WASHINGTON – With bipartisan support, H.R. 1408, the Financial Services Antifraud Network Act, authored by U.S. Representative Mike Rogers (R-Mich.) has been passed by the House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions and Consumer Credit. The legislation would create an antifraud network where the nation's financial regulators can confidentially share information and alert each other to fraudulent practitioners. House Financial Services Committee Chairman Michael G. Oxley (R-Ohio), an original cosponsor of the measure said, "With financial services fraud estimated to cost in excess of $100 billion a year, greater information sharing is imperative if regulators are to do their jobs in the new financial services world envisioned by Gramm-Leach-Bliley." The bill allows regulators to develop a network within two years. If they are unable to, the bill provides for the establishment of a subcommittee to create and coordinate the network. No new information would be collected and no information on consumers would be shared. "Modern technology and the Internet have created a new frontier for criminals, allowing them to defraud consumers with a mere click of a computer mouse," said Rogers. "Our regulators need the same technological tools. Electronically linking regulators and law enforcement closes a loophole and averts schemes aimed at bilking the American public." The bipartisan legislation, which passed the subcommittee by voice vote, currently has 15 cosponsors. [email protected]