Privacy concerns mounting.(financial information privacy regulation)

Feds, state address keeping data secret

Colorado considers itself far ahead of other states when it comes to dealing with the hot financial privacy issues facing banks and other Financial services companies.

The state Legislature passed a bill, HB 1395, just last month that creates a task force to look at ill aspects of consumer privacy in Colorado. The law is undergoing minor tinkering and should go to Gov. Bill Owens for his blessing anytime now.

But financial industry analysts are concerned that most financially oriented companies aren't tackling privacy problems fast enough. Some companies are waiting for a canned, one-size-fits-all solution. Others are just waiting to see how a new federal privacy law works.

Analysts, however, don't expect dealing with the issue to be that simple.

"Folks seem a little lethargic about moving on this," said Kimberly Aaron, a senior manager at financial services firm KPMG in Dallas. "Most of the solutions to privacy problems are technological ones, and there's not a lot of time between now and next November to address them. People need to …