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63456

Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 217 / Friday, November 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations

regulation does not specify the types of
records that must be retained. To ease
institutions’ burden and cost of
complying with the disclosure
requirements of Regulation E
(particularly for small entities), the
Federal Reserve publishes model forms
and disclosure clauses. Regulation E
applies to all financial institutions that
engage in EFT transactions. The Board
has determined that no new
requirements or revisions to existing
requirements are contained in this final
rulemaking.
The estimated annual burden for the
entities supervised by the Federal
Reserve is approximately 74,141 hours
for the 1,172 financial institutions that
are deemed respondents for purposes of
the PRA. As mentioned in the Preamble,
on April 30, 2007, a notice of proposed
rulemaking was published in the
Federal Register (72 FR 21131). No
comments specifically addressing the
burden estimate were received.
The Federal Reserve has a continuing
interest in the public’s opinions of our
collections of information. At any time,
comments regarding the burden
estimate, or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing the burden,
may be sent to: Secretary, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, 20th and C Streets, NW.,
Washington, DC 20551; and to the
Office of Management and Budget,
Paperwork Reduction Project (7100–
0200), Washington, DC 20503.
List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 205
Consumer protection, Electronic fund
transfers, Federal Reserve System,
Reporting and recordkeeping
requirements.
■ For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the Board amends 12 CFR
part 205 as set forth below:
PART 205—ELECTRONIC FUND
TRANSFERS (REGULATION E)
1. The authority citation for part 205
continues to read as follows:

■

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1693b.

2. Section 205.4 is amended by
revising paragraph (a)(1), removing
paragraph (c), and redesignating
paragraph (d) as paragraph (c), and
paragraph (e) as paragraph (d),
respectively, as follows:

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■

§ 205.4 General disclosure requirements;
jointly offered services.

(a)(1) Form of disclosures. Disclosures
required under this part shall be clear
and readily understandable, in writing,
and in a form the consumer may keep.
The disclosures required by this part

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may be provided to the consumer in
electronic form, subject to compliance
with the consumer consent and other
applicable provisions of the Electronic
Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (E-Sign Act)(15 U.S.C.
7001 et seq.). A financial institution
may use commonly accepted or readily
understandable abbreviations in
complying with the disclosure
requirements of this part.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 205.17

[Removed]

3. Section 205.17 is removed and
reserved.
■ 4. In Supplement I to Part 205, section
205.17—Requirements for Electronic
Communication is removed and
reserved.
■

By order of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, October 31, 2007.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E7–21698 Filed 11–8–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210–01–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 213
[Regulation M; Docket No. R–1283]

Consumer Leasing
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
ACTION: Final rule; official staff
interpretation.
AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The Board is amending
Regulation M, which implements the
Consumer Leasing Act, to withdraw
portions of the interim final rules for the
electronic delivery of disclosures issued
March 30, 2001. The interim final rules
addressed the timing and delivery of
electronic disclosures, consistent with
the requirements of the Electronic
Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (E-Sign Act). Because
compliance with the 2001 interim final
rules has not been mandatory,
withdrawal of these provisions from the
Code of Federal Regulations reduces
confusion about the status of the
provisions and simplifies the regulation.
In addition, the Board is adopting
final amendments to Regulation M to
provide guidance on the electronic
delivery of disclosures. For example, the
final rules provide that when a lease
advertisement is accessed by a
consumer in electronic form,
disclosures may be provided to the
consumer in electronic form in the
advertisement without regard to the
consumer consent and other provisions

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of the E-Sign Act. Similar final rules are
being adopted under other consumer
fair lending and financial services
regulations administered by the Board.
DATES: The final rule is effective
December 10, 2007. The mandatory
compliance date is October 1, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
C. Wood, Counsel, Division of
Consumer and Community Affairs, at
(202) 452–2412 or (202) 452–3667. For
users of Telecommunications Device for
the Deaf (TDD) only, contact (202) 263–
4869.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Background
The Consumer Leasing Act (CLA), 15
U.S.C. 1667–1667e, was enacted into
law in 1976 as an amendment to the
Truth in Lending Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C.
1601 et seq. The CLA requires lessors to
provide lessees with uniform cost and
other disclosures about consumer lease
transactions. The act generally applies
to consumer leases of personal property
in which the contractual obligation does
not exceed $25,000 and has a term of
more than four months. An automobile
lease is the most common type of
consumer lease covered by the act. The
Board’s Regulation M (12 CFR part 213)
implements the act. The CLA and
Regulation M require disclosures to be
provided in writing.
The Electronic Signatures in Global
and National Commerce Act (the E-Sign
Act), 15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq., was enacted
in 2000. The E-Sign Act provides that
electronic documents and electronic
signatures have the same validity as
paper documents and handwritten
signatures. The E-Sign Act contains
special rules for the use of electronic
disclosures in consumer transactions.
Under the E-Sign Act, consumer
disclosures required by other laws or
regulations to be provided or made
available in writing may be provided or
made available, as applicable, in
electronic form if the consumer
affirmatively consents after receiving a
notice that contains certain information
specified in the statute, and if certain
other conditions are met.
The E-Sign Act, including the special
consumer notice and consent
provisions, became effective October 1,
2000, and did not require implementing
regulations. Thus, lessors are currently
permitted to provide in electronic form
any disclosures that are required to be
provided or made available to the
consumer in writing under Regulation
M if the consumer affirmatively
consents to receipt of electronic
disclosures in the manner required by
section 101(c) of the E-Sign Act.

