We are not aware of any requirements to maintain a public file of consumer complaints, except other than Consumer Reinvestment Act-related complaints. The Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) requires institutions to place in a public file any complaint that might “specifically relate to the bank’s performance in helping to meet community credit needs” 12 CFR 345.43(a)(1). Other than the CRA, we are not aware of any other laws that require you to maintain public files of consumer complaints.

However, note the FDIC and other financial institution regulators expect you to maintain consumer complaints and to develop consumer complaint policies and procedures — though these records do not have to be publicly available. The FDIC’s Compliance Manual includes a short discussion of a consumer complaint response program in the Compliance Management System section, which recommends establishing procedures to handle complaints and to monitor them, as they “may be indicative of a compliance weakness in a particular function or department.” Also, the Fair Lending section’s Appendix includes a “complaint file” as part of the checklist for an institution’s compliance program. More guidance from the FDIC is available from its December 2013 Teleconference on Consumer Complaints, which recommends keeping “proper documentation” of complaints. The FDIC also identified “three essential issues” for handling complaints: (1) establishing a centralized process for complaints, (2) identifying risks regarding automated or manual systems on complaints received, and (3) identifying risks associated with product or service offerings.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) also has issued guidance on consumer complaints. While the CFPB’s guidance does not apply to your institution, it may be helpful to look at its expectations as best practices for your institution. The CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual states that its examiners check that a supervised company records and categorizes all consumer complaints, “regardless of where submitted.” The CFPB expects the institutions it supervises to be “responsive and responsible in handling consumer complaints and inquiries. Intelligence gathered from consumer contacts should be organized, retained, and used as part of an institution’s compliance management system.” See CFPB Supervision and Examination Manual (page 43).