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

Washington, D.C., March 18, 2021 – SIFMA today released the following statement from president and CEO Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr. on the “Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act”:

“SIFMA commends Congressman Barry Loudermilk (R-GA) for his leadership and House Financial Services Capital Markets Subcommittee Ranking Member Bill Huizenga (R-MI) as well as Congressmen Ted Budd (R-NC), Warren Davidson (R-OH) and French Hill (R-AR) for their support of the ‘Protecting Investors’ Personally Identifiable Information Act.’  This bill would prohibit the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) from requiring that personally identifiable information (PII) be collected under Consolidated Audit Trail (CAT) reporting requirements.

“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. To be clear, we do not object to the SEC’s or self-regulatory organizations (SRO) legitimate authority to access individual client data in connection with regulatory investigations, as that authority exists today.  Rather, 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.