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II. Board Proposals and Interim Rules
Regarding Electronic Disclosures
On March 30, 2001, the Board
published for comment interim final
rules to establish uniform standards for
the electronic delivery of disclosures
required under Regulation M (66 FR
17,322). Similar interim final rules for
Regulations B, E, Z, and DD
(implementing the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, the Electronic Fund
Transfer Act, the Truth in Lending Act,
and the Truth in Savings Act,
respectively) were published on March
30, 2001 (66 FR 17,329) (Regulation Z)
and April 4, 2001 (66 FR 17,779, 66 FR
17,786, and 66 FR 17,795) (Regulations
B, E, and DD, respectively). Each of the
interim final rules incorporated, but did
not interpret, the requirements of the ESign Act. Lessors, financial institutions,
creditors, and other persons, as
applicable, generally were required to
obtain consumers’ affirmative consent to
provide disclosures electronically,
consistent with the requirements of the
E-Sign Act. The interim final rules also
incorporated many of the provisions
that were part of earlier regulatory
proposals issued by the Board regarding
electronic disclosures.1
Under the 2001 interim final rules,
disclosures could be sent to an e-mail
address designated by the lessee, or
could be made available at another
location, such as an Internet Web site.
If the disclosures were not sent by email, lessors would have to provide a
notice to lessees (typically by e-mail)
alerting them to the availability of the
disclosures. Disclosures posted on a
Web site would have to be available for
at least 90 days to allow lessees
adequate time to access and retain the
information. Lessors also would be
required to make a good faith attempt to
redeliver electronic disclosures that
were returned undelivered, using the
address information available in their
files.
Commenters on the interim final rules
identified significant operational and
information security concerns with
respect to the requirement to send the
disclosure or an alert notice to an e-mail
address designated by the consumer.

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1 On

May 2, 1996, the Board proposed to amend
Regulation E to permit financial institutions to
provide disclosures by sending them electronically
(61 FR 19696). Based on comments received, in
1998 the Board published an interim rule
permitting the electronic delivery of disclosures
under Regulation E (63 FR 14,528, March 25, 1998)
and similar proposals under Regulations B, M, Z,
and DD (63 FR 14,552, 14,538, 14,548, and 14,533,
respectively, March 25, 1998). Based on comments
received on the 1998 proposals, in 1999 the Board
published revised proposals under Regulations B, E,
M, Z, and DD (64 FR 49688, 49699, 49713, 49722
and 49740, respectively, September 14, 1999).

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For example, commenters stated that
some consumers who choose to receive
electronic disclosures do not have email addresses or may not want
personal financial information sent to
them by e-mail. Commenters also noted
that e-mail is not a secure medium for
delivering confidential information and
that consumers’ e-mail addresses
frequently change. The commenters also
opposed the requirement for redelivery
in the event a disclosure was returned
undelivered. In addition, many
commenters asserted that making the
disclosures available for at least 90 days,
as required by the interim final rule,
would increase costs and would not be
necessary for consumer protection.
In August 2001, in response to
comments received, the Board lifted the
previously established October 1, 2001
mandatory compliance date for all of the
interim final rules. (66 FR 41439,
August 8, 2001.) Thus, institutions are
not required to comply with the interim
final rules. Since that time, the Board
had not taken further action with
respect to the interim final rules on
electronic disclosures in order to allow
electronic commerce, including
electronic disclosure practices, to
continue to develop without regulatory
intervention and to allow the Board to
gather further information about such
practices.
In April 2007, the Board proposed to
amend Regulation M and the official
staff commentary by (1) withdrawing
portions of the 2001 interim final rule
that restate or cross-reference provisions
of the E-Sign Act and accordingly are
unnecessary; (2) withdrawing other
portions of the interim final rule that the
Board now believes may impose undue
burdens on electronic banking and
commerce and may be unnecessary for
consumer protection; and (3) retaining
the substance of certain provisions of
the interim final rule that provide
regulatory relief or guidance regarding
electronic disclosures. (72 FR 21135,
April 30, 2007.) Similar amendments
were also proposed by the Board under
Regulations B, E, Z, and DD (72 FR
21125, 72 FR 21131, 72 FR 21141, and
72 FR 21155, respectively).
III. Summary of the Final Rule
The Board received about 15
comments on the April 2007 proposal
from financial institutions and retailers
and their representatives. Most of the
financial industry commenters generally
supported the proposal, although some
provided suggestions for clarifications
or changes to particular elements of the
proposal. A comment letter was also
submitted on behalf of four consumer
groups. The consumer group

