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Editors, Reporters:

America’s Community Bankers has told federal bank regulators that it supports proposed guidelines for establishing standards to safeguard the security and confidentiality of consumer information, and urged that these standards provide flexibility for insured institutions, their customers, and the entities with whom they do business or have third party arrangements.

“These guidelines should emphasize the parameters of an effective information security program, while allowing an institution the flexibility to exercise discretion in adopting a program that best fits its business and operations based on its size and the complexity of its information sharing arrangements,” ACB said in its comment letter.

ACB added that it “ACB strongly urges that any such guidelines be focused on the complexity and breadth of information sharing arrangements and not solely on the size of an institution.”

ACB also cautioned that, “Overly detailed and rigid guidelines, however, risk creating costly compliance requirements for insured institutions that are not placed on less-regulated competitors offering financial and related services.”

ACB also noted that, “Customer trust is one of the cornerstones of the business relationships that exist for community banks. For this reason, community banks have and will continue to protect the confidentiality of consumer information as part of their business practices, while they look for and engage in information sharing arrangements that have resulted in tremendous benefits for their customers, their communities and consumers.”

ACB’s letter is linked