[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2015)]
[Proposed Rules]
[Pages 10417-10422]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-03879]


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BUREAU OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL PROTECTION

12 CFR Part 1026

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


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

AGENCY: Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

ACTION: Proposed rule; request for public comment.

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

DATES: Comments must be received on or before March 13, 2015.

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments, identified by Docket No. CFPB-2015-
0006 or RIN 3170-AA50, by any of the following methods:
    <bullet> Federal eRulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov. 
Follow the instructions for submitting comments.
    <bullet> Email: <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#367053525344575a6453515f4542534475595b5b53584245765550465418515940"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="377152535245565b6552505e4443524574585a5a52594344775451475519505841">[email protected]</span></a>. Include Docket 
No. CFPB-2015-0006 and/or RIN 3170-AA50 in the subject line of the 
email.
    <bullet> Mail: Monica Jackson, Office of the Executive Secretary, 
Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1700 G Street NW., Washington, DC 
20552.
    <bullet> Hand Delivery/Courier: Monica Jackson, Office of the 
Executive Secretary, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, 1275 First 
Street NE., Washington, DC 20002.
    Instructions: All submissions should include the agency name and 
docket number or Regulatory Information Number (RIN) for this 
rulemaking. Because paper mail in the Washington, DC area and at the 
Bureau is subject to delay, commenters are encouraged to submit 
comments electronically. In general, all comments received will be 
posted without change to http://www.regulations.gov. In addition, 
comments will be available for public inspection and copying at 1275 
First Street NE., Washington, DC 20002, on official business days 
between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Eastern Time. You can make an 
appointment to inspect the documents by telephoning (202) 435-7275.
    All comments, including attachments and other supporting materials, 
will become part of the public record and subject to public disclosure. 
Sensitive personal information, such as account numbers or social 
security numbers, should not be included. Comments generally will not 
be edited to remove any identifying or contact information.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Summary of the Proposed Rule

    The Truth in Lending Act (TILA), in section 122(d), requires 
creditors to post agreements for open-end consumer credit card plans on 
the creditors' Web sites and to submit those agreements to the Bureau. 
15 U.S.C. 1632(d). These provisions are implemented in Sec.  1026.58 of 
Regulation Z.\1\ 12 CFR 1026.58. The Bureau is proposing to temporarily 
suspend the requirement in Sec.  1026.58(c) that card issuers submit 
credit card agreements to the Bureau for

[[Page 10418]]

a period of one year (i.e., four quarterly submissions), in order to 
reduce burden while the Bureau works to develop a more streamlined and 
automated electronic submission system. Specifically, the Bureau is 
proposing to suspend the submissions that would otherwise be due to the 
Bureau by the first business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 
2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. Beginning with the 
submission due on the first business day on or after April 30, 2016, 
card issuers would resume submitting credit card agreements on a 
quarterly basis to the Bureau. Other requirements under Sec.  1026.58, 
including card issuers' obligations to post currently-offered 
agreements on their own Web sites under Sec.  1026.58(d), would remain 
unaffected.
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    \1\ Section 1026.58 uses the terms card issuer (or issuer) and 
credit card agreement (or agreement) in lieu of the terms creditor 
and open-end consumer credit card plan, respectively, that are used 
in section 122(d) of TILA.
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II. Background