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63457

commenters suggested a number of
changes to strengthen consumer
protections. The comments are
discussed in more detail in the Sectionby-Section Analysis below.
For the reasons discussed below, the
Board is now adopting amendments to
Regulation M in final form, largely as
proposed in April 2007. As stated in the
proposal, because compliance with the
2001 interim final rules has not been
mandatory, the final rule will reduce
confusion about the status of the
electronic disclosure provisions and
simplify the regulation. The Board is
also adopting certain provisions that are
identical or similar to provisions in the
2001 interim rules in order to enhance
the ability of consumers to shop for
leases online, minimize the informationgathering burdens on consumers, and
provide guidance or eliminate a
substantial burden on the use of
electronic disclosures, as discussed
further below.
Since 2001, industry and consumers
have gained considerable experience
with electronic disclosures. During that
period, the Board has received no
indication that consumers have been
harmed by the fact that compliance with
the interim final rules is not mandatory.
The Board also has reconsidered certain
aspects of the interim final rules, such
as sending disclosures by e-mail, in
light of concerns about data security,
identity theft, and ‘‘phishing’’ (i.e.,
prompting consumers to reveal
confidential personal or financial
information through fraudulent e-mail
requests that appear to originate from a
financial institution, government
agency, or other trusted entity) that have
become more pronounced since 2001.
Finally, the Board is eliminating certain
aspects of the 2001 interim final rule,
such as provisions regarding the
availability and retention of electronic
disclosures, as unnecessary in light of
current industry practices.
With regard to disclosures required to
be provided in an electronic lease
advertisement, the 2001 interim final
rule allowed lessors to provide these
disclosures to lessees electronically
without regard to the consumer consent
or other provisions of the E-Sign Act.
The Board reasoned that these
disclosures, which would be available
to the general public while shopping for
a lease, did not ‘‘relate to a transaction,’’
which is a prerequisite for triggering the
E-Sign consumer consent provisions,
and thus were not subject to the consent
provisions. Some commenters on the
interim final rules agreed with the result
but did not agree with the Board’s
rationale.

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In the April 2007 proposal, the Board
stated that, upon further consideration,
it did not believe it was necessary to
determine whether or not these
disclosures are related to a transaction.
Instead, pursuant to the Board’s
authority under section 187 of the CLA,
as well as under section 104(d) of the ESign Act,2 the Board proposed to specify
the circumstances under which certain
disclosures may be provided to a lessee
in electronic form, rather than in writing
as generally required by Regulation M,
without obtaining the lessee’s consent
under section 101(c) of the E-Sign Act.
Commenters supported the Board’s
approach with regard to this issue. This
final rule adopts the approach in the
April 2007 proposal. The Board
continues to believe that lessors should
not be required to obtain the consumer’s
consent in order to provide advertising
disclosures to the consumer in
electronic form if the consumer accesses
an advertisement containing those
disclosures in electronic form, such as
at an Internet Web site. The Board
believes that when viewing online lease
advertising, consumers would not be
harmed if the E-Sign consent procedures
do not apply and would obtain
significant benefits by having timely
access to advertising disclosures in
electronic form. The Board also believes
that consumers’ ability to shop for
leases online and compare the terms of
various lease offers could be
substantially diminished if consumers
had to consent in accordance with the
E-Sign Act in order to access
advertisements that must be
accompanied by disclosures. Applying
the consumer consent provisions of the
E-Sign Act to these disclosures could
impose substantial burdens on
electronic commerce and make it more
difficult for consumers to gather
information and shop for leases.
At the same time, the Board
recognizes that consumers who shop or
apply for leases online may not want to
receive other disclosures electronically.
Therefore, with respect to the
disclosures required prior to the
2 Section 187 of CLA provides that regulations
prescribed by the Board under CLA ‘‘may provide
for adjustments and exceptions * * * as the Board
considers appropriate.’’ Section 104(d) of the E-Sign
Act authorizes federal agencies to adopt exemptions
for specified categories of disclosures from the ESign notice and consent requirements, ‘‘if such
exemption is necessary to eliminate a substantial
burden on electronic commerce and will not
increase the material risk of harm to consumers.’’
For the reasons stated in this Federal Register
notice, the Board believes that these criteria are met
in the case of the advertising disclosures. In
addition, the Board believes CLA section 187
authorizes the Board to permit institutions to
provide disclosures electronically, rather than in
paper form, independent of the E-Sign Act.

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consummation of a lease, lessors are
required to obtain the lessee’s consent,
in accordance with the E-Sign Act, to
provide such disclosures in electronic
form, or else provide written
disclosures.
Finally, as proposed, certain
provisions that restate or cross-reference
the E-Sign Act’s general rules regarding
electronic disclosures (including the
consumer consent provisions) are being
deleted as unnecessary, because the ESign Act is a self-effectuating statute.
The revisions to Regulation M and the
official staff commentary are described
more fully below in the Section-bySection Analysis.
IV. Section-by-Section Analysis
12 CFR Part 213 (Regulation M)
Section 213.3 General Disclosure
Requirements
Section 213.3(a) generally requires
lessors to provide disclosures in writing
and in a form that the lessee may keep.
As proposed, the Board is revising
§ 213.3(a) to clarify that lessors may
provide disclosures to lessees in
electronic form, subject to compliance
with the consumer consent and other
applicable provisions of the E-Sign Act.
Some lessors may provide disclosures to
lessees both in paper and electronic
form and rely on the paper form of the
disclosures to satisfy their compliance
obligations. For those lessors, the
duplicate electronic form of the
disclosures may be provided to lessees
without regard to the consumer consent
or other provisions of the E-Sign Act
because the electronic form of the
disclosure is not used to satisfy the
regulation’s disclosure requirements.
The Board also proposed to revise
§ 213.3(a) to provide that the advertising
disclosures required by § 213.7 must be
provided to the consumer in electronic
form if the consumer accesses an
advertisement in electronic form (such
as on a home computer), and that, under
those circumstances, those disclosures
may be provided in electronic form
without regard to the consumer consent
or other provisions of the E-Sign Act.
The Board proposed to add comment
7(c)-3 to clarify this point and also to
make clear that if a consumer accesses
a paper advertisement, the required
disclosures must be provided in paper
form on or with the advertisement (and
not, for example, by including a
reference in the paper advertisement to
the Web site where the disclosures are
located). Commenters did not address
this aspect of the proposal.
In the final regulation, § 213.3(a) is
revised to state that if an advertisement
is accessed by the consumer in

