Under current law, there is nothing to prevent these situations. Information about customers' financial habits is a gold mine for the financial services industry, and will become even more profitable for the financial industry as Congress moves to blur the lines between banks, securities firms, and insurance companies. Unless a bank chooses to honor a customer's wish for privacy, those customers who want to keep their financial information private are out of luck. I support legislation to give consumers control over the use and sharing of all their financial information. It is important to note that not all banks engage in these practices.
Many banks respect their customers' privacy because it makes good business sense to do so.
Unfortunately, others will continue to violate that right unless Congress acts on this issue. I believe your private financial information is your business, and no one else's. Customers should have the final word on whether their private financial information is shared, and with whom. I have fought to pass a Banking Privacy amendment in the Committee on Banking and Financial Services. My Banking Privacy amendment required financial institutions to notify customers about their privacy policies, and it also gave customers the right to forbid their bank from sharing any financial information about the customer without the customer's permission.