    In 2009, Congress enhanced protections for credit cards in the 
Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act (CARD 
Act), which it enacted to ``establish fair and transparent practices 
related to the extension of credit'' in the credit card market.\2\ The 
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) generally 
implemented the CARD Act's provisions in subpart G of Regulation Z. 
Section 204 of the CARD Act added new TILA section 122(d) to require 
creditors to post agreements for open-end consumer credit card plans on 
the creditors' Web sites and to submit those agreements to the Board 
for posting on a publicly available Web site established and maintained 
by the Board. 15 U.S.C. 1632(d).
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    \2\ Public Law 111-24, 123 Stat. 1734 (2009).
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    Specifically, TILA section 122(d)(1) requires each creditor to post 
its credit card agreements on its own Web site, and section 122(d)(2) 
requires the creditor to provide its agreements to the Bureau (formerly 
the Board). TILA section 122(d)(3) requires the Bureau (formerly the 
Board) to establish and maintain on its publicly available Web site a 
central repository of the agreements it receives under section 
122(d)(2). The Board implemented these provisions in 12 CFR 226.58. 
With the adoption of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer 
Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act), authority to implement TILA 
transferred to the Bureau \3\ and the Bureau renumbered this provision 
in Regulation Z as Sec.  1026.58.\4\
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    \3\ Public Law 111-203, section 1100A, 124 Stat. 2081 (2010) 
(codified at 15 U.S.C. 1602 et seq.).
    \4\ 76 FR 79768 (Dec. 22, 2011).
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    While TILA section 122(d) requires that creditors provide 
agreements to the Bureau, it does not specify the frequency or timing 
for these submissions. The implementing regulations in Regulation Z 
provide that submission of currently-offered agreements must be made 
quarterly. See Sec.  1026.58(c)(1). These quarterly submissions must be 
sent to the Bureau no later than the first business day on or after 
January 31, April 30, July 31, and October 31 of each year. The 
regulation also provides that, except in certain circumstances, card 
issuers must post and maintain on their publicly available Web sites 
the credit card agreements that the issuers are required to submit to 
the Bureau. See Sec.  1026.58(d).
    Under the current process, which has been used by the Bureau since 
its inception, card issuers submit agreements and agreement information 
to the Bureau manually via email. The Bureau believes this process may 
be unnecessarily cumbersome for issuers and may make issuers' own 
internal tracking of previously submitted agreements difficult. In 
addition, the current process for Bureau staff to manually review, 
catalog, and upload new or revised agreements to the Bureau's Web site, 
and to remove outdated agreements, can extend for several months after 
the quarterly submission deadline.\5\ The Bureau is working to develop 
a more streamlined and automated electronic submission system which 
would allow issuers to upload agreements directly to the Bureau's 
database. The Bureau intends for its new submission system to be less 
burdensome and easier for issuers to use. It also intends for the new 
system to enable faster posting of new and revised agreements on the 
Bureau's Web site.
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    \5\ The Bureau's database of credit card agreements is available 
at http://www.consumerfinance.gov/credit-cards/agreements/.
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    In order to reduce the burden on card issuers of continuing to use 
manual submission methods while the Bureau works to design, test, and 
implement a more streamlined and automated electronic submission 
system, the Bureau is proposing to temporarily suspend issuers' 
obligations to submit credit card agreements to the Bureau for a period 
of one year (i.e., four quarterly submissions), as described in more 
detail in the section-by-section analysis below. Issuers' obligations 
to post currently-offered agreements on their own Web sites would be 
unaffected.
    The Bureau recognizes that its proposed temporary suspension of the 
requirement that card issuers submit credit card agreements to the 
Bureau would temporarily reduce the access consumers, other external 
parties, and the Bureau itself would have to a single repository of the 
agreements that would have been submitted during this one-year period. 
However, the Bureau believes that this temporary reduction would not 
impose significant costs on consumers, other external parties, or the 
Bureau itself for at least two key reasons. First, the Bureau is not 
proposing to modify the requirement that card issuers post currently-
offered agreements on their own Web sites in a manner that is prominent 
and readily accessible by the public (Sec.  1026.58(d)) or that card 
issuers make all open agreements available on their Web sites or to 
cardholders upon request (Sec.  1026.58(e)).
    Second, the Bureau intends to manually compile credit card 
agreements from certain large card issuers' Web sites as of 
approximately September 2015. Given the longstanding concentration in 
the credit card market, the Bureau believes that uploading agreements 
obtained from a relatively small number of issuers' Web sites to the 
Bureau's own Web site is sufficient to provide the agreement terms 
available to the overwhelming majority of credit card consumers in the 
U.S. as of the mid-point of the proposed suspension period.\6\ This 
will allow consumers to continue to use the Bureau's Web site to 
effectively compare agreements offered by various issuers.
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    \6\ See, e.g., CFPB, CARD Act Report, at 13-14 (Oct. 1, 2013), 
available at http://files.consumerfinance.gov/f/201309_cfpb_card-act-report.pdf.
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    Overall, the Bureau anticipates that the marginal costs to 
consumers and other external parties from interrupted access during the 
suspension period will be outweighed by the anticipated benefits of 
increased usability of the agreements and expedited availability of 
agreements on the Bureau's Web site after the Bureau implements a more 
streamlined and automated submission system. The Bureau intends to 
explore potential functionality for the new system that would improve 
external parties' ability to use the information efficiently and 
effectively, such as through improved reporting capabilities. In 
addition, by streamlining the submission process, the Bureau intends 
for the new system to also reduce burden on card issuers.

