American Civil Liberties Union

Feature on Financial Privacy

For centuries, bankers used to pride themselves on being discreet and confidential about their customers' business. But today that tradition of discretion and confidentiality is breaking down, and consumers' financial privacy is in a sorry state indeed.

The problem lies not just with banks, but also with insurance companies and many other corporations who gather details about the financial lives of Americans, and increasingly see those details as a valuable resource to be mined for profit.