Source: Bob Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle ( Free Registration )

A federal appeals court reinstated part of California’s financial privacy law Thursday, allowing consumers to prevent banks from sharing information with affiliated companies about a customer’s savings account or buying habits.

Central provisions of the 2004 law, the broadest of its kind in the nation, have been tied up in court for more than three years. Ruling on legal challenges by banks and the Bush administration, the same appeals court and a federal judge found in 2005 that the California statute conflicted with a federal law that set nationwide standards for regulating consumer credit reports.

Read Full Article: Part of California financial privacy law upheld