Electronic Financial Services Council
will lobby Congress, State March 10, 1999 WASHINGTON -- In an effort to ensure that consumers have easy access to financial services over the Internet, a coalition of leading national companies today announced the formation of the Electronic Financial Services Council. The Council will bring together participants from the financial services and computer industries in order to remove outdated legal and regulatory barriers that hinder electronic commerce and enact laws to facilitate it. The organization will focus on laws pertaining to mortgage lending, insurance, securities, consumer loans and online banking. "Today's consumers of financial services are impeded by yesterday's outmoded laws, " said E. Cameron King, President of the Council and Executive Vice President for the Electronic Commerce Division at Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. Countrywide, Microsoft, Intuit, and GE Capital Mortgage Corporation are founding members of the Council. "These laws were created at a time when paper was the essential ingredient in a financial transaction," said King. "They need to be updated to reflect new technology and to allow consumers to take advantage of the ease, efficiency and economic savings made possible by electronic commerce." "Instant electronic access to financial services stands in sharp contrast to regulations that require consumers to wait for the delivery of paperwork to complete transactions," said Intuit General Counsel Catherine Valentine, Vice President of the Council. "Electronic commerce empowers the consumer," said Valentine. "Consumers can get up-to-the-minute information on rates, prices and terms any time of the day. It allows them to shop for -- and select -- financial products and services from the comfort of their home." "Most important, online communications mean faster responses and shorter transaction times. And that translates into lower costs for consumers," said King. In addition to the four founding members, the Council includes CitiMortgage, Freddie Mac, The Principal Financial Group, Cendant, Wells Fargo Home Mortgage, United Guaranty, and Lender Services, Inc. Membership in the Council is open to businesses regularly engaged in offering, originating, servicing, investing in or facilitating the delivery of financial services through electronic commerce. Unlike other financial services industry trade associations, the Council will not restrict its membership based on a company's charter or license, but will seek to bring together leading companies from various sectors within the financial services industry which share the goal of promoting electronic commerce. For more information on the Council, contact jbuckley@gph.com. |