Statement for the Record before the House Financial Services Committee on "Updating America's Financial Privacy Framework for the 21st Century"

The American Bankers Association (ABA) appreciates the opportunity to provide a Statement for the Record for this hearing, "Updating America's Financial Privacy Framework for the 21st Century." The ABA is the voice of the nation's $25.3 trillion banking industry, which is composed of small, regional and large banks that together employ over 2 million people, safeguard $20.1 trillion in deposits and extend $13.5 trillion in loans.

Summary

ABA member banks strongly support the protection of consumer data and privacy and consider safeguarding financial data to be a cornerstone of their business. This commitment to the protection of consumer financial data predates when Congress first began enacting data privacy laws in the 1970s, with the enactment of the Fair Credit Reporting Act ("FCRA") and the Right to Financial Privacy Act ("RFPA"). Our members have been subject to extensive federal privacy and data protection laws and regulations for almost half a century, and consumers trust the banking industry because they know their personal data is secure. Unlike some other entities, banks are already subject to robust privacy requirements under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act ("GLBA"), in addition to other federal privacy laws. The ABA urges Congress to apply commensurate privacy and data security protection standards to other industries who have not been subject to robust laws and oversight on the protection of consumer data.

Download the statement for the record to read the full text.