On August 22, 2014, the US Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("Federal Reserve Board") issued a proposal to repeal Regulation AA (Unfair or Deceptive Acts or Practices). Regulation AA contains the "credit practices rule," prohibiting banks from using certain remedies to enforce consumer credit obligations and from including these remedies in their consumer credit contracts. Concurrently, the Federal Reserve Board, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau ("CFPB"), Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency jointly issued clarifying guidance that the repeal of the credit practices rules is not a determination that the prohibited practices contained in such rules are now permissible. The guidance clarifies that the practices codified in the credit practices rules may potentially violate the prohibition against unfair or deceptive practices under the Federal Trade Commission Act and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, even in the absence of specific regulation. Comments on the Federal Reserve Board proposal must be submitted by October 24, 2014.
The full text of the Federal Reserve Board proposal is available at:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20140822a1.pdf .
The full text of the joint agency guidance on unfair or deceptive credit practices is available at:
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20140822a2.pdf .
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