Joint Release
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Office of Thrift Supervision
Securities and Exchange Commission
For immediate release March 21, 2007
Federal Regulators Seek Public Comment on Model Privacy Notice
Eight federal regulators today released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR)
requesting comment on a model privacy form that financial institutions can use for their
privacy notices to consumers required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act). The
privacy notices must describe an institution’s information sharing practices, and, for
certain types of sharing, consumers have the right to opt out. The notices must be
provided when a consumer first becomes a customer of a financial institution and then
annually for as long as the customer relationship lasts.
Last October, President Bush signed into law the Financial Services Regulatory Relief
Act of 2006, amending the GLB Act to require the agencies to propose a model form
that is succinct and comprehensible to consumers, allows consumers easily to compare
privacy practices of financial institutions, and uses easily readable type font.
The proposed model privacy form is the “prototype privacy notice” developed by six of
these federal agencies after a year-long consumer testing process. A detailed report
describing the testing and resulting prototype privacy notice was released by these
agencies in March 2006. The NPR proposes that a financial institution that chooses to
use the model form would satisfy the disclosure requirements for the notices and so
could take advantage of a legal “safe harbor.” The NPR also proposes to remove, after
a transition period, the sample clauses now included in some of the agencies’ privacy
rules.
The NPR was developed jointly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Credit Union Administration,
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
A copy of the NPR is attached. The NPR seeks comment on all aspects of the model
form, including its content and format and whether it provides sufficient flexibility for
financial institutions to disclose their sharing practices accurately.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
Commodity Futures Trading Commission
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Federal Trade Commission
National Credit Union Administration
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Office of Thrift Supervision
Securities and Exchange Commission
For immediate release March 21, 2007
Federal Regulators Seek Public Comment on Model Privacy Notice
Eight federal regulators today released a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPR)
requesting comment on a model privacy form that financial institutions can use for their
privacy notices to consumers required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLB Act). The
privacy notices must describe an institution’s information sharing practices, and, for
certain types of sharing, consumers have the right to opt out. The notices must be
provided when a consumer first becomes a customer of a financial institution and then
annually for as long as the customer relationship lasts.
Last October, President Bush signed into law the Financial Services Regulatory Relief
Act of 2006, amending the GLB Act to require the agencies to propose a model form
that is succinct and comprehensible to consumers, allows consumers easily to compare
privacy practices of financial institutions, and uses easily readable type font.
The proposed model privacy form is the “prototype privacy notice” developed by six of
these federal agencies after a year-long consumer testing process. A detailed report
describing the testing and resulting prototype privacy notice was released by these
agencies in March 2006. The NPR proposes that a financial institution that chooses to
use the model form would satisfy the disclosure requirements for the notices and so
could take advantage of a legal “safe harbor.” The NPR also proposes to remove, after
a transition period, the sample clauses now included in some of the agencies’ privacy
rules.
The NPR was developed jointly by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation, the Federal Trade Commission, the National Credit Union Administration,
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the
Securities and Exchange Commission.
A copy of the NPR is attached. The NPR seeks comment on all aspects of the model
form, including its content and format and whether it provides sufficient flexibility for
financial institutions to disclose their sharing practices accurately.
Written comments on the proposed rule amendments may be submitted within 60 days
after their publication in the Federal Register, which is expected in late March.
###
Attachment:
Interagency Proposal for Model Privacy Form Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Media Contacts:
CFTC Ianthe Zabel (202) 418-5091
FDIC David Barr (202) 898-6992
Federal Reserve Deborah Lagomarsino (202) 452-2955
FTC Claudia Bourne Farrell (202) 326-2181
NCUA Cherie Umbel (703) 518-6337
OCC Bryan Hubbard (202) 874-5770
OTS Kevin Petrasic (202) 906-6677
SEC John J. Nester (202) 551-4125
FDIC: PR-24-2007
after their publication in the Federal Register, which is expected in late March.
###
Attachment:
Interagency Proposal for Model Privacy Form Under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
Media Contacts:
CFTC Ianthe Zabel (202) 418-5091
FDIC David Barr (202) 898-6992
Federal Reserve Deborah Lagomarsino (202) 452-2955
FTC Claudia Bourne Farrell (202) 326-2181
NCUA Cherie Umbel (703) 518-6337
OCC Bryan Hubbard (202) 874-5770
OTS Kevin Petrasic (202) 906-6677
SEC John J. Nester (202) 551-4125
FDIC: PR-24-2007