conservative 

estimate, the FDIC assumes all 1,500 

affected non-banks are small. As 

discussed in the Expected Effects 

section, the FDIC estimates that each 

non-bank, on average, would incur an 

additional 2.5 hours in the first year and 

1 hour in each subsequent year to 

comply with the proposed amendments 

to subpart B. At an estimated 

compensation rate of $82.38, the 

expected costs of complying with the 

proposed rule would be less than $300 

per year per non-bank, on average. 

The final rule may also affect private 

individuals who may potentially misuse 

the FDIC name or logo or misrepresent 

the nature of deposit insurance. Private 

individuals are not considered ‘‘small 

entities’’ under the RFA. 

Given that the expected costs of the 

proposed rule would be relatively small, 

the FDIC certifies that the proposed rule 

would not have a significant economic 

impact on a substantial number of small 

entities. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

In accordance with the requirements 

of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501–3521), the FDIC 

may not conduct or sponsor, and a 

respondent is not required to respond 

to, an information collection unless it 

displays a currently valid Office of 

Management and Budget (OMB) control 

number. Certain provisions of the 

proposed rule contain ‘‘collection of 

information’’ requirements within the 

meaning of the PRA.73 The information 

collection requirements (IC) contained 

in this final rule have been submitted to 

OMB for review and approval by the 

FDIC under section 3507(d) of the PRA 

and section 1320.11 of OMB’s 

implementing regulations (5 CFR part 

1320) as a new information collection. 

Title of Proposed Information 

Collection: Disclosure, Recordkeeping 

and Reporting Requirements Related to 

FDIC’s Official Sign and Advertising 

Requirements, False Advertising, 

Misrepresentation of Insured Status, and 

Misuse of the FDIC’s Name or Logo. 

OMB Control Number: 3064–0219 

Affected Public: Businesses or other 

for-profit. 

Respondents: Any FDIC-insured 

depository institution and persons that 

provide deposit-related services to 

insured depository institutions or offer 

insured depository institution’s depositrelated products or services to other 

parties. 

Estimated Annual Burden: 

The final rule contains the following 

ten (10) information collection 

requirements: 

1. Signs within Institution Premises— 

Banks <$10B, 12 CFR 328.3 (Third-Party 

Disclosure; Mandatory). Section 328.3 

imposes PRA third-party disclosure 

burden governing signage within the 

premises of insured depository 

institutions. This burden is associated 

with the display of signage for nondeposit products, segregating areas 

offering non-deposit products, and the 

use of electronic media. The FDIC 

believes the hourly burden for these 

activities differs among respondents. 

For purposes of PRA, the FDIC would 

split the burden into two information 

collection categories: one for banks with 

less than $10 billion in total 

consolidated assets (assets) and one for 

banks with at least $10 billion in assets. 

This IC captures the burden for the 

former group. 

2. Signs within Institution Premises— 

Banks >$10B, 12 CFR 328.3 (Third-Party 

Disclosure; Mandatory). Section 328.3 

imposes PRA third-party disclosure 

burden governing signage within the 

premises of insured depository 

institutions. This burden is associated 

with the display of signage for nondeposit products, segregating areas 

offering non-deposit products, and the 

use of electronic media. The FDIC 

believes the hourly burden for these 

activities differs among respondents. 

For purposes of PRA, the FDIC would 

split the burden into two ICs: one for 

banks with less than $10 billion in total 

consolidated assets (assets) and one for 

banks with at least $10 billion in assets. 

This IC captures the burden for the 

latter group. 

3. Signage for ATMs and Digital 

Deposit-taking Channels— 

Implementation, §§ 328.4 and 328.5 

(Third-Party Disclosure; Mandatory). 

Sections 328.4 and 328.5 impose PRA 

third-party disclosure burden governing 

signs for ATMs as well as digital 

deposit-taking channels. This burden is 

associated with the display of signage 

for both deposit and non-deposit 

products. The FDIC believes banks will 

incur burdens in the first year to update 

their digital channels to incorporate the 

amended requirements in the rule. This 

IC captures the burden for these 

implementation activities. 

4. Signage for ATMs and Digital 

Deposit-taking Channels—Banks 

<$10B—Ongoing, §§ 328.4 and 328.5 

(Third-Party Disclosure; Mandatory). 

Sections 328.4 and 328.5 impose PRA 

third-party disclosure burden governing 

signs for ATMs as well as digital 

deposit-taking channels. This burden is 

associated with the display of signage 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3525 

74According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023. 

for deposit and non-deposit products. 

The FDIC believes that, in years 

subsequent to implementation, banks 

would incur ongoing burdens to update 

and maintain their digital channels to 

ensure continual compliance with the 

requirements in the rule. For purposes 

of PRA, the FDIC would split this 

ongoing burden into two ICs: one for 

banks with less than $10 billion in total 

consolidated assets (assets) and one for 

banks with at least $10 billion in assets. 

This IC captures the burden for the 

former group. 

5. Signage for ATMs and Digital 

Deposit-taking Channels—Banks 

>=$10B—Ongoing, §§ 328.4 and 328.5 

(Third-Party Disclosure; Mandatory). 

Sections 328.4 and 328.5 impose PRA 

third-party disclosure burden governing 

signs for ATMs as well as digital 

deposit-taking channels. This burden is 

associated with the display of signage 

for deposit and non-deposit products. 

The FDIC believes that, in years 

subsequent to implementation, banks 

would incur ongoing burdens to update 

and maintain their digital channels to 

ensure continual compliance with the 

requirements in the rule. For purposes 

of PRA, the FDIC would split the burden 

into two ICs: one for banks with less 

than $10 billion in total consolidated 

assets (assets) and one for banks with at 

least $10 billion in assets. This IC 

captures the burden for the latter group. 

