Issues of data privacy and concerns about cybersecurity
threats remain top-level priorities for financial institutions of all types.
Several trade advocates recently voiced their opinions on proposed legislative
and regulatory actions aimed at addressing such matters.
Read an overview of these comments and more in this roundup.
Trades comment on House privacy legislation
Multiple financial trade organizations submitted a joint
comment letter to the House of Representatives ahead of its markup session on
legislation modifying the primary privacy and data security consumer protection
law for financial institutions outlined under Title V of the Gramm-Leach Bliley
Act (GLBA). The trades expressed support for the bill’s provisions to
establish a national privacy standard, asserting that such a standard must
recognize existing privacy and data security standards within the financial
sector under the GLBA, as well as other financial privacy laws, such as the
Fair Credit Reporting Act and Right to Financial Privacy Act, to avoid duplicative
or inconsistent requirements. Read the trades’ full letter here.
ICBA commends House committee for passing Farm Bill
Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) President
and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey issued a statement welcoming the House Agriculture
Committee’s decision to pass the latest iteration of H.R. 8467, commonly known
as the “Farm Bill,” via a 33-21 bipartisan vote. She noted the bill’s passage
could be a first step in encouraging lawmakers to “reconcile remaining
differences as the Farm, Food and National Security Act of 2024 moves
to the House floor.” Although ICBA believes the bill contains many “positive
enhancements for American farm policy,” Romero Rainey noted some of its
provisions are concerning for the community banking industry. Read her full
statement here.
MBA reports dip in mortgage affordability in April
Homebuyer affordability dipped in April as the national
median payment applied for by purchase applicants rose by 2.5 percent to $2,256
from $2,201 in March, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association’s (MBA)
Purchase Applications Payment Index (PAPI). This index measures variations in
new monthly mortgage payments, relative to income, over time. It is calculated
using data from MBA’s Weekly Applications Survey (WAS), which indicated a 5.7
percent drop in mortgage applications from one week earlier for the week ending
May 24. Learn more here.
ACU opposes CIP rule update to allow partial SSN
collection
America’s Credit Unions wrote to the Financial Crimes
Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in opposition to a proposed change to the
Customer Identification Program (CIP) rule that would allow the partial
collection of a social security number (SSN) for identity verification
purposes. The credit union trade group provided the comment letter in response
to FinCEN’s request for information related to the Taxpayer Identification
Number (TIN) collection requirement under the CIP rule. Access the
organization’s full letter here.