Data sharing

The most important policy question facing banking, brokerage and insurance companies is putting a framework in place that very quickly defines data ownership rights across the financial value chain.

Some fintechs argue that banks are selectively working with only certain third parties in sharing information and violating the spirit of the CFPB’s data-sharing principles.

Following in the footsteps of Chase, Wells Fargo and others, Fidelity is launching an application programming interface to let third-party apps access customer data — as long as the customers grant permission.

Readers chime in on the idea of a state-backed bank to serve the cannabis industry, data-sharing between banks and fintechs, whether community banks can just focus on tech laggards, and more.

Guidance from the CFPB and reduced friction between banks, fintechs and data aggregators are easing bank-fintech partnerships at Wells Fargo, Capital One and others.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau made it clear that consumers own their financial data and can share it with apps of their choice. Now it’s up to the industry to resolve thorny issues on liability and accountability.

Both banks and fintech are satisfied for now with the CFPB's nonbinding principles on data-sharing. But the statement may lay the groundwork for future regulation.

The nonbinding guidance, which followed a nearly yearlong inquiry about industry practices, said consumers should have greater ability to obtain information about their financial data, among other principles.

The Consumer Financial Data Rights group, representing aggregators and fintechs, says banks still aren’t forking over enough customer data. The group is meeting with bank regulators and trying to get consumers to petition regulators on its behalf.

Quantitative investors, starved for trading signals that can be spun into gold, are pressuring the finance firms they work with to grant them access to proprietary information.