Your Rights to Financial Privacy
The federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 created a new opportunity for you to limit the transfer of your personal financial information. The law attempts to balance your right to privacy with financial institutions' need to share information for normal business purposes. Some consumers don't object to information sharing-they want their names on mailing and telephone lists so they can easily find out about new products and services. But other consumers want fewer solicitations and more privacy. If you're in the latter category, you have some important new responsibilities if you want to take advantage of your new rights.
It's important that you read the mail you receive from your bank and other financial institutions. The law requires these companies to explain how they use and share your personal information. The law also allow you to stop or "opt out" of certain information sharing. "You need to be observant," says Ken Baebel, Assistant Director of the FDIC's Division of Compliance and Consumer Affairs. "You need to look for the privacy notices from your financial institutions, which may come as part of a monthly statement or as a separate mailing. You also need to understand whether an institution intends to share personal information with other companies and, if so, what you can do to prevent information sharing, if that's what you want. Otherwise, it will be up to the institution to decide who gets details about you and your finances." (https://www.fdic.gov/resources/consumers/consumer-assistance-topics/financial-privacy.html)