We have a CD promo ad that we're using in the local newspaper that states: "Annual Percentage Yield is accurate as of this publication date" which is fine since the newspaper has a date on it. We also wanted to use this piece as the 1-click full disclosure pdf on our website without referencing a particular date. The reasoning is that "this publication date" for a website ad would be as long as it is "published" to the website and until it is removed, it remains published and therefore the APY is accurate. Has anyone done the same and been told this is compliant? I know Reg DD states that the ad must state the period of time the APY is in effect OR that the APY is accurate as of a specified date, but I'm wondering about the acceptable use of the words "this publication date" and it's interpretation with regard to website publishing. Would it be compliant if we put the effective date on the banner ad that you have to click on to get the full disclosure or does it have to be stated on the full disclosure itself (it's a pdf so that would require a complete re-do). Thanks for your input!

This is a bait & switch prohibition. If you advertise nothing but terms that are actually available whenever your promo is viewed by a potential depositor, you are in full compliance with the spirit of the rule. The technical requirements are mainly geared to the print and broadcast media (one-way communications) and not the interactive "smart" environment you can create with a website.

For starters, the term "publication date" is not defined in Reg. DD. I'm pretty sure I know what that means for newspapers and magazines, but not for a website. The term "advertisement" means "a commercial message...that promotes...." Does "a message" include your whole website, or the banner, links, and ad copy, or just the ad copy, or something else?

Unless other BOLers are experiencing something else during compliance exams, my guess is that regulators are willing to accept any reasonable design that salutes the reg and precludes bait & switch.

I'd be more concerned with those customers who print the promo piece, hold it for a year or two, and then bring it to a CSR demanding the terms you removed from your website months earlier. A good way to deflect that problem is to include a "good through" date in the printable ad copy and add something like "this offer may be extended--please call or click here to obtain up-to date information." If your server can insert today's date (or tomorrow, next Tuesday, or however long you allow an offer to sunset) in the ad copy that's served, that's even better.

I thought of the possibility of a customer who would print the ad and bring it long after the promo expired, but we could easily show that the promotion is no longer valid by pulling up our website that day to prove that the ad is no longer "published" there. I don't see how that would be any different than if a customer cut our ad out of a newspaper (therefore removing the date published from the top of the paper).

Thank you, you raise good points and I agree with you. My external auditors were just here and told me I need a specific date referenced, even on the website. I will use your verbiage in the printable ad copy or see if we can at least get today's date to appear as you suggested to avoid potential problems.

Yeah, I thought about that, too. Here's why that would fail:
1. Sweet CD rate promoted across all channels, including your website.
2. Interested person prints ad copy in a way that doesn't show the date printed and squirrels it away.
3. Six months later, rates have dropped significantly and you've long since ended this promo.
4. Customer tries to pull a fast one and is politely told by CSR to pound sand.
5. Customer waits a week or two and then sends a formal complaint to your regulator. (Sending it to the wrong agency will drag it out and delay your regulator's investigation another week or two.)
6. Regulator contacts you as part of it's investigation of the consumer complaint...by this time, the promo's been dead for many months and it's been at least a month since you refused to pay the obsolete (higher) rate. How will you convince the regulator what was or was not on your site a month ago?

We are keeping logs of changes to our website, so hopefully we would be able to prove when that promo was no longer posted to our website, but that certainly wouldn't prevent the complaint in the first place so I completely agree with you. Thank you very much for your feedback!