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federal of Reserve ban k Dallas ROBERT D. McTEER, JR. DALLAS, TE XAS PR ES ID EN T 75265-5906 A N D C H IE F E X E C U T I V E O F F I C E R May 1, 1998 Notice 98-34 TO: The Chief Executive Officer of each financial institution and others concerned in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District SUBJECT Final Amendments to Certain Model Forms and Technical Revision to Appendix A of Regulation B (Equal Credit Opportunity) DETAILS The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System has amended certain model forms in its Regulation B, Equal Credit Opportunity, to reflect statutory amendments to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) disclosures contained in those forms. Creditors have the option of including the FCRA disclosures with the notice of action taken required under Regulation B. In addition, a technical revision has been made to Appendix A. The amendments became effective April 30, 1998. ATTACHMENT A copy of the Board’s notice as it appears on pages 16392—401, Vol. 63, No. 64 of the Federal Register dated April 3, 1998, is attached. MORE INFORMATION For more information, please contact Peggy Atcher at (214) 922-6202. For additional copies of this Bank’s notice, contact the Public Affairs Department at (214) 922-5254. Sincerely yours, For additional copies, bankers and others are encouraged to use one of the following toll-free numbers in contacting the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas: Dallas Office (800) 333-4460; El Paso Branch Intrastate (800) 592-1631, Interstate (800) 351-1012; Houston Branch Intrastate (800) 392-4162, Interstate (800) 221-0363; San Antonio Branch Intrastate (800) 292-5810. This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org) 16392 Federal R eg ister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , A pril 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM 12CFR Part 202 [Regulation B; Docket No. R-0978] Equal Credit Opportunity Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. ACTION: Final rule. AGENCY: The Board is amending certain m odel forms in its Regulation B to reflect statutory am endm ents to the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) disclosures contained in those forms. Creditors have the option of including the FCRA disclosures w ith the notice of action taken required under Regulation B. In addition, a technical revision has been made to A ppendix A. DATES: The rule is effective April 30, 1998. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jane Jensen Gell, Senior Attorney, or Pamela Morris Blumenthal, Staff Attorney, Division of Consumer and Community Affairs, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, at (202) 4523667 or 452-2412; users of Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) only, contact Diane Jenkins at (202) 452-3544. SUMMARY: SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: I. Background Regulation B, w hich im plem ents the Equal Credit O pportunity Act, requires creditors to provide consumers w ith a notice of action taken if an application for credit is denied, an account is terminated, or the terms of an account are unfavorably changed. The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) (15 U.S.C. 1681a) requires creditors that take adverse action against a consumer, such as by denying an application for credit, to provide consumers w ith certain disclosures if the action is based on inform ation provided by a third party or a consumer reporting agency. The required FCRA disclosures include, for example, the nam e and address of the consum er reporting agency that supplied the information. For information obtained from a third party, the required disclosures include a statement that the consum er has the right to request the reason for the denial w ithin sixty days. Creditors have the option of including the FCRA disclosures w ith the notice of action taken required under Regulation B; A ppendix C to Regulation B provides model forms that com bine the FCRA and ECOA disclosures. The Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996 (Pub. L. 104-208, 110 Stat. 3009) made extensive changes to the FCRA. Among other changes, the am endm ents require that additional disclosures be given to consumers w ho are denied credit based on information from an affiliate or from a consum er reporting agency. On July 11, 1997, the Board published for public com m ent proposed am endm ents to several model forms in Regulation B (61 FR 37166). The Board is issuing a final rule amending the FCRA portion of Regulation B’s model forms C—1 through C-5 and the general instructions for these forms to reflect the changes to the FCRA, w hich were effective Septem ber 30, 1997. The forms include language that may be used w hen credit is denied based on information obtained from a consumer reporting agency, from a third party other than a consum er reporting agency, or from an affiliate. To minimize the num ber of changes to the forms, and thereby ease compliance for creditors, the Board is changing the language only in the forms that are affected by the FCRA amendments. II. New Model Language A ction Based on Information From a Consumer Reporting Agency W hen adverse action is taken against a consumer based on information from a consumer reporting agency, section 615(a) of the FCRA now requires the following additional disclosures: a telephone num ber for the consumer reporting agency (toll-free if the agency compiles and m aintains files on consumers nationwide); a statement that the consum er reporting agency did not make the decision to take the adverse action, and cannot state the reason why the adverse action was taken; the consum er’s right to a free copy of the credit report from the consumer reporting agency, if the request is made w ithin 60 days of receipt of the adverse action notice; and the consum er’s right to dispute w ith the consum er reporting agency the accuracy or completeness of the credit report. These revisions have been incorporated into the model forms that m ay be used to comply w ith the FCRA w hen credit is denied, an