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electronic form, the required disclosures
may (rather than must) be provided in
electronic form, and comment 7(c)-3 is
not being adopted. Section 213.7(d)
requires that if a lease advertisement
includes trigger terms, the
advertisement itself must ‘‘contain’’ the
required disclosures. Therefore, under
the existing regulation, providing paper
disclosures for an advertisement in
electronic form, or vice versa, would not
comply because the disclosures would
not be set forth in the advertisement
itself.
The Board believes that for an
advertisement accessed by the consumer
in electronic form, permitting (although
not requiring) lessors to provide lease
advertising disclosures in electronic
form without regard to the consumer
consent and other provisions of the ESign Act will eliminate a potential
significant burden on electronic
commerce without increasing the risk of
harm to consumers. This approach will
facilitate shopping for leases by
enabling consumers to receive
important disclosures at the same time
they access an advertisement without
first having to provide consent in
accordance with the requirements of the
E-Sign Act. Requiring consumers to
follow the consent procedures set forth
in the E-Sign Act in order to access an
online advertisement is potentially
burdensome and could discourage
consumers from shopping for leases
online. Moreover, because these
consumers are viewing the
advertisement online, there appears to
be little, if any, risk that the consumer
will be unable to view the disclosures
online as well.
Section 213.3(a)(5) in the 2001
interim final rule refers to § 213.6, the
section of the interim final rule setting
forth general rules for electronic
disclosures. Because the Board is
deleting § 213.6, as discussed below,
§ 213.3(a)(5) is also deleted, as
proposed.
Section 213.6 Electronic
Communication
Section 213.6 was added by the 2001
interim final rule to address the general
requirements for electronic
communications. In the April 2007
proposal, the Board proposed to delete
§ 213.6 from Regulation M and the
accompanying sections of the staff
commentary, reserving that section for
future use. Financial institution and
retailer commenters largely supported
the proposed deletion, and § 213.6 and
the accompanying commentary are
deleted in the final rule.
In the interim rule, § 213.6(a) defined
the term ‘‘electronic communication’’ to

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Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 217 / Friday, November 9, 2007 / Rules and Regulations
mean a message transmitted
electronically that can be displayed on
equipment as visual text, such as a
message displayed on a personal
computer monitor screen. The deletion
of § 213.6(a) does not change applicable
legal requirements under the E-Sign Act.
Sections 213.6(b) and (c) incorporated
by reference provisions of the E-Sign
Act, such as the provision allowing
disclosures to be provided in electronic
form and the requirement to obtain the
lessee’s affirmative consent before
providing such disclosures. The
deletion of these provisions has no
impact on the general applicability of
the E-Sign Act to Regulation M
disclosures.
Sections 213.6(d) and (e) addressed
specific timing and delivery
requirements for electronic disclosures
under Regulation M, such as the
requirement to send disclosures to a
lessee’s e-mail address (or post the
disclosures on a Web site and send a
notice alerting the lessee to the
disclosures). The Board stated in the
proposal that it no longer believed that
these additional provisions were
necessary or appropriate. The Board
noted that electronic disclosures have
evolved since 2001, as industry and
consumers have gained experience with
them, and also noted concerns about email related to data security, identity
theft, and phishing.
The consumer group commenters
urged the Board to require the use of email to provide required disclosures in
electronic form, arguing that e-mail is
the only reliable way to ensure that
consumers are able to actually access,
receive, and retain disclosures. The
consumer groups also disagreed with
the statement that concerns relating to
phishing, identity theft, and data
security are a valid reason for not
requiring the use of e-mail, noting that
phishing involves gathering information
from the consumer, while disclosures
would be provided to the consumer, and
need not include sensitive information.
While the consumer’s receipt of an email message that is actually from the
consumer’s financial institution would
not in general pose a security risk,
consumers might ignore or delete emails from such parties (real or
purported), in order to avoid falling
victim to fraud schemes. Thus,
disclosures sent by consumers’ financial
institutions and retailers may not
receive the attention they should.
Consequently, some companies may be
reluctant to communicate by e-mail. To
the extent consumers are instructed not
to ignore electronic mail messages from
companies they do business with, the
risk of consumers being victimized by

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fraudulent e-mail might be increased. In
any event, the Board believes it is
preferable not to mandate the use of any
particular means of electronic delivery
of disclosures, but instead to allow
flexibility for institutions and retailers
to use whatever method may be best
suited to particular types of disclosure.
With regard to the requirement to
attempt to redeliver returned electronic
disclosures, lessors would be required
to search their files for an additional email address to use, and might be
required to use a postal mail address for
redelivery if no additional e-mail
address was available. As stated in the
April 2007 proposal, the Board
continues to believe that both
requirements would likely be unduly
burdensome.
Under the April 2007 proposed rule,
the requirement in the 2001 interim
final rule for lessors to maintain
disclosures posted on a Web site for at
least 90 days would be deleted. Industry
commenters supported the proposed
deletion; consumer group commenters
expressed concern about its impact on
consumers. The 90-day retention
provision is deleted as proposed.
However, while the Board is not
requiring disclosures to be maintained
on an Internet Web site for any specific
time period, the general requirements of
Regulation M continue to apply to
electronic disclosures, such as the
requirement to provide disclosures to
lessees at certain specified times and in
a form that the lessee may keep. The
Board expects lessees to maintain
disclosures on Web sites for a
reasonable period of time so that
consumers have an opportunity to
access, view, and retain the disclosures.
As stated in the April 2007 proposal, the
Board will monitor lessors’ electronic
disclosure practices with regard to the
ability of consumers to retain Regulation
M disclosures and would consider
further revisions to the regulation to
address this issue if necessary.
Section 213.7 Advertising
Section 213.7 contains requirements
for lease advertisements and requires
that if an advertisement includes certain
‘‘trigger terms’’ (such as the payment
amount), the advertisement must also
include certain required disclosures
(such as the total amount due prior to
or at consummation and a statement
that an extra charge may be imposed at
the end of the lease term).
Section 213.7(c) provides that in a
catalog or other multipage
advertisement, the required disclosures
need not be shown on each page where
a ‘‘trigger term’’ appears, as long as each
such page includes a cross-reference to

