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July 15, 2004 at 08:00 PM
Federal regulators have proposed long-awaited affiliate marketing regulations.[@@]
The proposed regulations would help implement the Fair Credit Reporting Act of 2003, which requires banks, thrifts and credit unions to give consumers a chance to opt out of most efforts to share personal financial information with corporate affiliates.
The proposed regulations would have a direct effect on holding companies that own life insurance companies along with banks, thrifts or credit unions.
The U.S. Treasury Department and other financial institution regulatory agencies are asking members of the public to submit comments on the proposed regulations by Aug. 16.
One long section of the proposed regulation attempts to give detailed advice about how financial institutions ought to comply with requirements that notices to consumers and opt-out forms be clear.
Methods might include “using clear and concise sentences, paragraphs and sections; using short explanatory sentences; using bullet lists; using definite, concrete, everyday words; using active voice; avoiding multiple negatives; avoiding legal and highly technical business terminology; and avoiding explanations that are imprecise and are really subject to different interpretations,” according to a discussion of the proposed regulations that appears today in the Federal Register.