6. Policies and Procedures— 

Implementation, 12 CFR 328.8 

(Recordkeeping; Mandatory). Section 

328.8 requires IDIs to establish and 

maintain written policies and 

procedures to achieve compliance with 

part 328 including provisions related to 

monitor and evaluate the activities of 

persons that provide deposit-related 

services to the IDI or offer the IDI’s 

deposit-related products or services to 

other parties. The FDIC believes the 

hourly burden for these activities can be 

categorized into two distinct ICs 

covering: (1) implementation burdens 

incurred in the first year in which the 

policies and procedures are 

implemented; and (2) ongoing burden 

incurred every subsequent year to 

maintain compliance. This IC captures 

the implementation burden. 

7. Policies and Procedures—Ongoing, 

12 CFR 328.8 (Recordkeeping; 

Mandatory). Section 328.8 requires IDIs 

to establish and maintain written 

policies and procedures to achieve 

compliance with part 328 including 

provisions related to monitoring and 

evaluating the activities of persons that 

provide deposit-related services to the 

Insured Depository Institution or offer 

the Insured Depository Institution’s 

deposit-related products or services to 

other parties. The FDIC believes the 

hourly burden for these activities can be 

categorized into two distinct ICs 

covering: (1) implementation burdens 

incurred in the first year in which the 

policies and procedures are 

implemented; and (2) ongoing burden 

incurred every subsequent year to 

maintain compliance. This IC captures 

the ongoing burden. 

8. Insured Depository Institution 

Relationships—Implementation 12 CFR 

328.102(b)(5) (Third-Party Disclosure; 

Mandatory). Section 328.102(b)(5) 

requires covered non-banks to ensure 

that their public statements regarding 

deposit insurance comply with the 

requirements in part 328. The FDIC 

believes the hourly burden for these 

activities can be categorized into two 

distinct ICs covering: (1) 

implementation burdens incurred in the 

first year in which the public statements 

are amended; and (2) ongoing burden 

incurred every subsequent year to 

ensure continual compliance. This IC 

captures the implementation burden. 

9. Insured Depository Institution 

Relationships—Ongoing 12 CFR 

328.102(b)(5) (Third-Party Disclosure; 

Mandatory). Section 328.102(b)(5) 

requires covered non-banks to ensure 

that their public statements regarding 

deposit insurance comply with the 

requirements in part 328. The FDIC 

believes the hourly burden for these 

activities can be categorized into two 

distinct ICs covering: (1) 

implementation burdens incurred in the 

first year in which the public statements 

are amended; and (2) ongoing burden 

incurred every subsequent year to 

ensure continual compliance. This IC 

captures the ongoing burden. 

10. Request for Consent to Use NonEnglish Language Advertising 

Statement—12 CFR 328.3(f), proposed 

12 CFR 328.6(f) (Reporting; Required to 

Obtain or Retain a Benefit). Existing 

§ 328.3(f), which the proposed rule 

moves to § 328.6(f), requires IDIs to 

obtain prior written approval of the 

FDIC before using a non-English 

equivalent of the official FDIC 

advertising statement in an 

advertisement. 

Methodology and Assumptions 

Estimated Annual Number of 

Respondents 

ICs 1–7 and IC 10 capture PRA 

burdens incurred by IDIs. According to 

recent Call Reports, the FDIC supervised 

approximately 4,564 IDIs.74 These 

include 158 IDIs with assets at least $10 

billion and 4,496 IDIs with assets less 

than $10 billion. Of these, 3,373 IDIs are 

considered small entities for purposes of 

the Regulatory Flexibility Act. 

IC 1 captures PRA burdens incurred 

by all IDIs with less than $10 billion in 

assets, and IC 2 captures PRA burdens 

incurred by all IDIs with at least $10 

billion in assets. Using the Call Report 

data summarized above, the FDIC 

estimates 4,496 annual respondents for 

IC 1 and 158 annual respondents for IC 

2. 

ICs 3 and 6 capture implementation 

burdens incurred by all 4,496 IDIs. 

Implementation burdens are incurred in 

the first year after the proposed rule 

would become effective. Given that this 

information collection request (ICR) 

covers PRA burdens over three years, 

the FDIC annualizes the counts of 

respondents by dividing the total 

number of respondents by three. Thus, 

the FDIC estimates 1,551 annual 

respondents for ICs 3 and 6. 

ICs 4, 5, and 7 capture the ongoing 

PRA burdens incurred by the 4,496 IDIs 

with less than $10 billion in assets, the 

158 IDIs with at least $10 billion in 

assets, and all 4,654 IDIs, respectively. 

Ongoing burdens are incurred in two of 

the three years after the rule would 

become effective. The FDIC annualizes 

the counts of respondents accordingly. 

Thus, the FDIC estimates 2,997 annual 

respondents for IC 4, 105 annual 

respondents for IC 5 and 3,103 annual 

respondents for IC 7. 

ICs 8 and 9 capture PRA requirements 

incurred by non-banks. The FDIC does 

not have direct data on the number of 

non-banks that would be subject to part 

328. The FDIC assumes that the affected 

non-banks would generally be classified 

in the following North American 

Industry Classification System (NAICS) 

industries: Miscellaneous Financial 

Investment Activities (NAICS Code 

523999), Financial Transaction 

Processing, Reserve & Clearinghouse 

Activities (NAICS Code 522320), 

Computer System Design and Related 

Services (NAICS Code 5415), and 

Investment Advice (NAICS Code 

523930). As discussed in the Expected 

Effects section, there were 148,235 firms 

in these NAICS industries in 2020, the 

most recent year for which such data is 

available. However, not all of these 

firms enter into agreements with IDIs or 

otherwise engage in operations related 

to insured deposits; the FDIC assumes 

that the number of non-banks engaged 

in such operations would be 

considerably less than the number of 

IDIs. For purposes of this estimation, the 

FDIC assumes that the number of 

covered non-banks would be 

approximately one percent of firms in 

the NAICS industries listed above. 


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3526 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

75According to Call Reports as of June 30, 2023, 

there were 4,496 IDIs with assets less than $10 

billion operating 33,479 branches and 158 IDIs with assets at least $10 billion operating 44,133 

branches. 

Therefore, the FDIC estimates that 

approximately 1,500 non-banks will 

incur burdens associated with part 328. 

ICs 8 and 9 are implementation and 

ongoing burdens, respectively. The 

FDIC annualizes the count of 

respondents accordingly. Thus, the 

FDIC estimates 500 annual respondents 

for IC 8 and 1,000 annual respondents 

for IC 9. 