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63459

the page where the required disclosures
appear. The 2001 interim final rule
clarified, in comment 7(c)-2, that the
multipage rule for lease advertising also
applies to advertisements in electronic
form. For example, if a ‘‘trigger term’’
appears on a particular Web page, the
additional disclosures may appear in a
table or schedule on another Web page
and still be considered part of a single
advertisement if there is a clear
reference to the page or location where
the table or schedule begins (which may
be accomplished, for example, by
including a link). In April 2007, the
Board proposed to retain this rule, by
amending § 213.7(c) and retaining
comment 7(c)-2 with minor wording
changes. Commenters did not address
this provision. The final rule retains
these provisions as proposed.
The Board also proposed to add a new
comment 7(c)-3 to clarify that if a
consumer accesses a lease
advertisement in electronic form, the
disclosures required on or with the
advertisement must be provided to the
consumer in electronic form on or with
the advertisement. This comment is not
being adopted in the final rule, as
discussed above in connection with
§ 213.3.
Section 213.7(b)(1) requires that any
affirmative or negative reference to a
charge that constitutes part of the total
amount due prior to or at consummation
of the lease not be more prominent in
the advertisement than the disclosure of
the total amount due. In the 2001
interim final rule, comment 7(b)(1)-3
was added to state that in an
advertisement using electronic
communication, both the reference to
the charge and the disclosure of the total
amount due must appear in the same
location so that they can be viewed
simultaneously. Section 213.7(b)(2)
requires that a percentage rate in an
advertisement not be more prominent
than any of the required disclosures,
except for a notice required to
accompany the rate under § 213.4(s).
The interim final rule revised comment
7(b)(2)-1 to state that in an
advertisement using electronic
communication, both the rate and the
accompanying notice must appear in the
same location so that they can be
viewed simultaneously, and that this
requirement is not satisfied by the use
of a link that connects the consumer to
information appearing at another
location.
In the April 2007 proposal, the Board
proposed to delete comment 7(b)(1)-3,
and to delete the language added to
comment 7(b)(2)-1 by the interim final
rule, as unnecessary, because the
prominence and proximity requirements

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of § 213.7(b) continue to apply to
electronic advertisements no less than
to advertisements in other media. In the
supplementary information, the Board
stated that requiring the consumer to
scroll to another part of the page, or
access a link, in order to view the
required disclosures would likely not
satisfy this requirement.
Some commenters were concerned by
the foregoing discussion in the April
2007 proposal, and contended that in
the case of small hand-held electronic
devices that a consumer might use to
view a lease advertisement, the small
size of the screen might necessitate
scrolling or the use of links for viewing
the required disclosures. Commenters
also said the proposal was confusing in
that the commentary provisions stating
that the use of links would not comply
were proposed to be deleted, yet the
supplementary information appeared to
impose the same restrictions.
Comment 7(b)(1)-3 and the language
added to comment 7(b)(2)-1 by the
interim final rule are being deleted as
proposed. As stated in the proposal, the
prominence and proximity requirements
of § 213.7(b) apply in the electronic
context. However, the Board believes
that these requirements can be applied
with some degree of flexibility, to
account for variations in devices
consumers may use to view electronic
advertisements. Therefore, the use of
scrolling or links would not necessarily
fail to comply with the regulation in all
cases; however, lessors should ensure
that electronic advertisements comply
with the prominence and proximity
requirements.

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V. Other Issues Raised by Commenters
Retainable Form
Several industry commenters
requested guidance on how lessors can
be sure of meeting the requirement to
provide disclosures in a form that the
consumer can keep. The consumer
group commenters were concerned
about retainability of disclosures in light
of the deletion of the requirement to
maintain disclosures on a Web site for
at least 90 days. They urged that the
final regulations require that disclosures
be delivered in a format that is both
downloadable and printable.
The Board believes that lessors satisfy
the requirement for providing electronic
disclosures in a form the consumer can
retain if they are provided in a standard
electronic format that can be
downloaded and saved or printed on a
typical home personal computer.
Typically any document that can be
downloaded by the consumer can also
be printed. The Board will, however,

