Newsroom

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | November 01, 2017

NAFCU Testifies on Data Security, Serves as Industry Lead

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

NAFCU representative Debra Schwartz, NAFCU Board treasurer and president and CEO of Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego, Calif., delivers prepared remarks today

Washington(November 1, 2017) -- Debra Schwartz, National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU) Board treasurer and president and CEO of Mission Federal Credit Union in San Diego, Calif., is scheduled to deliver the following prepared remarks during today's hearing, "Data Security: Vulnerabilities and Opportunities for Improvement," by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit.

NAFCU is the only financial services trade association testifying on this issue. In her testimony, Schwartzwill detail theimpact recent data breaches have had on credit unions and steps Congress can take to hold other entities to similar standards as financial institutions.

"I am proud of our advocacy team for all it has accomplished this year, including continuing to build the relationships that lead to credit union representatives testifying eight times before Congress," said Carrie Hunt, NAFCU's executive vice president of government affairs and general counsel. "We thank Debra Schwartz for being part of these efforts – it is imperative that legislators hear the impact their decisions will have on businesses and consumers. NAFCU and our members will continue to seek out opportunities to ensure issues affecting credit unions, like data security, are responsibly addressed."

NAFCU has been a leading advocate on national data security calling for a standardthat holds all entities that handle personal financial data to the same standards as credit unions and other depository institutions under the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. The association has repeatedly called for action to ensure that credit unions do not bear the cost of negligent data practices by any entity.

NAFCU is also involved with various cyber and data security initiatives, including the Financial Services-Information Sharing and Analysis Center (FS-ISAC) and the Federal Reserve's Payments Security Task Force.

This testimony marks the eighth time NAFCU has testified this year on the Hill on critical matters in the credit union industry.


###

Jacqueline Ramsay
jramsay@nafcu.org