8082 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376
(2010).
2 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5411.
3 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(b).
4 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(c).
5 76 FR 39247 (July 6, 2011).
6 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5412(b)(2)(B)(i)(II).
7 12 U.S.C. 1813(q).
8 76 FR 47652 (Aug. 5, 2011).
9 12 U.S.C. 5414(b)(3).
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Parts 338 and 390
RIN 3064–AF35
Removal of Transferred Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) Regulations
Regarding Nondiscrimination
Requirements
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is
rescinding and removing its regulation
titled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements’’ and amending its
regulation titled ‘‘Fair Housing’’ to make
it applicable to State savings
associations. These actions will
streamline the FDIC’s rules by
eliminating unnecessary, inconsistent,
and duplicative regulations, and ensure
insured State nonmember banks and
State savings associations generally will
be subject to the same
nondiscrimination requirements.
DATES: The final rule is effective on
March 5, 2021. Compliance with 12 CFR
338.4(b) regarding displaying the
current address of the FDIC’s Consumer
Response Center on an Equal Housing
Lender poster is mandatory on February
3, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Navid Choudhury, Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 898–6526, nchoudhury@
fdic.gov; Jamie Goodson, Senior Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–6685, jagoodson@
fdic.gov; Ernestine Ward, Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–3812, erward@
fdic.gov; and Evelyn Manley, Fair
Lending Specialist, (202) 898–3775,
emanley@fdic.gov, Division of Depositor
and Consumer Protection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Title III of the Dodd-Frank Act 1
provided for a substantial reorganization
of the regulation of State and Federal
savings associations and their holding
companies. Beginning July 21, 2011, the
transfer date established by section 311
of the Dodd-Frank Act,2 the powers,
duties, and functions formerly
performed by the OTS were divided
among the FDIC, as to State savings
associations, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as to
Federal savings associations, and the
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (FRB), as to savings and
loan holding companies. Section 316(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Act 3 provides the
manner of treatment for all orders,
resolutions, determinations, regulations,
and advisory materials that had been
issued, made, prescribed, or allowed to
become effective by the OTS. Section
316(b) states that if the materials were
in effect on the day before the transfer
date, they continue to be in effect and
are enforceable by or against the
appropriate successor agency until they
are modified, terminated, set aside, or
superseded in accordance with
applicable law by such successor
agency, by any court of competent
jurisdiction, or by operation of law.
Section 316(c) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 4 further directed the FDIC and the
OCC to consult with one another and to
publish a list of the continued OTS
regulations which would be enforced by
the FDIC and the OCC, respectively. On
June 14, 2011, the FDIC’s Board of
Directors approved a ‘‘List of OTS
Regulations to be Enforced by the OCC
and the FDIC Pursuant to the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act.’’ This list was published
by the FDIC and the OCC as a Joint
Notice in the Federal Register on July
6, 2011.5
Although section 312(b)(2)(B)(i)(II) of
the Dodd-Frank Act 6 granted the OCC
rulemaking authority relating to both
State and Federal savings associations,
the Dodd-Frank Act did not generally
affect the FDIC’s existing authority to
issue regulations under the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) and
other laws as the ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency’’ or under similar
statutory terminology. Section 312(c) of
the Dodd-Frank Act amended the
definition of ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency’’ contained in section
3(q) of the FDI Act 7 to add State savings
associations to the list of entities for
which the FDIC is designated as the
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency.’’
As a result, except in limited
circumstances in which certain
rulemaking authority is specifically
given to another agency, when the FDIC
acts as the designated ‘‘appropriate
Federal banking agency’’ (or under
similar terminology) for State savings
associations, as it does here, the FDIC is
generally authorized to issue, modify
and rescind regulations involving such
associations, insured State nonmember
banks, and insured branches of foreign
banks.
As noted, on June 14, 2011, operating
pursuant to this authority, the FDIC’s
Board of Directors reissued and
redesignated certain transferred OTS
regulations. These transferred OTS
regulations were published as new FDIC
regulations in the Federal Register on
August 5, 2011.8 When it republished
the transferred OTS regulations as new
FDIC regulations, the FDIC specifically
noted that its staff would evaluate the
transferred OTS regulations and might
later recommend incorporating them
into other FDIC regulations, amending
them, or rescinding them, as
appropriate.
