12 U.S.C. § 5481 - Definitions

• Cite as: 12 U.S.C. § 5481

Except as otherwise provided in this title,¹ for purposes of this title,¹ the following definitions shall apply:

(1) Affiliate

The term "affiliate" means any person that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another person.

(2) Bureau

The term "Bureau" means the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection.

(3) Business of insurance

The term "business of insurance" means the writing of insurance or the reinsuring of risks by an insurer, including all acts necessary to such writing or reinsuring and the activities relating to the writing of insurance or the reinsuring of risks conducted by persons who act as, or are, officers, directors, agents, or employees of insurers or who are other persons authorized to act on behalf of such persons.

(4) Consumer

The term "consumer" means an individual or an agent, trustee, or representative acting on behalf of an individual.

(5) Consumer financial product or service

The term "consumer financial product or service" means any financial product or service that is described in one or more categories under-

(A) paragraph (15) and is offered or provided for use by consumers primarily for personal, family, or household purposes; or

(B) clause (i), (iii), (ix), or (x) of paragraph (15)(A), and is delivered, offered, or provided in connection with a consumer financial product or service referred to in subparagraph (A).

(6) Covered person

The term "covered person" means-

(A) any person that engages in offering or providing a consumer financial product or service; and

(B) any affiliate of a person described in subparagraph (A) if such affiliate acts as a service provider to such person.

(7) Credit

The term "credit" means the right granted by a person to a consumer to defer payment of a debt, incur debt and defer its payment, or purchase property or services and defer payment for such purchase.

(8) Deposit-taking activity

The term "deposit-taking activity" means-

(A) the acceptance of deposits, maintenance of deposit accounts, or the provision of services related to the acceptance of deposits or the maintenance of deposit accounts;

(B) the acceptance of funds, the provision of other services related to the acceptance of funds, or the maintenance of member share accounts by a credit union; or

(C) the receipt of funds or the equivalent thereof, as the Bureau may determine by rule or order, received or held by a covered person (or an agent for a covered person) for the purpose of facilitating a payment or transferring funds or value of funds between a consumer and a third party.

(9) Designated transfer date

The term "designated transfer date" means the date established under section 5582 of this title.

(10) Director

The term "Director" means the Director of the Bureau.

(11) Electronic conduit services

The term "electronic conduit services"-

(A) means the provision, by a person, of electronic data transmission, routing, intermediate or transient storage, or connections to a telecommunications system or network; and

(B) does not include a person that provides electronic conduit services if, when providing such services, the person-

(i) selects or modifies the content of the electronic data;

(ii) transmits, routes, stores, or provides connections for electronic data, including financial data, in a manner that such financial data is differentiated from other types of data of the same form that such person transmits, routes, or stores, or with respect to which, provides connections; or

(iii) is a payee, payor, correspondent, or similar party to a payment transaction with a consumer.

(12) Enumerated consumer laws

Except as otherwise specifically provided in section 5519 of this title, subtitle G or subtitle H, the term "enumerated consumer laws" means-

(A) the Alternative Mortgage Transaction Parity Act of 1982 ( 12 U.S.C. 3801 et seq.);

(B) the Consumer Leasing Act of 1976 ( 15 U.S.C. 1667 et seq.);

(C) the Electronic Fund Transfer Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1693 et seq.), except with respect to section 920 of that Act [ 15 U.S.C. 1693o-2 ];

(D) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1691 et seq.);

(E) the Fair Credit Billing Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1666 et seq.);

(F) the Fair Credit Reporting Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), except with respect to sections 615(e) and 628 of that Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1681m(e), 1681w );

(G) the Home Owners ² Protection Act of 1998 ( 12 U.S.C. 4901 et seq.);

(H) the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1692 et seq.);

(I) subsections (b) through (f) of section 43 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act ( 12 U.S.C. 1831t(c) [(b)]-(f));

(J) sections 502 through 509 of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ( 15 U.S.C. 6802-6809 ) except for section 505 [ 15 U.S.C. 6805 ] as it applies to section 501(b) [ 15 U.S.C. 6801(b) ];

(K) the Home Mortgage Disclosure Act of 1975 ( 12 U.S.C. 2801 et seq.);

(L) the Home Ownership and Equity Protection Act of 1994 ( 15 U.S.C. 1601 note);

(M) the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act of 1974 ( 12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.);

(N) the S.A.F.E. Mortgage Licensing Act of 2008 ( 12 U.S.C. 5101 et seq.);

(O) the Truth in Lending Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.);

(P) the Truth in Savings Act ( 12 U.S.C. 4301 et seq.);

(Q) section 626 of the Omnibus Appropriations Act, 2009 ( Public Law 111-8) [ 12 U.S.C. 5538 ]; and

(R) the Interstate Land Sales Full Disclosure Act ( 15 U.S.C. 1701 ).

(13) Fair lending

The term "fair lending" means fair, equitable, and nondiscriminatory access to credit for consumers.

(14) Federal consumer financial law

The term "Federal consumer financial law" means the provisions of this title,¹ the enumerated consumer laws, the laws for which authorities are transferred under subtitles F and H, and any rule or order prescribed by the Bureau under this title,¹ an enumerated consumer law, or pursuant to the authorities transferred under subtitles F and H. The term does not include the Federal Trade Commission Act [ 15 U.S.C. 41 et seq.].

(15) Financial product or service

(A) In general

The term "financial product or service" means-

(i) extending credit and servicing loans, including acquiring, purchasing, selling, brokering, or other extensions of credit (other than solely extending commercial credit to a person who originates consumer credit transactions);

(ii) extending or brokering leases of personal or real property that are the functional equivalent of purchase finance arrangements, if-

(I) the lease is on a non-operating basis;

(II) the initial term of the lease is at least 90 days; and