NCUA Offers Guidance On Member DataProtection

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - (04/06/04)–In a Letter to Credit Unions sentWednesday, NCUA offered guidance on how to comply with the SecurityGuidelines included in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and the Fair andAccurate Credit Transactions Act that call for protectingmembers’ and other consumers’ personal information.Nonmembers protected under the guidelines could include someone whoapplies for but doest not obtain a loan, an individual whoguarantees a loan or an employee or prospective employee. NCUA saidA credit union must require its service providers that have accessto consumer information, by contract, to develop appropriatemeasures for the proper disposal of the information. Additionally,credit unions must develop and maintain an effective informationsecurity program “tailored to the complexity of itsoperations” and require its third-party vendors with accessto the credit union’s information take appropriate steps toprotect the security and confidentiality of thatinformation.