The concession addresses consumers' concerns, but makes starting up the computer a longer process, said Intel spokesman Chuck Malloy. Malloy said Intel made the change to give customers a choice. Concerns about banks Like computer users, bank customers are learning that their transactions aren't secret. After trying to help an elderly relative with her banking, Howard Hill of Pleasanton learned just how fast banks divulge customer information to other businesses. In February 1998, I took over the bookkeeping for an elderly aunt.
People expect banks to safeguard the confidentiality of their banking relationships.
A loud cry was heard earlier this summer when bank customers learned that their banks sold account information to telemarketers. Such information includes customers' names, addresses, Social Security numbers, account balances, credit limits and credit card balances. In June, the state of Minnesota sued U.S. Bancorp for allegedly selling account data to a telemarketing company without customers' permission, violating state and federal laws. In exchange for the data, U.S. Bancorp, which has 1,023 affiliated banks and branches, received commissions on sales made by the marketing firm. Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Union Bank, which together control about 60 percent of the California market, each said they have sold or traded personal or financial information about their customers with outside vendors or telemarketers.