We believe that you should disclose the earliest cut-off time, which in this case would be 3 p.m. You are correct that the Official Commentary to Regulation CC states that “if a bank does not have a cut-off time prior to its closing time, the bank need not disclose a cut-off time.” However the Commentary also states that “if some locations have different cut-off times the bank must note this in the disclosure and state the earliest time that might apply.”
We believe a proper interpretation of these statements is that when a bank has a uniform cut-off time for all of its branches that also is the closing time for all of its branches, then the bank does not need to disclose a cut-off time. However, when each branch has a different closing time — and your closing times serve as your cut-off times — the bank should disclose its earliest cut-off time under Regulation CC.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- Regulation CC, Official Interpretations, 12 CFR 229.16(b), Comment 6 (“The business day cut-off time used by the bank must be disclosed and if some locations have different cut-off times the bank must note this in the disclosure and state the earliest time that might apply. A bank need not list all of the different cut-off times that might apply. If a bank does not have a cut-off time prior to its closing time, the bank need not disclose a cut-off time.”)