IC 10 captures PRA requirements 

incurred by IDIs that submit requests to 

the FDIC for the use of a non-English 

equivalent of the official FDIC 

advertising statement. The FDIC does 

not have data on the historical annual 

number of such requests submitted. 

However, the FDIC has not handled 

such a request since at least January 1, 

2021, and believes it is unlikely that 

such a request from an IDI would be 

received within the next three years. As 

OMB’s system of record for PRA 

burdens does not allow non-positive 

respondent counts, the FDIC uses an 

annual respondent count of one for IC 

10 to preserve the estimated burden 

calculations. 

Estimated Annual Number of Responses 

per Respondent 

ICs 1 and 2 capture the activities that 

respondents undertake at each of their 

branches to comply with the PRA 

requirements in 12 CFR 328.3. For 

purposes of this ICR, the FDIC 

designates the activities at a single 

branch as a single response by the 

respondent. According to recent Call 

Reports, IDIs with assets less than $10 

billion operate approximately seven 

branches each, on average, while IDIs 

with assets of at least $10 billion have 

approximately 279 branches each, on 

average.75 Accordingly, the FDIC 

estimates seven responses per year for 

IC 1 and 279 responses per year for IC 

2. 

For ICs 3–10, the activities that 

respondents undergo throughout the 

year to comply with the PRA 

requirements in each IC can all be 

considered part of a single annual 

response to that IC. Therefore, the FDIC 

uses one as the number of annual 

responses per respondent for these ICs. 

Estimated Burden Hours per Response 

ICs 1 and 2 capture the third-party 

disclosure burden of ensuring that 

signage within the premises of insured 

depository institutions comply with part 

328. Data on this burden is unavailable. 

The FDIC assumes that larger banks are 

more likely to have branches that are 

nontraditional, complex, and/or offer 

both deposit and non-deposit products. 

While smaller IDIs are more likely to 

operate simple branches that offer only 

deposit products and may not require 

extensive revisions of signage, those that 

do may require updates to their 

designated areas. For purposes of this 

ICR, the FDIC estimates the burden 

would be approximately one hour per 

branch, on average, for institutions with 

less than $10 billion in assets and 

approximately two hours per branch, on 

average, for institutions with at least $10 

billion in assets. Accordingly, the FDIC 

estimates burdens as one hour per 

response for IC 1 and two hours per 

response for IC 2. 

ICs 3, 4, and 5 capture the third-party 

disclosure burden of ensuring that signs 

for ATMs and digital deposit-taking 

channels comply with part 328. Data on 

this burden is unavailable. The FDIC 

assumes that larger banks are more 

likely to have more complex digital 

operations or offer both deposit and 

non-deposit products through their 

digital deposit-taking operations. 

However, these larger banks may also 

have permanent IT teams in place that 

could facilitate and/or reduce the hourly 

burden of these changes. Conversely, for 

smaller banks relying on third-party 

web service providers, many may be 

seeking compliance through the same 

channel as others, which could create a 

backlog of work on the third-party web 

service providers, making it so other 

small banks experience a delay in 

compliance timelines. For purposes of 

this ICR, FDIC assumes that each IDI 

will spend 60 hours, on average, in the 

first year to implement the changes to 

its ATM and digital deposit-taking 

channels to comply with part 328. In 

subsequent years, IDIs with less than 

$10 billion in assets would spend 

approximately 10 additional hours per 

year, on average, to maintain ongoing 

compliance, while IDIs with at least $10 

billion in assets would spend 

approximately 20 additional hours per 

year, on average, to maintain ongoing 

compliance. As such, FDIC estimates 

burdens as 60 hours per response for IC 

3, 10 hours per response for IC 4, and 

20 hours per response for IC 5. 

ICs 6 and 7 capture the recordkeeping 

burden of ensuring that the IDIs’ 

policies and procedures comply with 

part 328. The FDIC assumes the 

recordkeeping burden imposed relates 

to documenting the development of 

policies and procedures by compliance 

officers and senior management that 

would be appropriate to the institution’s 

risk profile. This program would then be 

reviewed, revised, and then approved 

by the board of directors or other 

executives at the institution. In 

addition, part 328 requires that IDIs 

monitor and evaluate certain third 

parties to ensure that these third parties 

are also in compliance with part 328. 

Additional recordkeeping burden would 

be incurred in documenting the results 

of such monitoring activities. Data on 

the hourly burden of these activities is 

unavailable. For purposes of this ICR, 

the FDIC assumes that each IDI, on 

average, would spend approximately 80 

hours in the first year to establish and/ 

or implement policies and 

approximately 12 hours in each 

subsequent year to revise and update 

these documents. The FDIC estimates 

burdens as 80 hours per response for IC 

6 and 12 hours per response for IC 7. 

ICs 8 and 9 capture the burden of 

ensuring that covered non-banks’ thirdparty disclosures comply with part 328. 

Data on this burden is unavailable. The 

FDIC assumes each covered non-bank 

entity, on average, would spend 

approximately two and one-half hours 

in the first year to implement these 

procedures and approximately one hour 

in each subsequent year to revise and 

maintain ongoing compliance. The FDIC 

estimates burdens as two and one-half 

hours per response for IC 8 and one 

hour per response for IC 9. 

IC 10 captures the reporting burden 

incurred when an IDI requests approval 

from the FDIC to use the non-English 

equivalent of the official advertising 

statement in any of its advertisements. 

The FDIC believes that an IDI would 

spend approximately two hours per 

year, on average, to prepare and submit 

such requests. 

Estimated Annual Burden Summary 

The estimated PRA burdens for the 

proposed rule are summarized in the 

Summary of Estimated Annual Burden 

table below. For each IC, the burden 

table lists the estimated annual number 

of responses per respondent and 

estimated time per response, as 

described in the sections above. Note 

that the counts of annual respondents 

for ICs 3–9 have been annualized to 

reflect a three-year PRA cycle in which 

respondents incur implementation costs 

in the first year and ongoing costs in the 

second and third years. 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3527 

76See 5 U.S.C. 804(2). 

