Members of the House Financial Services Financial Institutionsand Consumer Credit Subcommittee were visibly annoyed Tuesdayduring a hearing regarding the Consumer Financial ProtectionBureau's collection of confidential account information when the bureau's witness wasunable, or unwilling, to answer questions.

“The American people have a right to know how this governmentagency is collecting and using their personal financial data,” saidRep. Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), who chairs thesubcommittee. “The CFPB has thus far declined to provideconcrete answers to questions that have been asked in publicforums.”

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.) put CFPB Acting Deputy DirectorSteve Antonakes in the hot seat when, after Antonakes haddenied the CFPB collects ZIP code information on consumer financialaccounts, Duffy produced a contract between the CFPB and creditreporting firm Experian that specifies the bureau does, infact, collect the information.

“Many of my constituents are concerned that our government hastheir health records, their phone records, their Internet records,their emails, and now the CFPB is monitoring their financialrecords,” Duffy said.

“Frankly, there has been a veil of secrecy around the collectionof data at a time when the agency, as it is ramping up, has made apledge to Congress and to the American people to be open andtransparent,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

Capito also questioned the CFPB's use and storage of personallyidentifiable information “despite the clear intent ofCongress.” The CFPB is prohibited by law from obtaining orusing personally identifiable financial information about consumersto inform its market monitoring activities. “We simply do not knowthe extent to which the CFPB is collecting, storing or havingoutside contractors collect and store consumers' personallyidentifiable information,” she said. However, Rep. Carolyn Maloney(D-N.Y.) cautioned her colleagues against being too critical of theCFPB, saying the Federal Reserve collects more personal accountinformation.

“I don't want this to become a CFPB witch hunt,” she said.

Members of the subcommittee also questioned Antonakes about theCFPB's ability to keep the confidential consumer informationsecure, especially in light of two government watchdog reports thatfound deficiencies in the CFPB's data security.

“These issues increase the risk of CFPB not preventing orpromptly detecting and correcting…unauthorized access,modification, or both of its data,” the Government AccountabilityOffice said in a May 2012 audit. A March 2013 report from theCFPB's inspector general likewise found problems with the CFPB'scontrol of data, the subcommittee said in a release.

In advance of the hearing, incoming NAFCU President/CEO DanBerger mentioned the inspector general and GAO reports in a letterto Capito and subcommittee Ranking Member Gregory Meeks(D-N.Y.).

“NAFCU has consistently cautioned that data collection effortsmust include several layers of protection to ensure that sensitiveinformation is not compromised,” Berger said.

Specifically, Berger said his trade has expressed concern aboutthe response intake fields on the CFPB's consumer complaint formand has asked that the bureau outline implementing procedures toensure that employees handle this information with care.

“In an effort to minimize the potential for problems, NAFCUbelieves the CFPB should start by simply minimizing the breadth andscope of the personal information requested,” he said. “NAFCU hasalso expressed similar concerns to the Treasury Department as itcreates a records system for the CFPB. Unfortunately, the CFPB hasnot done enough to wane our concerns.”