On December 13, 2022, the FDIC Board of Directors issued for public comment a proposed rule to amend part 328 of its regulations to modernize the rules governing use of the official FDIC sign and advertising statements and clarify the FDIC’s regulations regarding misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage. According to the FDIC, the proposal is intended to enable consumers to better understand when they are doing business with an IDI and when their funds are protected by the FDIC’s deposit insurance coverage.
From FDIC Acting Chairman Gruenberg’s statement”
“The FDIC last made major amendments to the official sign and advertising statement rules in 2006. The revisions are intended to extend the certainty and confidence provided by the FDIC official sign found at bank branch teller windows to digital channels, such as bank websites and mobile applications, through which depositors are increasingly handling their banking needs.”
The FDIC’s proposed rule will:
Modernize and amend the rules governing the display of the official sign in branches, to, for example, apply the rules to non-traditional IDI branches;
Require the use of the FDIC official sign, a new digital sign, and other signs differentiating deposits and non-deposit products across all banking channels, including automated teller machines (ATMs) and evolving digital channels (which functionally serve as digital teller windows);
Clarify the FDIC’s rules regarding misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage by addressing specific scenarios where information provided to consumers may be misleading;
Amend definitions of “non-deposit product” to include crypto-assets; and
Require IDIs to maintain policies and procedures addressing compliance with part 328.
Comments must be received by the FDIC no later than April 7, 2023.
Read the FDIC’s press release here.
The Notice of proposed rulemaking can be found here.