Dold Sponsored Bill To Protect Banking Data Passes House Unanimously
Press Release
The United States House of Representatives today unanimously passed the SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act sponsored by U.S. Congressman Robert Dold (IL-10). H.R. 1480 provides assurance for financial institutions that privileged information shared between federal banking regulators and state regulatory agencies will be protected and remain confidential. The bill passed 401-0.
"The overwhelming support for this bill proves what Congress can achieve when we set aside our partisan differences and work for the people we represent," Rep. Dold said. "This bipartisan bill is a commonsense solution to help consumers by ensuring that banking data remains protected and confidential."
H.R. 1480 amends The Secure and Fair Enhancement of Mortgage Licensing (SAFE) Act, which was originally signed into law in 2010. This law requires all mortgage loan originators to be licensed and registered through the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. The law provides confidentiality and privilege protections for information shared through the system as long as the information is shared between regulators who oversee the mortgage industry. However, it is unclear whether these privilege and confidentiality protections apply to regulators who cover other parts of the financial services industry.
The SAFE Act Confidentiality and Privilege Enhancement Act fills that gap by preserving the ability of state and federal financial regulators to share information regarding consumer financial services businesses that are licensed at the state levelwithout losing privilege or confidentiality protections provided by state and federal law. The bill provides regulators with the certainty that they can continue to share information and collaborate with their colleagues across state lines. This preserves the integrity of the NMLS and helps protect consumers from bad actors who switch states for licensing purposes to evade scrutiny.
H.R. 1480 was supported by the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. On March 26, 2015 the bill was approved by the House Financial Services Committee with a unanimous 58-0 vote
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