STRONG OPPOSITION SWAYS BANK REGULATORS

Too often, it seems as though government bureaucrats go through the motions of seeking public input only to do whatever it was they wanted to do in the first place. That skepticism certainly extended to a lot of bank customers who feared the FDIC would implement new rules affecting the privacy of individual accounts in spite of strong protests.

It all started when the Treasury Department sought congressional action last year on legislation that would have required more disclosure about private bank accounts. The department said the legislation was needed to crack down on illegal money laundering. But Congress saw the bill as too much invasion of privacy and turned it down.

So federal banking regulators set about this year to impose the rules on their own. They were required, however, to allow public comment on the proposed rules.

And, boy, did the public ever comment.

The outcry was so loud, in fact, that the FDIC announced last week that it is likely to drop the proposed rules. This is good news for everyone, but particularly for those Americans who spoke up instead of sitting on the sidelines.