WASHINGTON, D.C.— Stephen Hall, Legal Director and Securities Specialist, issued the following statement on a joint comment letter from Better Markets, Americans for Financial Reform, Consumer Reports, and other civil rights advocates supporting the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau’s (CFPB’s) proposed Rulemaking on Personal Financial Data Rights.

“The rise of technology in finance offers both promise and peril to American consumers.   This is especially true for communities of color, who often rely on emerging technologies in their financial lives and are therefore vulnerable to the abuses and biases that may come with those innovations.  The CFPB’s proposed rule seeks to eliminate barriers to competition, empower consumers with greater control over their financial data, and provide new protections against potential misuse of data by financial service providers. The letter devotes special attention to the ways in which these reforms can help promote economic justice among communities of color.

“Decades of discriminatory financial practices have disproportionately affected communities of color, contributing to a significant portion of the population being unbanked or underbanked. The letter highlights the urgent need to create a regulatory framework that helps combat these injustices.  The letter also urges the CFPB to further strengthen the proposal by expanding the types of data providers covered under the rule to include certain non-depository entities, including credit bureaus, collection agencies, non-bank lenders, and issuers of Electronic Benefit (EBT) Cards. The letter also emphasizes the importance of striking a proper balance between fostering innovation and implementing robust consumer protections.

“We applaud the CFPB for this important proposal, and we look forward to seeing the benefits it will provide to consumers. The full joint-comment letter, led by Americans for Financial Reform and Consumer Reports, is available here.”

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Better Markets is a non-profit, non-partisan, and independent organization founded to promote the public interest in the financial markets, support the financial reform of Wall Street and make our financial system work for all Americans again. Better Markets works with allies—including many in finance—to promote pro-market, pro-business and pro-growth policies that help build a stronger, safer financial system that protects and promotes Americans’ jobs, savings, retirements and more. To learn more, visit www.bettermarkets.org.