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monitor lessors’ practices to evaluate
whether further guidance is needed on
this issue. In a situation where the
consumer is provided electronic
disclosures through equipment under
the lessor’s control—such as a terminal
or kiosk in the lessor’s offices—the
lessor could, for example, provide a
printer that automatically prints the
disclosures.
Expansion of Exceptions from E-Sign
Notice and Consent Requirements
One commenter suggested that the
Board adopt another exception from the
E-Sign notice and consent requirements
in addition to the exception for lease
advertisements. The commenter
encouraged the Board to allow the
delivery of the Regulation M lease
consummation disclosures (as well as
similar disclosures under the other four
regulations involved in the parallel
rulemakings) electronically, without
regard to the consumer consent
provisions of E-Sign, using the Board’s
authority under the E-Sign Act as well
as the statutes underlying the
regulations. The commenter argued that,
since Internet commerce has expanded
greatly over the past few years, when
consumers choose to conduct financial
transactions online, they presume that
they will receive related disclosures
online as well. The Board believes that,
at this time, there is insufficient
evidence that the consent requirements
are a burden on electronic commerce in
this situation; and that consumers who
shop for leases online may not
necessarily want to receive disclosures
online.
VI. Use of ‘‘Plain Language’’
Section 722 of the Gramm-LeachBliley Act of 1999 requires the Board to
use ‘‘plain language’’ in all proposed
and final rules published after January
1, 2000. In the proposal, the Board
invited comments on whether the
proposed rules are clearly stated and
effectively organized, and how the
Board might make the proposed text
easier to understand. No comments
were received on ‘‘plain language’’
issues involving Regulation M.
VII. Final Regulatory Flexibility
Analysis
The Board prepared an initial
regulatory flexibility analysis as
required by the Regulatory Flexibility
Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) (RFA) in
connection with the April 2007
proposal. The Board received no
comments on its initial regulatory
flexibility analysis.
The RFA generally requires an agency
to perform an assessment of the impact

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a rule is expected to have on small
entities. However, under section 605(b)
of the RFA, 5 U.S.C. 605(b), the
regulatory flexibility analysis otherwise
required under section 604 of the RFA
is not required if an agency certifies,
along with a statement providing the
factual basis for such certification, that
the rule will not have a significant
economic impact on a substantial
number of small entities. Based on its
analysis and for the reasons stated
below, the Board certifies that the rule
will not have a significant economic
impact on a substantial number of small
entities.
1. Statement of the need for, and
objectives of, the final rule. The Board
is adopting revisions to Regulation M to
withdraw the 2001 interim final rule on
electronic communication and to allow
lessors to provide certain disclosures to
lessees in electronic form on or with an
advertisement that is accessed by the
lessee in electronic form without regard
to the consumer consent and other
provisions of the E-Sign Act. The Board
is also clarifying that other Regulation
M disclosures may be provided to
lessees in electronic form in accordance
with the consumer consent and other
applicable provisions of the E-Sign Act.
The purpose of the CLA is to assure
a meaningful disclosure of the terms of
consumer leases, so that the lessee can
compare more readily the various lease
terms available, limit balloon payments
in consumer leasing, enable comparison
of lease terms with credit terms where
appropriate, and assure meaningful and
accurate disclosures of lease terms in
advertisements. 15 U.S.C. 1601. The
CLA authorizes the Board to prescribe
regulations to carry out the purposes of
the statute. 15 U.S.C. 1604(a), 1667f.
The Act expressly states that the Board’s
regulations may contain ‘‘such
classifications, differentiations, or other
provisions, * * *, as in the judgment of
the Board are necessary or proper to
effectuate the purposes of [the Act], to
prevent circumvention or evasion of
[the Act], or to facilitate compliance
with [the Act].’’ 15 U.S.C. 1604(a). The
Board believes that the revisions to
Regulation M discussed above are
within Congress’s broad grant of
authority to the Board to adopt
provisions that carry out the purposes of
the statute. These revisions facilitate the
informed use of leases by consumers in
circumstances where a consumer
accesses a lease advertisement in
electronic form.
2. Issues raised by comments in
response to the initial regulatory
flexibility analysis. In accordance with
section 603(a) of the RFA, the Board
conducted an initial regulatory

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flexibility analysis in connection with
the proposed rule. The Board did not
receive any comments on its initial
regulatory flexibility analysis.
3. Small entities affected by the final
rule. The ability to provide advertising
disclosures in electronic form on or
with an advertisement that is accessed
by the consumer in electronic form
applies to all lessors, regardless of their
size. Accordingly, the final rule would
reduce burden and compliance costs for
small entities by providing relief, to the
extent the E-Sign Act applies in these
circumstances. The number of small
entities affected by this final rule is
unknown.
4. Other federal rules. The Board
believes no federal rules duplicate,
overlap, or conflict with the final
revisions to Regulation M.
5. Significant alternatives to the
proposed revisions. The Board solicited
comment on any significant alternatives
that could provide additional ways to
reduce regulatory burden associated
with the proposed rule. Commenters did
not suggest any significant alternatives
to the proposed rule.
VIII. Paperwork Reduction Act
In accordance with the Paperwork
Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506;
5 CFR Part 1320 Appendix A.1), the
Board reviewed the rule under the
authority delegated to the Board by the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB). The collection of information
that is subject to the PRA by this final
rulemaking is found in 12 CFR Part 213.
The Federal Reserve may not conduct or
sponsor, and an organization is not
required to respond to, this information
collection unless it displays a currently
valid OMB control number. The OMB
control number is 7100–0202.
Sections 105(a) and 187 of TILA (15
U.S.C. 1604(a) and 1667f) authorize the
Board to issue regulations to carry out
the provisions of the Consumer Leasing
Act (CLA). The CLA and Regulation M
are intended to provide consumers with
meaningful disclosures about the costs
and terms of leases for personal
property. The disclosures enable
consumers to compare the terms for a
particular lease with those for other
leases and, when appropriate, to
compare lease terms with those for
credit transactions. The act and
regulation also contain rules about
advertising consumer leases and limit
the size of balloon payments in
consumer lease transactions. The
information collection pursuant to
Regulation M is triggered by specific
events. All disclosures must be
provided to the lessee prior to the
consummation of the lease and when

