ASA Welcomes House Bill to Remove Retail Investor PII from CAT

Applauds Rep. Loudermilk's leadership to protect American investor privacy

WASHINGTON – The American Securities Association (ASA) applauded a bill introduced today by House Financial Services Committee member Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-GA), and co-sponsored by members of the Committee, to remove retail investor personally identifiable information (PII) from the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) database.

“ASA applauds Congressman Loudermilk for standing up for the privacy rights of every American investor and for protecting them from identity theft,” said ASA CEO Chris Iacovella. “This common sense bill will remove the personal and financial information of every American investor from the CAT database before another massive cyber breach from China or Russia harms more working families. We look forward to working with Congress to send this much-needed bill to the President’s desk.”

In January, ASA sent a letter to the SEC strongly opposing an attempt by self-regulatory organizations (SROs) to disclaim liability when the CAT database is breached. Following a massive cyber breach at federal agencies including the Treasury and Commerce Departments ASA once again called on the SEC to end the CAT’s collection of retail investor personal and financial data. ASA also sent a comment letter to the SEC highlighting how collecting this unprecedented amount of data will cause extraordinary harm to American investors while achieving minimal regulatory benefits.

Last May, ASA filed a lawsuit—first announced in a Wall Street Journal op-ed—against the SEC to protect American investor privacy and launched MyDataMyVote.com, a nationwide grassroots movement mobilizing all Americans to help stop the collection of retail investor data. ASA withdrew its lawsuit after the SEC issued a request for public comment, allowing the American people to make their voices heard.

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ASA’s regional financial services companies work in communities across the country to create jobs, grow the economy, and increase prosperity for all Americans. The ASA exclusively represents the capital market and private client interests of its members and seeks to promote free market principles making it easier to access financial advice and capital. ASA members help Americans save for retirement, provide Main Street businesses with capital to grow, and advise hardworking Americans how to create and preserve wealth. For the latest updates follow @AmerSecurities and learn more at http://americansecurities.org/.