FDIC Issues A Proposed Rule To Modernize the Use of the FDIC Official Sign and Advertising Statement and to Clarify its Regulations Regarding False Advertising, Misrepresentations About Insured Status, and Misuse of the FDIC’s Name or Logo

For Release

WASHINGTON – The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Board of Directors today issued for public comment a proposed rule to amend part 328 of its regulations to modernize the rules governing use of the official FDIC sign and advertising statements and clarify the FDIC’s regulations regarding misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage.

“The FDIC last made major amendments to the official sign and advertising statement rules in 2006,” said Acting Chairman Gruenberg.  “The revisions are intended to extend the certainty and confidence provided by the FDIC official sign found at bank branch teller windows to digital channels, such as bank websites and mobile applications, through which depositors are increasingly handling their banking needs.”

Among other things, the rule would modernize requirements for display of the FDIC official sign. The proposed changes would also require the use of signs that differentiate insured deposits from non-deposit products across banking channels and disclose to consumers that certain financial products are not insured by the FDIC, are not deposits, and may lose value .

In addition, the proposed rule would clarify the FDIC’s regulations regarding misrepresentations of deposit insurance coverage by addressing specific scenarios where persons or entities provide information to consumers that may be misleading and confuse consumers as to whether they are doing business with a bank and whether their funds are protected by deposit insurance.  For example, the proposed rule would clarify that FDIC-associated terms or images may not be used in marketing and advertising materials to imply or represent that any uninsured financial product is insured or guaranteed by the FDIC.

As Acting Chairman Gruenberg noted, “Next year, 2023, will mark the 90th anniversary of the FDIC.  This timely proposal would bring the certainty, safety, and confidence historically provided by the FDIC sign and FDIC insurance to today’s varied banking channels, including digital banking.”