Question: We are going to send out a multipage advertisement that catalogs our many services. It will be in print and electronic versions. Is this form of advertising a single advertisement?
Answer
This is a relatively common form of advertising among financial institutions.
If a catalog or other multipage advertisement, or electronic advertisement (such as an advertisement appearing on an Internet Web site), that contains a trigger term gives information in a table or schedule in sufficient detail to permit determination of the required advertising disclosures, it will be considered a single advertisement if the table or schedule is clearly and conspicuously set forth and any statement of trigger terms appearing anywhere throughout the advertisement clearly refers to the page or location where the table or schedule begins. [12 CFR § 226.16(c)(1); 12 CFR Supplement I to part 226–Official Staff Commentary § 226.16(c)(1)-1]
Therefore, any statement of the finance charge or any other term that must appear in the account opening disclosures (as set forth in Regulation Z, section 226.6) appearing anywhere in the advertisement must clearly refer to the page or location where the table or schedule begins. [12 CFR § 226.16(c)(1)]
As an example, for an online advertisement, any statement of the finance charge or any other term that must appear in the account opening disclosures (as set forth in Regulation Z, section 226.6) that appears anywhere in the advertisement could be accompanied by a link that takes the consumer to the table or schedule containing the additional information. [12 CFR Supplement I to part 226–Official Staff Commentary § 226.16(c)(1)-2]
Jonathan Foxx, Ph.D., MBA, is the Chairman and Managing Director of Lenders Compliance Group, the first and only full-service, mortgage risk management firm in the United States, specializing exclusively in outsourced mortgage compliance and offering a suite of services in residential mortgage banking for banks and non-banks. Information contained in this article is not intended to be and is not a source of legal advice. If you would like to contribute a question, please submit it to [email protected].
