The federal
bank, thrift, and credit union regulatory agencies today issued final rules
under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) that create exceptions to the statutory prohibition against
obtaining or using medical information in connection with credit eligibility
determinations. The final rules, which
are substantially identical to the interim final rules issued by the agencies
in June 2005, also address the sharing of medically related information among
affiliates.
The effective date for these final
rules is April 1, 2006.
Section 411
of the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 (FACT Act) amended the
FCRA to provide that a creditor may not obtain or use medical information in
connection with any determination of a consumers eligibility, or continued
eligibility, for credit, except as permitted by regulations. The FACT Act requires the agencies to
prescribe regulations that permit creditors to obtain and use medical
information for credit eligibility purposes when necessary and appropriate to protect
legitimate operational, transactional, risk, consumer, and other needs. The proposed rules were published for
comment on April 28, 2004 and interim final rules were adopted by the agencies
on June 10, 2005.
The final
rules issued today permit creditors to obtain and use medical information that
is typically considered in credit underwriting. Under the final rules, all creditors can rely upon the exceptions
for obtaining and using medical information.
Section 411
of the FACT Act also amended the FCRA to limit the ability of creditors and
others to share medically related information among affiliates, except as
permitted by the statute, regulation, or order. The final rules specify the circumstances in which certain
creditors may share medically related information among affiliates without
becoming consumer reporting agencies.
The final
rules are being issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System,
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, National Credit Union Administration,
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of Thrift
Supervision. The rules of each agency
are substantively identical.
The Federal Register notice is attached.
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Attachment
Media Contacts:
Federal Reserve Susan
Stawick (202) 452-2955
FDIC David Barr (202) 898-6992
NCUA Cherie Umbel (703) 518-6330
OCC Dean DeBuck (202)
874-5770
OTS Erin Hickman (202) 906-6913