Copyright 1999 Boston Herald Inc.
The Boston Herald
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June 30, 1999 Wednesday ALL EDITIONS
SECTION: FINANCE; Pg. 060
LENGTH: 355 words
HEADLINE:
Markey pushes privacy amendment
BYLINE: By JOE
BARTOLOTTA
BODY:
With the House set to debate
historic banking reforms tomorrow, U.S. Rep. Edward Markey, (D-Malden), stepped
up his campaign to attach a controversial amendment he says is needed to protect
consumers' privacy.
Markey yesterday enlisted U.S. Rep. Joe Barton,
(R-Texas), as a co-author, giving the amendment bipartisan support. The American
Association of Retired Persons also announced its support of the amendment
yesterday. The amendment is attached to legislation that would remove
Depression-era barriers and enable banks, brokerages and insurers to merge into
"financial supermarkets."
The amendment, however, would allow customers
to block various departments within those institutions from sharing information
about their accounts. For example, the bank could alert the brokerage if
someone's certificate of deposit expired, unless the customer told the
institution not to.
The American Bankers Association and other industry
organizations oppose the amendment, saying it prevents cross-referencing of
accounts, which is the main incentive to merge.
"My argument is, that is
commerce without a conscience," Markey said.
House Republican leaders
say the amendment threatens the bank reform effort. The Senate, meanwhile,
passed its own bank reform plan earlier this year, and leaders there say they
oppose the privacy amendment.
The House Rules Committee is expected to
decide today whether the amendment is presented for debate by the House
tomorrow. The privacy amendment was attached by the House Commerce Committee
earlier this month, after the bill moved through the Banking Committee without
it.
Markey said financial industry lobbyists are pressuring House
Republicans to nix his amendment before tomorrow's debate.
"The industry
knows that if my amendment is allowed on the House floor, it will win," Markey
said. "They're only hope is to block the vote from ever being taken."
The amendment would also block financial institutions from sharing their
customer database with third parties, such as telemarketers. The bankers
association could support that provision, said spokeswoman Sonia Barbara.
LOAD-DATE: June 30, 1999 