One of the OTS rules transferred to
the FDIC requires State savings
associations to not discriminate with
respect to lending, employment, and
other services provided. The OTS rule,
formerly found at 12 CFR part 528 (part
528), was transferred to the FDIC with
only technical changes and is now
found in the FDIC’s rules at part 390,
subpart G, entitled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements.’’
II. The Proposal
A. Removal of Part 390, Subpart G,
Nondiscrimination Requirements
On September 25, 2020, the FDIC
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR or ‘‘proposal’’)
regarding the removal of part 390,
subpart G (85 FR 60389). Although few
provisions of part 390, subpart G, have
a direct counterpart within the FDIC’s
regulations, the provisions are largely
duplicative of regulations implementing
Federal laws (Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA),
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
(EEOA), and other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services)
implemented by other agencies.
Regarding the functions of the former
OTS that were transferred to the FDIC,
section 316(b)(3) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 9 provides that the former OTS
regulations will be enforceable by the
FDIC until they are modified,
terminated, set aside, or superseded in
accordance with applicable law. After
careful review of part 390, subpart G,
the FDIC, as the appropriate Federal
banking agency for State savings
associations, proposed to rescind and
remove part 390, subpart G, in its
entirety, because, as discussed in the
NPR, it is duplicative, unnecessary, and
burdensome to require State savings
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1 Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act, Public Law 111–203, 124 Stat. 1376
(2010).
2 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5411.
3 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(b).
4 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5414(c).
5 76 FR 39247 (July 6, 2011).
6 Codified at 12 U.S.C. 5412(b)(2)(B)(i)(II).
7 12 U.S.C. 1813(q).
8 76 FR 47652 (Aug. 5, 2011).
9 12 U.S.C. 5414(b)(3).
FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE
CORPORATION
12 CFR Parts 338 and 390
RIN 3064–AF35
Removal of Transferred Office of Thrift
Supervision (OTS) Regulations
Regarding Nondiscrimination
Requirements
AGENCY: Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation (FDIC).
ACTION: Final rule.
SUMMARY: The Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is
rescinding and removing its regulation
titled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements’’ and amending its
regulation titled ‘‘Fair Housing’’ to make
it applicable to State savings
associations. These actions will
streamline the FDIC’s rules by
eliminating unnecessary, inconsistent,
and duplicative regulations, and ensure
insured State nonmember banks and
State savings associations generally will
be subject to the same
nondiscrimination requirements.
DATES: The final rule is effective on
March 5, 2021. Compliance with 12 CFR
338.4(b) regarding displaying the
current address of the FDIC’s Consumer
Response Center on an Equal Housing
Lender poster is mandatory on February
3, 2022.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Navid Choudhury, Counsel, Legal
Division, (202) 898–6526, nchoudhury@
fdic.gov; Jamie Goodson, Senior Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–6685, jagoodson@
fdic.gov; Ernestine Ward, Policy
Analyst, (202) 898–3812, erward@
fdic.gov; and Evelyn Manley, Fair
Lending Specialist, (202) 898–3775,
emanley@fdic.gov, Division of Depositor
and Consumer Protection.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Title III of the Dodd-Frank Act 1
provided for a substantial reorganization
of the regulation of State and Federal
savings associations and their holding
companies. Beginning July 21, 2011, the
transfer date established by section 311
of the Dodd-Frank Act,2 the powers,
duties, and functions formerly
performed by the OTS were divided
among the FDIC, as to State savings
associations, the Office of the
Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), as to
Federal savings associations, and the
Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System (FRB), as to savings and
loan holding companies. Section 316(b)
of the Dodd-Frank Act 3 provides the
manner of treatment for all orders,
resolutions, determinations, regulations,
and advisory materials that had been
issued, made, prescribed, or allowed to
become effective by the OTS. Section
316(b) states that if the materials were
in effect on the day before the transfer
date, they continue to be in effect and
are enforceable by or against the
appropriate successor agency until they
are modified, terminated, set aside, or
superseded in accordance with
applicable law by such successor
agency, by any court of competent
jurisdiction, or by operation of law.
