In letters Wednesday to four federal banking regulators, Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, and Sen. Bob Bennett, chairman of the Subcommittee on Financial Institutions, urged the regulators to withdraw the so-called "Know Your Customer" rule.

The proposal would require banks and other financial institutions to maintain detailed profiles of the financial activities of private citizens.

"Vigilant bankers can help us catch money launderers and drug dealers," Gramm said. "But asking those bankers to track how much private citizens are giving to their churches, or how often you stop at the teller's window, is going too far.

"The regulators can stop this before bankers take the first peek into your checkbook," Gramm said. "This regulation should be withdrawn."

Bennett agreed: "This proposal is well intentioned, but it clearly has the potential to result in egregious violations of consumer privacy," he said.

Click here to read the text of Chairman Gramm's February 10, 1999 Letter to Federal Reserve Chairman
Alan Greenspan Regarding the "Know Your Customer" Regulation