Commission Reopens Comment Period On Proposal For Model Privacy Form Under Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
2009-84

Washington, D.C., April 15, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has reopened the public comment period on a proposal for a model privacy form that financial institutions could use to provide disclosures required by the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (GLBA). The Commission is reopening the comment period in order to solicit public comment on the results of recent quantitative consumer testing conducted to evaluate the form.

In March 2007, pursuant to the Financial Services Regulatory Relief Act of 2006, the Commission, together with seven other federal regulators, proposed a model privacy form designed to allow consumers easily to compare privacy practices of financial institutions. The jointly developed model form uses easily readable type font and is designed to be succinct and comprehensible. Under the proposal, financial institutions that chose to use the model privacy form would satisfy GLBA disclosure requirements and could take advantage of a legal "safe harbor."

The Commission has reopened the comment period on the proposal to provide all persons who are interested in this matter an opportunity to comment on the results of the recent testing of the model privacy form. The proposal and results of the recent quantitative consumer testing are available on the Commission's Web site. Comments on the results of the testing are due thirty days after the date of publication in the Federal Register.

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