This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER

contains notices to the public of the proposed

issuance of rules and regulations. The

purpose of these notices is to give interested

persons an opportunity to participate in the

rule making prior to the adoption of the final

rules.

Proposed Rules Federal Register

46173 

Vol. 82, No. 191 

Wednesday, October 4, 2017 

1 12 U.S.C. 1785. 

2This includes print, electronic and broadcast 

media, displays, signs, and stationary and other 

promotional material. 

3 12 CFR 740.5(c)(7). 

4 12 CFR 740.5(c)(8). 

5 12 CFR 328. 

6 76 FR 30521 (May 26, 2011). 

NATIONAL CREDIT UNION 

ADMINISTRATION 

12 CFR Part 740 

RIN 3133–AE78 

Accuracy of Advertising and Notice of 

Insured Status 

AGENCY: National Credit Union 

Administration (NCUA). 

ACTION: Proposed rule with request for 

comments. 

SUMMARY: The NCUA Board (Board) 

proposes to revise certain provisions of 

NCUA’s advertising rule to provide 

regulatory relief to federally insured 

credit unions (FICUs). The advertising 

rule requires FICUs to use NCUA’s 

‘‘official advertisement statement’’ when 

advertising. In addition to being 

permitted to use any of the three current 

versions of the official advertising 

statement, the Board proposes to allow 

FICUs the option of using a fourth 

version, namely by stating ‘‘Insured by 

NCUA.’’ To provide additional 

regulatory relief, the Board proposes to 

expand a current exemption from the 

advertising statement requirement 

regarding radio and television 

advertisements, and eliminate the 

requirement to include the official 

advertising statement on statements of 

condition required to be published by 

law. 

DATES: Comments must be received on 

or before December 4, 2017. 

ADDRESSES: You may submit comments 

by any of the following methods (Please 

send comments by one method only): 

• Federal eRulemaking Portal: http:// 

www.regulations.gov. Follow the 

instructions for submitting comments. 

• NCUA Web site: http://

www.ncua.gov/RegulationsOpinions

Laws/proposed_regs/proposed_

regs.html. Follow the instructions for 

submitting comments. 

• Email: Address to regcomments@

ncua.gov. Include ‘‘[Your name] 

Comments on Notice of Proposed 

Rulemaking Regarding Accuracy of 

Advertising’’ in the email subject line. 

• Fax: (703) 518–6319. Use the 

subject line described above for email. 

• Mail: Address to Gerard S. Poliquin, 

Secretary of the Board, National Credit 

Union Administration, 1775 Duke 

Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314– 

3428. 

• Hand Delivery/Courier: Same as 

mail address. 

Public inspection: You may view all 

public comments on NCUA’s Web site 

at http://www.ncua.gov/Legal/Regs/ 

Pages/PropRegs.aspx as submitted, 

except for those we cannot post for 

technical reasons. NCUA will not edit or 

remove any identifying or contact 

information from the public comments 

submitted. You may inspect paper 

copies of comments in NCUA’s law 

library at 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, 

Virginia 22314, by appointment 

weekdays between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m. To 

make an appointment, call (703) 518– 

6546 or send an email to OGCMail@

ncua.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Marvin Shaw, Staff Attorney, Office of 

General Counsel, at the above address or 

telephone (703) 518–6553. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

I. Background 

The Federal Credit Union Act (Act) 

requires each FICU to display NCUA’s 

‘‘official sign’’ regarding National Credit 

Union Share Insurance Fund insurance 

of the FICU’s share accounts. The sign 

includes language that the coverage is 

backed by the full faith and credit of the 

United States Government.1 Regulations 

implementing this statutory requirement 

are at 12 CFR part 740. Part 740 of 

NCUA’s regulations also includes 

requirements relating to NCUA’s official 

advertising statement as discussed in 

more detail below. 

A. Part 740 Requirements 

Part 740 applies to all FICUs. It 

prescribes requirements for both the 

NCUA’s official sign that FICUs must 

display and the NCUA’s official 

advertisement statement that FICUs 

must make when advertising. In 

relevant part, part 740 prohibits any 

FICU from using advertising 2 or making 

any representation which is inaccurate 

or deceptive or which misrepresents its 

services, contracts, financial condition, 

or the Truth in Savings requirements. 

NCUA’s official advertising statement 

is ‘‘This credit union is federally 

insured by the National Credit Union 

Administration’’ or the shorter version 

‘‘Federally insured by the NCUA.’’ As a 

third option, the official sign may be 

displayed in advertisements in lieu of 

the advertising statement. 

Section 740.5(c) of NCUA’s 

regulations enumerates several kinds of 

advertisements that, for practical 

reasons, are exempted from the general 

rule requiring the use of the official 

advertising statement. With respect to 

these exempted advertisements, the 

Board is focusing on the exemptions 

relating to radio advertisements that are 

less than 15 seconds in duration 3 and 

television advertisements that are less 

than 15 seconds in duration.4

B. Regulatory History 

For many years, NCUA’s advertising 

and official sign regulations were 

essentially the same as those of the 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

(FDIC).5 In 2011, however, the Board 

amended part 740 by making NCUA’s 

advertising rules more stringent than 

FDIC’s rules. Specifically, in 2011, 

while banks needed only to include the 

FDIC advertising statement in radio and 

television ads that exceeded 30 seconds, 

the 2011 NCUA rule change required 

FICUs to include NCUA’s official 

advertising statement in radio and 

television ads that exceeded 15 

seconds.6 This additional requirement, 

which the Board now believes is 

unnecessary, affected more FICU ads 

and disrupted the balance between bank 

and FICU regulatory burden in this 

context. According to some FICUs, it 

also made it more difficult for FICUs to 

produce effective ads. 

