.bank and .insurance gTLD applicant asks for an extension to the objection filing deadline

Craig Schwartz that is the Director of fTLD Registry Services, LLC sent a letter to Ms. Christine Willett, General Manager of the New gTLD Program at ICANN asking for an extension to the objection filing deadline of March 31, 2013.

fTLD Registry Services, LLC (fTLD) was formed by The Financial Services Roundtable and the American Bankers Association to operate gTLDs to serve the global financial services community and other communities. On May 24, 2012, fTLD submitted applications to ICANN to operate the .bank and .insurance gTLDs. .bank has one more applicant while .insurance has another three applicants besides fTLD.

fTLD said that in light of the fourth delay for publishing the results of the string similarity review and the critical role it may play regarding an applicant’s decision to file an objection, ICANN should quickly consider a reasonable (e.g., 45-60 days) extension to the objection filing deadline. fTLD explained that in the absence of an extension to the objection period, which in their view would be unacceptable, fTLD and other applicants will be forced to spend time and resources preparing objections that may ultimately be unnecessary after the string similarity results are announced. fTLD asked ICANN to announce an extension to the objection filing deadline as soon as possible.