III. Legal Authority

    TILA section 105(a) authorizes the Bureau to prescribe regulations 
to carry

[[Page 10419]]

out the purposes of TILA. These regulations may contain such 
classifications, differentiations, or other provisions, and may provide 
for such adjustments and exceptions for any class of transactions, that 
in the Bureau's judgment are necessary or proper to effectuate the 
purposes of TILA, facilitate compliance with TILA, or prevent 
circumvention or evasion of TILA. TILA section 122(d)(5) authorizes the 
Bureau to promulgate regulations to implement section 122(d), 
including, among other things, establishing exceptions to TILA sections 
122(d)(1) and (2) in any case where the administrative burden outweighs 
the benefits of increased transparency.
    The Bureau proposes to exercise its rulemaking authority pursuant 
to TILA sections 105(a) and 122(d)(5) to, in effect, change the period 
for creditors' submission of agreements to the Bureau from quarterly to 
annually, for a period of one year. The Bureau also proposes to 
exercise its exception authority under TILA sections 105(a) and 
122(d)(5) to temporarily suspend the agreement submission requirements 
in Sec.  1026.58(c), as it believes the burden to issuers of continuing 
to submit agreements under the current cumbersome, manual process while 
the Bureau works to develop a more streamlined and automated electronic 
submission system outweighs the benefits of transparency to consumers 
and other external parties of access to those agreements via the 
Bureau's Web site during the proposed suspension period. Further, the 
Bureau believes that a temporary suspension would effectuate the 
purposes of TILA and facilitate compliance therewith.

IV. Section-by-Section Analysis of the Proposed Rule

Regulation Z

Subpart G--Special Rules Applicable to Credit Card Accounts and Open-
End Credit Offered to College Students
Section 1026.58 Internet Posting of Credit Card Agreements
58(g) Temporary Suspension of Agreement Submission Requirement
    The Bureau is proposing, in Sec.  1026.58(g)(1), to temporarily 
suspend the quarterly credit card agreement submission requirement in 
Sec.  1026.58(c) for submissions that would otherwise be due to the 
Bureau by the first business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 
2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. Proposed comment 58(g)-1 
would further clarify this provision.
    Proposed comment 58(g)-2 would explain that, beginning with the 
submission due on the first business day on or after April 30, 2016, 
card issuers shall resume submitting credit card agreements on a 
quarterly basis to the Bureau pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c). A card 
issuer shall submit agreements for the prior calendar quarter (that is, 
the calendar quarter ending March 31, 2016), as required by Sec.  
1026.58(c)(1)(ii) through (iv) and (c)(3) through (7), to the Bureau no 
later than the first business day on or after April 30, 2016.
    Proposed comment 58(g)-2.i would explain what must be included in 
the submission due on the first business day on or after April 30, 
2016, as required by Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(i) through (iv) and (c)(3) 
through (7). Proposed comment 58(g)-2.ii would explain that, in lieu of 
providing new and amended agreements, and notice of withdrawn 
agreements, for the April 30, 2016 submission, Sec.  1026.58(c)(1) and 
comment 58(c)(1)-3 permit a card issuer to submit to the Bureau a 
complete, updated set of the credit card agreements the card issuer 
offered to the public as of the calendar quarter ending March 31, 2016.
    Section 1026.58(d) requires a card issuer to post and maintain on 
its publicly available Web site the credit card agreements that the 
issuer is required to submit to the Bureau under Sec.  1026.58(c). 
Proposed Sec.  1026.58(g)(2) would provide that the suspended 
submission requirement in proposed Sec.  1026.58(g)(1) would not affect 
card issuers' obligations to post agreements on their own Web sites as 
required by Sec.  1026.58(d) during the temporary suspension period. 
Proposed comment 58(g)-3 would further explain this provision and 
provide several examples.
    The Bureau solicits comment on its proposal to temporarily suspend 
the obligation card issuers would otherwise have under Sec.  1026.58(c) 
to submit credit card agreements to the Bureau for the four quarterly 
submissions that would otherwise be due to the Bureau by the first 
business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 
2015; and January 31, 2016.
    For the quarterly submission due on the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2016, card issuers must follow any technical 
specifications for submission that the Bureau releases. The Bureau 
shall provide advance notice to card issuers of such technical 
specifications. The Bureau is not seeking comment on possible technical 
specifications for the credit card agreement submission process.
    The Bureau notes that annual submission of college credit card 
agreements and related data pursuant to Sec.  1026.57(d) and the 
biannual submission of credit card pricing and availability information 
pursuant to 15 U.S.C. 1646(b) are not affected by this proposal. At 
present, the Bureau intends to continue using existing systems and 
processes to receive those submissions, which are less frequent and 
involve fewer issuers. At the time the Bureau implements a more 
streamlined and automated electronic system for submission of quarterly 
credit card agreements, however, the Bureau expects to review that 
system's potential suitability for other submissions.\7\
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    \7\ The Bureau proposed a requirement similar to that of Sec.  
1026.58 for prepaid accounts. See 79 FR 77102, 77191 (Dec. 23, 
2014). The Bureau noted that it ``expects to provide additional 
details regarding the electronic submission process in connection 
with the release of its final rule on this subject. Issuers will 
have no submission obligations until the Bureau has issued technical 
specifications addressing the form and manner for submission of 
agreements. The Bureau intends for the streamlined electronic 
submission process to be operational before proposed Sec.  
1005.19(b) becomes effective.'' Id. at 77196. The Bureau intends to 
explore whether the same streamlined electronic submission process 
can be used to collect agreements from both card issuers and prepaid 
account issuers.
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V. Proposed Effective Date

