California Bankers Association statement on financial privacy

Industry responds to Senator Speier's press conference

SACRAMENTO - August 14, 2003 - The following statement is from the California Bankers Association (CBA) regarding proposed financial privacy legislation:

"The debate surrounding the use of information by financial institutions has been a long one. While California's banks remain committed to serving the needs of their customers, earlier drafts of proposed financial privacy legislation would have impeded our ability to deliver the kind of customer service our customers have come to expect and demand. The California Bankers Association (CBA) is on the record about its desire to see workable and reasonable privacy legislation enacted. We believe that, with the latest changes, this proposal qualifies as both reasonable and workable in many, but not all, respects. That is why CBA has decided to remove its opposition to Senator Speier's most recent privacy proposal. We want to be clear that CBA would much prefer a national standard to a patchwork of state or local privacy laws. We are, however, pleased to see progress on the issue of notice and also to see that the bill attempts to maintain a level playing field for all financial institutions regardless of size or structure. We also believe that Senator Speier's current privacy proposal is preferable to the Consumer Information Privacy Initiative currently being circulated. As always, CBA and its member institutions remain committed to maintaining the privacy of California's banking customers and will continue to look for ways to enhance their banking experience."

Information about CBA
Established more than 110 years ago, the California Bankers Association (CBA) is one of the largest state banking trade associations in the country. CBA leads the way in developing relevant educational and legislative solutions to some of California's more pressing financial and banking issues, including financial privacy, predatory lending, usage fees, and financial elder abuse. CBA's membership includes more than 300 of California's commercial, industrial and community banks and savings associations.