Web Site Compliance & Disclosures

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Question:

Since web sites have widely varying degrees of functionality, each bank must determine its own obligation. It's been a long time since I've seen a bank web site that isn't at least an advertisement. Catalog the products that will be promoted there and then aggregate the advertising regulations that apply to those products. If you offer online applications, then add the rules that apply up to that stage. If you also provide online decisions, then add the additional rules that come into play. If you go all the way and open the new loan/deposit online, keep adding the additional rules that apply during all stages of a customer relationship. There are very few rules that are uniquely Internet-related and not tied to a product. Included in this short list are "speed bumps," CAN-SPAM, and COPPA.

Answer:

There are whole seminars and webinars that deal with this topic, so it's probably beyond the socpe of a couple of paragraph response. Generally speaking, your website is considered to be an advertisement, so all compliance requirements that apply to advertising apply to the website. Many of the regulations that carry advertising requirements (such as Reg Z and Reg DD) specifically address website advertising requirements and exclusions.

In addition, if your website is used to take applications or open accounts, additional disclosure requirements applicable to those processes will also apply in the web environment. This means, for example, that you can't ask for a loan applicant's income in an online application without first disclosing to the applicant that income from alimony, child support, or separate maintenance need not be provided if the applicant does not want such income considered in qualifying for the credit (Reg B). Any number of regulations contain process-related disclosures that might or might not come into play on your website without knowing what is contained specifically on your website.

If you do not have a resource inside the bank that is knowledgeable about website compliance issues, you might want to consider seeking outside assistance. There are a number of consultants that can provide these services to you. A great starting point may be the listings at the BOL Guru Central for compliance consulting services.

First published on BankersOnline.com 7/07/08