Circular
Regulation B -- Equal Credit Opportunity
January 13, 1997
Circular No. 10910

-- Comments Invited by January 31 on Proposed Revisions

-- Withdrawal of Proposal on Collection of Race
and Other Data in Credit Transactions

To All Depository Institutions and Others Concerned in the Second Federal Reserve District:

Proposed Revisions

The following is from a statement issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System:

The Federal Reserve Board has published for public comment proposed revisions to its Regulation B, Equal Credit Opportunity.

Comment is requested by January 31, 1997.

The proposed revisions would implement recent changes in the Equal Credit Opportunity Act that create a legal privilege for information developed by creditors as a result of "self-tests" that they voluntarily conduct to determine the level of their compliance with the Act. The Board expects to publish a final rule in March 1997 that would become effective 30 days later.

Printed on the following pages is the text of the Boards proposal, as published in the Federal Register of January 2. Comments thereon should be submitted by January 31, 1997 and may be sent to the Board as specified in the notice, or to this Bank's Compliance Examinations Department.

Withdrawal of Proposal

The following is also from a statement issued by the Board of Governors: The Federal Reserve Board has withdrawn a proposed amendment to Regulation B, Equal Credit Opportunity, relating to the collection of race and other data in credit transactions.

The proposed amendments would have eliminated a rule that generally bars creditors from asking about sex, race, color, religion, and national origin. Under the proposal, creditors would have been allowed but not required to collect this information for all types of nonmortgage credit applications.

In withdrawing the proposal, the Board stated its belief that the issue was one that is best left for Congress to consider.

The Board's withdrawal notice, as published in the Federal Register of December 30, 1996, is available as a (pdf) file.

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