    The Bureau proposes that the changes proposed herein take effect 
immediately upon publication of a final rule in the Federal Register. 
As discussed above, the Bureau is working to develop a more streamlined 
and automated electronic submission system which would allow card 
issuers to upload credit card agreements directly to the Bureau's 
database. The Bureau is proposing an immediate effective date for its 
temporary suspension of the requirement that card issuers submit credit 
card agreements to the Bureau.
    The Bureau seeks comment on whether its proposed changes should 
take effect immediately upon publication of a final rule in the Federal 
Register or if a later effective date is more appropriate.

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

A. Overview

    In developing the proposed rule, the Bureau has considered 
potential benefits, costs, and impacts.\8\ The Bureau requests comment 
on the preliminary analysis presented below as well as submissions of 
additional data

[[Page 10420]]

that could inform the Bureau's analysis of the benefits, costs, and 
impacts. The Bureau has consulted, or offered to consult with, the 
prudential regulators, the Department of the Treasury, and the Federal 
Trade Commission, including regarding consistency with any prudential, 
market, or systemic objectives administered by such agencies.
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    \8\ Specifically, section 1022(b)(2)(A) of the Dodd-Frank Act 
calls for the Bureau to consider the potential benefits and costs of 
a regulation to consumers and covered persons, including the 
potential reduction of access by consumers to consumer financial 
products or services; the impact on depository institutions and 
credit unions with $10 billion or less in total assets as described 
in section 1026 of the Dodd-Frank Act; and the impact on consumers 
in rural areas.
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    Pursuant to TILA section 122(d)(3), the Bureau maintains on its 
public Web site a repository of the consumer credit card agreements 
that card issuers submit pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c). The electronic 
folders in the repository are organized by quarter, back to the third 
quarter of 2011, reflecting the transfer of authority to implement TILA 
from the Board to the Bureau pursuant to the Dodd-Frank Act. For each 
quarter, the repository contains a copy of each agreement, in PDF 
format, that was available to consumers as of the end of that quarter. 
The repository also contains, for each quarter, a spreadsheet that 
provides certain identifying information about each agreement and the 
issuer thereof.
    Proposed Sec.  1026.58(g) would temporarily suspend the requirement 
in Sec.  1026.58(c) for card issuers to submit credit card agreements 
to the Bureau. Under the proposed rule, card issuers would not be 
required to make quarterly submissions to the Bureau for the 
submissions that would otherwise be due by the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 
2016. Consequently, the Bureau would not provide these agreements on 
its Web site. As discussed previously, however, the Bureau intends to 
manually compile credit card agreements from certain large card issuer 
Web sites as of approximately September 2015 and to post those 
agreements on its Web site. Card issuers would resume submitting 
agreements on a quarterly basis to the Bureau beginning with the 
submission due by the first business day on or after April 30, 2016. 
The Bureau is not proposing to modify the requirement that card issuers 
post currently-offered agreements on their own Web sites in a manner 
that is prominent and readily accessible by the public (Sec.  
1026.58(d)) or that card issuers make all open agreements available on 
their Web sites or to cardholders upon request (Sec.  1026.58(e)).

