Consumer Financial Protection Bureau lacks a written procedure for protecting the consumer financial data it collects from banks, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office, which offered suggestions for improving the bureau’s operations in this area. According to the report, the CFPB collects data on 700,000 automobile sales a month, among other records, and the GAO recommended the bureau take steps to improve its information security practices, which included obtaining independent reviews of its privacy practices, and developing and implementing targeted privacy training for staff responsible for working with sensitive personal information. The report concluded with 11 recommendations for the CFPB to enhance its privacy and information security, as well as one recommendation to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to ensure its data collections comply with appropriate disclosure requirements. The GAO said that the “CFPB and OCC agreed with its recommendations and noted steps they plan to take or have taken to address them.”