account is terminated, or the terms of an account are unfavorably changed based on information from a consumer reporting agency. Action Based on Information From an Affiliate The Board specifically solicited comm ent on w hich, if any, disclosure should be provided w hen adverse action is based on a consum er report obtained from an affiliate. The Board proposed 16394 Federal R eg ister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid a y , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s and Regulations V. Regulatory Flexibility Analysis In accordance w ith section 3(a) of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 603), the Board’s Office of the Secretary has review ed the am endm ents to Regulation B. The am endm ents, w hich provide m odel language to facilitate compliance, are not likely to have a significant impact on institutions’ costs, including the costs to small institutions. VI. Paperwork Reduction Act In accordance w ith the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 3506), the Board reviewed the rule under the authority delegated to the Board by the Office of Management and Budget (5 CFR 1320 A ppendix A.l). The current estimated total annual burden for this information collection is 125,177 hours. This am ount reflects the burden estimate of the Federal Reserve System for the 996 state member banks u nder its supervision. This regulation applies to all types of creditors, not just state member banks. However, under Paperwork Reduction Act regulations, the Federal Reserve accounts for the burden of the paperw ork associated w ith the regulation only for state member banks. Other agencies account for the paperwork burden for the institutions they supervise. The revised collection of information requirements are found in A ppendix C to 12 CFR Part 202. The burden per response for any of the five revised disclosures is estim ated to be two and one-half minutes, on average. As the revisions are minor, this am ount is not expected to change. The Board estimates that there is no annual cost burden over the annual hour burd en associated w ith the revisions. The start-up cost for modifying state member banks’ current templates to conform to the revised models is estimated to be approximately $100,000 across all 996 state member banks. No comments specifically addressing the burden estimate were received. This information collection is m andatory (15 USC 1691b(a)(l) and Pub. L. 104-208, § 2302(a)) to ensure that credit is made available to all creditworthy customers w ithout discrim ination on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to contract), receipt of public assistance, or the fact that the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act (15 USC 1600 et. seq.). The respondents/recordkeepers are for-profit financial institutions, including small businesses. Creditors are required to retain records for twelve to twenty-five m onths as evidence of compliance. Since the Federal Reserve does not collect any information, no issue of confidentiality norm ally arises. However, the information may be protected from disclosure under exemptions (b)(4), (6), and (8) of the Freedom of Information Act (5 USC 522 (b)). The adverse action disclosure is confidential between the institution and the consum er involved. An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and an organization is not required to respond to, an information collection unless it displays a currently valid OMB control number. The OMB control num ber for the Recordkeeping and Disclosure Requirements in Connection with Regulation B is 7100-0201. 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, N.W., Washington, DC 20551; and to the Office of Management and Budget, Paperwork Reduction Project (71000201), Washington, DC 20503. List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 202 Aged, Banks, banking, Civil rights, Credit, Federal Reserve System, Marital status discrim ination, Penalties, Religious discrim ination, Reporting and recordkeeping requirem ents, Sex discrimination. For the reasons set forth in the preamble, 12 CFR part 202 is am ended to read as follows: PART 202—EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY (REGULATION B) 1. The authority citation for part 202 continues to read as follows: Authority: 15 U.S.C. 1691-1691f. 2. A ppendix A is am ended by revising the second paragraph to read as follows: Appendix A to Part 202—Federal Enforcement Agencies * * * * * N atio n al Banks, a n d F ederal B ranches and F ederal A g en cies o f Foreign Banks Office o f the Comptroller o f the Currency, Customer A ssistance Unit, 1301 McKinney A venue, Suite 3710, Houston, Texas 77010. * * * * * 3. A ppendix C is am ended as follows: a. By revising the second paragraph; b. By revising Form C—1; c. By revising Form C-2; d. By revising Form C-3; e. By revising Form C-4; f. By revising Form C-5. The revisions read as follows: Appendix C to Part 202—Sample Notification Forms * * * * * Form C - l contains the Fair Credit Reporting Act disclosure as required by sections 615(a) and (b) of that act. Forms C 2 through C -5 contain only the section 615(a) disclosure (that a creditor obtained information from a consum er reporting agency that played a part in the credit decision). A creditor m ust provide the 615(a) disclosure w h en adverse action is taken against a consum er based on information from a consum er reporting agency. A creditor m ust provide the section 615(b) disclosure w h en adverse action is taken based on information from an outside source other than a consum er reporting agency. In addition, a creditor m ust provide the 615(b) disclosure if the creditor obtained information from an affiliate other than information in a consum er report or other than information concerning the affiliate’s ow n transactions or experiences w ith the consumer. Creditors m ay com ply w ith the disclosure requirements for adverse action based on information in a consum er report obtained from an affiliate b y providing either the 615(a) or 615(b) disclosure. * * * * * BILLING CODE 621 0 -0 1 -P Federal Register/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations that a creditor using information in a consum er report obtained from an affiliate m ust provide the same disclosures as w ould be provided if the report had come directly from the consum er reporting agency (disclosures required under 615(a) of the FCRA). Some commenters agreed w ith the Board’s approach. These commenters believed that creditors should provide consumers the same disclosures under FCRA w hether a consum er report is obtained from an affiliate or directly from a consumer reporting agency. A num ber of commenters disagreed w ith the Board’s approach. They believed that the Board’s reading of the statute did not reflect congressional intent. These commenters argued that the am endm ents to the FCRA specifically require a different adverse action notice w hen a consum er report is obtained from an affiliate, if the affiliate has provided certain “ opt-out” disclosures m entioned in the statute’s am ended definition of “consum er report.” After reviewing the com m ent letters and consulting w ith other federal financial regulatory agencies, the Board has determ ined that this issue merits further consideration and w ould more appropriately be addressed in an interpretation of the FCRA. The Board and the FTC anticipate that they will issue jointly for public comment a proposed interpretation of the FCRA that will clarify the disclosures that are to be provided w hen adverse action is based on a consum er report obtained from an affiliate. In the interim, institutions may provide either the 615(a) notice or the 615(b) notice. Third Party Notice In the case of inform ation from an affiliate that is neither a consumer report nor the affiliate’s own transactional experience, the Board proposed allowing creditors to use the current third-party notice, as amended. There is a difference, however, between the timing provisions of section 615(b)(1) (third-party notice) and of section 615(b)(2) (affiliate notice). Under the third-party provision, a consum er’s request for the reasons for adverse action m ust be subm itted to the creditor w ithin 60 days after the consumer receives the notice. U nder the affiliate provision, the request m ust be subm itted w ithin 60 days after the “transm ittal of the notice.” The Board proposed that Regulation B’s existing language for m odel form C 1 (used for inform ation from a third party) also be used for information from an affiliate, and solicited com m ent on this approach. Commenters generally 16393 agreed w ith the Board that the proposed language—60 days from receipt of the notice—w ould ease compliance for creditors and provide a more understandable tim e frame for consumers. Accordingly, the Board has adopted this language in the final rule. num ber is provided, creditors have the option of adding the words “toll-free” before the reporting agency’s telephone number. A reference to an affiliate is added in the second paragraph. Technical F(evisions Commenters suggested several technical modifications to the forms. Several commenters believed that the Board was requiring the use of certain terms, such as “toll-free.” The Board did not intend this result. The use of the words “toll-free” before “telephone” in model forms C - l through C—5 is not required. Although a form need not state “toll-free,” a creditor m ust provide a toll-free num ber established by the consum er reporting agency if the agency compiles and m aintains files on consumers on a nationw ide basis. In addition, to be consistent w ith the language in the FCRA, the phrase “affiliate’s own experience” in the second paragraph in A ppendix C is modified to read “affiliates’s own transactions or experiences.” Finally, the proposed statement concerning consum ers’ right under the FCRA to know the information in their credit files in Model Form C-5 (included in brackets) need not be provided. Commenters noted that the revised FCRA does not require this notice, and that the notice of the right to receive a free copy of a credit report adequately informs consumers that they may obtain the information in their credit report. Sam ple Notice o f A ction Taken and Statem ent o f Reasons is am ended by adding to the first sentence in the second paragraph the words “toll-free” before the reporting agency’s telephone number. The dispute disclosure is inserted before the last sentence. III. Section-by-Section Analysis In A ppendix C, the second paragraph is am ended by adding two sentences at the end of the paragraph explaining the FCRA disclosure requirem ents for information obtained from an affiliate. For model forms C - l through C-5, the words “toll-free” are included in brackets to reflect that the telephone num ber for the consum er reporting agency m ust be toll-free if it compiles and m aintains files on consumers on a nationw ide basis. Creditors have the option of using the words “toll-free” before the reporting agency’s telephone num ber w hen a toll-free num ber is provided. M odel Form C -l Sam ple Notice o f Action Taken and Statem ent o f Reasons is am ended in Part II by adding at the end of the first paragraph the FCRA disclosures notifying the consum er of the right to request a copy of the consumer report, and the right to dispute the accuracy of the report w ith the reporting agency. In addition, in cases where a toll-free Model Form C-2 Model Form C-3 Sam ple Notice o f A ction Taken and Statem ent o f Reasons (Credit Scoring) is am ended by adding to the fourth sentence in the fourth paragraph the words “toll-free” before the reporting agency’s telephone number. The dispute disclosure is added at the end of the paragraph. M odel Form C-4 Sam ple Notice o f Action Taken, Statem ent o f Reasons and Counteroffer is am ended by adding to the first sentence in the third paragraph the words “toll-free” before the reporting agency’s telephone number. At the end of the paragraph the disclosure stating that the reporting agency played no part in the decision is added along with the dispute disclosure. M odel Form C-5 Sam ple Disclosure o f Right to Request Specific Reasons fo r Credit Denial is am ended by adding to the first sentence in the