In Branch Advertising

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Question:

Our grocery store branches have limited floor space. During the day they can move some signs to the walkway in front of the branch and at night, pull them back in before the gate is lowered. For ease of use and to vary the product offerings they are using whiteboards and people with really nice penmanship. What compliance problems are there with whiteboards?

Answer:

Just as you vary the product offerings, you vary the compliance risks. Either they should have a checklist or you should be approving the content if you want to stay in compliance. They need to watch out for APR and APY disclosures, both the math and the proper use of terms. Remember that APR may be abbreviated, but APY needs to be spelled out once. The numbers need to be accurate and the APY needs to extend two decimal places. Deposit products need a "Member FDIC." Housing products generally require an equal housing lender logo, the same as if you ran the ad in the paper. (OCC banks don't have that same rule, but typically adhere to the rule as a best practice.) Consider following the same rules you already apply to print advertising. For retention, they may retain photos or at least a log of what was there and when.

First published on BankersOnline.com 11/24/08