Cuomo Proposes Stricter Regulations for Credit Reporting Agencies
“Oversight of credit reporting agencies will help ensure
that personal information is less vulnerable to cyberattacks and other nefarious acts in the new frontier of a rapidly changing digital world.”
Under the regulations, credit reporting agencies must register by Feb. 1 each year, using forms
that require them to list all officers who will be responsible for compliance.
The proposal would require companies like Equifax, Experian
and TransUnion to register with the state’s Department of Financial Services, whose superintendent will have broad powers to deny or revoke their authorization to do business in the state, or to sue, if a company fails to comply or engages in prohibited practices deemed unfair, deceptive or predatory.
Andrew M. Cuomo, responding to the massive security breach at Equifax, will propose regulations on Monday
that subject credit reporting agencies to the same rules as banks and insurances companies in order to protect consumers.
Senior administration officials said the proposed regulations would, in effect, make it illegal for unregistered credit
reporting agencies to compile reports on consumers in New York or to collect fees from banks for their services.
The episode highlighted gaps in regulation that allow credit reporting agencies to warehouse consumer information like names, addresses
and Social Security numbers without rigorous oversight for how that data is collected, protected and used.
The move comes after Equifax, based in Atlanta, announced last week
that hackers had gained access to sensitive personal information for 143 million consumers and made off with over 200,000 credit card numbers.
