[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 101 (Wednesday, May 24, 2000)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 33646-33689]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-12755]



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Part III





Federal Trade Commission





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16 CFR Part 313



Privacy of Consumer Financial Information; Final Rule

Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 101 / Wednesday, May 24, 2000 / Rules 
and Regulations

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FEDERAL TRADE COMMISSION

16 CFR Part 313


Privacy of Consumer Financial Information

AGENCY: Federal Trade Commission.

ACTION: Final Rule.

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SUMMARY: The Federal Trade Commission (the ``Commission'' or ``FTC'') 
is publishing a final privacy rule, as required by section 504(a) of 
the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, Pub. L. 106-102 (the ``G-L-B Act'' or 
``Act''), with respect to financial institutions and other persons 
under the Commission's jurisdiction, as set forth in section 505(a)(7) 
of the Act. Section 504 of the Act requires the Commission and other 
federal regulatory agencies to issue regulations as may be necessary to 
implement notice requirements and restrictions on a financial 
institution's ability to disclose nonpublic personal information about 
consumers to nonaffiliated third parties. Pursuant to section 503 of 
the G-L-B Act, a financial institution must provide its customers with 
a notice of its privacy policies and practices. Section 502 prohibits a 
financial institution from disclosing nonpublic personal information 
about a consumer to nonaffiliated third parties unless the institution 
satisfies various disclosure and opt-out requirements and the consumer 
has not elected to opt out of the disclosure. This final rule 
implements the requirements outlined above.

EFFECTIVE DATE: This rule is effective November 13, 2000. Full 
compliance is required by July 1, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Kellie A. Cosgrove or Clarke 
Brinckerhoff, Attorneys, Division of Financial Practices, Federal Trade 
Commission, Washington, DC 20580, 202-326-3224.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section A. Background

    On November 12, 1999, President Clinton signed the G-L-B Act 
(Public Law 106-102) into law. Subtitle A of Title V of the Act, 
captioned Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information, limits the 
instances in which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic 
personal information about a consumer to nonaffiliated third parties, 
and requires a financial institution to disclose to all of its 
customers the institution's privacy policies and practices with respect 
to information sharing with both affiliates and nonaffiliated third 
parties. The Commission notes that there are other laws that may impose 
limitations on disclosures of nonpublic personal information in 
addition to those imposed by the G-L-B Act and this rule. For instance, 
the Fair Credit Reporting Act imposes conditions on the sharing of 
application information and credit report information between 
affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties.\1\ Title V also requires 
the Commission, along with the Federal banking agencies \2\ and other 
Federal regulatory authorities,\3\ after consulting with 
representatives of State insurance authorities designated by the 
National Association of Insurance Commissioners (NAIC), to prescribe 
such regulations as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of the 
provisions in Title V, Subtitle A, that govern disclosure of nonpublic 
personal information. The Federal agencies are sometimes referred to 
collectively in this document as the ``Agencies'' (or ``other 
Agencies'' when excluding the Commission).
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    \1\ The Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA), 15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq, 
provides no limitation on communication by an entity solely of its 
own ``transactions or experiences'' with the consumer (e.g., the 
individual's account history). However, it limits the reporting of 
information obtained from other sources, such as consumer 
application information or credit report information. An institution 
may normally share such data with its affiliates only if it has 
complied with the notice and opt-out procedures set forth in FCRA 
Sec. 603(d)(2)(A)(iii), which are very similar to those set forth in 
Section 502(b)(1) of the Act. Sharing such data with nonaffiliates 
may be effectively prohibited by the FCRA, because the institution 
likely would become a consumer reporting agency subject to its 
restrictions on reporting of information to third parties.
    \2\ Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation (FDIC), Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), 
and Secretary of the Treasury.
    \3\ National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) and Securities 
and Exchange Commission (SEC).
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    The Agencies are all issuing final rules to implement Subtitle A 
that are consistent and comparable to the extent possible, as is 
required by the statute.