B. Potential Benefits and Costs to Consumers and Covered Persons

    The Bureau is not aware of any significant costs to consumers that 
might arise from the temporary suspension of the quarterly submission 
requirement and the absence of these agreements on the Bureau's Web 
site. While the Bureau's Web site can assist consumers in comparing 
credit card agreements when shopping for a new card, the Bureau 
believes that most consumers are not likely to use the repository to 
identify desirable credit cards, in part because they would not know if 
they qualified for the cards they identified. The Bureau believes that 
consumers are more likely to identify a number of cards for which they 
qualify before comparing the terms and conditions for those cards. 
These terms and conditions will remain readily available to consumers 
on the issuers' Web sites. Similarly, a consumer who wanted to replace 
a lost agreement would likely find it easier to contact the issuer than 
to search the repository because the agreement might no longer be 
available to new cardholders, in which case the consumer would need to 
search across multiple quarters to find the agreement, and even then 
might lack confidence that she had found the version of the agreement 
that applied to her.
    On the other hand, the Bureau recognizes that consumers who would 
qualify for almost any card on the market and who want to learn about 
the features of a large number of products might find the repository 
useful. The proposed rule might increase the cost to these consumers of 
searching for desirable credit cards. The Bureau believes that this 
cost would be small, however, given that the Bureau is suspending the 
submission requirement for just four quarters. The Bureau requests 
comment on this point. Similarly, the Bureau recognizes the possibility 
that entities may use the information in the repository to develop more 
competitive products or extract information that they could sell or 
otherwise provide to consumers or third parties. However, the Bureau 
believes that this is unlikely given that the agreements, while 
generally in searchable PDF format, do not contain uniform data or text 
fields that would provide the same type of information in fixed 
locations across files. The Bureau requests comment on this point as 
well.
    The Bureau believes that the proposal would provide issuers with a 
minor but tangible benefit. For the third quarter of 2014, 446 issuers 
had 1,833 agreements in the Bureau's database. While 169 issuers had 
just one agreement, the median number of agreements per issuer was two 
and the average was four. Four issuers had over 50 agreements. In the 
third quarter alone, 103 issuers submitted 429 agreements; the median 
and mean were again two and four, respectively. Three issuers submitted 
over 25 agreements. All issuers would be able to suspend their 
submissions for four quarters, which would remove some compliance 
burden. The Bureau believes that the burden is small on average, 
although it may be higher for the entities that provide a large number 
of agreements.\9\ The Bureau requests comment on this point.
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    \9\ The Bureau notes that card issuers who submit a smaller 
number of agreements to the Bureau, but that only submit new and 
amended agreements and notice of withdrawn agreements, may have 
higher compliance costs than issuers who resubmit each quarter all 
agreements that are currently available to consumers. Thus, using 
the number of agreements submitted each quarter does not strictly 
track compliance cost. However, the Bureau expects that the number 
of agreements submitted and compliance cost are correlated even for 
those who submit all available agreements each quarter because they 
still have to ensure they are not sending agreements that are no 
longer offered to new customers or are entirely defunct.
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    As noted above, the Bureau recognizes the possibility that entities 
could use the information in the repository to develop more competitive 
products or extract information that they could sell or otherwise 
provide to consumers or third parties. However, as mentioned above, the 
Bureau believes that this is unlikely given the difficulties in using 
files in PDF format for this purpose. To the extent that entities are 
inclined to use the files in the repository to extract information, the 
Bureau believes that manual collection of the credit card agreements 
from certain large card issuer Web sites as of approximately September 
2015 and posting those agreements on the Bureau Web site will mitigate 
the impact of the proposed rule on these entities.
    As an alternative, the Bureau considered coupling the temporary 
suspension with a requirement to provide the Bureau, after the 
suspension expired, with the agreements that they would have been 
required to submit if not for the suspension. Compared to the proposed 
rule, this alternative would have imposed smaller costs on consumers 
and provided smaller benefits to issuers. Since the costs to consumers 
under the proposed rule are small to begin with, the Bureau believes 
that the proposed rule is superior to the alternative. The Bureau 
requests comment on this point.

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

    The majority of banks and credit unions that provide agreements 
under Sec.  1026.58(c) have no more than $10 billion in assets. Thus, 
the majority of banks and credit unions that would benefit from the 
proposed rule have no more than $10 billion in assets. On the other 
hand, larger banks and credit

[[Page 10421]]

unions generally provide the Bureau with more agreements each quarter. 
Thus, the proposed rule would generally provide larger banks and credit 
unions with a greater reduction in burden compared to that obtained by 
banks and credit unions with no more than $10 billion in assets.

