12 CFR 1070.2 – General definitions
For purposes of this part:
Terms Used In 12 CFR 1070.2
- Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Federal Reserve System: The central bank of the United States. The Fed, as it is commonly called, regulates the U.S. monetary and financial system. The Federal Reserve System is composed of a central governmental agency in Washington, D.C. (the Board of Governors) and twelve regional Federal Reserve Banks in major cities throughout the United States. Source: OCC
- Freedom of Information Act: A federal law that mandates that all the records created and kept by federal agencies in the executive branch of government must be open for public inspection and copying. The only exceptions are those records that fall into one of nine exempted categories listed in the statute. Source: OCC
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
- Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
(a) Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending means the Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending of the CFPB or any CFPB employee to whom the Associate Director for Supervision, Enforcement and Fair Lending has delegated authority to act under this part.
(b) Business day means any day except Saturday, Sunday or a legal Federal holiday.
(c) CFPB means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.
(d) Chief FOIA Officer means the Chief Operating Officer of the CFPB.
(e) Chief Operating Officer means the Chief Operating Officer of the CFPB, or any CFPB employee to whom the Chief Operating Officer has delegated authority to act under this part.
(f) Confidential information means confidential consumer complaint information, confidential investigative information, and confidential supervisory information, as well as any other CFPB information that may be exempt from disclosure under the Freedom of Information Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b). Confidential information does not include information contained in records that have been made publicly available by the CFPB or information that has otherwise been publicly disclosed by an employee, or agent of the CFPB, with the authority to do so. Confidential information obtained by a third party or otherwise incorporated in the records of a third party, including another agency, shall remain confidential information subject to this part.
(g) Confidential consumer complaint information means information received or generated by the CFPB through processes or procedures established under 12 U.S.C. § 5493(b)(3), to the extent that such information is exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b).
(h) Confidential investigative information means:
(1) Any documentary material, written report, or written answers to questions, tangible thing, or transcript of oral testimony received by the CFPB in any form or format pursuant to a civil investigative demand, as those terms are set forth in 12 U.S.C. § 5562, or received by the CFPB voluntarily in lieu of a civil investigative demand; and
(2) Any other documents, materials, or records prepared by, on behalf of, received by, or for the use by the CFPB or any other Federal or State agency in the conduct of enforcement activities, and any information derived from such materials.
(i) Confidential supervisory information means:
(1) Reports of examination, inspection and visitation, non-public operating, condition, and compliance reports, supervisory letter, or similar document, and any information contained in, derived from, or related to such documents;
(2) Any documents, materials, or records, including reports of examination, prepared by, or on behalf of, or for the use of the CFPB or any other Federal, State, or foreign government agency in the exercise of supervisory authority over a financial institution, and any information derived from such documents, materials, or records;
(3) Any communications between the CFPB and a supervised financial institution or a Federal, State, or foreign government agency related to the CFPB’s supervision of the institution;
(4) Any information provided to the CFPB by a financial institution for purposes of detecting and assessing risks to consumers and to markets for consumer financial products or services pursuant to 12 U.S.C. § 5414(b)(1)(C), 5515(b)(1)(C), or 5516(b), or to assess whether an institution should be considered a covered person, as that term is defined by 12 U.S.C. § 5481, or is subject to the CFPB’s supervisory authority; and/or
(5) Information that is exempt from disclosure pursuant to 5 U.S.C. § 552(b)(8).
(j) Director means the Director of the CFPB or his or her designee, or a person authorized to perform the functions of the Director in accordance with law.
(k) Employee means all current employees or officials of the CFPB, including contract personnel, the employees of the Office of the Inspector General of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, and any other individuals who have been appointed by, or are subject to the supervision, jurisdiction, or control of the Director, as well as the Director. The procedures established within this part also apply to former employees where specifically noted.
(l) Financial institution means any person involved in the offering or provision of a “financial product or service,” including a “covered person” or “service provider,” as those terms are defined by 12 U.S.C. § 5481.
(m) General Counsel means the General Counsel of the CFPB or any CFPB employee to whom the General Counsel has delegated authority to act under this part.
(n) Person means an individual, partnership, company, corporation, association (incorporated or unincorporated), trust, estate, cooperative organization, or other entity.
(o) Report of examination means the report prepared by the CFPB concerning the examination or inspection of a supervised financial institution.
(p) State means any State, territory, or possession of the United States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, American Samoa, or the United States Virgin Islands or any federally recognized Indian tribe, as defined by the Secretary of the Interior under section 104(a) of the Federally Recognized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 U.S.C. §§ 479a-1(a)), and includes any political subdivision thereof.
(q) Supervised financial institution means a financial institution that is or that may become subject to the CFPB’s supervisory authority.