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VOLUME 71 • NUMBER 2 • FEBRUARY 1985 FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN BOARD OF GOVERNORS OF THE FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM, WASHINGTON, D.C. PUBLICATIONS COMMITTEE Joseph R. Coyne, Chairman • Stephen H. Axilrod • Michael Bradfield • S. David Frost • Griffith L. Garwood • James L. Kichline • Edwin M. Truman Naomi P. Salus, Coordinator The FEDERAL RESERVE BULLETIN is issued monthly under the direction of the staff publications committee. This committee is responsible for opinions expressed except in official statements and signed articles. It is assisted by the Economic Editing Unit headed by Mendelle T. Berenson, the Graphic Communications Section under the direction of Peter G. Thomas, and Publications Services. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Table of Contents 75 REGULATORY RESPONSES TO CHANGES Admission of eight state banks to member- IN THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL ship in the Federal Reserve System. SERVICES INDUSTR Y The Board's actions to remove require- 92 RECORD OF POLICY ACTIONS OF THE ments that might hinder the financial ser- FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE vices industry's implementation of a prod- uct or service and regulatory revisions to At its meeting on November 7, 1984, the maintain the consumer protections intended Committee adopted a directive that called by the Congress are discussed. for a somewhat reduced degree of restraint on reserve positions. The members expect- ed such an approach to policy implementa- 82 TREASURY AND FEDERAL RESERVE tion to continue to be consistent with FOREIGN EXCHANGE OPERATIONS.- growth of M2 and M3 at annual rates of INTERIM REPORT about IVi and 9 percent respectively as During the three-month period from August established at the early October meeting for through October, the dollar continued to the period from September to December. advance from the levels reached in midsum- Given the appreciable decline in Ml during mer. October, its growth over the three-month period was now expected to be at an annual rate of around 3 percent, down from the 6 85 INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION percent rate anticipated at the October Output rose 0.4 percent in November. meeting. The members recognized the vola- tility of this monetary measure and indicat- ed that more rapid growth would be accept- 87 ANNOUNCEMENTS able for the quarter. Lesser restraint on Change in the discount rate. reserve conditions would be sought if the monetary aggregates grew significantly be- Appointment of new members to the Con- low expectations, evaluated in the context sumer Advisory Council. of the strength of the business expansion Financial results of priced services. and inflationary pressures, conditions in domestic and international financial mar- Schedule for final Board action on place- kets, and the rate of growth in domestic ment of third-party commercial paper. nonfinancial debt. Conversely, greater re- Extension of registration period for certain straint might be acceptable in the event of bank holding companies. substantially more rapid growth in the mon- etary aggregates than was currently expect- Proposed action. ed, provided such growth was associated Erratum in text of BULLETIN article. with evidence that economic activity and inflationary pressures were strengthening Publication of the seventh edition of The significantly. It was agreed that the inter- Federal Reserve System—Purposes and meeting range for the federal funds rate Functions. should be reduced by 1 percentage point to Changes in Board staff. 7 to 11 percent. Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 99 LEGAL DEVELOPMENTS A70 BOARD OF GOVERNORS AND STAFF Various bank holding company, bank ser- All FEDERAL OPEN MARKET COMMITTEE vice corporation, and bank merger orders; AND STAFF; ADVISORY COUNCILS and pending cases. A74 FEDERAL RESERVE BOARD Ai FINANCIAL AND BUSINESS STATISTICS PUBLICATIONS A3 Domestic Financial Statistics A45 Domestic Nonfinancial Statistics AH INDEX TO STATISTICAL TABLES A53 International Statistics A79 FEDERAL RESERVE BANKS, BRANCHES, A69 GUIDE TO TABULAR PRESENTATION, AND OFFICES STATISTICAL RELEASES, AND SPECIAL TABLES A80 MAP OF FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM \ Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Regulatory Responses to Changes in the Consumer Financial Services Industry Lynn C. Goldfaden and Gerald P. Hurst of the hinder the industry's implementation of a prod- Board's Division of Consumer and Community uct or service, and regulatory revisions to main- Affairs prepared this article. tain the consumer protections intended by the Congress. Not long ago, consumers made payments almost exclusively by check or cash. Increasingly, they