Websites in the Crosshairs: Top 5 compliance mistakes financial institutions make

by AffirmX

by. Coppelia Padgett

As vital as websites are for financial institutions, they are becoming high-profile targets, not just for regulators, but for industry watchdogs and consumer advocate groups. Yes, balancing an effective website and a compliant website is a difficult task. However, we’ve put together a list of the five most common website compliance mistakes we see to help your institution improve the compliance aspect of its website.

1. Not defining the advertisement’s terms.

We find this error all the time and it has to do with Regulation Z (or Truth in Lending). There are too many possible Reg. Z mistakes to cover here, but the most frequently recurring error we see is failing to define important or potentially misleading terms in advertisements. These errors are especially common on promotional or seasonal advertisements.

Too often we see:

  • Claims that aren’t substantiated
  • The use of teaser rates
  • Asterisks that don’t add up or are missing

These errors are especially significant given their potential UDAAP impact. You must apply the same level of scrutiny to your website as you do for your print advertising, because the same rules and restrictions apply. Carefully review your all your advertisements, including seasonal or promotional ads, for undefined or misleading terms. When in doubt, disclose!

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