Interagency guidance on compliance with consumer privacy regulations. (Announcements).Staff of the federal agencies that supervise banks, thrift institutions, and credit unions issued guidance on December 12, 2001, to help financial institutions comply with these agencies' consumer privacy regulations. The agencies' regulations implementing the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 were issued last year after interagency consultation and coordination. Financial institutions have been required to comply with the privacy rules since July 1, 2001. The agencies' privacy rules are substantially identical, although each agency's rule differs slightly due to the type of financial institutions subject to that agency's jurisdiction. In general, the privacy regulations govern the circumstances under which a financial institution must provide a consumer with a notice explaining the institution's privacy policies and practices and provide a consumer a reasonable opportunity to prevent, or "opt out" of, disclosures of certain information to nonaffiliated third parties. The staff guidance issued a series of frequently asked questions, or FAQs, covering various aspects of the privacy rules, including the following: * Which entities are covered by the privacy rules * When financial institutions must deliver privacy and opt-out notices * Limits that apply to the use and disclosure of customer information received from an unrelated financial institution * Limits that apply to the disclosure of customer account numbers * How to comply with the exception for disclosures under a joint marketing arrangement with an unrelated financial institution. These FAQs were developed jointly by staff of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System The managing body of the Federal Reserve System, which sets policies on bank practices and the money supply. , Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), an independent U.S. federal executive agency designed to promote public confidence in banks and to provide insurance coverage for bank deposits up to $100,000. , National Credit Union Administration The National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) is responsible for chartering, insuring, supervising, and examining federal credit unions (FCUs) and for administering the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. , Office of the Comptroller of the Currency The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (or OCC) was established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States. , and Office of Thrift Supervision The Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) was established as a bureau of the Treasury Department in August 1989 as part of a major Reorganization Plan of the thrift regulatory structure mandated by the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) (12 U.S.C.A. . They consulted with staff of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC), the federal regulatory agency for futures trading, was established by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission Act of 1974 (88 Stat. 1389; 7 U.S.C.A. 4a), approved October 23, 1974. , Federal Trade Commission, and Securities and Exchange Commission. Staff of the depository institution Depository institution A financial institution that obtains its funds mainly through deposits from the public. This includes commercial banks, savings and loan associations, savings banks and credit unions. agencies may supplement or revise the FAQs as necessary or appropriate in light of further questions and experience. Each of these agencies will both post the FAQs on its web site and make them available to the financial institutions the agency supervises. |
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