Today’s evolving data sources bring many challenges for businesses in all industries. However, banks in particular face significant challenges with the massive amounts of data coming from new forms of customer interaction, such as online, over the phone, and in writing. Banks must monitor and manage data while complying with regulations.
Banks generate and store more data than ever before, and require more powerful data management tools. No matter whether data needs to be processed and stored from a simple ATM withdrawal, or a complex merger with another institution, data must be managed securely.
In today’s rapidly evolving financial environment, with new and complex regulations, banks must be able to gather, utilize, protect, and recover their data immediately. As a business owner or manager in the financial industry, it’s important to develop an approach for data protection and storage for long-term access.
Do you know the potential risks associated with data loss? They are vast, and include lost revenue, decreased customer confidence, reputational damage, and penalties and fines.
Data Retention Requirements For The Financial Industry
When working for a financial services organization, you’re required to comply with a variety of local, federal, and international laws that are designed to mandate the retention of certain types of data. You should be aware of and consider the following laws:
- Dodd-Frank Act
The Dodd-Frank Act was signed into federal law by President Barack Obama on July 21st, 2010, to modify the American financial regulatory environment. Under Dodd-Frank, financial institutions are required to maintain records for no less than five years.
- Bank Secrecy Act
The Bank Secrecy Act (BSA) of 1970 requires financial institutions in the United States to assist U.S. government agencies with the detection and prevention of money laundering. All BSA records must be retained for a period of five years and must be stored in an accessible manner.
- Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard
The Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI) applies to all organizations that handle cardholder information for debit, credit, ATM, e-purse, POS, and prepaid cards. PCI requires card issuers and holders to retain an audit trail history for a time period that’s consistent with its effective use, and legal regulations.
- Sarbanes-Oxley Act
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act holds registered public accounting firms and financial institutions to a severe set of standards regarding data storage, access, and retrieval. Section 103 requires firms to prepare and maintain audit work papers for a period of over seven years.
The extensive requirements and concerns in the financial industry require comprehensive data management and protection methods. Does your financial institution have adequate data lifecycle management processes in place? What about a secure data backup and disaster recovery plan?
Veltec Networks can help you implement proper data management processes for your financial institution. We can also improve, or develop, and implement data backup and disaster recovery solutions to ensure data security and compliance with specific regulations.
To learn more about data management processes, or data backup and disaster recovery, give us a call at (408) 849-4441 or send us an email: info@veltecnetworks.com.
