Pub. 2 2013 Issue 1

24 l e a d i n g a d v o c a t e f o r t h e b a n k i n g i n d u s t r y i n k a n s a s T HE INTERNET ENTEREDANEWAGE THIS JANUARY when its governing body, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, began accepting applica- tions for new top-level domain names. The change —which ABA has been monitoring and weighing in on since 2009 —means that we will soon see an explosion in website suffixes, beyond the familiar “.com,” “.org” and “.gov.” Potential new domains include “.bank” — but whether that suffix con - notes security and legitimacy or fraud and fakery will depend on who controls it. This is something every bank should be concerned about. Whether you desire a dot-bank site for your institution or not, odds are you don’t want someone else claiming one that could jeopardize your brand. ABA and BITS, a division of The Financial Services Roundtable, are working together to make sure we’re the ones in charge of such a sensitive domain. We already have succeeded in making sure this or any domain that would become home to financial services companies abides by higher security standards. And now we are working to keep the job of registering companies for “.bank” sites out of the hands of opportunistic startups. We believe — and I think you’ll agree — that no one else should be trusted as the registrar of dot-bank sites. The trust of bank customers and the integrity of our payments system could be undone by someone whose only interest in becoming the keeper of the dot-bank domain is to make money. ICAAN, a global non-profit, has established lots of rules and guidelines for those wishing to apply to serve as registrant for a new domain. But the current application process still has more of a gold-rush feel to it — squatters and all — than the kind of buttoned-down regulatory approval processes American banks are used to. So for us to succeed in securing the .bank domain, we’ll need bank- ers’ help. First, bankers must beware of and resist those who invite you to pre- register for a dot-bank site or a dot-insert-your-brand-name-here site. One company —Domain Security LLC— has been particularly egre- gious in coaxing “pre registrations” for dot-bank sites, despite the fact that it has absolutely no control over the domain. The company also went so far as to trademark “.bank,” but ABA and the Roundtable succeeded in overturning the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office’s approval. This company and others like it are merely posturing. Their pre- registrations seem little more than a scheme to help them show — as ICAAN requires in the domain registrant application — that they represent potential users of what- ever domain they seek to control. ABA and the Roundtable have formed a separate company — fTLD Registry Services, LLC — for purposes of applying and operating fi - nancial domains. We’ve gone to great lengths to demonstrate that we best represent the interests of banks, and we are working with potential competitors around the globe to gain their support for our efforts. We also are raising funds from banks interested in helping to shape what “.bank” looks like. We hope that those banks that have been watch - ing from the sidelines, contemplating investing, get in the game. Doug Johnson can be reached at djohnson@aba.com . MASTERING THE DOT-BANK DOMAIN Doug Johnson, Vice President – Senior Advisor, Risk Management, American Bankers Association For us to succeed in securing the .bank domain, we’ll need bankers’ help.