77See 5 U.S.C. 801(a)(1). 

SUMMARY OF ESTIMATED ANNUAL PRA BURDEN

Information collection 

(obligation to respond) 

Type of burden 

(frequency of response) 

Number of 

respondents 

Average 

number of 

responses per 

respondent 

Average time 

per response 

(HH:MM) 

Annual burden 

(hours) 

1. Signs within Institution Premises—Banks 

<$10B, 12 CFR 328.3 (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

4,496 7 1:00 31,472 

2. Signs within Institution Premises—Banks 

>=$10B, 12 CFR 328.3 (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

158 279 2:00 88,164 

3. Signage for ATMs and Digital Deposit-taking 

Channels—Implementation, 12 CFR 328.4 and 

.5 (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

1,551 1 60:00 93,060 

4. Signage for ATMs and Digital Deposit-taking 

Channels—Banks <$10B—Ongoing, 12 CFR 

328.4 and .5 (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

2,997 1 10:00 29,970 

5. Signage for ATMs and Digital Deposit-taking 

Channels—Banks >=$10B—Ongoing, 12 CFR 

328.4 and .5 (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

105 1 20:00 2,100 

6. Policies and Procedures—Implementation, 12 

CFR 328.8 (Mandatory).

Recordkeeping (Annual) 1,551 1 80:00 124,080 

7. Policies and Procedures—Ongoing, 12 CFR 

328.8 (Mandatory).

Recordkeeping (Annual) 3,103 1 12:00 37,236 

8. Insured Depository Institution Relationships— 

Implementation 12 CFR 328.102(b)(5) (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

500 1 2:30 1,250 

9. Insured Depository Institution Relationships— 

Ongoing 12 CFR 328.102(b)(5) (Mandatory).

Third-Party Disclosure 

(Annual).

1,000 1 1:00 1,000 

10. Request for Consent to Use Non-English 

Language Advertising Statement—12 CFR 

328.6(f) (Required to Obtain or Retain a Benefit).

Reporting (On occasion).1 1 2:00 2 

Total Annual Burden (Hours) ........................ ....................................... ........................ ........................ ........................ 408,334 

Source: FDIC. 

Note: The annual burden estimate for a given collection is calculated in two steps. First, the total number of annual responses is calculated as 

the whole number closest to the product of the annual number of respondents and the annual number of responses per respondent. Then, the 

total number of annual responses is multiplied by the time per response and rounded to the nearest hour to obtain the estimated annual burden 

for that collection. This rounding ensures the annual burden hours in the table are consistent with the values recorded in the OMB’s regulatory 

tracking system. 

Riegle Community Development and 

Regulatory Improvement Act 

Section 302 of the Riegle Community 

Development and Regulatory 

Improvement Act of 1994 (RCDRIA) 

requires that the Federal banking 

agencies, including the FDIC, in 

determining the effective date and 

administrative compliance requirements 

of new regulations that impose 

additional reporting, disclosure, or other 

requirements on insured depository 

institutions, consider, consistent with 

principles of safety and soundness and 

the public interest, any administrative 

burdens that such regulations would 

place on depository institutions, 

including small depository institutions, 

and customers of depository 

institutions, as well as the benefits of 

such regulations subject to certain 

exceptions, new regulations and 

amendments to regulations prescribed 

by a Federal banking agency which 

impose additional reporting, 

disclosures, or other new requirements 

on insured depository institutions shall 

take effect on the first day of a calendar 

quarter which begins on or after the date 

on which the regulations are published 

in final form. 

Congressional Review Act 

For purposes of the Congressional 

Review Act (5 U.S.C. 801 et seq.), the 

OMB makes a determination as to 

whether a final rule constitutes a ‘‘major 

rule.’’ If a rule is deemed a ‘‘major rule’’ 

by the OMB, the Congressional Review 

Act generally provides that the rule may 

not take effect until at least 60 days 

following its publication. The 

Congressional Review Act defines a 

‘‘major rule’’ as any rule that the 

Administrator of the Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs of 

the OMB finds has resulted in or is 

likely to result in: (1) an annual effect 

on the economy of $100 million or 

more; (2) a major increase in costs or 

prices for consumers, individual 

industries, Federal, State, or local 

government agencies or geographic 

regions; or (3) significant adverse effects 

on competition, employment, 

investment, productivity, innovation, or 

on the ability of United States-based 

enterprises to compete with foreignbased enterprises in domestic and 

export markets.76 The FDIC has 

submitted the final rule to the OMB for 

this major rule determination. As 

required by the Congressional Review 

Act, the FDIC will also submit the final 

rule and other appropriate reports to 

Congress and the Government 

Accountability Office for review.77

Plain Language 

Section 722 of the Gramm-LeachBliley Act requires the Federal banking 

agencies to use plain language in all 

proposed and final rulemakings 

published in the Federal Register after 

January 1, 2000. The FDIC invited 

comment regarding the use of plain 

language, but did not receive any 

comments on this topic. 

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 328 

Advertising, Bank deposit insurance, 

Savings associations, Signs and 

symbols. 


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3528 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

Authority and Issuance 

For the reasons stated in the 

preamble, the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation amends part 328 of title 12 

of the Code of Federal Regulations as 

follows: 

PART 328—FDIC OFFICIAL SIGNS, 

ADVERTISEMENT OF MEMBERSHIP, 

FALSE ADVERTISING, 

MISREPRESENTATION OF INSURED 

STATUS, AND MISUSE OF THE FDIC’S 

NAME OR LOGO 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 328 

continues to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1818, 1819 (Tenth), 

1820(c), 1828(a). 

■ 2. Revise the part heading to read as 

set forth above. 

■ 3. Revise subpart A to read as follows: 

Subpart A—FDIC Official Signs and 

Advertisement of Membership 

Sec. 

328.0 Purpose. 

328.1 Definitions. 

328.2 Official sign. 

328.3 Signs within institution premises and 

offering of non-deposit products within 

institution premises. 

328.4 Signs for automated teller machines 

and like devices. 

