Regulations index

Federal consumer-banking law is built from a small set of statutes, each implemented by a regulation that lives in Title 12 of the Code of Federal Regulations. Where the statute creates the right, the regulation describes how the right is exercised, what notices a bank must send, and what happens if the bank gets it wrong. This page lists the regulations referenced elsewhere on the site, in roughly the order a depositor or borrower is likely to encounter them.

Each entry gives the common name used in industry shorthand (for example, Reg E), the formal CFR citation, the underlying statute, the issuing or rule-writing agency, and a one-paragraph summary written in plain English. Where the same regulation is enforced by different agencies depending on the institution's charter, we note that. We have linked to eCFR.gov rather than to commercial republications because eCFR is updated daily and is the version that practitioners rely on.

This index is not a substitute for reading the regulations themselves. It exists so that a reader who encounters a citation on another page on this site can quickly find out what it is and where it sits in the broader system. For procedural detail, follow the link to the dedicated article.

Regulation D — Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions

Citation: 12 CFR Part 204. Statute: Federal Reserve Act §19. Agency: Federal Reserve Board.

Regulation D sets the reserve requirements that depository institutions must hold against transaction accounts. In March 2020 the Federal Reserve set the reserve requirement ratio to zero percent, which it has maintained since; the regulation continues to exist and continues to define the categories of deposit (transaction accounts, savings deposits, time deposits). The historical six-per-month transfer limit on savings accounts was a Regulation D provision and was suspended in April 2020. Cross-references: savings accounts; deposits, reserves, and money creation; the Federal Reserve, plainly.

Regulation E — Electronic Fund Transfers

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1005. Statute: Electronic Fund Transfer Act, 15 U.S.C. §1693 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Regulation E governs electronic transfers from consumer accounts — debit-card transactions, ACH debits, ATM withdrawals, peer-to-peer payments initiated from a bank account, and recurring payroll credits. It sets the rules for unauthorized-transaction liability (capped at $50 if the consumer notifies the bank within two business days), the error-resolution timeline (the bank must investigate within ten business days and provisionally credit the account if the investigation will take longer), the disclosures a bank must give before opening an account, and the opt-in requirement for overdraft service on one-time debit-card and ATM transactions. Cross-references: Regulation E in detail; disputing a fraudulent transaction; overdraft and overdraft protection.

Regulation CC — Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks

Citation: 12 CFR Part 229. Statute: Expedited Funds Availability Act, 12 U.S.C. §4001 et seq.; Check 21 Act, 12 U.S.C. §5001 et seq. Agency: Federal Reserve Board (rules), CFPB (consumer-facing portions).

Regulation CC tells a depositary bank how soon it must make deposited funds available for withdrawal, what categories of hold it may place, what notice it must give, and how check collection works behind the scenes. The dollar thresholds in §229.10 and §229.13 are adjusted for inflation every five years; the most recent adjustment took effect on July 1, 2025. Cross-references: Regulation CC in detail; holds on deposits; how checks clear.

Regulation Z — Truth in Lending

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1026. Statute: Truth in Lending Act, 15 U.S.C. §1601 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Regulation Z governs the disclosure of credit terms in consumer credit transactions — credit cards, closed-end mortgages, home equity lines of credit, personal loans, and most installment credit. It defines the annual percentage rate (APR) and how it must be calculated and disclosed, sets out the boxed "Schumer box" required on credit-card solicitations, requires periodic statements with specified disclosures, and provides the three-day right of rescission for most non-purchase-money mortgages secured by a principal dwelling. Cross-references: the Truth in Lending Act; credit cards, mechanically; APR versus APY.

Regulation DD — Truth in Savings

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1030. Statute: Truth in Savings Act, 12 U.S.C. §4301 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (for banks; NCUA issues a parallel rule for credit unions at 12 CFR Part 707).

Regulation DD requires depository institutions to disclose the annual percentage yield (APY), the interest rate, fees, and the terms applicable to deposit accounts in a uniform way, so a consumer can compare offerings without translating between bank-specific conventions. APY must be calculated using the formula in Appendix A. Periodic statements must show the APY earned, the interest paid, and any fees imposed during the cycle. Cross-references: Truth in Savings; APR versus APY; savings accounts.

Regulation BB — Community Reinvestment Act

Citation: 12 CFR Part 25 (OCC), Part 228 (Federal Reserve), Part 345 (FDIC). Statute: Community Reinvestment Act, 12 U.S.C. §2901 et seq. Agency: OCC, Federal Reserve, and FDIC, each for institutions they primarily supervise.

The Community Reinvestment Act requires that federally insured banks help meet the credit needs of the communities they serve, including low- and moderate-income neighborhoods, consistent with safe and sound operation. Regulators evaluate banks under the rule and publish performance ratings. A revised interagency rule was finalized in October 2023; portions have been the subject of ongoing litigation, and some provisions have been delayed or rescinded — confirm the current status before relying on a specific provision. Cross-references: big banks, community banks, and credit unions.

Regulation P — Privacy of Consumer Financial Information

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1016. Statute: Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, 15 U.S.C. §§6801–6809. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Regulation P implements the GLBA privacy rules. A financial institution must give consumers an initial privacy notice describing what information it collects, with whom it shares, and the consumer's right to opt out of certain sharing. It does not by itself limit information-sharing inside a bank's affiliated group; that is the province of the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Regulation V.

Regulation V — Fair Credit Reporting

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1022. Statute: Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (with the Federal Trade Commission retaining significant enforcement authority).

Regulation V implements the consumer-protection provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act: the consumer's right to obtain a free credit report from each nationwide credit reporting agency annually, the right to dispute inaccurate information and have it investigated within thirty days, accuracy duties on furnishers, and rules around risk-based pricing notices and adverse action notices when credit is denied. The FCRA also governs specialty consumer reporting agencies such as ChexSystems and Early Warning Services. Cross-references: how credit scoring works; ChexSystems and being denied an account.

Regulation B — Equal Credit Opportunity

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1002. Statute: Equal Credit Opportunity Act, 15 U.S.C. §1691 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Regulation B prohibits discrimination in any aspect of a credit transaction on the basis of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, marital status, age, receipt of public assistance, or the good-faith exercise of rights under the Consumer Credit Protection Act. It requires creditors to give written notice of adverse action — denial, counter-offer, or termination — within thirty days, including a statement of the specific reasons. Cross-references: how credit scoring works; personal loans.

Expedited Funds Availability Act

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §4001 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 229 (Regulation CC). Agency: Federal Reserve Board.

Enacted in 1987 in response to long check-hold practices, the EFAA establishes maximum hold periods for deposits and the cases in which a depositary bank may extend availability (large deposits, redeposited checks, new accounts, repeated overdrafts, and reasonable cause to doubt collectibility). The statute is implemented through Regulation CC; in practice, the regulation is what banks and consumers cite.

Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21)

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §5001 et seq.; rules at 12 CFR Part 229, Subpart D. Agency: Federal Reserve Board.

Check 21, effective October 2004, gave legal equivalence to a "substitute check" — a paper reproduction of an electronic image of the original — and thereby enabled the check-collection system to convert from physical transport to image exchange. Today, the original paper check is typically destroyed by the bank of first deposit and only the image moves between institutions. Check 21 also created a limited expedited recredit right for consumers who suffer a loss because of a substitute check. Cross-references: how checks clear.

Electronic Fund Transfer Act

Citation: 15 U.S.C. §1693 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1005 (Regulation E). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The EFTA is the parent statute of Regulation E. Most retail-banking citations are to the regulation rather than the underlying statute, but the statute is what authorises the CFPB's rulemakings on remittance transfers (Subpart B of Reg E), prepaid accounts (Subpart A as amended in 2016), and overdraft opt-in.

Truth in Lending Act

Citation: 15 U.S.C. §1601 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1026 (Regulation Z). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Enacted in 1968, TILA's core purpose is uniform disclosure of credit terms so that consumers can compare offers. Major amendments include the Fair Credit Billing Act (which gives credit-card holders dispute rights for billing errors and unauthorized charges), the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act, the CARD Act of 2009, and the integrated mortgage disclosure regime that took effect in 2015. Cross-references: the Truth in Lending Act; mortgages: the basics.

Truth in Savings Act

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §4301 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1030 (Regulation DD). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Enacted in 1991 as part of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act, TISA created the standardized APY disclosure regime. Before TISA, banks used a variety of yield conventions, making cross-bank comparison nearly impossible. The credit-union version is administered by the NCUA.

Fair Credit Reporting Act

Citation: 15 U.S.C. §1681 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1022 (Regulation V). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and Federal Trade Commission.

The FCRA is the parent statute of the U.S. credit-reporting system. It governs Equifax, Experian, and TransUnion (the "nationwide" consumer reporting agencies) and also covers specialty agencies that maintain deposit-account or check-writing histories. Among other things, it gives consumers the right to a free annual report, the right to dispute inaccuracies, and a private right of action against agencies and furnishers that wilfully or negligently violate the Act.

Equal Credit Opportunity Act

Citation: 15 U.S.C. §1691 et seq.; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1002 (Regulation B). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

The ECOA prohibits discrimination in credit on the protected bases listed under Regulation B, requires written adverse-action notices, and creates a private right of action for affected applicants. Recent CFPB guidance has clarified that adverse-action notices must reflect the actual reasons for a denial, including reasons drawn from algorithmic underwriting models.

Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (privacy provisions)

Citation: 15 U.S.C. §§6801–6809; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1016 (Regulation P) and the FTC Safeguards Rule at 16 CFR Part 314 for non-bank financial institutions. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, with safeguards-rule enforcement at the FTC for non-banks.

GLBA's privacy title requires financial institutions to give consumers a privacy notice and an opportunity to opt out of certain types of information-sharing with non-affiliated third parties. The Safeguards Rule, administered by the FTC for non-banks and through interagency guidelines for banks, requires institutions to maintain a written information-security program.

Bank Secrecy Act framework

Citation: 31 U.S.C. §5311 et seq.; implementing regulations at 31 CFR Chapter X. Agency: Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), part of the Department of the Treasury.

The Bank Secrecy Act, originally enacted in 1970 and substantially expanded by Title III of the USA PATRIOT Act in 2001 and the Anti-Money Laundering Act of 2020, requires financial institutions to maintain anti-money-laundering (AML) programs, identify customers (the Customer Identification Program rule), file Currency Transaction Reports for cash transactions above $10,000, and file Suspicious Activity Reports when transactions raise specified concerns. SARs are confidential; a bank is prohibited from telling a customer that one has been filed.

Office of Foreign Assets Control sanctions

Citation: 31 CFR Chapter V. Statute: International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. §1701 et seq.), Trading with the Enemy Act, and numerous program-specific statutes. Agency: Office of Foreign Assets Control, Department of the Treasury.

OFAC administers and enforces U.S. economic and trade sanctions. Every U.S. financial institution screens transactions against OFAC's Specially Designated Nationals and Blocked Persons (SDN) list and other program lists; a hit will typically result in the transaction being rejected or the funds being blocked and held in an interest-bearing account pending OFAC action.

Federal Deposit Insurance Act

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §1811 et seq.; implementing regulations at 12 CFR Chapter III. Agency: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

The FDI Act created the FDIC and governs the deposit-insurance fund, examination and supervision of insured banks, prompt corrective action for undercapitalized institutions, the resolution authority for failed banks, and the systemic-risk exception under §13(c)(4)(G) that was invoked in March 2023. The standard maximum deposit insurance amount is set in 12 CFR Part 330 and has been $250,000 per depositor per insured bank per ownership category since 2008 (made permanent by Dodd-Frank in 2010). Cross-references: FDIC deposit insurance; bank failures and resolution.

Federal Credit Union Act and NCUA share-insurance regulations

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §1751 et seq.; share-insurance regulations at 12 CFR Part 745. Agency: National Credit Union Administration.

The Federal Credit Union Act charters federal credit unions, defines the cooperative structure, and creates the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund. Share insurance coverage is set to parallel FDIC limits: $250,000 per share owner, per insured credit union, per ownership category. Cross-references: NCUA share insurance.

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act

Citation: Pub. L. 111-203 (2010); codified across multiple titles. Agency: created the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (12 U.S.C. §5491) and the Financial Stability Oversight Council; transferred most consumer financial protection rulewriting from the banking agencies to the CFPB.

Among many other provisions, Dodd-Frank made the $250,000 deposit-insurance limit permanent, restricted proprietary trading at insured banks (the Volcker Rule, §619), and created the Office of Mortgage Servicing rules at the CFPB. Title X transferred rulewriting authority for federal consumer financial laws — including TILA, RESPA, EFTA, FCRA, TISA, and ECOA — to the CFPB. Cross-references: 2008, from a retail bank lens; the CFPB and consumer protection.

Regulation II — Debit Card Interchange (Durbin Amendment)

Citation: 12 CFR Part 235. Statute: Section 1075 of the Dodd-Frank Act, codified at 15 U.S.C. §1693o-2. Agency: Federal Reserve Board.

Regulation II caps the interchange fee that a card issuer with $10 billion or more in assets may charge merchants on a debit-card transaction. The cap is currently 21 cents plus 0.05% of the transaction amount, with an additional 1-cent fraud-prevention adjustment for compliant issuers; a 2023 proposed amendment would lower this. Reg II also requires that every debit card be enabled for processing on at least two unaffiliated networks and that the merchant retain the right to route the transaction. Cross-references: what happens when you swipe a card.

RESPA and Regulation X — Real Estate Settlement Procedures

Citation: 12 CFR Part 1024 (Regulation X). Statute: Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act, 12 U.S.C. §2601 et seq. Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

RESPA governs the settlement process on a federally related mortgage loan: it prohibits kickbacks and referral fees, requires the Loan Estimate and Closing Disclosure (the TRID disclosures, jointly with Regulation Z), governs mortgage servicing including escrow account administration and loss mitigation, and creates the qualified-written-request mechanism for borrowers. Cross-references: mortgages: the basics.

Federal benefit garnishment rule (31 CFR Part 212)

Citation: 31 CFR Part 212. Agency: Department of the Treasury, jointly with the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, and other federal benefit-paying agencies.

This rule requires a financial institution that receives a garnishment order against a customer's account to perform a "lookback" for federal benefit payments — Social Security, SSI, VA, Railroad Retirement, and federal civil-service pensions — directly deposited into the account during the prior two months, and to protect that amount from the garnishment. Cross-references: garnishment and account levies.

Consumer Financial Data Rights (Section 1033)

Citation: 12 U.S.C. §5533; implementing regulation at 12 CFR Part 1033 (the "Personal Financial Data Rights" rule, finalized October 2024; portions in litigation as of 2026 — confirm current status). Agency: Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

Section 1033 of Dodd-Frank gave consumers a right to access information their financial provider has about them. The 2024 final rule requires covered providers to make consumer-authorized data available, via a developer interface, to authorized third parties — the U.S. analogue to U.K. Open Banking. Implementation deadlines are tiered by institution size; rule provisions and timelines have been the subject of legal challenge and rulemaking activity. Cross-references: open banking in the U.S..

Nacha Operating Rules (private rule set, but treated as binding)

Citation: Nacha Operating Rules & Guidelines (updated annually). Statute: not federal law; private contract enforced by the ACH operators (the Federal Reserve and The Clearing House EPN) and Nacha itself. Agency: Nacha (the National Automated Clearing House Association).

The ACH network operates under a private rulebook administered by Nacha, an industry association. Participating depository institutions agree to the rules as a condition of network access. The rules cover origination, return processing, return-rate thresholds, same-day ACH windows, and the ODFI's warranties to the network. Although not a federal regulation, the rules function as one in practice. Cross-references: ACH, end to end.

Limits and uncertainty

This index covers the regulations most often cited in the consumer-banking context. It does not cover safety-and-soundness regulation in detail — capital requirements, liquidity rules, stress testing, the Volcker Rule, Basel implementation — which are central to how banks operate but rarely visible to a depositor. It also omits state-level law, which can give consumers additional rights (notably in California, Massachusetts, and New York) on top of the federal floor. Where state law adds protection, the relevant article will note it.

Regulation is a moving target. The CFPB's overdraft and credit-card late-fee rules, the Reg II interchange amendment, the Section 1033 implementation timeline, and the CRA rule have all been the subject of recent litigation or political contestation. Where a date or threshold is given on this site, it carries a "last reviewed" marker; readers should cross-check eCFR or the relevant agency's website before relying on a specific number.