Section B. Overview of Comments Received

    On March 1, 2000, the Commission published a notice of proposed 
rulemaking (the proposal or proposed rule) in the Federal Register (65 
FR 11174). The other Agencies published their proposed rules on 
different dates.\4\ The Commission received a total of 640 comments, 
and the other Agencies collectively received a total of 8,337 comments 
in response to the various proposed rules. Many commenters sent the 
same letter to multiple Agencies. Many of the comments were from 
individuals, virtually all of whom encouraged the Agencies to provide 
greater protection of individuals' financial privacy. Many individuals 
noted their concerns generally about the loss of privacy and the 
receipt of unwanted solicitations by marketers. A large number of 
individuals also requested the Agencies to support legislation that the 
commenters believe would provide additional protections.
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    \4\ Those proposed rules, which were consistent and comparable 
with the proposals published by the Commission, appeared in the 
Federal Register at 65 FR 8770 (Feb. 22, 2000) (OCC, FRB, FDIC, and 
OTS jointly), 65 FR 10988 (Mar. 1, 2000) (NCUA), and 65 FR 12354 
(Mar. 8, 2000) (SEC).
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    The Agencies also received several letters from members of 
Congress. In two letters signed by several members of the House of 
Representatives, the Agencies were encouraged to exercise their 
rulemaking authority to provide greater protections than provided in 
the Act. Other Representatives requested, in separate letters, that 
some other Agencies (a) create a limited exception to the prohibition 
against the sharing of account numbers for marketing purposes and (b) 
ensure that social security numbers are considered ``nonpublic personal 
information.''
    The NAIC submitted a comment on behalf of the State insurance 
authorities that generally supported the Agencies' proposed rule. The 
NAIC also proposed various measures to provide greater protections for 
consumers, such as specifying more convenient means to exercise the 
right to opt out of the disclosure of information. The NAIC further 
advised the Agencies to clarify the boundary of Federal and State 
jurisdiction over privacy regulations and ensure that the financial 
privacy rules under the Act are compatible with the privacy rules 
relating to medical information that are to be issued by the Secretary 
of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) under the Health 
Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPPA) of 1996.\5\
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    \5\ These proposed regulations were published for comment at 64 
FR 59918 (Nov. 3, 1999).
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    Other comments were received from consumer groups and others 
advocating that the Agencies extend privacy protections in a number of 
ways, such as by requiring (a) financial institutions to provide 
consumers with access to their information maintained by the 
institutions and the opportunity to correct errors, (b) more detailed 
disclosures of the information collected and disclosed, and (c) 
disclosures of a financial institution's privacy policies and practices 
earlier in the process of establishing a customer relationship. A 
letter signed by 33 State Attorneys General urged some other Agencies 
to add certain consumer protections to the disclosure requirements and 
to the

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provision permitting financial institutions to enter into joint 
marketing agreements.
    Most of the remaining comments were from businesses concerned about 
the Act, and their representatives. This included not only creditors of 
various types, but also representatives of the health care industry, 
retail merchants, insurance companies, securities firms, private 
investigators, debt collection agencies, consumer reporting agencies, 
institutions of higher education, tax professionals, and others. These 
commenters offered a large number of suggested changes, with the most 
commonly advanced suggestions including: an extension of the effective 
date of the rule; an amendment to the definition of ``nonpublic 
personal information'' to focus more narrowly on ``financial'' 
information; a streamlining of information required in the initial and 
annual disclosures; a clarification of how one or more of the statutory 
exceptions operate; an exclusion from, or clarification of, the 
definitions of ``consumer'' and ``customer'' in various contexts; and 
the addition of flexibility to provide initial notices at some point 
other than ``prior to'' the time a customer relationship is 
established.
    The Commission has made some modifications to its proposed rule in 
light of the comments received. These comments, and the Commission's 
responses thereto, are discussed in the following section-by-section 
analysis. Following the section-by-section analysis, the Commission has 
provided guidance for certain institutions in order to provide 
additional direction on how these institutions may comply with the rule 
and avoid unnecessary burden.

Section C. Section-by-Section Analysis

    As an initial matter, the Commission notes that the final rule, 
unlike the proposal, presents the various sections in subparts that 
consist of related sections. This change was made to group related 
concepts together and thereby make the rule easier to follow. A 
derivation table is included following this preamble to assist readers 
in locating provisions as set out in the Commission proposal. The 
Commission has also added an Appendix to the final rule, setting out 
example disclosure clauses for financial institutions to consider.

