This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains regulatory documents having general

applicability and legal effect, most of which

are keyed to and codified in the Code of

Federal Regulations, which is published under

50 titles pursuant to 44 U.S.C. 1510.

The Code of Federal Regulations is sold by

the Superintendent of Documents. Prices of

new books are listed in the first FEDERAL

REGISTER issue of each week.

Rules and Regulations Federal Register

56935 

Vol. 73, No. 191 

Wednesday, October 1, 2008 

1The interagency ‘‘eRulemaking Program’’ 

launched the Web site http://www.regulations.gov 

in January 2003 to provide access and an 

opportunity to comment on all proposed federal 

regulations at one online portal. NCUA’s 

understanding is that the software problem has 

been corrected and safeguards are now in place to 

ensure this error will not occur for future proposed 

rules. Questions about this matter may be directed 

to John Moses, Chief, eRulemaking Program Branch, 

Environmental Protection Agency, 1200 

Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Washington, DC 20460, 

202/566–1352, Moses.John@epamail.epa.gov. 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 740 

RIN 3133–AD45 

The Official Advertising Statement 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA). 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: NCUA is revising the 

requirements for use of the official 

insurance sign and official advertising 

statement to permit insured credit 

unions to use the basic form of the 

official advertising statement, a 

shortened form, or the official sign in 

advertisements. The rule will give credit 

unions added flexibility in 

advertisements by allowing them to use 

the shortened form or the official 

insurance sign in advertisements as 

alternatives to the basic official 

advertising statement. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 31, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Moisette I. Green, Staff Attorney, Office 

of General Counsel, National Credit 

Union Administration, 1775 Duke 

Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314– 

3428, or telephone: (703) 518–6540. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: In April 

2008, NCUA proposed an amendment 

revising the requirements for use of the 

official insurance sign and official 

advertising statement to permit insured 

credit unions to use the basic form of 

the official advertising statement, a 

shortened form, or the official sign in 

advertisements. 73 FR 22839 (April 28, 

2008). Additionally, the proposed 

amendment clarified the font of the text 

in the official sign may be altered to 

ensure it is legible when it is used as the 

official advertising statement. The 

proposal resulted from NCUA’s 2007 

regulatory review, and was identified to 

provide insured credit unions greater 

flexibility in how they meet the 

requirement of giving notice of their 

insured status. 

The Federal Credit Union Act (Act) 

requires insured credit unions to 

display signs at their places of business 

indicating accounts are insured and also 

to include in all advertisements a 

statement to the effect that accounts are 

insured. 12 U.S.C. 1785(a). The Act 

authorizes the NCUA Board to 

promulgate regulations governing the 

substance of the official insurance sign 

and the manner it is displayed or used 

and, also, to address the practicality of 

including the official statement on 

insured status in advertisements. Id. 

NCUA implements this authority in part 

740 of its regulations and, in § 740.5, 

NCUA requires insured credit unions to 

include the official advertising 

statement in all advertisements, 

including on their main internet pages, 

with certain exceptions. 

NCUA received a total of eight 

comments on the proposed rule from 

credit unions and trade associations. All 

the commenters supported the rule. On 

September 10, 2008, NCUA received 

notice that one comment letter 

submitted via the Federal eRulemaking 

Portal regarding this rulemaking had not 

been forwarded to NCUA. This was due 

to a minor software problem that has 

been corrected.1 The comment period 

for this rule closed on June 27, 2008. As 

noted above, all eight comment letters 

NCUA received fully supported the 

amendments and the Board believes, 

given the identity of these commenters, 

which includes major credit union trade 

associations and individual credit 

unions, that these comment letters 

broadly and fairly represent the views of 

interested parties. 