fourth paragraph the words “tollfree” before the reporting agency’s telephone number. At the end of the paragraph the disclosure that the reporting agency played no part in the decision has been added, along w ith the dispute disclosure. In addition, the disclosure that the consumer has a right under the FCRA to know the inform ation in the credit file may be provided, but is not required. IV. Technical Change to Appendix A A ppendix A—Federal Enforcement Agencies has been revised to reflect a new address for the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). Under section 202.9(b) of Regulation B, a creditor’s notice of adverse action is required to include the nam e and address of the federal agency that has enforcement responsibility for that creditor. The OCC is the appropriate agency for national banks and federal branches and federal agencies of foreign banks. This is a technical revision and is not related to the FCRA amendments. Federal R eg ister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid a y , A pril 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations Fo r m C - l - s a m p l e n o t ic e o f a c t io n t a k e n a n d s t a t e m e n t o f r e a so n s Statement of Credit Denial, Termination, or Change Date: Applicant's Name:_______________________________ Applicant's Address: ----------------------------------------------Description of Account, Transaction, or Requested Credit: Description of Action Taken: PART I - PRINCIPAL REASON(S) FOR CREDIT DENIAL, TERMINATION, OR OTHER ACTION TAKEN CONCERNING CREDIT. This section must be completed in all instances. ---- Credit application incomplete ---- Length of residence ---- Insufficient number of credit references provided ---- Temporary residence Unable to verify residence Unacceptable type of credit references provided .No credit file .Unable to verify credit references .Limited credit experience _ —Temporary or irregular employment — Unable to verify employment ---- Poor credit performance with us Delinquent past or present credit obligations with others ---- Length of employment ---- Income insufficient for amount of credit requested .Excessive obligations in relation to income — Unable to verify income ---- Other, specify: ---------- -Garnishment, attachment, foreclosure, repossession, collection action, or judgment ---- Bankruptcy ---- Value or type of collateral not sufficient 16395 16396 Federal R egister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations F o r m C - l, p a g e 2 P art n - d is c l o s u r e o f u s e o f in f o r m a t io n o b t a in e d fr o m a n o u t s id e s o u r c e . This section should be completed if the credit decision was based in whole or in part on information that has been obtained from an outside source. ___ Our credit decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from the consumer reporting agency listed below. You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file at the consumer reporting agency. The reporting agency played no part in our decision and is unable to supply specific reasons why we have denied credit to you. You also have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. Name: ----------------------------------------------------------------Address: [Toll-free] Telephone number:---------------------------------Our credit decision was based in whole or in part on information obtained from an affiliate or from an outside source other than a consumer reporting agency. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have the right to make a written request, no later than 60 days after you receive this notice, for disclosure of the nature of this information. If you have any questions regarding this notice, you should contact: Creditor's name:------------------------------------Creditor's address: --------------------------------Creditor's telephone number: -------------------NOTICE The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is (name and address as specified by the appropriate agency listed in appendix A). Federal Register /Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations FORM C-2-SAMPLE NOTICE OF ACTION TAKEN AND STATEMENT OF REASONS Date Dear Applicant: Thank you for your recent application. Your request for [a loan/a credit card/an increase in your credit limit] was carefully considered, and we regret that we are unable to approve your application at this time, for the following reason(s): Your Income: ---- is below our minimum requirement. ___ is insufficient to sustain payments on the amount of credit requested. — could not be verified. Your Employment: ---- is not of sufficient length to qualify. ---- could not be verified. Your Credit History: ---- of making payments on time was not satisfactory. ---- could not be verified. Your Application: lacks a sufficient number of credit references. ___ lacks acceptable types of credit references. ___ reveals that current obligations are excessive in relation to income. Other: -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------The consumer reporting agency contacted that provided information that influenced our decision in whole or in part was [name, address and [toll-free] telephone number of the reporting agency]. The reporting agency is unable to supply specific reasons why we have denied credit to you. You do, however, have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file. You also have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. Any questions regarding such information should be directed to [consumer reporting agency]. If you have any questions regarding this letter, you should contact us at [creditor's name, address and telephone number]. NOTICE: The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is (name and address as specified by the appropriate agency listed in Appendix A). 