WASHINGTON-The federal financial institutions regulatory agencies issued a proposed regulation last week providing consumers the chance to "opt out" of affiliate information sharing for marketing purposes. The proposal includes a general prohibition on using certain consumer information from an affiliate organization to solicit them unless the consumer first has the opportunity to opt out. Institutions with a preexisting relationship would not fall under this restriction. This new affiliate marketing opt-out does not replace or supercede the Section 603 provisions already in the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act of 2003 updated, though there is some overlap. Comment on the proposal, which is required under the FACT Act, is within 30 days of publication in the Federal Register, which is expected shortly. NCUA, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and Office of Thrift Supervision issued the proposed regulation.