Washington, D.C. (Dec. 29, 2023)—The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) today urged the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau to exempt certain community banks from proposed standards for sharing consumer financial data.
In its comment letter on the bureau’s proposal to implement Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act, ICBA urged the CFPB to exempt community banks with less than $850 million in assets — which are defined as small businesses by the Small Business Administration — from a provision requiring institutions to create and maintain a third-party developer interface. ICBA also urged the bureau to permit banks to charge third parties a reasonable fee for providing access to consumer information, which would help offset some of the costs of creating a developer interface without resulting in costs to the consumer.
“ICBA and the nation’s community banks have long said that the CFPB’s 1033 rulemaking should focus on ensuring nonbank entities that access customer information and store bank login credentials take the same care in protecting consumer privacy and data that community banks do,” ICBA President and CEO Rebeca Romero Rainey said today. “We call on the CFPB to create meaningful exceptions and safe harbor protections that avoid disadvantaging community banks and the customers and communities they serve.”
Section 1033 of the Dodd-Frank Act requires covered financial institutions to make available to consumers and authorized third parties certain data relating to consumers’ transactions and accounts. The CFPB’s proposal would require virtually every bank in the country to establish and maintain a “developer portal” that third-party companies could use to access consumer data with consumer authorization.
ICBA looks forward to continuing to work with the CFPB to ensure its proposal accounts for the privacy, regulatory compliance burden, data security, and legal implications presented by permissioned third-party access to consumer bank accounts.
About ICBA
The Independent Community Bankers of America® has one mission: to create and promote an environment where community banks flourish. We power the potential of the nation’s community banks through effective advocacy, education, and innovation.
As local and trusted sources of credit, America’s community banks leverage their relationship-based business model and innovative offerings to channel deposits into the neighborhoods they serve, creating jobs, fostering economic prosperity, and fueling their customers’ financial goals and dreams. For more information, visit ICBA’s website at icba.org.
