The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued guidance today that is intended to help banks comply with provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act governing the treatment of personal information. Although the law itself does not impose specific requirements regarding the placement or content of the opt-out notice and does not dictate that consumers be given convenient methods to opt out, the OCC guidance notes that banks have a special interest in addressing the privacy needs of their customers. The advisory letter emphasizes that there are a number of ways banks can make their FCRA disclosures clear and conspicuous. One way is to provide notice in a stand-alone document. If the notice is included with other information, devices such as boxes, bold or colored type or underlining can be used to highlight the notice.
Banks also have many options for giving customers convenient opportunities to opt out.
They can, for example, include detachable opt-out forms as part of the affiliate information sharing notice. Some banks allow customers to opt out by telephone or through electronic means, such as through the bank's Internet site. Its mission is to ensure a safe and sound and competitive national banking system that supports the citizens, communities and economy of the United States.