Full text of District Notices (Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas) : Interpretation of Regulation B, Circular No. 76-2

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F e d e r a l R e s e r v e Ba n k o f D a lla s

DALLAS, TEXAS

75222
C i r c u l a r No. 76-2
J a n u a r y 9, 1976

A m e ric a n R ev o lu tio n B ic en ten n ia l

in t e r pr e ta tio n

of

re g u l a t io n

b

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY ACT
S t u d e n t Loan P r o g r a m s A d m i n i s t e r e d b y t h e
D e p a r t m e n t of H e a lth , E d u c a t i o n , a n d W elfare (HEW)

TO ALL BANKS
AND OTHERS CONCERNED IN THE
ELEVENTH FEDERAL RESERVE DISTRICT:
On D e c e m b e r 22, 1975, t h e B o a r d of G o v e r n o r s of t h e F e d e r a l
R e s e r v e S y ste m i s s u e d a c l a r i f y i n g i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of R e g u l a ti o n B, t h e
Equal C r e d i t O p p o r t u n i t y A c t, m a k in g it c l e a r t h a t b a n k s in P e n n s y l v a n i a
m a y c o n t i n u e to m a k e f e d e r a l l y g u a r a n t e e d loans to m a r r i e d s t u d e n t s in
c o m p l i a n c e w ith s ta t e r e g u l a t i o n s . T h e s e r e g u l a t i o n s r e q u i r e d t h a t th e
s i g n a t u r e of b o th s p o u s e s b e o b t a i n e d in c o n n e c t i o n w ith loans g u a r a n t e e d
u n d e r p r o g r a m s a d m i n i s t e r e d b y HEW.
Effective J a n u a r y 31, 1976, R e g u l a ti o n B will p r o h i b i t m a k in g
a g e n e r a l p r a c t i c e of r e q u i r i n g t h e s i g n a t u r e of b o th s p o u s e s on s u c h
credit arrangem ents.
P r i n t e d on t h e r e v e r s e of t h i s c i r c u l a r is a c o p y of th e i n t e r p r e ­
ta tio n . If y o u h a v e a n y q u e s t i o n s r e g a r d i n g R e g u l a ti o n B, p l e a s e c o n t a c t
t h i s B a n k ' s R e g u l a t i o n s D e p a r t m e n t a t (214) 651-6169 o r 651-6269.
A d d iti o n a l c o p i e s of t h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n of R e g u l a ti o n B will b e
f u r n i s h e d u p o n r e q u e s t to t h e S e c r e t a r y ' s Office of t h i s B a n k .
Sincerely y o u rs ,
T . W. P la n t
F i r s t V ice P r e s i d e n t

This publication was digitized and made available by the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas' Historical Library (FedHistory@dal.frb.org)

BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

EQUAL CREDIT OPPORTUNITY
IN T ER PR ET A TIO N O F R E G U LA TIO N B

S E CT IO N 202.701 — O B T A I N I N G T H E
S I G N A T U R E O F A S P O U S E PRIOR
TO J A N U A R Y 31, 1976
Section 2 0 2 .7 (a ) o f this Part which becomes
effective on January 31, 1976, provides, with cer­
tain exceptions not applicable to the present ques­
tion, that
* * * a creditor may not require the signa­
ture o f a spouse or other person on a credit
instrument unless such a requirement is im­
posed without regard to sex or marital status
on all similarly qualified applicants who apply
for a similar type and amount of credit.
Regulations o f certain states require that the
signature o f both spouses be obtained in con n ec­
tion with credit guaranteed under student loan
programs administered by the Department of
Health, Education, and Welfare. It appears that
it may not be possible effectively to amend these
regulations in order to eliminate this requirement
1-31-76

until the end o f January 1976. Therefore, a ques­
tion has arisen whether creditors extending credit
in connection with such programs may continue
until January 31, 1976 to obtain the signatures of
both spouses upon instruments connected with
the loan.
In d e fe r r in g the e f f e c t i v e d ate o f s e c t io n
2 0 2 . 7 ( a ) , the Board o f Governors explained that
it had done so because public com m ent on the
regulations as proposed for com m ent on Sep­
tember 10, 1975 (4 0 FR 4 2 0 3 0 ) “stated that
creditors would need a few months to adapt their
application procedures and re-train their e m ­
ployees as to the situations in which a creditor
may request or require the signature o f a spouse
or other person.” Accordingly, in extending credit
prior to January 31, 1976, in connection with
student loan programs administered by the D e ­
partment of Health, Education, and W elfare a
creditor may continue to require the signature
of both spouses upon instruments connected with
the loan.