WASHINGTON–The House Financial Services and Energy and Commerce committees have released two bills focused on data privacy, while America’s Credit Unions also called on NCUA to provide more flexibility when it comes to fidelity bond coverage.
America’s Credit Unions said its Advocacy Policy Committee has been working through data privacy initiatives for several months and will continue these efforts as lawmakers consider these bills.
In addition to preemption language and GLBA recognition within the legislation, the trade group said the acknowledgment that regulatory tailoring is appropriate for smaller financial institutions is positive. ACU said it also continues to urge federal legislation to include protection from frivolous lawsuits created by a private right of action.
‘Clear National Standard’
“We want to thank the House Financial Services Committee and House Energy and Commerce Committee for taking the lead in creating legislation to establish a clear national standard for privacy,” America’s Credit Unions President and CEO Scott Simpson said in a statement. “We appreciate Congress’s recognition that basic data security and privacy standards should also apply to non-financial entities. The Gramm-Leach Bliley Act has long served as the basis for applying such standards to credit unions, and it’s a positive sign that both bills recognize the scope of existing financial institution compliance within a unified federal framework.
“Such differentiation matters for credit unions. With the growing patchwork of state laws complicating these efforts, we support efforts to clarify preemption,” Simpson continued. “These bills address several new issues that we are evaluating, and we look forward to working with both committees to ensure an appropriate balance of protecting American consumers and minimizing unnecessary regulatory burden in any final legislation.”
A Call for NCUA to Act on Fidelity Bond Coverage
Separately, America’s Credit Unions has sent a letter to NCUA on fidelity bond coverage in which it says the agency should provide credit unions with flexibility to delegate review and renewal authority, subject to board oversight. The agency should also consider allowing annual board review of coverage rather than transaction-by-transaction approvals tied to each renewal cycle, America’s CUs said, adding such changes would reduce unnecessary burdens, particularly for small credit unions, while maintaining strong fidelity bond protections.
“Fidelity bond coverage remains an important safeguard for credit unions, but certain procedural requirements surrounding board approval, signatures, and renewal documentation have become outdated, unnecessarily burdensome, and inconsistent with how credit union governance operates in practice,” Luke Martone, regulatory advocacy senior counsel, said in a statement.
The full letter can be found here.
