I'm curious as to how others handle providing deposit account disclosures before the account is opened. Can you print them out at the same time as the signature card (which means you've obtained all their information and entered it into the system)and as long as you give them the disclosures before they sign, is that sufficient? Or are we expected to have disclosures for them to review before we obtain and enter their information in our system? I was asked by an examiner several years ago what we do and when I answered that everything printed out with the card I was told that "technically" was incorrect. It wasn't mentioned or cited in the exam but that question has come up again between the compliance and operations department so I was looking for other opinions.

You need to be able to provide disclosures in response to inquiries about an account, too. As for the timing when opening an account, I think you can argue that the account isn't open until you've taken the opening deposit. That leaves you the opportunity to gather customer information and populate system records so that the disclosures reflect ownership of the account being opened.

I agree with John. If the disclosures are given as part of the account opening process, the customer can review them all prior to signing the signature card, which references the account disclosure and other documents.

If a potential customer just wants to see them, we can use our Deposit Origination Sytem (DepositPro) to print out a copy for them.

Another scenario: The account information is on the system and uploaded, then while the customer is reading the disclosures (and before signing the signature card) they change their mind on opening the account. Since the information is on our system can we just delete it since no deposit was made or do we have to maintain those records for 5 years per BSA?

From time to time as an accomodation, we will open an account for an existing customer over the phone, and email (encrypted) the signature card and disclosures. The customer signs the signature card and returns to us. Compliance has a concern that this falls under ESIGN regulation, and that the delivery of the account disclosures can't come before the customer signs a consumer ESIGN consent. We don't support ESIGN as we currently have no way to ensure the customer has performed "demonstrable consent". Since we aren't executing the signature card electronically, nor are we setting up eStatements/disclosures for the customer, does simply emailing this information to a customer constitute an event that falls under ESIGN regulations?

Speaking of disclosures - it was suggested to us to have the customer initial every page of every disclosure we give to them, they get copy and we keep copy (kill trees).... The signature card has acknowledgement that customer received all disclosures, etc, but is the intialling really necessary?

Poppycock and any other pretty word for BS. The only reasonable assumption is that the person offering the suggestion was a copier salesperson.

Initial every page!!??!! WOW! Throw that person in the recycler ASAP!

One particularly stupid forms vendor made the same suggestion at the advent of Regulation CC, they even added a place to put the initials on their forms! The reg did not require it, but they termed it a "best practice."

So, regulators started to look through the bank's copies and, if there was no copy for a particular customer, they cited that as proof the disclosure was never distributed.

Think: We are shooting ourselves in the foot then asking around to see if anyone has more ammunition.

The edict came from one of the Directors (attorney !!)

Back to the original question: If the list of procedures includes upload the info, print the docs, make the deposit then go back to the customer and hand them the disclosures and then they sign----has it been done correctly?

If the deposit has been made before they are given the disclosure isn't that not providing before account opening? Or is it as long as they get the disclosures before signing the signature card sufficient, even though the deposit has already been made?

At the present time, our account disclosures are in a nice little booklet. We can just hand the booklet to the customer prior to opening the account. There is a push to get rid of the booklet and have all the disclosures print from our system automatically when opening an account, so if that becomes reality, I'll make sure to ask how the disclosures will be available prior to account opening.

I'm really hoping we stay with the booklet. It's a good reference tool.

Just change the order of your procedures -- give them the disclosures before you make the deposit. Prove to yourself that the customer can pick everything up and walk away with the deposit not made if he looks at the disclosures and sees something "up with which he will not put."

That's what compliance wants to do. Operations says it's more efficient to do all the legwork at once and then return to the office which means picking up disclosures off the printer, making the deposit then returning to the office to give the disclosures and get the signature card signed. Just trying to get info to back up why compliance wants it done in a different order. Their thinking is if once the customer sees the disclosure and doesn't want the account then we can delete everything off the system as if none of it ever happened.

Has anyone had to deal with this situation during an exam?

Maybe I am missing something. Is there a reg that says you must delete customer information if they close an account, or decide right at the end that they don't want to open one?

Information as in name, ss#, phone#, address, ID info

What our ops dept. is saying is that if we upload the account before the signature card is signed and then they decide not go to through with the account then they can delete the info off the system instead of it sitting there when the customer decided not to complete the process.

Our concern is that if a deposit was made then the account info should stay on the system. That's why compliance doesn't want the deposit made until after the signature card is signed which should be after the disclosures are read. Ops wants to go ahead and make the deposit before either of these events as it is easier on the CSR and faster for the customer.

Easier and faster and more convenient are wonderful things to achieve, but never at the expense of compliance. Compliance is -- almost by definition -- not convenient.

However, I think you said something suggesting that the placement of a printer might be part of the problem. You shouldn't have to go to the teller line to pick up a printed disclosure and signature card. That's not efficient.

While it is not a great distance to the printer, it is not located in the CSR office, it is across the lobby. They do go to the teller line to make the deposit and get a receipt.