A Strange Letter From Your Bank?

Millions of Americans received mailings from financial institutions about their privacy policies. You may be among them if you own a life insurance policy or annuity, have a checking or savings account with a bank or own shares of stock.

By July 1, 2001, all financial institutions were required by law to inform their customers about the kind of personal information they have and what they do with it. The mailings serve two purposes: to show people how the institutions use their personal information, and to educate them about the benefits of responsible information sharing.

“These mailings also provide consumers a new opportunity to exercise control over their personal information,” says privacy expert Allen Caskie of the American Council of Life Insurers (ACLI). “A consumer uncomfortable with their financial institution’s privacy policy should take their business to one more in line with their thinking on information sharing.”
Responsible information sharing has its rewards, which the mailings will help highlight. They include low-cost benefits, products and conveniences.

“Have you ever wondered, for example, how you can get money from the ATM of a bank that is not yours?” asks Caskie. “Or how you can get loans from banks you have had no previous relationship with and provide only a small amount of information? The answer to these questions is responsible information sharing.”

Fraud detection is another example of a benefit that flows from information sharing. Close monitoring of account activity allows financial institutions to recognize unusual behavior that may indicate a credit card or debit card has been stolen.
The fact is, the law requiring the privacy policy mailings to consumers -- the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999 -- contains the greatest expansion of privacy protections in the nation’s history. Meanwhile, financial services is the only industry federally regulated for privacy.

“The law provides strong protections for consumers of financial services, and consumers themselves have the ability to control their information. In all, it is the consumer in the driver’s seat,” concludes Caskie.

Contact your financial institution if your want to learn more about its policy on information sharing.(NAPS)