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the availability of consumer leases on
particular terms is advertised. This
information collection is mandatory.
Since the Federal Reserve does not
collect any information, no issue of
confidentiality normally arises.
However, in the event the Board were to
retain records during the course of an
examination, the information may be
kept confidential pursuant to section
(b)(8) of the Freedom of Information Act
(5 U.S.C. 522 (b)(8)).
Regulation M applies to all types of
lessors of personal property. The
Federal Reserve accounts for the
paperwork burden associated with the
regulation only for Federal Reservesupervised institutions. Appendix B of
Regulation M defines the Federal
Reserve-supervised institutions as: State
member banks, branches and agencies of
foreign banks (other than federal
branches, federal agencies, and insured
state branches of foreign banks),
commercial lending companies owned
or controlled by foreign banks, and
organizations operating under section
25 or 25A of the Federal Reserve Act.
Other federal agencies account for the
paperwork burden on other lessors for
which they have administrative
enforcement authority. To ease the
compliance cost (particularly for small
entities) model forms are appended to
the regulation. Lessors are required to
retain evidence of compliance for 24
months, but the regulation does not
specify types of records that must be
retained.
The estimated annual burden for the
entities supervised by the Federal
Reserve is approximately 3,534 hours
for the estimated 270 state member
banks that engage in consumer leasing.
As mentioned in the Preamble, on April
30, 2007, a notice of proposed
rulemaking was published in the
Federal Register (72 FR 21135). No
comments specifically addressing the
burden estimate were received.
The Federal Reserve has a continuing
interest in the public’s opinions of our
collections of information. At any time,
comments regarding the burden
estimate, or any other aspect of this
collection of information, including
suggestions for reducing the burden,
may be sent to: Secretary, Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, 20th and C Streets, NW.,
Washington, DC 20551; and to the
Office of Management and Budget,
Paperwork Reduction Project (7100–
0202), Washington, DC 20503.
List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 213
Advertising, Federal Reserve System,
Reporting and record keeping
requirements, Truth in lending.

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63461

For the reasons set forth in the
preamble, the Board amends 12 CFR
part 213 as set forth below:

■

PART 213—CONSUMER LEASING
(REGULATION M)
1. The authority citation for part 213
continues to read as follows:

■

Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1604 and 1667f.

2. Section 213.3 is amended by
revising paragraph (a) introductory text,
to read as follows, and removing
paragraph (a)(5):

■

§ 213.3

General disclosure requirements.

(a) General requirements. A lessor
shall make the disclosures required by
§ 213.4, as applicable. The disclosures
shall be made clearly and conspicuously
in writing in a form the consumer may
keep, in accordance with this section.
The disclosures required by this part
may be provided to the lessee in
electronic form, subject to compliance
with the consumer consent and other
applicable provisions of the Electronic
Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (E-Sign Act) (15 U.S.C.
§ 7001 et seq.). For an advertisement
accessed by the consumer in electronic
form, the disclosures required by § 213.7
may be provided to the consumer in
electronic form in the advertisement,
without regard to the consumer consent
or other provisions of the E-Sign Act.
*
*
*
*
*
§ 213.6

[Removed]

3. Section 213.6 is removed and
reserved.

■

4. Section 213.7 is amended by
revising paragraph (c), to read as
follows:

■

§ 213.7

Advertising.

*

*
*
*
*
(c) Catalogs or other multipage
advertisements; electronic
advertisements. A catalog or other
multipage advertisement , or an
electronic advertisement (such as an
advertisement appearing on an Internet
Web site), that provides a table or
schedule of the required disclosures
shall be considered a single
advertisement if, for lease terms that
appear without all the required
disclosures, the advertisement refers to
the page or pages on which the table or
schedule appears.
*
*
*
*
*
■ 5. In Supplement I to Part 213, the
following amendments are made:
■ a. Section 213.6—Electronic
Communication is removed and
reserved.

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■ b. In Section 213.7—Advertising,
under 7(b)(1) Amount Due at Lease
Signing or Delivery, paragraph 3 is
removed.
■ c. In Section 213.7—Advertising,
under 7(b)(2) Advertisement of a Lease
Rate, paragraph 1., the last two
sentences are removed.
■ d. In Section 213.7—Advertising,
under 7(c) Catalogs or Other Multipage
Advertisements; Electronic
Advertisements, paragraph 2. is revised.
The amendments read as follows:

SUPPLEMENT I TO PART 213—
OFFICIAL STAFF COMMENTARY TO
REGULATION M
*

*

*

*

*

Section 213.7—Advertising

*

*

*

*

*

7(b)(2) Advertisement of a Lease Rate
7(c) * * *
2. Cross references. A catalog or other
multiple-page advertisement or an electronic
advertisement (such as an advertisement
appearing on an Internet Web site) is a single
advertisement (requiring only one set of lease
disclosures) if it contains a table, chart, or
schedule with the disclosures required under
§ 213.7(d)(2)(i) through (v). If one of the
triggering terms listed in § 213.7(d)(1)
appears in a catalog, or in a multiple-page or
electronic advertisement, it must clearly
direct the consumer to the page or location
where the table, chart, or schedule begins.
For example, in an electronic advertisement,
a term triggering additional disclosures may
be accompanied by a link that directly
connects the consumer to the additional
information.