328.5 Signs for digital deposit-taking 

channels. 

328.6 Official advertising statement 

requirements. 

328.7 Prohibition against receiving deposits 

at same teller station or window as 

noninsured institution. 

328.8 Policies and procedures. 

§ 328.0 Purpose. 

Subpart A of this part describes the 

official signs and advertising statement 

and prescribes their use by insured 

depository institutions, as well as other 

signs to prevent customer confusion in 

the event non-deposit products are 

offered by an insured depository 

institution. Subpart A applies to insured 

depository institutions, including 

insured branches of foreign banks, but 

does not apply to non-insured offices or 

branches of insured depository 

institutions located in foreign countries. 

§ 328.1 Definitions. 

Branch has the same meaning as the 

term ‘‘domestic branch’’ as set forth 

under section 3(o) of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 

1813(o). 

Corporation means the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

Deposit has the same meaning as set 

forth under section 3(l) of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 

1813(l). 

Digital deposit-taking channel means 

websites, banking applications, and any 

other electronic communications 

method through which an insured 

depository institution accepts deposits. 

Hybrid product means a product or 

service that has both deposit product 

features and non-deposit product 

features. A sweep account is an example 

of a hybrid product. 

Insured depository institution has the 

same meaning as set forth under section 

3(c)(2) of the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Act, 12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(2). 

Non-deposit product means any 

product that is not a ‘‘deposit’’, 

including, but not limited to: insurance 

products, annuities, mutual funds, 

securities and crypto-assets. For 

purposes of this definition, credit 

products and safe deposit boxes are not 

non-deposit products. 

§ 328.2 Official sign. 

(a) Design. Except as otherwise 

provided in this section, the official sign 

referred to in this part shall be 7’’ by 3’’ 

in size, with black lettering and gold 

background, and has the following 

design: 

(b) Symbol. The ‘‘symbol’’ of the 

Corporation, as used in this subpart, 

shall be that portion of the official sign 

consisting of ‘‘FDIC’’ and the two lines 

of smaller type above and below 

‘‘FDIC.’’ 

(c) Procuring signage. An insured 

depository institution may procure the 

official sign from the Corporation for 

official use at no charge. Information on 

obtaining the official sign is posted on 

the FDIC’s internet website, https://

www.fdic.gov. Alternatively, insured 

depository institutions may, at their 

expense, procure from commercial 

suppliers, signs that vary from the 

official sign in size, color, or material. 

Any insured depository institution 

which has promptly submitted a written 

request for an official sign to the 

Corporation shall not be deemed to have 

violated this subpart by failing to 

display the official sign, unless the 

insured depository institution fails to 

display the official sign after receipt 

thereof. 

(d) Required changes in signage. The 

Corporation may require any insured 

depository institution, upon at least 

thirty (30) days’ written notice, to 

change the wording or color of the 

official sign in a manner deemed 

necessary for the protection of 

depositors or others. 

§ 328.3 Signs within institution premises 

and offering of non-deposit products within 

institution premises. 

(a) Scope. This section governs 

signage within the premises of insured 

depository institutions and the offering 

of non-deposit products within the 

premises of insured depository 

institutions. 

(b) Display of official sign. Each 

insured depository institution must 

continuously, clearly, and 

conspicuously display the official sign 

at each place of business where 


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Federal Deposit lnaurance Corporatlon•www.fdic.gov 
Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3529 

consumers have access to or transact 

with deposits, including all of its 

branches (except branches excluded 

from the scope of this subpart under 

§ 328.0) and other premises in which 

customers have access to or transact 

with deposits, in the manner described 

in this paragraph (b). 

(1) Deposits received at teller windows 

or stations. If insured deposits are 

usually and normally received at teller 

windows or stations, the insured 

depository institution must display the 

official sign: 

(i) At each teller window or station 

where insured deposits are usually and 

normally received, in a size of 7′′ by 3′′ 

or larger with black lettering on a gold 

background as described in § 328.2(a); 

or 

(ii) If the insured depository 

institution does not offer non-deposit 

products on the premises, at one or 

more locations visible from the teller 

windows or stations in a manner that 

ensures a copy of the official sign is 

large enough so as to be legible from 

anywhere in that area. 

(2) Deposits received in areas other 

than teller windows or stations. If 

insured deposits are usually and 

normally received in areas of the 

premises other than teller windows or 

stations, the insured depository 

institution must display the official sign 

in one or more locations in a manner 

that ensures a copy of the official sign 

is large enough so as to be legible from 

anywhere in those areas. 

(3) Other locations within the 

premises. An insured depository 

institution may display the official sign 

in locations at the institution other than 

those required by this section, except for 

areas where non-deposit products are 

offered. 

(4) Varied signs. An insured 

depository institution may display signs 

that vary from the official sign in size, 

color, or material at any location where 

display of the official sign is required or 

permitted under this paragraph. 

However, any such varied sign that is 

displayed in locations where display of 

the official sign is required must not be 

smaller in size than the official sign, 

must have the same color for the text 

and graphics, and includes the same 

content. 

(5) Newly insured institutions. An 

insured depository institution shall 

display the official sign as described in 

this section no later than its twenty-first 

calendar day of operation as an insured 

depository institution, unless the 

institution promptly requested the 

official sign from the Corporation but 

did not receive it before that date. 

(c) Non-deposit products offered on 

insured depository institution 

premises— 

(1) Segregated areas. Except as 

provided in paragraph (c)(3) of this 

section, if non-deposit products are 

offered within the premises, those 

products must be physically segregated 

from areas where insured deposits are 

usually and normally accepted. The 

institution must identify areas where 

activities related to the sale of nondeposit products occur and clearly 

delineate and distinguish those areas 

from the areas where insured deposittaking activities occur. 

(2) Non-deposit signage. At each 

location within the premises where nondeposit products are offered, an insured 

depository institution must 

continuously, clearly, and 

conspicuously display signage 

indicating that the non-deposit 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value. 

Such signage may not be displayed in 

close proximity to the official sign. 

(3) Physical area limitations. In 

limited situations where physical 

considerations present challenges to 

offering non-deposit products in a 

distinct area, an institution must take 

prudent and reasonable steps to 

minimize customer confusion. 