are making payments electronically, using debit CHANGES IN THE CONSUMER FINANCIAL cards, personal computers, and telephones. In SER VICES IND US TR Y fact, in some areas of the country, most major financial transactions can be conducted without In the past, consumers had ready access to a cash or checks. Merchants, once the sole pur- limited number of financial products and services veyors of revolving credit, have been joined by a offered by a few providers. For example, in variety of financial service providers that offer many areas of the country, consumers seeking such credit by means of plastic cards. Further loans could apply to only a few lenders. Except complicating the picture, cards once used either for national retailers such as Sears Roebuck and for obtaining cash at automated teller machines Montgomery Ward, and a few national finance or for making purchases are now sometimes used companies, most creditors served only local mar- for both. The financial services industry is kets. Choices for checking and deposit services changing almost constantly as financial institu- also were limited. Financial institutions did not tions and relative newcomers to the industry solicit funds from consumers across the country, examine new technologies, explore new free- nor did they offer customers access to their doms afforded by deregulation, and create new deposits through any nationally dispersed sys- products and services for their customers. tem. In administering regulations that implement Today, consumers can choose among a wider the Truth in Lending Act, the Electronic Fund range of financial services through a variety of Transfer Act, and other consumer protection delivery systems. Many systems are electronic, statutes, the Federal Reserve Board is chal- using automated teller machines (ATMs) and lenged by these changes in technology, opera- personal computers. While consumers are con- tions, and product offerings. Rule writing under fronting an ever more complex array of financial these conditions is often a delicate balancing act. services, financial institutions, now paying mar- On the one hand, the Board works to avoid ket rates of interest on deposits, are facing the regulatory roadblocks to progress in the indus- challenge of pricing their consumer products to try; on the other, it must ensure that consumers recover the costs of providing these services. are protected as the statutes mandate. Variety will be one key characteristic of financial This article discusses the Board's recent services for consumers; increased costs for many rulewriting under Regulations Z and E to accom- consumers probably will be another. Consumers modate industry changes and explores some of increasingly will be required to pay for each the new and developing credit and noncredit service through explicit fees and charges. products that may require regulatory adjust- As products and services continue to grow in ments. The article focuses on two specific ef- number and complexity, consumers will face the forts: actions to remove requirements that may difficult task of choosing among them in an effort Digitized for FRASER http://fraser.stlouisfed.org/ Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis 76 Federal Reserve Bulletin • February 1985 to use those that best satisfy their purposes. As a interpretations of the Truth in Lending and Elec- result, consumers' needs for information will tronic Fund Transfer Acts. increase. They will want to assess the compara- tive costs as well as the legal protections they will have. In some cases, the consumer's access The Truth in Lending Act and Regulation Z to information about the products and their costs and the guarantee of desired protections are The Federal Reserve Board has primary rule- already ensured by existing provisions in Regula- writing authority for a number of federal consum- tions Z and E. In other cases, the information er protection statutes that affect consumer finan- and safeguards may not be legally ensured with- cial services. The first such authority to be out changes. The Board must balance the need assigned to the Board was under the Truth in for disclosures and protections with the need of Lending Act (TILA). The Board wrote the origi- the industry for freedom from impediments to nal Regulation Z to implement the act in 1969, progress. and simplified it in 1981 to reflect the Truth in Lending Simplification and Reform Act. As Reg- ulation Z states, the act's purpose is to "promote THE CHANGING REGULATORY the informed use of consumer credit by requiring ENVIRONMENT disclosures about its terms and cost." In addi- tion, the TILA protects consumers from unfair The regulatory environment has changed dra- practices in credit billing and in the use of credit matically in the past several years. The latter cards. part of the 1970s was marked