The American Bankers Association and five bankers and financial technology associations today requested that banking agencies push back the public comment deadline for a recent request for information, or RFI, on bank partnerships with financial technology companies. In addition, ABA released a staff analysis of both the RFI and a separate joint statement by the agencies on bank-fintech relationships to deliver deposit products and services.
The Federal Reserve, FDIC and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency issued the RFI in July, saying they seek public input on both the nature of bank-fintech arrangements and effective risk management practices for such partnerships. They also released a joint statement listing several potential risks when working with third parties.
In their letter, the associations said RFI was an important undertaking, but the 60-day comment period was inadequate given the complexity of the issue. They asked the agencies to extend the deadline by an additional 30 days.
“The financial system is at a pivotal time in its evolution, and it would not be prudent to rush the RFI process unnecessarily,” the associations said. “Because there are no statutory deadlines at hand, an additional 30 days would allow the agencies, the banks that they regulate and financial technology companies to derive more value from the RFI process if commenters have sufficient time to submit a comprehensive response. Also, as a practical matter, banks and fintechs will need to consult a wide range of internal stakeholders in order to submit meaningful comments.”