The Board believes it is appropriate 

and fair in these circumstances to 

proceed with the final rule rather than 

delay implementation. This rule creates 

no burden for FCUs, but merely 

provides an alternative for insured 

credit unions to meet the advertising 

requirement regarding the existence of 

federal account insurance. For these 

reasons, the Board concludes there is no 

need to reopen the comment period and 

the interest of the public and FCUs is 

served by proceeding with the final rule. 

One commenter suggested NCUA 

further condense the advertising 

statement and permit credit unions to 

use a brief statement such as, ‘‘NCUA 

Insured’’ or ‘‘Insured by NCUA.’’ Credit 

unions may use the shortened version of 

the official advertising statement, which 

is ‘‘Federally insured by NCUA.’’ 

Keeping the word ‘‘federally’’ in the 

shortened version ensures those who 

may not be familiar with credit unions, 

NCUA, or the National Credit Union 

Share Insurance Fund receive notice 

that member shares are backed by the 

full faith and credit of the United States 

government, especially when the 

shortened statement is used alone. 

Accordingly, NCUA adopts the 

proposed rule, published at 73 FR 22839 

(April 28, 2008), as a final rule. 

Regulatory Procedures 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

requires NCUA to prepare an analysis to 

describe any significant economic 

impact any regulation may have on a 

substantial number of small credit 

unions (those under $10 million in 

assets). The final amendment merely 

expands the options credit unions have 

to comply with the requirement to 

notify members and the public of their 

insured status in advertisements. 

Accordingly, the NCUA has determined 

and certifies that the final rule will not 

have a significant economic impact on 

a substantial number of small credit 

unions within the meaning of the 

Regulatory Flexibility Act, 5 U.S.C. 601– 

612. 

Small Business Regulatory Enforcement 

Fairness Act 

The Small Business Regulatory 

Enforcement Fairness Act (SBREFA) of 

1996, Public Law 104–121, provides 

generally for congressional review of 

agency rules. A reporting requirement is 

triggered in instances where NCUA 

issues a final rule as defined by Section 

551 of the Administrative Procedures 

Act. 5 U.S.C. 551. The Office of 

Information and Regulatory Affairs, an 


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56936 Federal Register / Vol. 73, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 1, 2008 / Rules and Regulations 

office within OMB, has determined that, 

for purposes of SBREFA, this is not a 

major rule. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The final rule does not contain a 

‘‘collection of information’’ within the 

meaning of section 3502(3) of the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 

U.S.C. 3502(3), and would not increase 

paperwork requirements under the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 or 

regulations of the Office of Management 

and Budget. 

Executive Order 13132 

Executive Order 13132 encourages 

independent regulatory agencies to 

consider the impact of their actions on 

state and local interests. In adherence to 

fundamental federalism principles, 

NCUA, an independent regulatory 

agency as defined in 44 U.S.C. 3502(5), 

voluntarily complies with the executive 

order. The final rule would not have 

substantial direct effect on the states, on 

the connection between the national 

government and the states, or on the 

distribution of power and 

responsibilities among the various 

levels of government. NCUA has 

determined that this final rule does not 

constitute a policy that has federalism 

implications for purposes of the 

executive order. 

The Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 1999—Assessment 

of Federal Regulations and Policies on 

Families 

NCUA has determined that this final 

rule would not affect family well-being 

within the meaning of section 654 of the 

Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act, 1999, Public Law 

105–277, 112 Stat. 2681 (1998). 

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 740 

Advertisements, Credit unions, Signs 

and symbols. 

By the National Credit Union 

Administration Board on September 25, 

2008. 

Mary F. Rupp, 

Secretary of the Board. 

■ For the reasons stated above, NCUA 

amends 12 CFR part 740 as follows: 

PART 740—ACCURACY OF 

ADVERTISING AND NOTICE OF 

INSURED STATUS 

■ 1. The authority citation for part 740 

is revised to read as follows: 

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 1766, 1781, 1785, and 

1789. 

■ 2. Amend § 740.5 by revising 

paragraph (b) to read as follows: 

§ 740.5 Requirements for the official 

advertising statement. 

