February 20, 2020 / Source: FDIC

Press Releases

FDIC Seeks Information on How to Modernize Signage and Advertising Requirements

New standards considered to reflect developments in banking, prevent fraud, avoid consumer confusion

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
February 19, 2020

Media contact:
Brian Sullivan
[email protected]
(202) 898-6534

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) today announced that it is seeking the public's input on potential modernization of its signage and advertising requirements to better reflect how banks and savings associations currently operate and how consumers use banking services. Banks are transforming their business models to take deposits via physical branches, digital, and mobile banking channels. Given the changes in the marketplace since the FDIC last significantly updated these rules in 2006, the FDIC is gathering public input from a broad range of stakeholders about how it might revise and clarify its official sign and advertising rules to reflect the changes and support the industry's efforts to understand, apply, and comply with the FDIC's rules. Comments to FDIC's Request for Information must be received by March 19, 2020.

Every FDIC-insured bank or savings institution is required to display the FDIC's official sign and advertise in a manner that clearly communicates they are FDIC-insured. FDIC deposit insurance is fundamental to assuring depositors that their money is protected if their bank fails. Since Congress established the FDIC nearly 90 years ago, no depositor has lost a single penny of insured deposits.

“The way banks operate today and the way people use those banks is changing, and so must we,” said FDIC Chairman Jelena McWilliams. “To keep pace with the marketplace, we are exploring new signage and advertising requirements for the FDIC logo.”

In addition to modernizing these signage and advertising standards, the FDIC is considering ways to prevent situations where consumers may have difficulty determining whether they are dealing with a bank or savings association that is backed by FDIC insurance. In some cases, there may be potential for consumer confusion or misleading or fraudulent representations that can lead to consumer harm.

Visit the FDIC's website to find your bank so you can be certain your money is protected in the unlikely event your bank or savings institution should fail.

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's banks and savings associations, 5,256 as of September 30, 2019. It promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed. The FDIC receives no federal tax dollars—insured financial institutions fund its operations.

FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet at www.fdic.gov, by subscription electronically (go to www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/index.html) and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or 703-562-2200). PR-14-2020