D. Impact on Access to Credit

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

E. Impact on Consumers in Rural Areas

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

VII. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (RFA), as amended by the Small 
Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996, requires each 
agency to consider the potential impact of its regulations on small 
entities, including small businesses, small governmental units, and 
small nonprofit organizations. The RFA defines a ``small business'' as 
a business that meets the size standard developed by the Small Business 
Administration pursuant to the Small Business Act.
    The RFA generally requires an agency to conduct an initial 
regulatory flexibility analysis (IRFA) and a final regulatory 
flexibility analysis (FRFA) of any rule subject to notice-and-comment 
rulemaking requirements, unless the agency certifies that the rule will 
not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
entities. The Bureau also is subject to certain additional procedures 
under the RFA involving the convening of a panel to consult with small 
business representatives prior to proposing a rule for which an IRFA is 
required.
    An IRFA is not required here because the proposal, if adopted, 
would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of 
small entities. The Bureau does not expect the proposal to impose costs 
on small entities. As discussed above, the Bureau believes that the 
proposed rule would cause a small reduction in costs on all issuers, 
including small entity issuers, who would otherwise be required to 
submit agreements to the Bureau.
    Accordingly, the undersigned certifies that this proposal, if 
adopted, would not have a significant economic impact on a substantial 
number of small entities.

VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act Analysis

    Under the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3501 et 
seq.), Federal agencies are generally required to seek the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) approval for information collection 
requirements prior to implementation. Under the PRA, the Bureau may not 
conduct or sponsor and, notwithstanding any other provision of law, a 
person is not required to respond to an information collection unless 
the information collection displays a valid control number assigned by 
OMB.
    The Bureau is currently seeking a new OMB control number for the 
information collection in Sec.  1026.58(c).\10\ The Bureau expects to 
obtain this control number prior to the first business day on or after 
April 30, 2016, which is the date on which the information collection 
in Sec.  1026.58(c) would resume if the proposed rule were finalized.
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    \10\ See 79 FR 62421 (Oct. 17, 2014); 80 FR 8291 (Feb. 17, 
2015). The OMB control number would also apply to the information 
collection in Sec.  1026.57.
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    The Bureau welcomes comments on any aspect of this proposal for 
purposes of the PRA. Comments should be submitted as outlined in the 
ADDRESSES section above. All comments will become a matter of public 
record.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 1026

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

Authority and Issuance

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

PART 1026--TRUTH IN LENDING (REGULATION Z)

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

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

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

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


Sec.  1026.58  Internet posting of credit card agreements.

* * * * *
    (g) Temporary suspension of agreement submission requirement--(1) 
Quarterly submissions. The quarterly submission requirement in 
paragraph (c) of this section is suspended for the submissions that 
would otherwise be due to the Bureau by the first business day on or 
after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; October 31, 2015; and January 31, 
2016.
    (2) Posting of agreements offered to the public. Nothing in 
paragraph (g)(1) of this section shall affect the agreement posting 
requirements in paragraph (d) of this section.
0
3. In Supplement I to Part 1026, under Section 1026.58--Internet 
Posting of Credit Card Agreements, add subsection 58(g) Temporary 
Suspension of Agreement Submission Requirement to read as follows:

Supplement I to Part 1026--Official Interpretations

* * * * *

Section 1026.58--Internet Posting of Credit Card Agreements

* * * * *

58(g) Temporary Suspension of Agreement Submission Requirement

    1. Suspended quarterly submission requirement. Pursuant to Sec.  
1026.58(g)(1), card issuers are not required to make quarterly 
submissions to the Bureau, as otherwise required by Sec.  
1026.58(c), for the submissions that would otherwise be due by the 
first business day on or after April 30, 2015; July 31, 2015; 
October 31, 2015; and January 31, 2016. Specifically, a card issuer 
is not required to submit information about the issuer and its 
agreements pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(i), new credit card 
agreements pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(ii), amended agreements 
pursuant to Sec.  1026.58(c)(1)(iii) and (c)(3), or notification of 
withdrawn

[[Page 10422]]

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


    Dated: February 19, 2015.
Richard Cordray,
Director, Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
[FR Doc. 2015-03879 Filed 2-25-15; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-AM-P


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