A bipartisan group of Congress members are urging federal financial regulators to implement their respective obligations under the Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA).
The Financial Data Transparency Act (FDTA) is designed to modernize the collection and dissemination of financial data by federal financial regulators. The idea is to make that information more accessible, more uniform, and ultimately more useful to investors and consumers. The Treasury Department and seven key regulators will jointly develop new standards.
In a letter to the leaders of the Federal Reserve, Securities and Exchange Commission, Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Federal Housing Finance Agency, National Credit Union Administration, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, and the Treasury Department stressed the benefits of the act.
“Implementing the FDTA as required by Congress will alleviate regulatory reporting burdens and will improve the accessibility, uniformity, and usefulness of federal financial data for the public. Adopting open-source data standards, common identifiers, while at the same time implementing features like machine readability, search capability, and interoperability across financial regulators will be a major step towards harmonizing regulatory reporting. It will also improve the collection and dissemination of federal financial data. This will spur innovation and facilitate the responsible use of technology to fully utilize the publicly available data your agencies publish,” the lawmakers wrote in the letter.
It was authored by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, and Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA), the ranking member on the committee. It was also signed by U.S. Sens. Mike Crapo (R-ID), and Mark Warner (D-VA).
They added that recent technological developments further necessitate the full implementation of the FDTA.
“Private sector market participants, academics, and individuals using advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, are already able to analyze government documents and generate insights without the need for manual data entry. Publishing machine-readable data in a consistent format will facilitate the use of these technologies, leading to increased transparency and greater market efficiencies,” they added. “The inclusion of the FDTA on your respective rulemaking agendas is a positive step. We encourage you to complete the rulemaking process as required by the FDTA. Implementation of the FDTA is a bipartisan and bicameral priority. We appreciate your prompt attention to this important matter.”