Password anti-pattern alive and well at a financial institution

Wow. I would have thought that after the years of publicity describing the evils of the password anti-pattern, it would not be seen in any current web site that is serious about security. Today, I tried to link an etrade account to a checking account at another institution. Here is part of the screen I got:
password-antipattern-dialog
I wasn’t sure what it meant by “online login information”. I thought that perhaps they wanted me to reenter my etrade credentials for extra security at this step, but it seemed odd that they would do that in a box that says “powered by yodlee”. I wouldn’t want to give my etrade password to yodlee. So I checked the help bubble and got this:

“Please enter the login information for the bank your external account is at”.

REALLY! They actually want me to enter my username and password from my bank into yodlee via etrade!

So I looked at the “Instant Verification User Agreement”. Here is The fourth paragraph (with emphasis added by me):

THIRD PARTY ACCOUNTS. By using the service, you authorize E*TRADE Bank and/or E*TRADE Securities and Yodlee to access third party sites designated by you, on your behalf, to retrieve information requested by you. For all purposes hereof, you hereby grant E*TRADE Bank and/or E*TRADE Securities and Yodlee a limited power of attorney, and you hereby appoint E*TRADE Bank and/or E*TRADE Securities and Yodlee as your true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for you and in your name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to access third party internet sites, servers or documents, retrieve information, and use your information, all as described above, with the full power and authority to do and perform each and every act and thing requisite and necessary to be done in connection with such activities, as fully to all intents and purposes as you might or could do in person. YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT WHEN E*TRADE BANK AND/OR E*TRADE SECURITIES OR YODLEE ACCESSES AND RETRIEVES INFORMATION FROM THIRD PARTY SITES, E*TRADE BANK AND/OR E*TRADE SECURITIES AND YODLEE ARE ACTING AS YOUR AGENT, AND NOT THE AGENT OR ON BEHALF OF THE THIRD PARTY. You agree that third party account providers shall be entitled to rely on the foregoing authorization, agency and power of attorney granted by you. You understand and agree that the service is not endorsed or sponsored by any third party account providers accessible through the service.

It states that this would be really easy, that they have my privacy and security in mind, and I’d be able to transfer money right away. All I had to do was click the box that I agree to the terms of use, and give them the username and password for my bank account — and I give etrade and yodlee power of attorney:

“you hereby appoint E*TRADE Bank and/or E*TRADE Securities and Yodlee as your true and lawful attorney-in-fact and agent, with full power of substitution and resubstitution, for you and in your name, place and stead, in any and all capacities, to access third party internet sites,…”

They want me to give them the keys to my bank account and agree to let them act as me to any internet site, for any reason, and in the same agreement they say this (emphasis is mine):

E*TRADE BANK AND/OR E*TRADE SECURITIES AND YODLEE MAKE NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS, (ii) THE SERVICE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR-FREE, (iii) THE RESULTS THAT MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE SERVICE WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iv) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL PURCHASED OR OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE SERVICE WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, OR (V) ANY ERRORS IN THE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE CORRECTED.

Seems to me they want me to trust them with my finances more than they trust their own technology.

I declined to use the service.