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District Circular Letters

December 31, 1999

BANKING SUPERVISION AND REGULATION: FAIR CREDIT REPORTING ACT (FCRA)

To State Member Banks,
U.S. Branches and Agencies of Foreign Banks
in the Twelfth Federal Reserve District

Examinations for Compliance with the Fair Credit Reporting Act

The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act enacted on November 11, 1999, contains a provision [Section 506(a)(1)] that removes the prohibition against conducting routine Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) examinations. Effective immediately, Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco examiners will resume routine reviews of FCRA compliance.

Consumer compliance examiners will use the new examination procedures for the FCRA which were recommended by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council and subsequently adopted by the Board. These procedures incorporate amendments to the FCRA due to the Economic Growth and Regulatory Paperwork Reduction Act of 1996. The purposes of the FCRA, as amended, include the following:

  • to regulate aspects of the consumer reporting industry;
  • place disclosure obligations on users of consumer reports;
  • establish requirements applicable to the furnishing of information to consumer reporting agencies; and
  • to require timely responses to consumer inquiries regarding information maintained by consumer reporting agencies.

The FCRA places restrictions on the use of consumer reports and, in certain instances, requires the deletion of information from them.

Copies

Copies of the examination procedures are available from our Corporate Services Department. To request copies to be sent via mail, please call (415) 974-2060. To request copies to be sent via fax, please call (415) 974-3333, and specify (for the amended Fair Credit Reporting Act) document number 4198. Board notices are also available via the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Internet site, at http://www.frbsf.org/banking/bsr/regletters/.

Additional Information

For additional information regarding the FCRA or examination procedures, please contact Mr. Gregory Imm, Consumer Compliance Liaison, at (415) 974-2953, or Ms. Christiane Price, Consumer Compliance Liaison, at (415) 974-2955, both of our Banking Supervision and Regulation Department.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO