Help!!! Our compliance guru is on vacation and a question has come up. We are looking at increasing our NSF fees. What type of notice must we give and how far ahead of the change do we have to notify customers? Can we do it with a statement message/stuffer and is it 30 days like I seem to remember?

Why do banks make changes like this when the CO is on vacation?

The bank can use a statement message if the change can clearly be explained in the usually limited character-count these messages are permitted. Otherwise, a statement stuffer is also acceptable. You have to provide at least 30 days' advance notice to consumers who will be affected. If you use statement cycles that are scheduled throughout the month, make sure that last group notified gets the full 30 days. For example, if you started notifying cycles on November 1 and your last cycle in November is due to be sent on 11/30, your increase should not be effective until 12/30. The notice should specify the date the change will be effective.

Thanks John. That's what I thought but I needed someone to confirm it.

And these notifications are only required on consumer accounts? If we want to start charging a daily fee on accounts that are NSF for over xx days on our Commercial Accounts only, advanced notification is not required, correct? However, I feel it will be and should be communicated, but just wanted to make sure we weren't under any legal requirement regarding # of days advanced notice, etc...Thanks!

Commercial accounts are not subject to Reg DD, but if you have disclosed fees to commercial customers and you want to change or add to those fees, you should notify your customers. Your customer agreement should address account amendments and may identify a specific timeframe for the notice.