Section 313.1  Purpose and Scope

    Purpose. Paragraph (a) of this section states that the rule is 
intended to require a financial institution to provide notice to 
customers about its privacy policies and practices; to describe the 
conditions under which a financial institution may disclose nonpublic 
personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties; 
and to provide a method for consumers to prevent a financial 
institution from disclosing that information to certain nonaffiliated 
third parties by ``opting out'' of that disclosure, subject to various 
exceptions as stated in the rule. No significant comments addressed 
this provision, and the Commission made no substantive change to this 
section.
    Scope. Paragraph (b) sets out the scope of the rule, and tracks the 
enforcement role assigned to the Commission by section 505(a)(7) of the 
G-L-B Act. It states that the rule applies only to information about 
individuals who obtain a financial product or service from a financial 
institution to be used for personal, family, or household purposes. The 
principal type of entity subject to the rule is a ``financial 
institution,'' a term section 509(3) of the G-L-B Act defines very 
broadly to mean ``any institution the business of which is engaging in 
financial activities as described in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding 
Company Act of 1956'' (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)). Those ``financial 
activities'' include not only a number of traditional financial 
activities specified in section 4(k) itself,\6\ but also those 
activities that the Federal Reserve Board has found to be either 
closely related to banking,\7\ or usual in connection with the 
transaction of banking or other financial operations abroad,\8\ by 
regulation (or order or interpretation) ``in effect on the date of the 
enactment of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act.'' \9\ Section 313.1(b) also 
lists some examples of ``financial institutions'' subject to Commission 
jurisdiction under the Act. Finally, this part notes that the 
Commission is also authorized to enforce the Act against ``other 
persons'' who are not financial institutions, but receive protected 
information from a financial institution and are subject to section 
502(c) of the G-L-B Act (``Limits on Reuse of Information''), which 
imposes restrictions on recipients of such information as set forth in 
16 CFR 313.11, infra.
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    \6\ Section 4(k)(4)(A-E) states ``the following activities shall 
be considered to be financial in nature: (A) Lending, exchanging, 
transferring, investing for others, or safeguarding money or 
securities. (B) Insuring, guaranteeing, or indemnifying against 
loss, harm, damage, illness, disability, or death, or providing and 
issuing annuities, and acting as principal, agent, or broker for 
purposes of the foregoing, in any State. (C) Providing financial, 
investment, or economic advisory services, including advising an 
investment company (as defined in section 3 of the Investment 
Company Act of 1940). (D) Issuing or selling instruments 
representing interests in pools of assets permissible for a bank to 
hold directly. (E) Underwriting, dealing in, or making a market in 
securities.''
    \7\ Section 4(k)(4)(F). The Board's list of such activities is 
found in 12 CFR 225.28 and 12 CFR 225.86(a). The latter subsection 
was added as an interim rule published by the Board in the Federal 
Register upon enactment of the G-L-B Act (65 FR 14433; Mar. 14, 
2000), subject to revision after a public comment period ending on 
May 12, 2000. The activities listed in 12 CFR 225.28 include in 
certain circumstances: brokering or servicing loans; leasing real or 
personal property (or acting as agent, broker, or advisor in such 
leasing) without operating, maintaining or repairing the property; 
appraising real or personal property; check guaranty, collection 
agency, credit bureau, and real estate settlement services; 
providing financial or investment advisory activities including tax 
planning, tax preparation, and instruction on individual financial 
management; management consulting and counseling activities 
(including providing financial career counseling); courier services 
for banking instruments; printing and selling checks and related 
documents; community development or advisory activities; selling 
money orders, savings bonds, or traveler's checks; and providing 
financial data processing and transmission services, facilities 
(including hardware, software, documentation, or operating 
personnel), data bases, advice, or access to these by technological 
means.
    \8\ Section 4(k)(4)(G). The scope of the Act is not limited to 
activities abroad, because the text of Section 4(k)(4)(G) is 
``Engaging, in the United States, in any Section 4(k)(4)(G) activity 
that (i) a bank holding company may engage in outside of the United 
States; and (ii) the Board has determined to be usual in connection 
with the transaction of banking and financial operations abroad.'' 
(Emphasis added.) The Board has provided a list of such activities 
in 12 CFR 211.5(d) and 12 CFR 225.86(b). The latter subsection was 
added as an interim rule published by the Board in the Federal 
Register upon enactment of the G-L-B Act (65 FR 14433; Mar. 14, 
2000), subject to revision following a public comment period ending 
on May 12, 2000. The activities listed in 12 CFR 211.5(d) include 
leasing real or personal property (or acting as agent, broker, or 
advisor in such leasing) where the lease is functionally equivalent 
to an extension of credit; acting as fiduciary; providing 
investment, financial, or economic advisory services; and operating 
a travel agency in connection with financial services.
    \9\ Section 4(k)(4)(G) uses ``day before the date of'' rather 
than ``date of'' in the quoted phrase.
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    Many industry commenters suggested revising the ``financial 
institution'' definition set forth in Sec. 313.3(k) to narrow the scope 
to only those businesses that engage in traditional financial 
activities, arguing that Congress did not intend to cover businesses 
that conducted no such activities. On the other side, consumer 
commenters vigorously defended the broad scope, contending that the 
need to protect personal financial data extends beyond traditional 
financial institutions and that Congress intended to regulate a wide 
range of businesses that provide ``financial'' services to consumers 
when it enacted this statute. The G-L-B Act clearly covers more than 
parties in the credit, insurance, or securities industries; rather, an 
entity is a ``financial institution'' if it engages in any activity 
that the Board has determined to be a ``financial activity.''

