COMMENT 

May 29,2007 

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency 

250 E Street, S.W. 

Mail Stop 1-5 

Washington, DC 20219 

Re: Docket ID OCC-2007-0003 

Mr. Robert E. Feldman 

Executive Secretary 

Attention: Comments 

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

550 17th Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20429 

Re: RIN 3064-AD16 

Ms. Mary Rupp 

Secretary of the Board 

National Credit Union Administration 

1775 Duke Street 

Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428 

Re: RIN 3133-AC84 

Ms. Nancy M. Morris 

Secretary 

Securities and Exchange Commission 

100 F Street, N.E. 

Washington, DC 20549-1090 

Re: File Number S?-09-07, Model Privacy 

Form 

Ms. Jennifer Jo~son' ·.',· . 9 • · i!: 36 

Secretary 

Board of Govdfli&s{)ftOO: F<~iiR&ie'rtre 

System 

20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20551 

Re: DocketNo. R-1280 

Regulation Comments 

Chief Counsel's Office 

Office of Thrift Supervision 

1700 G Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20552 

Attention: OTS-2007-005 

Received CFTC 

Records Section 

orljo/tJ7 

Re: Docket ID OTS-2007-0005 

Federal Trade Commission 

Office of the Secretary 

Room 135 (Annex C) 

600 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20585 

Re: Model Privacy Form, FTC File No. 

P034815 

Ms. Eileen Donovan 

Acting Secretary of the Commission 

Commodity Futures Trading Commission 

Three Lafayette Centre 

1155 21st Street, N.W. 

Washington, DC 20581 

Re: RIN 3038-AC04 

RE: Interagency Proposal for Model Privacy Form; 72 Federal Register 14940, 

March 29, 2007 

Dear Sir or Madam: 

The undersigned national associations, representing virtually every major 

financial institution in the U.S., have joined together to emphasize certain of the points 

made individually in our written comments on the above proposal. 
Our associations and our members unanimously support the objectives of the 

proposed form, because we believe that it is critical for customers to receive clear and 

concise information about how our member companies protect and use customer 

information. For that reason, we have been both general and detailed in our comments on 

the proposal. We believe that addressing the nature ofthese comments would best call 

for a reissue of the proposal for further comment after it has been revised to address the 

issues raised during this comment period, as well as the results of further testing. In a 

notice program such as that addressed by the proposal, a review of both the parts and the 

whole together is important to ensure that the information is adequate and balanced. 

Our principal concern is that the prescriptive nature of the proposed form would 

make it impossible for most institutions to explain their privacy policies and practices 

accurately. Inconsistencies between the proposed form and the provisions of the Fair 

Credit Reporting Act will confuse and mislead customers. The lack of uniform 

requirements by different regulators will prevent affiliates in a diversified company from 

using the same form. Further, we believe that the proposed form will not adequately 

permit meaningful disclosure and, thus, will expose users to the risk of legal attack under 

state laws as unfair and deceptive. In addition, inasmuch as the paper size requirements 

will compel a new, separate mailing, it will impose significant compliance costs. Unless 

these concerns are addressed fewer institutions will use the form than would be desired. 

Finally, we strongly believe that, when finalized, the revised model should be a 

compliance alternative for financial services firms, not a substitute for the model clauses 

contained in the existing regulation. 

Again, we thank the regulators for their persistent efforts in this area to achieve a 

meaningful and workable disclosure form and look forward to cooperating with you in 

perfecting the final product. Please do not hesitate to contact any of the undersigned with 

your additional comments and/or questions. 

Edward L. Yingling 

President & CEO 

American Bankers Association 

Joe Belew 

President 

Consumer Bankers Association 

2 

Diane Casey Landry 

President & CEO 

America's Community Bankers 

Steve Bartlett 

President & CEO 

The Financial Services Roundtable