SIFMA Statement on Bill Prohibiting the SEC from Requiring Collection of PII Under the CAT

Washington, D.C., April 20, 2021 – SIFMA today released the following statement from president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. on the introduction of the “Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act” in the Senate:

“SIFMA commends Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) for his leadership in introducing, along with Senators Cynthia Lummis (R-WY), Mike Rounds (R-SD), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Steve Daines (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and John Boozman (R-AR) for their support of, the ‘Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act.’ The legislation would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring brokers to submit investors’ personally identifiable information (PII) to its Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT).

“The industry has long supported the goals of the CAT, and broker-dealers have been diligent in complying with their obligations to report transaction data. At the same time, we have consistently raised material security and privacy concerns about the amount of and need for investor PII to be reported to and maintained in the CAT. We have repeatedly questioned whether the benefit of collecting such information in a single data base outweighs the risk of such data being compromised to the detriment of individual investors. In response to these concerns, we have consistently proposed less risky alternatives designed to fulfill the regulatory purposes of the CAT while providing greater protection to investor PII. We appreciate the bill introduced today, under which PII would remain within our members’ systems and be transmitted in a timely manner to SEC and FINRA upon request. This alternative is a far safer approach for investors.”

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SIFMA is the leading trade association for broker-dealers, investment banks and asset managers operating in the U.S. and global capital markets. On behalf of our industry’s nearly 1 million employees, we advocate for legislation, regulation and business policy affecting retail and institutional investors, equity and fixed income markets and related products and services. We serve as an industry coordinating body to promote fair and orderly markets, informed regulatory compliance, and efficient market operations and resiliency. We also provide a forum for industry policy and professional development. SIFMA, with offices in New York and Washington, D.C., is the U.S. regional member of the Global Financial Markets Association (GFMA). For more information, visit http://www.sifma.org