(d) Electronic media. Insured 

depository institutions may use 

electronic media to display the official 

sign and non-deposit sign required by 

this section. 

§ 328.4 Signs for automated teller 

machines and like devices. 

(a) Scope. This section governs 

signage for insured depository 

institutions’ automated teller machines 

or other remote electronic facilities that 

receive deposits. 

(b) ATMs or like devices that do not 

offer access to non-deposit products. 

Except as provided in paragraph (e), an 

insured depository institution’s 

automated teller machine or like device 

that receives deposits for an insured 

depository institution and does not offer 

access to non-deposit products may 

comply with the official sign 

requirement of this section by either: 

(1) Displaying the physical official 

sign as described in § 328.2 on the 

automated teller machine, subject to 

paragraph (f); or 

(2) Displaying the FDIC official digital 

sign as described in paragraph (c) of this 

section. 

(c) Display of FDIC official digital 

sign. An insured depository institution’s 

automated teller machine or like device 

that receives deposits for an insured 

depository institution and offers access 

to non-deposit products must clearly, 

continuously, and conspicuously 

display the FDIC official digital sign as 

described in § 328.5 on its home page or 

screen and on each transaction page or 

screen relating to deposits. 

(d) Non-deposit signage. An insured 

depository institution’s automated teller 

machine or like device that receives 

deposits for an insured depository 

institution and offers access to nondeposit products must clearly, 

continuously, and conspicuously 

display electronic disclosures indicating 

that such non-deposit products: are not 

insured by the FDIC; are not deposits; 

and may lose value. These disclosures 

must be displayed on each transaction 

page or screen relating to non-deposit 

products. Such signage may not be 

displayed in close proximity to the FDIC 

official digital sign. 

(e) Automated teller machines and 

like devices placed into service after 

January 1, 2025. An insured depository 

institution’s automated teller machine 

or like device that receives deposits for 

an insured depository institution and 

does not offer access to non-deposit 

products, that is placed into service 

after January 1, 2025 must display the 

official digital sign as described in 

paragraph (c) of this section. 

(f) Degraded or defaced physical 

official signs. A physical official sign 

that is displayed on an insured 

depository institution’s automated teller 

machine or like device under paragraph 

(b)(1) that is degraded or defaced would 

not be displayed ‘‘clearly, continuously, 

and conspicuously’’ for purposes of 

paragraph (b)(1) of this section. 

§ 328.5 Signs for digital deposit-taking 

channels. 

(a) Scope. This section governs 

signage for digital deposit-taking 

channels, including insured depository 

institutions’ websites and web-based or 

mobile applications that offer the ability 

to make deposits electronically and 

provide access to deposits at insured 

depository institutions. 

(b) Design. In general, the ‘‘FDIC’’ in 

the FDIC official digital sign shall be 

displayed with a wordmark size of 37.36 

× 15.74px, in navy blue (hexadecimal 

color code #003256), and the ‘‘FDICInsured—Backed by the full faith and 

credit of the U.S. Government’’ shall be 

displayed in regular 400 italic (12.8px) 

and with black (hexadecimal color code 

#000000) lettering. The entire FDIC 

official digital sign shall be displayed in 

Source Sans Pro Web. If the FDIC 

official digital sign in these colors 

would be illegible in a digital-taking 

channel, due to the color of the 

background, the entire FDIC official 


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3530 Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 

digital sign shall be displayed in white 

(hexadecimal color code #FFFFFF). The 

official digital sign required by the 

provisions of this section shall have the 

following design: 

(c) Digital symbol. The ‘‘digital 

symbol’’ of the Corporation, as used in 

this subpart, shall be that portion of the 

FDIC official digital sign consisting of 

‘‘FDIC’’ and the one line of smaller type 

to the right of ‘‘FDIC’’. 

(d) Display of FDIC official digital 

sign. An insured depository institution 

must clearly, continuously and 

conspicuously display the FDIC official 

digital sign specified in paragraph (b) of 

this section on its digital deposit-taking 

channels on the following pages or 

screens: 

(1) Initial or homepage of the website 

or application; 

(2) Landing or login pages; and 

(3) Pages where the customer may 

transact with deposits. 

(e) Legibility. The FDIC official digital 

sign shall be clearly legible across all 

insured depository institution deposittaking channels. 

(f) Clear and conspicuous placement 

of FDIC official digital sign. An official 

digital sign continuously displayed near 

the top of the relevant page or screen 

and in close proximity to the insured 

depository institution’s name would be 

considered clear and conspicuous. 

(g) Display of non-deposit signage. (1) 

Continuous Display of Non-deposit 

signage. If a digital deposit-taking 

channel offers both access to deposits at 

an insured depository institution and 

non-deposit products, the insured 

depository institution must clearly and 

conspicuously display signage 

indicating that the non-deposit 

products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value. 

This signage must be displayed 

continuously on each page relating to 

non-deposit products. This non-deposit 

signage may not be displayed in close 

proximity to the digital sign required by 

paragraph (d) of this section. 

(2) One-Time Notification for Bank 

Customers Related to Third-Party Nondeposit Products. If a digital deposittaking channel offers access to nondeposit products from a non-bank third 

party’s online platform, and a logged-in 

bank customer attempts to access such 

non-deposit products, the insured 

depository institution must provide a 

one-time per web session notification on 

the insured depository institution’s 

deposit-taking channel before the 

customer leaves the insured depository 

institution’s digital deposit-taking 

channel. The notification must be 

dismissed by an action of the bank 

customer before initially accessing the 

third party’s online platform and it must 

clearly, conspicuously indicate that the 

third party’s non-deposit products: are 

not insured by the FDIC; are not 

deposits; and may lose value. Nothing 

in this paragraph shall be read to limit 

an insured depository institution’s 

ability to include additional disclosures 

in the notification that may help prevent 

consumer confusion, including, for 

example, that the bank customer is 

leaving the insured depository 

institution’s website. 