* * * * * 

(b) The official advertising statement 

is in substance as follows: ‘‘This credit 

union is federally insured by the 

National Credit Union Administration.’’ 

Insured credit unions, at their option, 

may use the short title ‘‘Federally 

insured by NCUA’’ or a reproduction of 

the official sign, as described in 

§ 740.4(b), as the official advertising 

statement. The official advertising 

statement must be in a size and print 

that is clearly legible. If the official sign 

is used as the official advertising 

statement, an insured credit union may 

alter the font size to ensure its legibility 

as provided in § 740.4(b)(2). 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. E8–23071 Filed 9–30–08; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7535–01–P 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 792 

RIN 3133–AD44 

Revisions for the Freedom of 

Information Act and Privacy Act 

Regulations 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration. 

ACTION: Final rule. 

SUMMARY: The NCUA Board is amending 

its Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) 

and Privacy Act regulations. The final 

rule reflects recent amendments to the 

FOIA addressing fee practices, time 

limits for complying with requests, and 

new reporting requirements. The 

changes to the Privacy Act provisions 

reflect the agency’s efforts to clarify the 

procedures whereby individuals may 

obtain notification of whether an NCUA 

system of records contains information 

about the individual and how to access 

or amend a record. 

DATES: This rule is effective October 31, 

2008. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Linda K. Dent, Staff Attorney, Office of 

General Counsel, at (703) 518–6540. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Background 

On April 17, 2008, the NCUA Board 

requested comment on a proposed rule 

to update and clarify the procedures for 

requesting access to agency records and 

other rights and requirements under the 

FOIA and Privacy Act provisions of part 

792. 73 FR 22,289 (April 25, 2008). In 

addition to incorporating the 2007 FOIA 

amendments into the rule, the proposed 

rule added definitions, revised 

terminology and otherwise clarified 

provisions implementing the Privacy 

Act. Technical corrections also were 

made to both sections. 

Discussion 

NCUA’s policy is to review a third of 

its regulations periodically to ‘‘update, 

clarify and simplify existing regulations 

and eliminate redundant and 

unnecessary provisions.’’ Interpretive 

Ruling and Policy Statement (IRPS) 87– 

2, Developing and Reviewing 

Government Regulations. The proposed 

changes were the result of such a 

review. The changes also coincided 

with recent statutory amendments to 

FOIA and NCUA’s updating of its 

Systems of Records Notice under the 

Privacy Act, periodically published in 

the Federal Register. 

Summary of Comments 

The NCUA Board received two 

comments in general support of the 

proposed rule. In response to proposed 

language clarifying when a FOIA 

request is considered received, one 

commenter urged the agency to make 

reasonable efforts to promptly notify a 

requester when a request is incorrectly 

addressed or otherwise deficient; 

forward incorrectly addressed requests 

to the proper Information Center; or if 

possible, disregard deficiencies having 

no impact on the ability to process the 

response. The amended language simply 

explains what conditions must be met to 

start the clock for the statutory 

processing period. As a general practice, 

Information Center staff communicates 

with requesters to obtain missing 

information and to clarify requests to 

enable their timely processing. 

Similarly, FOIA requests sent to the 

wrong Information Center are forwarded 

to the correct Information Center. 

The commenter also suggested a 

deceased individual’s records should 

receive protection consistent with that 

of a living individual and suggested the 

agency require a requester to obtain 

approval from the decedent’s estate 

before releasing any records. As 

explained in the Department of Justice’s 

2007 FOIA Guide, there is a 

‘‘longstanding FOIA rule that death 

extinguishes one’s privacy rights.’’ 

USDOJ: OIP: Freedom of Information 

Act Guide, March 2007, page 566. 

Whether records pertaining to a 

deceased individual are actually 

released requires an evaluation of the 

privacy interests at issue in such a 

release, which may include surviving 

family members’ right to personal 

privacy. 


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