Section 316(c) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 4 further directed the FDIC and the
OCC to consult with one another and to
publish a list of the continued OTS
regulations which would be enforced by
the FDIC and the OCC, respectively. On
June 14, 2011, the FDIC’s Board of
Directors approved a ‘‘List of OTS
Regulations to be Enforced by the OCC
and the FDIC Pursuant to the Dodd-
Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act.’’ This list was published
by the FDIC and the OCC as a Joint
Notice in the Federal Register on July
6, 2011.5
Although section 312(b)(2)(B)(i)(II) of
the Dodd-Frank Act 6 granted the OCC
rulemaking authority relating to both
State and Federal savings associations,
the Dodd-Frank Act did not generally
affect the FDIC’s existing authority to
issue regulations under the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act (FDI Act) and
other laws as the ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency’’ or under similar
statutory terminology. Section 312(c) of
the Dodd-Frank Act amended the
definition of ‘‘appropriate Federal
banking agency’’ contained in section
3(q) of the FDI Act 7 to add State savings
associations to the list of entities for
which the FDIC is designated as the
‘‘appropriate Federal banking agency.’’
As a result, except in limited
circumstances in which certain
rulemaking authority is specifically
given to another agency, when the FDIC
acts as the designated ‘‘appropriate
Federal banking agency’’ (or under
similar terminology) for State savings
associations, as it does here, the FDIC is
generally authorized to issue, modify
and rescind regulations involving such
associations, insured State nonmember
banks, and insured branches of foreign
banks.
As noted, on June 14, 2011, operating
pursuant to this authority, the FDIC’s
Board of Directors reissued and
redesignated certain transferred OTS
regulations. These transferred OTS
regulations were published as new FDIC
regulations in the Federal Register on
August 5, 2011.8 When it republished
the transferred OTS regulations as new
FDIC regulations, the FDIC specifically
noted that its staff would evaluate the
transferred OTS regulations and might
later recommend incorporating them
into other FDIC regulations, amending
them, or rescinding them, as
appropriate.
One of the OTS rules transferred to
the FDIC requires State savings
associations to not discriminate with
respect to lending, employment, and
other services provided. The OTS rule,
formerly found at 12 CFR part 528 (part
528), was transferred to the FDIC with
only technical changes and is now
found in the FDIC’s rules at part 390,
subpart G, entitled ‘‘Nondiscrimination
Requirements.’’
II. The Proposal
A. Removal of Part 390, Subpart G,
Nondiscrimination Requirements
On September 25, 2020, the FDIC
published a notice of proposed
rulemaking (NPR or ‘‘proposal’’)
regarding the removal of part 390,
subpart G (85 FR 60389). Although few
provisions of part 390, subpart G, have
a direct counterpart within the FDIC’s
regulations, the provisions are largely
duplicative of regulations implementing
Federal laws (Equal Credit Opportunity
Act (ECOA), Fair Housing Act (FHA),
Equal Employment Opportunity Act
(EEOA), and other laws concerning
nondiscrimination in lending,
employment, and services)
implemented by other agencies.
Regarding the functions of the former
OTS that were transferred to the FDIC,
section 316(b)(3) of the Dodd-Frank
Act 9 provides that the former OTS
regulations will be enforceable by the
FDIC until they are modified,
terminated, set aside, or superseded in
accordance with applicable law. After
careful review of part 390, subpart G,
the FDIC, as the appropriate Federal
banking agency for State savings
associations, proposed to rescind and
remove part 390, subpart G, in its
entirety, because, as discussed in the
NPR, it is duplicative, unnecessary, and
burdensome to require State savings
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8083Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 21 / Wednesday, February 3, 2021 / Rules and Regulations
10 12 U.S.C. 1813(b)(3).
11 The poster is available to both insured State
nonmember banks and State savings associations.
Moreover, the current CRC mailing address is
correctly stated in FDIC regulations applicable to
State savings associations. 12 CFR 390.146.
12 Currently, the mailing address for the
Consumer Response Center (1100 Walnut St., Box
#11 Kansas City, MO 64106) is provided at https://
www.fdic.gov/consumers/assistance/
filecomplaint.html. Since May 31, 2012, Regulation
B has required the use of that address in adverse
action notices, as applicable. See Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Final
Rule, Equal Credit Opportunity, 76 FR 31451 (Jun.