16397 16398 Federal R eg ister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s and Regulations F o r m C -3 - s a m p l e n o t ic e o f a c t io n t a k e n a n d s t a t e m e n t o f r e a so n s (C r e d it sc o r in g ) Date Dear Applicant: Thank you for your recent application fo r ------------------------------------------------We regret that we are unable to approve your request. Your application was processed by a credit scoring system that assigns a numerical value to the various items of information we consider in evaluating an application. These numerical values are based upon the results of analyses of repayment histories of large numbers of customers. The information you provided in your application did not score a sufficient number of points for approval of the application. The reasons why you did not score well compared with other applicants were: • • • Insufficient bank references Type of occupation Insufficient credit experience In evaluating your application the consumer reporting agency listed below provided us with information that in whole or in part influenced our decision. The reporting agency played no part in our decision other than providing us with credit information about you. Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, you have a right to know the information provided to us. It can be obtained by contacting: [name, address, and [toll-free] telephone number of the consumer reporting agency]. You also have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. If you have any questions regarding this letter, you should contact us at Creditor's Name: ----------------------------------------------Address: ---------------------------------------------------------Telephone: -----------------------------------------------------Sincerely, NOTICE: The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (with certain limited exceptions); because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is (name and address as specified by the appropriate agency listed in Appendix A). Federal R egister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations F o r m C -4 - s a m p l e n o t ic e o f a c t io n t a k e n , s t a t e m e n t o f r e a so n s a n d c o u n t e r o f f e r Date Dear Applicant: Thank you for your application fo r------------------------ We are unable to offer you credit on the terms that you requested for the following reason(s): We can, however, offer you credit on the following terms: If this offer is acceptable to you, please notify us within [amount of time] at the following address:--------------------------------------------------------------------------------Our credit decision on your application was based in whole or in part on information obtained in a report from [name, address and [toll-free] telephone number of the consumer reporting agency]. You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file at the consumer reporting agency. The reporting agency played no part in our decision and is unable to supply specific reasons why we have denied credit to you. You also have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. You should know that the federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors, such as ourselves, from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of their race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age because they receive income from a public assistance program, or because they may have exercised their rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. If you believe there has been discrimination in handling your application you should contact the [name and address of the appropriate federal enforcement agency listed in Appendix A.] Sincerely, 16399 16400 Federal R eg ister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s an d Regulations F o r m C -5 - S a m p l e D is c l o s u r e D e n ia l of R ig h t to R e q u e s t S pec ific R e a s o n s fo r C r e d it Date Dear Applicant: Thank you for applying to us for-----------------------------After carefully reviewing your application, we are sorry to advise you that we cannot [open an account for you/grant a loan to you/increase your credit limit] at this time. If you would like a statement of specific reasons why your application was denied, please contact [our credit service manager] shown below within 60 days of the date of this letter. We will provide you with the statement of reasons within 30 days after receiving your request. Creditor's Name Address Telephone number If we obtained information from a consumer reporting agency as part of our consideration of your application, its name, address, and [toll-free] telephone number is shown below. The re porting agency played no part in our decision and is unable to supply specific reasons why we have denied credit to you. [You have a right under the Fair Credit Reporting Act to know the information contained in your credit file at the consumer reporting agency.] You have a right to a free copy of your report from the reporting agency, if you request it no later than 60 days after you receive this notice. In addition, if you find that any information contained in the report you receive is inaccurate or incomplete, you have the right to dispute the matter with the reporting agency. You can find out about the information contained in your file (if one was used) by contacting: Consumer reporting agency's name Address [Toll-free] Telephone number Sincerely, NOTICE The federal Equal Credit Opportunity Act prohibits creditors from discriminating against credit applicants on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age (provided the applicant has the capacity to enter into a binding contract); because all or part of the applicant's income derives from any public assistance program; or because the applicant has in good faith exercised any right under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. The federal agency that administers compliance with this law concerning this creditor is (name and address as specified by the appropriate agency listed in Appendix A). Federal R egister/Vol. 63, No. 6 4 /F rid ay , April 3, 1 9 9 8 /R u le s and Regulations * * * * * By order of the Board o f Governors o f the Federal Reserve System, March 3 0 ,1 9 9 8 . William W. Wiles, S ecretary o f the Board. [FR Doc. 9 8 -8 7 4 9 Filed 4 -2 -9 8 ; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 6 2 1 0 -0 1 -C 16401
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