(b) Restriction. A standby letter of credit issued by an insured State nonmember bank shall be combined with all other standby letters of credit and all loans for purposes of applying any legal limitation on loans of the bank (including limitations on loans to any one borrower, on loans to affiliates of the bank, or on aggregate loans); Provided, however, That if such standby letter of credit is subject to separate limitation under applicable State or federal law, then the separate limitation shall apply in lieu of the loan limitation. 2

(c) Exceptions. All standby letters of credit shall be subject to the provisions of paragraph (b) of this section except where:

(1) Prior to or at the time of issuance, the issuing bank is paid an amount equal to the bank's maximum liability under the standby letter of credit; or,

(2) Prior to or at the time of issuance, the issuing bank has set aside sufficient funds in a segregated deposit account, clearly earmarked for that purpose, to cover the bank's maximum liability under the standby letter of credit.

(d) Disclosure. Each insured State nonmember bank must maintain adequate control and subsidiary records of its standby letters of credit comparable to the records maintained in connection with the bank's direct loans so that at all times the bank's potential liability thereunder and the bank's compliance with this § 337.2 may be readily determined. In addition, all such standby letters of credit must be adequately reflected on the bank's published financial statements.

transaction or series of similar transactions. A waiver may be granted at the discretion of the Board upon a showing of good cause. All such petitions should be filed with the Office of the Executive Secretary, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, 550 17th Street, NW., Washington, D.C. 20429.

§ 337.11 Effect on other banking practices.

Nothing in this part shall be construed as restricting in any manner the Corporation's authority to deal with any banking practice which is deemed to be unsafe or unsound or otherwise not in accordance with law, rule, or regulation; or which violates any condition imposed in writing by the Corporation in connection with the granting of any application or other request by an insured State nonmember bank, or any written agreement entered into by such bank with the Corporation. Compliance with the provisions of this part shall not relieve an insured State nonmember bank from its duty to conduct its operations in a safe and sound manner nor prevent the Corporation from taking whatever action it deems necessary and desirable to deal with specific acts or practices which, although they do not violate the provisions of this part, are considered detrimental to the safety and sound operation of the bank engaged therein.

AUTHORITY: Sec. 2, Pub. L. 86-671, 74 Stat. 547 (12 U.S.C. 1817); sec. 8, Pub. L. 797, 64 Stat. 879, as amended by sec. 202, 204, Pub. L. 89-695, 80 Stat. 1046, 1054, and sec. 110, Pub. L. 93-495, 88 Stat. 1506 (12 U.S.C. 1818); sec. 9, Pub. L. 797, 64 Stat. 881, as amended by sec. 205, Pub. L. 89-695, 80 Stat. 1055 (12 U.S.C. 1819); sec. 203, Pub. L. 89695, 80 Stat. 1053 (12 U.S.C. 1920(b)); sec. 805, Pub. L. 90-284, 82 Stat. 83, 84, as amended by sec. 808, Pub. L. 93-383, 88 Stat. 729 (42 U.S.C. 3605, 3608); sec. 501, Pub. L. 93-495, 88 Stat. 1521, as amended by sec. 2,

Pub. L. 94-239, 90 Stat. 251 (15 U.S.C. 1691, et seq.); 40 FR 49306, 12 CFR Part 202; 37 FR 3429, 24 CFR Part 110.

SOURCE: 43 FR 11563, Mar. 20, 1978, unless otherwise noted.

§ 338.1 Definitions.

a natural

(a) "Applicant" means person, including a coapplicant, who makes an application.

(b) "Application" means a written, or an oral in-person,' request for a home loan by a natural person which is receive on a bank's premises by any person at the bank who customarily receives or is authorized to received such requests.

(c) "Bank" means an insured State nonmember bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act.

(d) "Controlled entity" means a corporation, partnership, association, or other business entity with respect to which a bank possesses, directly or indirectly, the power to direct or cause the direction of management and policies, whether through the ownership of voting securities, by contract or otherwise.

(e) "Dwelling" means any building, structure (including a mobile home), or portion thereof which is occupied as, or designed or intended for occupancy as, a residence by one or more natural persons and any vacant land which is offered for sale or lease for the construction or location thereon of any such building, structure or portion thereof.

