WASHINGTON, D. C. — "This morning, we are examining the provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act which establish the rules for information sharing amongst affiliated entities."
"I believe that this is an area which deserves particularly close scrutiny in the re-authorization process because of the considerable changes that have occurred in the financial services sector since the passage of the 1996 FCRA amendments."
"Frankly, activities which were once strictly prohibited now commonly occur within the industry. The changes made to the financial services laws permit financial services firms to engage in new lines of business and to operate using larger and much more complex corporate structures."
"The purpose of this hearing is to consider this contemporary landscape and assess how well the FCRA operates in the context of current practices."
"To do this, we must consider the types of affiliate structures firms use and look at the kinds of information they share and ascertain the purposes for which they share it."
"We must also examine the level of consumer understanding of information sharing practices - are they aware that their financial information is shared, do they recognize the range of entities it is shared amongst, does such sharing pose any threats to them, do they have concerns about such sharing, do they have choices regarding controlling it?"
"Hopefully, through the course of today's hearing, we can address these issues. As we go forward, we will have to closely measure these issues in order to be able to develop a product that achieves the most effective, efficient, balanced and fair system possible."