With the Department of Labor’s fiduciary rule now in effect, ABA today released a new members-only guide to help banks understand the rule’s implications for their marketing and sales activity. The guide is intended to help bankers discern a line between fiduciary and non-fiduciary marketing and sales activity, using the fiduciary rule’s requirements and DOL’s frequently asked questions as a baseline.
The new resource covers who qualifies as a fiduciary under the rule, the consequences of fiduciary status, and the “hire me” exception. It also provides illustrations that indicate the DOL’s regulatory parameters for determining fiduciary versus non-fiduciary status.
The guide continues with selected examples of bank marketing and sales activity, such as handing out a CD rate sheet or describing IRA rollovers or bank wealth management services, indicating what the guardrails separating fiduciary and non-fiduciary might look like for these activities. It also provides some practical considerations for banks regarding policies and procedures, employee training, investment options, disclosures, compensation arrangements and documentation. For more information, contact ABA’s Tim Keehan.