*

*

*

*

*

By order of the Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, October 31, 2007.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. E7–21699 Filed 11–8–07; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210–01–P

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 226
[Regulation Z; Docket No. R–1284]

Truth in Lending
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
ACTION: Final rule; official staff
interpretation.

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AGENCY:

SUMMARY: The Board is amending
Regulation Z, which implements the
Truth in Lending Act, and the official
staff commentary to the regulation, to
withdraw portions of the interim final
rules for the electronic delivery of
disclosures issued March 30, 2001. The
2001 interim final rules addressed the

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timing and delivery of electronic
disclosures, consistent with the
requirements of the Electronic
Signatures in Global and National
Commerce Act (E-Sign Act). Because
compliance with the 2001 interim final
rules has not been mandatory,
withdrawal of these provisions from the
Code of Federal Regulations reduces
confusion about the status of the
provisions and simplifies the regulation.
In addition, the Board is adopting
final amendments to Regulation Z to
provide guidance on the electronic
delivery of disclosures. For example, the
final rules provide that when an
application for a credit card is accessed
by a consumer in electronic form,
disclosures may be provided to the
consumer in electronic form on or with
the application without regard to the
consumer consent and other provisions
of the E-Sign Act. Similar final rules are
being adopted under other consumer
fair lending and financial services
regulations administered by the Board.
DATES: The final rule is effective
December 10, 2007. The mandatory
compliance date is October 1, 2008.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John
C. Wood, Counsel, Division of
Consumer and Community Affairs, at
(202) 452–2412 or (202) 452–3667. For
users of Telecommunications Device for
the Deaf (TDD) only, contact (202) 263–
4869.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Statutory Background
The purpose of the Truth in Lending
Act (TILA), 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq., is to
promote the informed use of consumer
credit by requiring disclosures about its
terms and cost. The Board’s Regulation
Z (12 CFR part 226) implements the act.
The act requires creditors to disclose the
cost of credit as a dollar amount (the
finance charge) and as an annual
percentage rate (the APR). Uniformity in
creditors’ disclosures is intended to
promote the informed use of credit and
assist in shopping for credit. TILA
requires additional disclosures for loans
secured by consumers’ homes and
permits consumers to rescind certain
transactions that involve their principal
dwellings. TILA and Regulation Z
require a number of disclosures to be
provided in writing.
The Electronic Signatures in Global
and National Commerce Act (the E-Sign
Act), 15 U.S.C. 7001 et seq., was enacted
in 2000. The E-Sign Act provides that
electronic documents and electronic
signatures have the same validity as
paper documents and handwritten
signatures. The E-Sign Act contains
special rules for the use of electronic

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disclosures in consumer transactions.
Under the E-Sign Act, consumer
disclosures required by other laws or
regulations to be provided or made
available in writing may be provided or
made available, as applicable, in
electronic form if the consumer
affirmatively consents after receiving a
notice that contains certain information
specified in the statute, and if certain
other conditions are met.
The E-Sign Act, including the special
consumer notice and consent
provisions, became effective October 1,
2000, and did not require implementing
regulations. Thus, creditors are
currently permitted to provide in
electronic form any disclosures that are
required to be provided or made
available to the consumer in writing
under Regulation Z if the consumer
affirmatively consents to receipt of
electronic disclosures in the manner
required by section 101(c) of the E-Sign
Act.
II. Board Proposals and Interim Rules
Regarding Electronic Disclosures
On March 30, 2001, the Board
published for comment interim final
rules to establish uniform standards for
the electronic delivery of disclosures
required under Regulation Z (66 FR
17,329). Similar interim final rules for
Regulations B, E, M, and DD
(implementing the Equal Credit
Opportunity Act, the Electronic Fund
Transfer Act, the Consumer Leasing Act,
and the Truth in Savings Act,
respectively) were published on March
30, 2001 (66 FR 17,322) (Regulation M)
and April 4, 2001 (66 FR 17,779, 66 FR
17,786, and 66 FR 17,795) (Regulations
B, E, and DD, respectively). Each of the
interim final rules incorporated, but did
not interpret, the requirements of the ESign Act. Creditors and other persons,
as applicable, generally were required to
obtain consumers’ affirmative consent to
provide disclosures electronically,
consistent with the requirements of the
E-Sign Act. The interim final rules also
incorporated many of the provisions
that were part of earlier regulatory
proposals issued by the Board regarding
electronic disclosures.1
1 On May 2, 1996, the Board proposed to amend
Regulation E to permit financial institutions to
provide disclosures by sending them electronically
(61 FR 19696). Based on comments received, in
1998 the Board published an interim rule
permitting the electronic delivery of disclosures
under Regulation E (63 FR 14,528, March 25, 1998)
and similar proposals under Regulations B, M, Z,
and DD (63 FR 14,552, 14,538, 14,548, and 14,533,
respectively, March 25, 1998). Based on comments
received on the 1998 proposals, in 1999 the Board
published revised proposals under Regulations B, E,
M, Z, and DD (64 FR 49688, 49699, 49713, 49722
and 49740, respectively, September 14, 1999).

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