1, 2011).
associations to comply with additional
requirements to which insured State
nonmember banks are not subject. The
FDIC received no comments on the
proposal to rescind and remove part
390, subpart G.
For a statement of the rationale for
rescission and removal of each section
of subpart G, the reader is referred to the
fulsome explanations provided in the
NPR, which the FDIC references here as
the basis for finalizing the regulations as
proposed. In several instances, the
proposal to remove a specific section of
subpart G was coupled with a proposed
amendment to part 338 of the FDIC’s
regulations. These amendments are also
discussed below.
B. Amendments to Part 338 Fair
Housing
The FDIC’s part 338, Fair Housing,
applies to insured State nonmember
banks and addresses discrimination in
advertising and recordkeeping
requirements under ECOA and the
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
The FDIC proposed to make technical
conforming edits to part 338 to
encompass State savings associations
and update the regulation. In short, the
FDIC proposed to: (1) Revise § 338.1 to
reflect that the advertising provisions of
subpart A apply to State savings
associations and their subsidiaries, to
conform to and reflect the scope of
FDIC’s current supervisory
responsibilities as the appropriate
Federal banking agency for State savings
associations; (2) in § 338.2, add a
defined term ‘‘FDIC-supervised
institution,’’ defined to mean ‘‘either a
bank [defined in § 338.2(a) to mean ‘‘an
insured State nonmember bank as
defined in section 3 of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act’’] or a State
savings association’’; (3) add a new
subsection to define ‘‘State savings
association’’ as having ‘‘the same
meaning as in section 3(b)(3) of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act;’’ 10 (4)
make conforming technical edits
throughout, including replacing the
term ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’ or
‘‘institution’’ in place of ‘‘bank’’
throughout the rule where necessary
and revising references to the FRB’s 12
CFR parts 202 and 203 throughout part
338 to refer to the Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection’s (CFPB) 12 CFR
parts 1002 and 1003, respectively; and
(5) amend § 338.4 to update the text
required for the Equal Housing Lender
poster to the correct address for the
FDIC Consumer Response Center. The
FDIC received no comments on the
proposal to amend part 338.
The Supplementary Information
section of this final rule sets forth the
rationales for the amendments to the
FDIC’s regulations located in part 338
because, as proposed, the final rule
revises FDIC regulations that will
remain in place, albeit in an amended
form.
1. Section 338.1—Purpose
Section 338.1 states that its purposes
are to prohibit insured State nonmember
banks from engaging in discriminatory
advertising with regard to residential
real estate-related transactions and
require them to publicly display either
the Equal Housing Lender poster set
forth in § 338.4(b) of the FDIC’s
regulations or the Equal Housing
Opportunity poster prescribed in 24
CFR part 110 in HUD’s regulations. The
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.1 to
change references to ‘‘insured State
nonmember banks’’ to refer to ‘‘FDIC-
supervised institutions’’ to reflect that
§ 338.1 applies to all institutions for
which the FDIC is the appropriate
Federal banking agency.
2. Section 338.2—Definitions
Applicable to This Subpart
Section 338.2 defines terms used in
subpart A of part 338, including the
term ‘‘bank’’ defined in § 338.2(a) to
mean ‘‘an insured state nonmember
bank as defined in section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act.’’ The
FDIC proposed to add a new defined
term ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’
meaning a bank or a State savings
association to § 338.2(c) and to add to
§ 338.2(f), a new defined term ‘‘State
savings association’’ having ‘‘the same
meaning as in section (3)(b)(3) of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12
U.S.C. 1813(b)(3).’’ The FDIC also
proposed to make conforming technical
edits to other subsections in § 338.2 to
reflect the re-ordering of definitions.
3. Section 338.3—Nondiscriminatory
Advertising
Section 338.3 provides certain
requirements with respect to dwelling-
related advertisements to reflect the
bank’s nondiscrimination lending
practice and prohibits such
advertisements from including ‘‘words,
symbols, models, or other forms of
communication which express, imply,
or suggest a discriminatory preference
or policy of exclusion in violation of the
provisions of the FHA or ECOA. To
reflect that § 338.3 applies to all
institutions for which the FDIC is the
appropriate Federal banking agency, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.3 to
change references to ‘‘bank’’ to refer to
‘‘FDIC-supervised institution.’’
