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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE E-mail to: info@efscouncil.org MARCH 6, 2000 E-Finance Council Calls for Clarification of Proposed Privacy Rules WASHINGTON, DC - The Electronic Financial Services Council, the national financial services trade group that focuses on electronic commerce, today delivered a letter to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System urging the Federal Reserve to clarify the meaning of key terms affecting the scope of the proposed regulations implementing the privacy provisions of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. According to the EFSC, companies subject to the proposed regulations cannot provide meaningful comment because it is ambiguous to whom the proposed regulations will apply and what products and services are covered. Moreover, businesses that would otherwise want to comment--for example, Internet portals, web site hosts and software vendors that facilitate delivery of financial services--may not even be aware that the proposed regulations could be construed to apply to them. The EFSC’s letter responds to recent requests for public comment by the Federal Trade Commission, the Federal Reserve, and other federal financial regulators on proposed privacy regulations that will apply to "financial institutions" offering "financial products or services." The EFSC draws attention to the uncertainty caused by the proposed regulations’ vague and ambiguous definitions, which rely upon "a patchwork of prior Federal Reserve determinations which have not been brought together in one place for the purpose of notifying parties who may be affected by the regulations." Jeremiah S. Buckley, counsel to the EFSC, points out that "only the Federal Reserve can define what constitutes an activity ‘financial in nature,’ and thereby define the scope of the privacy regulations." In the letter, the EFSC asks the Federal Reserve to "provide specific guidance" as to the full scope of institutions covered by the regulations so that they have sufficient notice to provide meaningful comment on the proposals. The Electronic Financial Services Council represents a group of financial services and technology companies that offer their products and services over the Internet. The EFSC’s members include: AIG, Cendant, Chase Manhattan Mortgage, Citigroup, Countrywide Home Loans, E-Loan, First American Financial Corporation, Freddie Mac, GE Capital Mortgage, GHR Systems, GMAC Mortgage, Intuit, Lender’s Services, Lending Tree, Microsoft, The Principal Financial Group, Ultraprise Corporation, and Wells Fargo/Norwest. The full text of the EFSC’s letter to the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System is attached. Additional information regarding the Council is available by visiting http://www.efscouncil.org. |