The sensitivity of banking and financial information is unquestionable. Fears about stolen funds and stolen identities lead banking and financial services consumers of all types to demand sophisticated data security practices. We help banks, brokers, lenders and other financial institutions to meet their data security and privacy obligations under the Gramm Leach Bliley Act, E-Sign Act and other authentication regulatory requirements.

Clients also turn to us for advice about reporting obligations under the U.S. Patriot Act and its suspicious-activity regulations and for guidance regarding the Fair Credit Reporting Act and the Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act, including Red Flag Identity Theft regulations. We also develop, review and revise document retention and data breach and response policies and procedures that complement our clients’ existing business practices. Finally, when problems occur, clients turn to us for help with the legal aspects of necessary remedial steps.

Our experience includes:

• Assisting clients in developing customer agreements and disclosures for financial products, including internet banking and online account access to ensure compliance with E-Sign
• Assisting financial institutions in developing and revising consumer privacy and information sharing policies to ensure compliance with GLBA and counseling financial institutions on GLBA associated inquiries
• Assisting financial institutions and non-traditional creditors (including health care entities) in developing, adopting and implementing identity theft prevention policies to ensure compliance with FACTA and the Red Flag Rules, which require any business that accepts payment over time for goods or services on a covered account to adopt and implement an identity theft prevention program
• Advising clients, both financial institutions and other businesses, on the authorizations necessary to pull consumer credit reports under FCRA, including assisting clients in revising their credit reporting practices in order to achieve compliance
• Assisting financial institutions in developing disclosures to ensure compliance with the Truth-In-Lending Act and Regulation Z