The recent news regarding the misuse of Facebook customer data will likely have little impact on banks, suggests Toronto-based DBRS Ltd. in a commentary.
DBRS issued its report, Avoiding the Breach: Banks’ Efforts to Keep Customer Data Safe,” in the wake of reports that Facebook customer data was misused by an analytics firm.
The collection and use of data in the financial sector is fundamentally different, the report says; financial firms collect data for internal use, rather than external distribution, as Facebook does. The rating agency views the customer data that is being held by financial institutions as being “well-protected.”
Overall, DBRS is expecting “little to no impact” on the banks stemming from the Facebook situation. “Moreover, heightened concerns over privacy and protection of important data may actually lead more people to banks rather than fintechs, given the safety and soundness of major banking organizations, who already spend significant amounts of money protecting customer data,” the report says.
Additionally, the episode may cause consumers to reconsider whether to continue trading their data for “free” services, the report says, and whether they prefer to pay for services and keep their data private.
“Potential adverse implications for banks’ business activities could include a slowing technology sector that has been a key driver in the global economic recovery,” the report says. “This could slow revenue growth and increase credit costs both directly and indirectly.”
In particular, a drop in initial public offerings among technology companies would negatively impact fees for investment banks.