[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 3, Parts 220 to 299]
[Revised as of January 1, 2001]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR227.12]

[Page 453-454]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 227--UNFAIR OR DECEPTIVE ACTS OR PRACTICES (REGULATION AA)--Table of Contents
 
                    Subpart B--Credit Practices Rule
 
Sec. 227.12  Definitions.

    For the purposes of this subpart, the following definitions apply:
    (a) Consumer means a natural person who seeks or acquires goods, 
services, or money for personal, family, or household use other than for 
the purchase of real property.
    (b)(1) Cosigner means a natural person who assumes liability for the 
obligation of a consumer without receiving goods, services, or money in 
return for the obligation, or, in the case of an open-end credit 
obligation, without receiving the contractual right to obtain extensions 
of credit under the account.

[[Page 454]]

    (2) Cosigner includes any person whose signature is requested as a 
condition to granting credit to a consumer, or as a condition for 
forbearance on collection of a consumer's obligation that is in default. 
The term does not include a spouse whose signature is required on a 
credit obligation to perfect a security interest pursuant to state law.
    (3) A person who meets the definition in this paragraph is a 
cosigner, whether or not the person is designated as such on the credit 
obligation.
    (c) Earnings means compensation paid or payable to an individual or 
for the individual's account for personal services rendered or to be 
rendered by the individual, whether denominated as wages, salary, 
commission, bonus, or otherwise, including periodic payments pursuant to 
a pension, retirement, or disability program.
    (d) Household goods means clothing, furniture, appliances, linens, 
china, crockery, kitchenware, and personal effects of the consumer and 
the consumer's dependents. The term household goods does not include:
    (1) Works of art;
    (2) Electronic entertainment equipment (other than one television 
and one radio);
    (3) Items acquired as antiques; that is, items over one hundred 
years of age, including such items that have been repaired or renovated 
without changing their original form or character; and
    (4) Jewelry (other than wedding rings).
    (e) Obligation means an agreement between a consumer and a creditor.
    (f) Person means an individual, corporation, or other business 
organization.