SIFMA invokes fear of cyberterrorists in plea to fold CARDS

An influential Wall Street interest group told Finra on Monday to withdraw its proposal for a massive customer-data-collection system. In a Dec. 1 comment letter, the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association said the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Inc. does not have the authority to pursue the initiative, known as the Comprehensive Automated Risk Data System. It also said CARDS would substantially increase regulatory costs for financial firms while potentially exposing sensitive customer information to cyberattacks. “SIFMA believes that Finra’s CARDS proposal would impose undue costs and burdens on the member firms, and is an attempt to diagnose a regulatory ill without appropriately accounting for the impact on investor privacy and civil liberties, and should not be filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission,” wrote Ira Hammerman, SIFMA executive vice president and general counsel. More on Investment News here.