A couple of U.S. industry trade associations have applied to the Internet domain registry service to create two new domains for the financial industry.

The American Bankers Association (ABA) and The Financial Services Roundtable announced that they have applied to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to operate two new domains, .bank and .insurance, on behalf of the financial services industry. They say the move aims to improve online security and safeguard consumers against imposter websites.

“The industry has applied for .bank and .insurance to provide the highest security for the millions of customers conducting banking and insurance activities online and to ensure the safety and soundness of the industry,” said Craig Schwartz, head of operations for the ABA and Roundtable effort.

The new domains will adhere to certain security standards. They would also require financial institutions looking to register addresses within those domains to be chartered by their local financial regulators, and any other financial entities will be vetted to ensure compliance with strict registration requirements.

The groups say their initiative is endorsed by the Australian Bankers’ Association, American Bankers Insurance Association, British Bankers’ Association, European Banking Federation, Independent Community Bankers of America, the International Banking Federation, and numerous financial institutions.

“Consumers need to feel confident that when they go to a .bank or .insurance site, that a trusted third-party has vetted these domain names,” said Doug Johnson, ABA vice president of risk management. “New financial domains will be a detriment — rather than asset – if they cannot be trusted. That’s why our groups are leading this effort.”

ICANN reports that the application process for new domains closed yesterday, and it has received 1,900 applications. It aims to publish the list of applied-for domain names on June 13. There will then be a 60-day comment period on the applications, with the preliminary results expected around year end.