15 U.S.C. § 1631 — Disclosure requirements

Page 1476 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1631 1 See References in Text note below. PART B—CREDIT TRANSACTIONS § 1631. Disclosure requirements (a) Duty of creditor or lessor respecting one or more than one obligor Subject to subsection (b), a creditor or lessor shall disclose to the person who is obligated on a consumer lease or a consumer credit trans- action the information required under this sub- chapter. In a transaction involving more than one obligor, a creditor or lessor, except in a transaction under section 1635 of this title, need not disclose to more than one of such obligors if the obligor given disclosure is a primary obligor. (b) Creditor or lessor required to make disclo- sure If a transaction involves one creditor as de- fined in section 1602(f) 1 of this title, or one les- sor as defined in section 1667(3) of this title, such creditor or lessor shall make the disclosures. If a transaction involves more than one creditor or lessor, only one creditor or lessor shall by re- quired to make the disclosures. The Bureau shall by regulation specify which creditor or les- sor shall make the disclosures. (c) Estimates as satisfying statutory require- ments; basis of disclosure for per diem inter- est The Bureau may provide by regulation that any portion of the information required to be disclosed by this subchapter may be given in the form of estimates where the provider of such in- formation is not in a position to know exact in- formation. In the case of any consumer credit transaction a portion of the interest on which is determined on a per diem basis and is to be col- lected upon the consummation of such trans- action, any disclosure with respect to such por- tion of interest shall be deemed to be accurate for purposes of this subchapter if the disclosure is based on information actually known to the creditor at the time that the disclosure docu- ments are being prepared for the consummation of the transaction. (d) Tolerances for numerical disclosures The Bureau shall determine whether toler- ances for numerical disclosures other than the annual percentage rate are necessary to facili- tate compliance with this subchapter, and if it determines that such tolerances are necessary to facilitate compliance, it shall by regulation permit disclosures within such tolerances. The Bureau shall exercise its authority to permit tolerances for numerical disclosures other than the annual percentage rate so that such toler- ances are narrow enough to prevent such toler- ances from resulting in misleading disclosures or disclosures that circumvent the purposes of this subchapter. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 121, May 29, 1968, 82 Stat. 152; Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 307(c), (d), title IV, § 409, Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1516, 1519; Pub. L. 94–205, § 11, Jan. 2, 1976, 89 Stat. 1159; Pub. L. 96–221, title VI, § 611, Mar. 31, 1980, 94 Stat. 174; Pub. L. 104–29, § 3(b), Sept. 30, 1995, 109 Stat. 273; Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1100A(2), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2107.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 1602(f) of this title, referred to in subsec. (b), was redesignated section 1602(g) of this title by Pub. L. 111–203, title X, § 1100A(1)(A), July 21, 2010, 124 Stat. 2107. AMENDMENTS 2010—Subsecs. (b) to (d). Pub. L. 111–203 substituted ‘‘Bureau’’ for ‘‘Board’’ wherever appearing. 1995—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 104–29 inserted at end ‘‘In the case of any consumer credit transaction a portion of the interest on which is determined on a per diem basis and is to be collected upon the consummation of such transaction, any disclosure with respect to such portion of interest shall be deemed to be accurate for purposes of this subchapter if the disclosure is based on information actually known to the creditor at the time that the disclosure documents are being prepared for the consummation of the transaction.’’ 1980—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 96–221 substituted provi- sions respecting to which obligor duty of creditor or lessor, where one or more than one obligor is involved, is owed, for provisions setting forth clear and conspic- uous disclosure requirements for creditors to persons extended consumer credit. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 96–221 substituted provisions re- lating to disclosure requirements of creditor or lessor, for provisions relating to statement of information where more than one obligor is involved. Subsecs. (c), (d). Pub. L. 96–221 added subsecs. (c) and (d). 1976—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 94–205 struck out subsec. (c) which related to disclosure including a full statement of closing costs incurred and permitted estimates of such information where the lender was not in a posi- tion to know exact information. 1974—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 93–495, § 307(c), inserted ref- erence to part D of this subchapter and struck out ‘‘and upon whom a finance charge is or may be imposed’’ after ‘‘extended’’. Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 93–495, § 307(d), inserted reference to part D of this subchapter. Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 93–495, § 409, added subsec (c). Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2010 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 111–203 effective on the des- ignated transfer date, see section 1100H of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as a note under section 552a of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1980 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 96–221 effective on expiration of two years and six months after Mar. 31, 1980, with all regulations, forms, and clauses required to be pre- scribed to be promulgated at least one year prior to such effective date, and allowing any creditor to com- ply with any amendments, in accordance with the regu- lations, forms, and clauses prescribed by the Board prior to such effective date, see section 625 of Pub. L. 96–221, set out as a note under section 1602 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1976 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 94–205 effective Jan. 2, 1976, see section 12 of Pub. L. 94–205, set out as a note under section 2602 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1974 AMENDMENT For effective date of amendment by section 307(c), (d) of Pub. L. 93–495, see section 308 of Pub. L. 93–495, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1666 of this title. For effective date of amendment by section 409 of Pub. L. 93–495, see section 416 of Pub. L. 93–495, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1665a of this title. Page 1477 TITLE 15—COMMERCE AND TRADE § 1632 1 So in original. EFFECTIVE DATE Pub. L. 90–321, title V, § 504(b), May 29, 1968, 82 Stat. 167, provided in part that chapter 2 of title I, which en- acted sections 1631 to 1641 of this title, is effective July 1, 1969. REAL ESTATE SETTLEMENT PROCEDURES Provisions of Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974, as superseding provisions of subsec. (c) of this section insofar as applying to federally related mort- gage loans, see section 2605 of Title 12, Banks and Banking. § 1632. Form of disclosure; additional informa- tion (a) Information clearly and conspicuously dis- closed; ‘‘annual percentage rate’’ and ‘‘fi- nance charge’’; order of disclosures and use of different terminology Information required by this subchapter shall be disclosed clearly and conspicuously, in ac- cordance with regulations of the Bureau. The terms ‘‘annual percentage rate’’ and ‘‘finance charge’’ shall be disclosed more conspicuously than other terms, data, or information provided in connection with a transaction, except infor- mation relating to the identify of the creditor. Except as provided in subsection (c), regulations of the Bureau need not require that disclosures pursuant to this subchapter be made in the order set forth in this subchapter and, except as otherwise provided, may permit the use of ter- minology different from that employed in this subchapter if it conveys substantially the same meaning. (b) Optional information by creditor or lessor Any creditor or lessor may supply additional information or explanation with any disclosures required under parts D and E and, except as pro- vided in sections 1637a(b)(3) and 1638(b)(1) of this title, under this part. (c) Tabular format required for certain disclo- sures under section 1637(c) (1) In general The information described in paragraphs (1)(A), (3)(B)(i)(I), (4)(A), and (4)(C)(i)(I) of sec- tion 1637(c) of this title shall be— (A) disclosed in the form and manner which the Bureau shall prescribe by regula- tions; and (B) placed in a conspicuous and prominent location on or with any written application, solicitation, or other document or paper with respect to which such disclosure is re- quired. (2) Tabular format (A) Form of table to be prescribed In the regulations prescribed under para- graph (1)(A) of this subsection, the Bureau shall require that the disclosure of such in- formation shall, to the extent the Bureau de- termines to be practicable and appropriate, be in the form of a table which— (i) contains clear and concise headings for each item of such information; and (ii) provides a clear and concise form for stating each item of information required to be disclosed under each such heading. (B) Bureau discretion in prescribing order and wording of table In prescribing the form of the table under subparagraph (A), the Bureau may— (i) list the items required to be included in the table in a different order than the order in which such items are set forth in paragraph (1)(A) or (4)(A) of section 1637(c) of this title; and (ii) subject to subparagraph (C), employ terminology which is different than the terminology which is employed in section 1637(c) of this title if such terminology conveys substantially the same meaning. (C) Grace period Either the heading or the statement under the heading which relates to the time period referred to in section 1637(c)(1)(A)(iii) of this title shall contain the term ‘‘grace period’’. (d) Additional electronic disclosures (1) Posting agreements Each creditor shall establish and maintain an Internet site on which the creditor shall post the written agreement between the cred- itor and the consumer for each credit card ac- count under an open-end consumer credit plan. (2) Creditor to provide contracts to the Bureau Each creditor shall provide to the Bureau, in electronic format, the consumer credit card agreements that it publishes on its Internet site. (3) Record repository The Bureau shall establish and maintain on its publicly available Internet site a central repository of the consumer credit card agree- ments received from creditors pursuant to this subsection, and such agreements shall be eas- ily accessible and retrievable by the public. (4) Exception This subsection shall not apply to individ- ually negotiated changes to contractual terms, such as individually modified workouts or renegotiations of amounts owed by a con- sumer under an open end consumer credit plan. (5) Regulations The Bureau, in consultation with the other Federal banking agencies (as that term is de- fined in section 1681a of this title) and the Bu- reau,1 may promulgate regulations to imple- ment this subsection, including specifying the format for posting the agreements on the Internet sites of creditors and establishing ex- ceptions to paragraphs (1) and (2), in any case in which the administrative burden outweighs the benefit of increased transparency, such as where a credit card plan has a de minimis number of consumer account holders. (Pub. L. 90–321, title I, § 122, May 29, 1968, 82 Stat. 152; Pub. L. 93–495, title III, § 307(e), (f), Oct. 28, 1974, 88 Stat. 1516, 1517; Pub. L. 96–221, title VI, § 611, Mar. 31, 1980, 94 Stat. 175; Pub. L. 100–583, § 2(b), Nov. 3, 1988, 102 Stat. 2966; Pub. L. 100–709, § 2(d), Nov. 23, 1988, 102 Stat. 4731; Pub. L. 111–24,