(h) Required changes in digital 

signage. The Corporation may require 

any insured depository institution, upon 

at least thirty (30) days’ written notice, 

to change the wording, color or 

placement of the FDIC official digital 

sign and other signs for digital deposittaking channels when it is deemed 

necessary for the protection of 

depositors or others or to ensure 

consistency with this part’s 

requirement. 

§ 328.6 Official advertising statement 

requirements. 

(a) Advertisement defined. The term 

‘‘advertisement,’’ as used in this 

subpart, shall mean a commercial 

message, in any medium, that is 

designed to attract public attention or 

patronage to a product or business. 

(b) Official advertising statement. The 

official advertising statement shall be in 

substance as follows: ‘‘Member of the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.’’ 

(1) Optional short title and symbol. 

The short title ‘‘Member of FDIC’’, 

‘‘Member FDIC’’, ‘‘FDIC-Insured’’, or a 

reproduction of the symbol of the 

Corporation (as described in § 328.2(b)), 

may be used by insured depository 

institutions at their option as the official 

advertising statement. 

(2) Size and print. The official 

advertising statement shall be of such 

size and print to be clearly legible. If the 

symbol of the Corporation is used as the 

official advertising statement, and the 

symbol must be reduced to such 

proportions that the two lines of smaller 

type above and below ‘‘FDIC’’ are 

indistinct and illegible, those lines of 

smaller type may be blocked out or 

dropped. 

(c) Use of official advertising 

statement in advertisements—(1) 

General requirement. Except as 

provided in paragraph (d) of this 

section, each insured depository 

institution shall include the official 

advertising statement prescribed in 

paragraph (b) of this section in all 

advertisements that either promote 

deposit products and services or 

promote non-specific banking products 

and services offered by the institution. 

For purposes of this section, an 

advertisement promotes non-specific 

banking products and services if it 

includes the name of the insured 

depository institution but does not list 

or describe particular products or 

services offered by the institution. An 

example of such an advertisement 

would be, ‘‘Anytown Bank, offering a 

full range of banking services.’’ 

(2) Foreign depository institutions. 

When a foreign depository institution 

has both insured and noninsured U.S. 

branches, the depository institution 

must also identify which branches are 

insured and which branches are not 

insured in all of its advertisements 

requiring use of the official advertising 

statement. 

(3) Newly insured institutions. A 

depository institution shall include the 

official advertising statement in its 

advertisements no later than its twentyfirst day of operation as an insured 

depository institution. 

(d) Types of advertisements which do 

not require the official advertising 

statement. The following types of 

advertisements do not require use of the 

official advertising statement: 

(1) Statements of condition and 

reports of condition of an insured 

depository institution which are 

required to be published by State or 

Federal law; 

(2) Insured depository institution 

supplies such as stationery (except 

when used for circular letters), 

envelopes, deposit slips, checks, drafts, 

signature cards, deposit passbooks, 

certificates of deposit, etc.; 

(3) Signs or plates in the insured 

depository institution offices or attached 

to the building or buildings in which 

such offices are located; 

(4) Listings in directories; 


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Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 12 / Thursday, January 18, 2024 / Rules and Regulations 3531 

(5) Advertisements not setting forth 

the name of the insured depository 

institution; 

(6) Entries in a depository institution 

directory, provided the name of the 

insured depository institution is listed 

on any page in the directory with a 

symbol or other descriptive matter 

indicating it is a member of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation; 

(7) Joint or group advertisements of 

depository institution services where 

the names of insured depository 

institutions and noninsured institutions 

are listed and form a part of such 

advertisements; 

(8) Advertisements by radio or 

television, other than display 

advertisements, which do not exceed 

thirty (30) seconds in time; 

(9) Advertisements which are of the 

type or character that make it 

impractical to include the official 

advertising statement, including, but not 

limited to, promotional items such as 

calendars, matchbooks, pens, pencils, 

and key chains; and 

(10) Advertisements which contain a 

statement to the effect that the 

depository institution is a member of 

the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation, or that the depository 

institution is insured by the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Corporation, or that 

its deposits or depositors are insured by 

the Federal Deposit Insurance 

Corporation to at least the standard 

maximum deposit insurance amount (as 

defined in § 330.1(o)) for each depositor. 

(e) Restrictions on using the official 

advertising statement when advertising 

non-deposit products—(1) Non-deposit 

product advertisements. Except as 

provided in paragraph (e)(3) of this 

section, an insured depository 

institution shall not include the official 

advertising statement, or any other 

statement or symbol which implies or 

suggests the existence of Federal deposit 

insurance, in any advertisement relating 

solely to non-deposit products. 

(2) Hybrid product advertisements. 

Except as provided in paragraph (e)(3) 

of this section, an insured depository 

institution shall not include the official 

advertising statement, or any other 

statement or symbol which implies or 

suggests the existence of Federal deposit 

insurance, in any advertisement relating 

solely to hybrid products. 

(3) Mixed advertisements. In 

advertisements containing information 

about both insured deposit products and 

non-deposit products or hybrid 

products, an insured depository 

institution shall clearly segregate the 

official advertising statement or any 

similar statement from that portion of 

the advertisement that relates to the 

non-deposit products. 

(f) Official advertising statement in 

non-English language. The non-English 

equivalent of the official advertising 

statement may be used in any 

advertisement, provided that the 

translation has had the prior written 

approval of the Corporation. 

§ 328.7 Prohibition against receiving 

deposits at same teller station or window as 

noninsured institution. 

(a) Prohibition. An insured depository 

institution may not receive deposits at 

any teller station or window where any 

noninsured institution receives deposits 

or similar liabilities. 

(b) Exception. This section does not 

apply to deposits received at an 

automated teller machine or other 

remote electronic facility that receives 

deposits for an insured depository 

institution, or to deposits facilitated 

through a digital deposit-taking channel. 

§ 328.8 Policies and procedures. 

(a) Policies and Procedures. An 

insured depository institution must 

establish and maintain written policies 

and procedures to achieve compliance 

with this part. Such policies and 

procedures must be commensurate with 

the nature, size, complexity, scope, and 

potential risk of the deposit-taking 

activities of the insured depository 

institution and must include, as 

appropriate, provisions related to 

monitoring and evaluating activities of 

persons that provide deposit-related 

services to the insured depository 

institution or offer the insured 

depository institution’s deposit-related 

products or services to other parties. 

(b) Reservation of authority. Nothing 

in this section shall be construed to 

limit the FDIC’s authority to address 

violations of this part, the FDIC’s 

authority to interpret the rules in this 

part, or any other authority the FDIC has 

pursuant to any other laws or 

regulations. 

■ 3. Amend § 328.101 by adding the 

definition for ‘‘Deposit’’ in alphabetical 

order, and revising the definitions for 

‘‘FDIC-Associated Images’’, ‘‘Hybrid 

Product’’, ‘‘Non-Deposit Product’’, and 

‘‘Uninsured Financial Product’’ to read 

as follows: 

§ 328.101 Definitions. 

* * * * * 

Deposit has the same meaning as set 

forth under section 3(l) of the Federal 

Deposit Insurance Act, 12 U.S.C. 

1813(l). 

* * * * * 

FDIC-Associated Images means the 

Seal of the FDIC, alone or within the 

letter C of the term FDIC; the Official 

Sign and Symbol of the FDIC, as set 

forth in § 328.2; the FDIC Official Digital 

Sign and Digital Symbol set forth in 

§ 328.5; the Official Advertising 

Statement, as set forth in § 328.6; any 

similar images; and any other signs and 

symbols that may represent or imply 

that any deposit, liability, obligation 

certificate, or share is insured or 

guaranteed in whole or in part by the 

FDIC. 

* * * * * 

Hybrid Product has the same meaning 

as set forth under § 328.1. 

* * * * * 

Non-Deposit Product means any 

product that is not a ‘‘deposit’’, 

including, but not limited to: insurance 

products, annuities, mutual funds, 

securities, and crypto-assets. For 

purposes of this definition, credit 

products and safe deposit box services 

are not Non-Deposit Products. 

* * * * * 

Uninsured Financial Product means 

any Non-Deposit Product, HybridProduct, investment, security, 

obligation, certificate, share, cryptoasset or financial product other than an 

‘‘Insured Deposit’’ as defined in this 

section. 

■ 4. Amend § 328.102 by adding 

paragraph (a)(3)(viii) and (b)(1)(iv) and 

revising paragraphs (b)(3)(ii), (b)(5), and 

(b)(6)(ii) to read as follows: 

§ 328.102 Prohibition. 

(a) * * * 

(3) * * * 

(viii) Use of FDIC-Associated Terms 

or FDIC-Associated Images, in a manner 

that inaccurately states or implies that a 

person other than an insured depository 

institution is insured by the FDIC. 

(b) * * * 

(1) * * * 

(iv) A person other than an insured 

depository institution is an FDICinsured depository institution. This 

includes use of FDIC-Associated Terms 

or FDIC-Associated Images, in a manner 

that inaccurately states or implies that a 

person other than an insured depository 

institution is insured by the FDIC. 

(3) * * * 

(ii) The statement omits or fails to 

clearly and conspicuously disclose 

material information that would be 

necessary to prevent a reasonable 

consumer from being misled, regardless 

of whether any such consumer was 

actually misled. 

(5) Without limitation, a statement 

regarding deposit insurance will be 

deemed to omit or fail to clearly and 

conspicuously disclose material 

information if the absence of such 


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information could lead a reasonable 

consumer to believe any of the material 

misrepresentations set forth in 

paragraph (b)(4) of this section or could 

otherwise result in a reasonable 

consumer being unable to understand 

the extent or manner of deposit 

insurance provided. Examples of such 

material information include, but are 

not limited to, the following: 

(i) A statement made by a person 

other than an insured depository 

institution that represents or implies 

that an advertised product is insured by 

the FDIC that fails to clearly and 

conspicuously identify the insured 

depository institution(s) with which the 

representing party has a direct or 

indirect business relationship for the 

placement of deposits and into which 

the consumer’s deposits may be placed; 

(ii) A statement made by a person that 

is not an insured depository institution 

regarding deposit insurance that fails to 

clearly and conspicuously disclose that 

the person is not an FDIC-insured 

depository institution and that FDIC 

insurance only covers the failure of the 

FDIC-insured depository institution. A 

statement that a person is not an FDICinsured bank and deposit insurance 

covers the failure of an insured bank 

would be considered a clear statement 

for purposes of this provision. 

(iii) A statement made by a person 

regarding deposit insurance in a context 

where deposits and Non-Deposit 

products are both offered on a website 

in close proximity, that fails to clearly 

and conspicuously differentiate between 

insured deposits and Non-Deposit 

Products by disclosing that Non-Deposit 

Products: are not insured by the FDIC; 

are not deposits; and may lose value, 

except that: 

(A) Services unrelated to financial 

products or investments and physical 

goods shall not be considered NonDeposit Products for purposes of clause 

(b)(5)(iii) of this section; and 

(B) In the case of a Non-Deposit 

Product that is a product that allows 

consumers to store, send, or receive fiat 

money and does not fluctuate in value, 

failure to disclose that the Non-Deposit 

Product may lose value will not be a 

material omission for purposes of clause 

(b)(5)(iii) of this section. 

(iv) A statement made by a person 

regarding pass-through deposit 

insurance coverage that fails to clearly 

and conspicuously disclose that certain 

conditions must be satisfied for passthrough deposit insurance coverage to 

apply. 

(6) * * * 

(ii) Has been advised by the FDIC in 

an advisory letter, as provided in 

§ 328.106(a), or has been advised by 

another governmental or regulatory 

authority, including, but not limited to, 

another Federal banking agency, the 

Federal Trade Commission, the Bureau 

of Consumer Financial Protection, the 

U.S. Department of Justice, or a state 

bank supervisor, that such 

representations are false or misleading; 

and 

* * * * * 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. 

By order of the Board of Directors. 

Dated at Washington, DC, on December 20, 

2023. 

James P. Sheesley, 

Assistant Executive Secretary. 

[FR Doc. 2023–28629 Filed 1–17–24; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 6714–01–P 


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