(f) "Home loan" means any extension of credit relating to:

(1) The purchase or construction of or the refinancing for a dwelling which is or will be comprised of one to four residential units, at least one of which the applicant intends to occupy as a principal residence, and which secures or will secure the extension of credit; or

(2) The improvement, repair or maintenance of a dwelling which is comprised of one to four residential units, at least one of which the applicant intends to occupy as a principal

'Telephone communications are excluded.

residence, and which secures or will secure the extension of credit.

(g) "Inquirer" means a natural person who makes an inquiry.

(h) "Inquiry" means a written, or an oral in-person,' request for information about the terms of a home loan by a natural person on his behalf which is received on a bank's premises by any person at the bank who customarily receives or is authorized to receive such requests.

§ 338.2 Nondiscriminatory advertising.

(a) Any bank which directly or through third parties engages in any form of advertising of loans for the purpose of purchasing, constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling shall prominently indicate in such advertisement, in a manner appropriate to the advertising medium and format utilized, that the bank makes such loans without regard to race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.

(1) With respect to written and visual advertisement, this requirement may be satisfied by including in the advertisement a facsimile of the logotype with the Equal Housing Lender legend contained in the Equal Housing Lender Poster prescribed in § 338.3(b). (2) With respect to oral advertisement, this requirement may be satisfied by a statement, in the spoken text of the advertisement, that the bank is an "Equal Housing Lender."

(3) When an oral advertisement is used in conjunction with a written or visual advertisement, the use of either of the methods specified in subparagraphs (1) and (2) will satisfy the requirements of this paragraph (a).

(b) No advertisement shall contain any words, symbols, models or other forms of communication which express, imply, or suggest a discriminatory preference or policy of exclusion in violation of the provisions of the Fair Housing Act or the Equal Credit Opportunity Act.

§ 338.3 Equal housing lender poster.

(a) Each bank engaged in extending loans for the purpose of purchasing,

constructing, improving, repairing, or maintaining a dwelling shall conspicuously display an Equal Housing Lender Poster in any public lobby and area within the bank where deposits are received or where such loans are

made in a manner clearly visible to the general public entering such areas.

(b) The Equal Housing Lender Poster shall be at least 11 by 14 inches in size and have the following text:

(G) Location (street address, city, state, and zip code) of property being purchased, constructed, improved, repaired, or maintained.

(ii) Collection of data. No bank shall engage in any activity which discourages an applicant or inquirer from providing the information in paragraph (a)(1)(i) of this section. Each bank shall attempt to collect the information in the subparagraph during the initial contact with the inquirer or applicant. If the applicant or inquirer refuses to furnish all or part of this information, the bank shall note the fact or have the applicant or inquirer

"These records are to be retained for the purpose of monitoring compliance and may not be used for the purpose of extending or denying credit or fixing credit terms where prohibited by law.

note the fact on the form used for recording the information. If the information regarding the race and sex is not voluntarily furnished, the bank shall, on the basis of visual observations or surnames, separately note the information on the form or an attached document.

(2) A bank which has an office in an SMSA and which had total assets exceeding $10 million as of December 31 of the preceding calendar year shall request and retain the following information: 4

(i) Data on home loan inquirers and applicants.

(A) Name.

(B) Address.

(C) Race/national origin, using the categories American Indian or Alaskan Native; Asian or Pacific Islander; Black; Hispanic; White; or Other (Specify).

(D) Sex.

(E) Marital status, using the categories married, unmarried, and separated.

(F) Age.

(G) Location (street address, city, State, and zip code) of property being purchased, constructed, improved, repaired, or maintained.

(ii) Additional data on applications for home loans.

(A) Other characteristics of applicants.

(1) Employment. (i) Number of years employed in present line of work or profession.

(ii) Self-employed-Yes or No.

(iii) Years on Present Job-(Number of continuous years employed by the current employer. For self-employed persons, the number of continuous years self-employed. If a person is not employed, record as zero years.)

'Except for census tract information in paragraph (a)(2)(ii)(B)(5), all information is listed on the Residential Loan Application Form contained in Appendix B of Regulation B of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (12 CFR Part 202, Appendix B). The information may be recorded on the Regulation B model Residential Loan Application Form or on one or more existing form or forms used by the bank.