4. Section 338.4—Fair Housing Poster
Section 338.4(a) requires insured
State nonmember banks engaged in
extending dwelling-related loans to
conspicuously display either an Equal
Housing Lender poster or an Equal
Housing Opportunity poster ‘‘in a
central location within the bank where
deposits are received or where such
loans are made in a manner clearly
visible to the general public entering the
area, where the poster is displayed.’’
This requirement is substantially similar
to the requirement in § 390.146 for State
savings associations to display an Equal
Housing Lender poster, which the FDIC
proposed to rescind and remove. To
reflect that § 338.4(a) applies to all
institutions for which the FDIC is the
appropriate Federal banking agency, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.4(a) to
change references to ‘‘insured State
nonmember banks’’ to refer to ‘‘FDIC-
supervised institutions.’’
Section 338.4(b) sets forth the
required text of the FDIC’s Equal
Housing Lender poster, including the
former mailing address of the FDIC’s
Consumer Response Center (CRC),
formatted as a Portable Document
Format (PDF) image. When the CRC
mailing address changed in 2011, the
FDIC made available to FDIC-supervised
institutions an Equal Housing Lender
poster with the correct address of the
CRC, both in English and in Spanish.11
However, because the CRC mailing
address may change in the future, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.4(b) to
reflect that the mailing address stated on
the Equal Housing Lender poster should
be the address for the CRC stated on the
FDIC’s website at www.fdic.gov.12
Furthermore, the FDIC proposed to set
forth the required text of the Equal
Housing Lender poster in § 338.4(b) as
a text statement rather than as a PDF
image.
To assist FDIC-supervised
institutions, the FDIC expects to
continue to provide them with access to
a poster stating the required text,
including the accurate CRC mailing
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10 12 U.S.C. 1813(b)(3).
11 The poster is available to both insured State
nonmember banks and State savings associations.
Moreover, the current CRC mailing address is
correctly stated in FDIC regulations applicable to
State savings associations. 12 CFR 390.146.
12 Currently, the mailing address for the
Consumer Response Center (1100 Walnut St., Box
#11 Kansas City, MO 64106) is provided at https://
www.fdic.gov/consumers/assistance/
filecomplaint.html. Since May 31, 2012, Regulation
B has required the use of that address in adverse
action notices, as applicable. See Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Final
Rule, Equal Credit Opportunity, 76 FR 31451 (Jun.
1, 2011).
associations to comply with additional
requirements to which insured State
nonmember banks are not subject. The
FDIC received no comments on the
proposal to rescind and remove part
390, subpart G.
For a statement of the rationale for
rescission and removal of each section
of subpart G, the reader is referred to the
fulsome explanations provided in the
NPR, which the FDIC references here as
the basis for finalizing the regulations as
proposed. In several instances, the
proposal to remove a specific section of
subpart G was coupled with a proposed
amendment to part 338 of the FDIC’s
regulations. These amendments are also
discussed below.
B. Amendments to Part 338 Fair
Housing
The FDIC’s part 338, Fair Housing,
applies to insured State nonmember
banks and addresses discrimination in
advertising and recordkeeping
requirements under ECOA and the
Home Mortgage Disclosure Act (HMDA).
The FDIC proposed to make technical
conforming edits to part 338 to
encompass State savings associations
and update the regulation. In short, the
FDIC proposed to: (1) Revise § 338.1 to
reflect that the advertising provisions of
subpart A apply to State savings
associations and their subsidiaries, to
conform to and reflect the scope of
FDIC’s current supervisory
responsibilities as the appropriate
Federal banking agency for State savings
associations; (2) in § 338.2, add a
defined term ‘‘FDIC-supervised
institution,’’ defined to mean ‘‘either a
bank [defined in § 338.2(a) to mean ‘‘an
insured State nonmember bank as
defined in section 3 of the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act’’] or a State
savings association’’; (3) add a new
subsection to define ‘‘State savings
association’’ as having ‘‘the same
meaning as in section 3(b)(3) of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act;’’ 10 (4)
make conforming technical edits
throughout, including replacing the
term ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’ or
‘‘institution’’ in place of ‘‘bank’’
throughout the rule where necessary
and revising references to the FRB’s 12
CFR parts 202 and 203 throughout part
338 to refer to the Bureau of Consumer
Financial Protection’s (CFPB) 12 CFR
parts 1002 and 1003, respectively; and
(5) amend § 338.4 to update the text
required for the Equal Housing Lender
poster to the correct address for the
FDIC Consumer Response Center. The
FDIC received no comments on the
proposal to amend part 338.
