A. Advertising of consumer deposit accounts
by a
regulated institution may not refer to or describe the account as "free"
or "no cost" or contain a similar term, if a maintenance or activity fee may be
imposed on the account. For purposes of this section, maintenance or activity
fees include:
1. Fees imposed when a minimum
balance requirement is not met or a specified number of transactions is
exceeded;
2. Transaction and
service fees that can be reasonably expected to be imposed on a regular
basis;
3. A flat fee, such as a
monthly service fee; and
4. Fees
imposed to deposit, withdraw, or transfer funds, including per-check or
per-transaction charges.
Examples of fees that are not considered to be maintenance or
activity fees include:
1.
Check printing fees;
2. Balance
inquiry fees;
3. Stop-payment fees
and fees associated with checks returned unpaid;
4. Fees assessed against a dormant account;
and
5. Fees for ATM or electronic
transfer services, such as pre-authorized transfers or home banking services
that are not required to obtain an account.
B. Advertising by a
regulated institution for
a
consumer deposit account may refer to or describe the account as "free" or
"no cost" or contain a similar term, under the following circumstances:
1. A specific account service or feature may
be advertised as "free," if no fee is imposed for that service or feature. For
example, regulated institutions offering an account that is free of deposit or
withdrawal fees could advertise that fact, as long as the advertisement does
not mislead consumers by implying that no other fee (a monthly service fee, for
example) may be charged.
2. If an
account or a specific account service is free only for a limited period of time
and the time period is stated, the account or service may be advertised as
"free."
3. An account may be
advertised as "free" for consumers meeting conditions not related to deposit
accounts, such as the consumer's age.
C. Advertising of a consumer deposit account
may not use the term "fees waived," if a maintenance or activity fee may be
imposed.
D. The term "profit" may
not be used, in referring to interest paid on a consumer deposit
account.
Federal Regulations
It is recognized that the Comptroller of the Currency, the
Federal Reserve Bank, the Office of Thrift Institutions, the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation and the National Credit Union Administration may have
promulgated regulations concerning advertising activities of financial
institutions, financial institution holding companies or their subsidiaries. It
is further recognized that there may exist differences in scope and coverage
between this regulation and regulations promulgated by those federal regulatory
agencies. It is not the intent of this regulation to permit any practice which
is not permitted by the appropriate federal agency. To the contrary, besides
any other restriction or limitation stated herein, each financial institution
must fully comply with the regulations of any applicable federal agency.
