Our representatives in Washington are swamped with all kinds of legislative initiatives. Jordan and I, along with several fellow bankers from around the state, decided to make the pilgrimage to Washington, D.C., to offer our views on some of this pending legislation. We met with Senator Daines, Senator Sheehy, Representative Zinke, and Representative Downing. Despite being incredibly busy, each of them was generous with their time.
I’m happy to report that all of them supported our opposition to the CFPB’s Section 1071 rule, which requires lenders to collect and report extensive personal data. Bank of Bozeman does not sell your information, and we resist efforts by the government to collect data on law-abiding citizens. Fortunately, our legislators in Washington agree.
They were unanimously supportive of the Homebuyers Privacy Protection Act, which we encouraged them to enact into law. It has come to our attention that credit agencies are selling your data. When you apply for a loan from us, we run a credit report. While we keep your information confidential, credit reporting agencies are selling your information to third parties who then solicit you. Our legislators agree that selling your data should require your consent.
We also asked them to support the ACRE Act, which would lower interest rates for struggling farmers, ranchers, and rural homeowners. Additionally, we pushed for credit unions to pay income taxes – just like community banks and every other business in the U.S. We urged them to support the TAILOR Act, which would require agencies to abandon a one-size-fits-all mentality and instead tailor rules and regulations based on a bank’s risk profile.
I’m pleased to report that our legislators took the time to hear our concerns. We’ll see what happens, but I was encouraged that they all displayed common sense.
Sincerely,
Clinton Gerst
Last Best Bank® President