Federal Financial Regulatory Agencies Propose Joint Data Standards

Nine federal financial regulatory agencies have proposed or will propose joint data standards that would apply to data submitted to the agencies.

As required by the Financial Data Transparency Act of 2022, the data standards for identifiers of legal entities and other common identifiers are meant to promote the interoperability of financial regulatory data across the agencies, the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) said in a Friday (Aug. 2) press release.

Along with the CFPB, the other agencies inviting public comment on the proposed rule concerning these standards include the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the National Credit Union Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Department of the Treasury, according to the release and the proposed rule.

In the SEC’s own press release about the proposed joint data standards, SEC Chair Gary Gensler said: “This proposal will make financial data more accessible, uniform and useful to the public. Consistent data standards will make it easier for financial institutions to file reports across multiple agencies. They will also help regulators be more effective and efficient in carrying out our oversight functions.”

The Financial Data Transparency Act was passed as a provision of the National Defense Authorization Act in December 2022, according to a statement issued at the time by Sen. Mark Warner.

It aims to modernize data collection by the federal financial regulators by requiring them to develop common data formatting standards for the financial data they already collect from regulated institutions, making that data easier to process and use, the statement said.

In May, Warner, House Financial Services Committee Chairman Patrick McHenry, Ranking Member Maxine Waters and Sen. Mike Crapo sent a letter to the heads of eight of the federal financial regulatory agencies, urging them to implement the Financial Data Transparency Act.

The members of Congress said in the letter that implementing the law will make federal financial data more accessible, uniform and useful for the public; facilitate the use of artificial intelligence and other advanced technologies; and lead to greater transparency and market efficiencies.