The 2011 NCUA rule change also 

required FICUs to include the 

advertising statement on statements of 

condition required to be published by 

law, whereas banks are exempt from 

this. The Board also proposes to relieve 

FICUs from this additional burden, 

which the Board believes is 

unnecessary. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS
46174 Federal Register / Vol. 82, No. 191 / Wednesday, October 4, 2017 / Proposed Rules 

7 5 U.S.C. 603(a). 

8 44 U.S.C. 3507(d); 5 CFR part 1320. 9Public Law 105–277, 112 Stat. 2681 (1998). 

Additionally, as a result of 

information we have received from the 

public, the Board proposes to amend 

part 740 to permit a fourth iteration of 

the official advertising statement, 

namely by stating ‘‘Insured by NCUA.’’ 

This change would provide FICUs with 

more flexibility without diminishing the 

purpose of the rule. 

The current part 740 addresses 

conventional forms of advertising such 

as print, radio, and television. The 

Board requests comment about whether 

the regulation should be modified to 

facilitate the trend in advertising via 

new types of social media, mobile 

banking, text messaging and other 

digital communication platforms, 

including Twitter and Instagram. The 

comments should focus on specific 

recommendations that balance the 

regulation’s goal to inform the public 

with space and other constraints 

inherent in new forms of advertising. 

II. Regulatory Procedures 

Regulatory Flexibility Act 

The Regulatory Flexibility Act 

requires NCUA to prepare an analysis to 

describe any significant economic 

impact a regulation may have on a 

substantial number of small entities.7

For purposes of this analysis, NCUA 

considers small credit unions to be 

those having under $100 million in 

assets. The proposed amendments 

provide regulatory relief and thus do not 

impose a significant burden on small 

credit unions. Accordingly, NCUA has 

determined and certifies that the 

proposed rule, if adopted, 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. 

Paperwork Reduction Act 

The Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 

(‘‘PRA’’) applies to rulemakings in 

which an agency by rule creates a new 

paperwork burden on regulated entities 

or modifies an existing burden.8 For 

purposes of the PRA, a paperwork 

burden may take the form of either a 

reporting or a recordkeeping 

requirement, both referred to as 

information collections. The proposed 

rule does not constitute a ‘‘collection of 

information’’ within the meaning of 

section 3502(3) and would not increase 

paperwork requirements under the PRA 

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 proposed 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 proposed rule does 

not constitute a policy that has 

federalism implications for purposes of 

the executive order. 

The Treasury and General Government 

Appropriations Act of 1999— 

Assessment of Federal Regulations and 

Policies on Families 

NCUA has determined that this 

proposed rule will not affect family 

well-being within the meaning of 

Section 654 of the Treasury and General 

Government Appropriations Act, 1999.9

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 740 

Advertisements, Credit unions, Share 

insurance, Signs and symbols. 

By the National Credit Union 

Administration Board on September 28, 

2017. 

Gerard S. Poliquin, 

Secretary of the Board. 

For the reasons discussed above, the 

NCUA Board proposes to amend 12 CFR 

part 740 as follows: 

PART 740—ACCURACY OF 

ADVERTISING AND NOTICE OF 

INSURED STATUS 

■ 1. The authority for part 740 

continues to read as follows: 

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

1789. 

■ 2. Amend § 740.5 by revising 

paragraphs (a), (b), (c)(7) and (c)(8) to 

read as follows: 

§ 740.5 Requirements for the official 

advertising statement. 

(a) Each insured credit union must 

include the official advertising 

statement, prescribed in paragraph (b) of 

this section, in all of its advertisements, 

including on its main Internet page, 

except as provided in paragraph (c) of 

this section. 

(b) The official advertising statement 

is in substance one of the following: 

(1) This credit union is federally 

insured by the National Credit Union 

Administration; 

(2) Federally insured by NCUA; 

(3) Insured by NCUA; or 

(4) A reproduction of the official sign 

as described in § 740.4(b) may be used 

in lieu of the other statements included 

in this section. 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). 

(5) The official advertising statement 

must be in a size and print that is clearly 

legible and may be no smaller than the 

smallest font size used in other portions 

of the advertisement intended to convey 

information to the consumer. 

(c) * * * 

(7) Advertisements by radio that are 

less than thirty (30) seconds in time; 

(8) Advertisements by television, 

other than display advertisements, that 

are less than thirty (30) seconds in time; 

* * * * * 

[FR Doc. 2017–21316 Filed 10–3–17; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7535–01–P 

ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION 

AGENCY 

40 CFR Part 80 

[EPA–HQ–OAR–2017–0091; FRL–9968–70– 

OAR] 

Renewable Fuel Standard Program: 

Standards for 2018 and BiomassBased Diesel Volume for 2019; 

Availability of Supplemental 

Information and Request for Further 

Comment 

AGENCY: Environmental Protection 

Agency (EPA). 

ACTION: Availability of supplemental 

information; request for further 

comment. 

SUMMARY: This document provides 

additional data and an opportunity to 

comment on that data and potential 

options for reductions in the 2018 

biomass-based diesel, advanced biofuel, 

and total renewable fuel volumes, and/ 

or the 2019 biomass-based diesel 

volume under the Renewable Fuel 

Standard (RFS) program. In a July 21, 

2017 notice of proposed rulemaking, the 

EPA proposed certain reductions in the 

statutory volume targets for advanced 

biofuel and total renewable fuel for 

2018, and requested comment on further 

reductions based on various 

considerations. This document presents 

additional data on production, imports 

and cost of renewable fuel and several 

options for how we may consider such 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with PROPOSALS