American Express 2015 Annual Report Download - page 20

• The Consumer Financial Protection Act (Title X of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection
Act (“Dodd-Frank”)) (“CFPA”)
• The Fair Credit Billing Act (which, among other things, regulates the manner in which billing inquiries are
handled and specifies certain billing requirements)
• The Truth in Savings Act (which requires certain disclosures about rates paid and other terms of deposit
accounts)
• The Electronic Funds Transfer Act (which, among other things, governs disclosures and settlement of
transactions for electronic funds transfers and customer rights and liability arising from the use of ATMs and
other electronic banking services and, after the enactment of Dodd-Frank, imposes a cap on debit card
interchange fees and prohibits exclusivity arrangements for payment card networks)
• The Telephone Consumer Protection Act (which prohibits contacting customers on their cellular telephones
without their express consent, and provides for significant statutory damages)
• The Controlling the Assault of Non-Solicited Pornography and Marketing Act of 2003 (which established
national requirements for sending of commercial email messages and which provides for significant statutory
damages for violations)
• Federal and state laws and regulations that generally prohibit engaging in unfair, deceptive and abusive acts and
practices in offering consumer financial products and services
In the United States, our marketing and sale of consumer financial products and our compliance with certain
federal consumer financial laws, including the CFPA and TILA, are supervised and examined by the CFPB. The CFPB
has broad rulemaking and enforcement authority over providers of credit, savings and payment services and products
and authority to prevent “unfair, deceptive or abusive” acts or practices. The CFPB has the authority to write
regulations under federal consumer financial protection laws and to enforce those laws against and examine for
compliance large financial institutions like the Company, TRS, Centurion Bank and American Express Bank. It is also
authorized to collect fines and require consumer restitution in the event of violations, engage in consumer financial
education, track consumer complaints, request data and promote the availability of financial services to underserved
consumers and communities. In addition, a number of U.S. states have significant consumer credit protection and
disclosure laws (in certain cases more stringent than U.S. federal laws). U.S. federal law also regulates abusive debt
collection practices. Bankruptcy and debtor relief laws can affect our ability to collect amounts owed to us.
In October 2012, the Company, TRS, Centurion Bank and American Express Bank reached settlements with
several bank regulators relating to certain aspects of our U.S. consumer card practices. In December 2013, TRS,
Centurion Bank and American Express Bank reached settlements with the FDIC, OCC and CFPB to resolve regulatory
reviews of marketing and billing practices related to several credit card add-on products. Internal and regulatory
reviews are likely to continue to result in changes to practices, products and procedures. Such reviews are also likely
to continue to result in increased costs related to regulatory oversight, supervision and examination and additional
restitution to Card Members, and may result in additional regulatory actions, including civil money penalties.
We are subject to certain applicable federal and state privacy, data protection and information security laws, rules
and regulations, including certain requirements related to breach notification. Such laws also govern the collection,
use, sharing and safeguarding of personal information. Since American Express Company and TRS are bank holding
companies, our business is also subject to certain activity restrictions under the BHC Act and to certain provisions of
the Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act and the accompanying regulations issued by the U.S.
Department of the Treasury (collectively referred to as the “Bank Secrecy Act”), as amended by the USA PATRIOT Act
of 2001 (the “Patriot Act”), with regard to maintaining effective anti-money laundering (“AML”) programs. For a
discussion of these and other regulations and legislation that impact our business, see “Supervision and Regulation.”
In 2003, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued guidance on credit card account
management and loss allowance practices. Centurion Bank and American Express Bank regularly evaluate and discuss
the guidance with their respective regulators and, as a result, may refine their practices from time to time based on
regulatory input. The guidance has not had, nor do we expect it to have, any material impact on our businesses or
practices.
American Express Travel & Lifestyle Services
American Express Travel & Lifestyle Services (“TLS”) is focused on delivering premium leisure travel and lifestyle-
related services to Card Members and other customers in the United States and internationally. Services are provided
through a proprietary network of travel and lifestyle consultants, consumer travel websites available in 14 countries
and the U.S. American Express Travel Representative Network (which consists of independently owned travel
agencies that license the American Express Travel brand). Additional services are offered to Gold, Platinum and
Centurion Card Members when booking through TLS.
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