The Supplementary Information
section of this final rule sets forth the
rationales for the amendments to the
FDIC’s regulations located in part 338
because, as proposed, the final rule
revises FDIC regulations that will
remain in place, albeit in an amended
form.
1. Section 338.1—Purpose
Section 338.1 states that its purposes
are to prohibit insured State nonmember
banks from engaging in discriminatory
advertising with regard to residential
real estate-related transactions and
require them to publicly display either
the Equal Housing Lender poster set
forth in § 338.4(b) of the FDIC’s
regulations or the Equal Housing
Opportunity poster prescribed in 24
CFR part 110 in HUD’s regulations. The
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.1 to
change references to ‘‘insured State
nonmember banks’’ to refer to ‘‘FDIC-
supervised institutions’’ to reflect that
§ 338.1 applies to all institutions for
which the FDIC is the appropriate
Federal banking agency.
2. Section 338.2—Definitions
Applicable to This Subpart
Section 338.2 defines terms used in
subpart A of part 338, including the
term ‘‘bank’’ defined in § 338.2(a) to
mean ‘‘an insured state nonmember
bank as defined in section 3 of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act.’’ The
FDIC proposed to add a new defined
term ‘‘FDIC-supervised institution’’
meaning a bank or a State savings
association to § 338.2(c) and to add to
§ 338.2(f), a new defined term ‘‘State
savings association’’ having ‘‘the same
meaning as in section (3)(b)(3) of the
Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12
U.S.C. 1813(b)(3).’’ The FDIC also
proposed to make conforming technical
edits to other subsections in § 338.2 to
reflect the re-ordering of definitions.
3. Section 338.3—Nondiscriminatory
Advertising
Section 338.3 provides certain
requirements with respect to dwelling-
related advertisements to reflect the
bank’s nondiscrimination lending
practice and prohibits such
advertisements from including ‘‘words,
symbols, models, or other forms of
communication which express, imply,
or suggest a discriminatory preference
or policy of exclusion in violation of the
provisions of the FHA or ECOA. To
reflect that § 338.3 applies to all
institutions for which the FDIC is the
appropriate Federal banking agency, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.3 to
change references to ‘‘bank’’ to refer to
‘‘FDIC-supervised institution.’’
4. Section 338.4—Fair Housing Poster
Section 338.4(a) requires insured
State nonmember banks engaged in
extending dwelling-related loans to
conspicuously display either an Equal
Housing Lender poster or an Equal
Housing Opportunity poster ‘‘in a
central location within the bank where
deposits are received or where such
loans are made in a manner clearly
visible to the general public entering the
area, where the poster is displayed.’’
This requirement is substantially similar
to the requirement in § 390.146 for State
savings associations to display an Equal
Housing Lender poster, which the FDIC
proposed to rescind and remove. To
reflect that § 338.4(a) applies to all
institutions for which the FDIC is the
appropriate Federal banking agency, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.4(a) to
change references to ‘‘insured State
nonmember banks’’ to refer to ‘‘FDIC-
supervised institutions.’’
Section 338.4(b) sets forth the
required text of the FDIC’s Equal
Housing Lender poster, including the
former mailing address of the FDIC’s
Consumer Response Center (CRC),
formatted as a Portable Document
Format (PDF) image. When the CRC
mailing address changed in 2011, the
FDIC made available to FDIC-supervised
institutions an Equal Housing Lender
poster with the correct address of the
CRC, both in English and in Spanish.11
However, because the CRC mailing
address may change in the future, the
FDIC proposed to amend § 338.4(b) to
reflect that the mailing address stated on
the Equal Housing Lender poster should
be the address for the CRC stated on the
FDIC’s website at www.fdic.gov.12
Furthermore, the FDIC proposed to set
forth the required text of the Equal
Housing Lender poster in § 338.4(b) as
a text statement rather than as a PDF
image.
To assist FDIC-supervised
institutions, the FDIC expects to
continue to provide them with access to
a poster stating the required text,
including the accurate CRC mailing
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