ABA: Federal Data Privacy Law Must Recognize Banks’ Existing High Standards

Ahead of a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on consumer data privacy today, the American Bankers Association in a statement submitted for the record called on lawmakers to consider the existing set of privacy laws banks adhere to when drafting new federal privacy legislation.

Noting that banks are already subject to extensive data privacy and protection laws — including the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act and others — the association emphasized that “Congress must take into account the GLBA and other existing federal privacy laws and preempt the patchwork of state laws that provide different and often inconsistent consumer protections across the country. Otherwise, a consumer’s privacy protections, including their ability to understand their own rights, will depend entirely on the state in which the individual lives.”

ABA added that the GLBA — which requires banks to disclose their privacy practices in a clear, accessible and transparent manner — should be considered a good model for transparency for purposes of federal data privacy legislation.