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After a careful review of the comments received, the Commission finds 
no sound rationale for fundamentally revising the scope of the rule. 
Therefore, the Commission continues to interpret the act as written and 
has made no broad change to 16 CFR 313.1(b) in that regard.\10\ 
However, as the Commission noted when it proposed this rule and repeats 
hereafter, some businesses that are technically ``financial 
institutions'' will have no disclosure obligations under the Act.\11\ 
Furthermore, as is evident from the discussion of the term ``customer 
relationship'' that is defined in 16 CFR 313.3(i), many others will 
have only limited duties because they will not establish such 
relationships or they will be of very short duration.
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    \10\ However, as discussed in the definition of ``financial 
institution'' in Sec. 313.3(k), the Commission has retained its 
interpretation that an institution is covered only if it is 
``significantly engaged'' in such activities.
    \11\ ``Many entities that come within the broad definition of 
financial institution will likely not be subject to the disclosure 
requirements of the rule because not all financial institutions have 
`consumers' or establish `customer relationships.' '' 65 Fed. Reg. 
11174, 11177 (Mar. 1, 2000).
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    Several commenters requested that the Commission clarify how its 
rule applies to insurance companies. The Commission notes that section 
505 of G-L-B Act, which sets out the enforcement authority of the 
Agencies, explicitly commits the enforcement jurisdiction over 
``persons engaged in providing insurance'' to state insurance 
authorities, thus excluding them from the Commission's authority (and, 
by operation of section 504(a)(1) of the G-L-B Act, from the 
Commission's rulemaking authority).
    Several other commenters asked that the final rule state that 
certain transactions that are exempt from the coverage of the Truth in 
Lending Act (TILA; 15 U.S.C. 1601 et seq.) and Regulation Z (Reg. Z, 12 
CFR part 226) also be treated as beyond the scope of the privacy rule. 
TILA and Reg. Z, which impose disclosure requirements on credit 
extended to consumers under certain circumstances, exempt several 
transactions, including those involving business, commercial, or 
agricultural credit. 15 U.S.C. 1603(1); 12 CFR 226.3(a). The Commission 
agrees that transactions that fit within the business, commercial, and 
agricultural exemptions from TILA and Reg. Z for these types of credit 
also would fall outside the scope of the privacy rule, and has amended 
Sec. 313.1(b) accordingly.\12\
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    \12\ Thus, creditors may look at how this exemption is applied 
under Reg. Z for guidance on the scope of covered transactions under 
the privacy rule. It should be noted, however, that TILA exempts 
several other types of transactions that would be covered under the 
privacy rule if they are for the purpose of an individual obtaining 
a financial product or service as that term is defined in the 
privacy regulation. See 15 U.S.C. 1603 (2) and (3).
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    Several comments suggested that the rule should not apply to 
entities that must comply with regulations issued by the HHS that 
implement the HIPAA. Given the broad definition of ``financial 
institution'' under the G-L-B Act, certain entities are subject to 
these privacy rules as well as rules promulgated under HIPAA regarding 
appropriate handling of protected health information. Accordingly, 
financial institutions may be covered both by this privacy rule and by 
the regulations promulgated by HHS under the authority of sections 262 
and 264 of HIPAA once those regulations are finalized. Based on the 
proposed HIPAA rules, it appears likely that there will be areas of 
overlap between HIPAA and financial privacy rules. For instance, under 
the proposed HIPAA regulations, consumers must provide affirmative 
authorization before a covered institution may disclose medical 
information in certain instances, whereas under the financial privacy 
rules, institutions need only provide consumers with the opportunity to 
opt out of disclosures. In this case, the Agencies anticipate that 
compliance with the affirmative authorization requirement, consistent 
with the procedures required under HIPAA, would satisfy the opt out 
requirement under the financial privacy rules. After HHS publishes its 
final rules, the Commission and other Agencies will consult with HHS to 
avoid the imposition of duplicative or inconsistent requirements.
    The Commission also received several comments from colleges and 
universities and their representatives requesting that institutions of 
higher education be excluded from the definition of financial 
institution. The Commission disagrees with those commenters who 
suggested that colleges and universities are not financial 
institutions. Many, if not all, such institutions appear to be 
significantly engaged in lending funds to consumers. However, such 
entities are subject to the stringent privacy provisions in the Federal 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (``FERPA''), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and 
its implementing regulations, 34 CFR part 99, which govern the privacy 
of educational records, including student financial aid records. The 
Commission has noted in its final rule, therefore, that institutions of 
higher education that are complying with FERPA to protect the privacy 
of their student financial aid records will be deemed to be in 
compliance with the Commission's rule.

Section 313.2  Rule of Construction

    Proposed Sec. 313.2 of the rule sets out a rule of construction 
intended to clarify the effect of the examples used in the rule. As 
noted in the proposal, these examples are not intended to be 
exhaustive; rather, they are intended to provide guidance about how the 
rule would apply in specific situations.
    Commenters generally agreed that examples are helpful in clarifying 
how the rule will work in specific circumstances and suggested that the 
Commission should include more examples. Many commenters requested that 
the Commission provide examples of model disclosures. Commenters also 
generally agreed that it is useful to state that the list of examples 
is not intended to be exhaustive, and that compliance with one of the 
examples would be deemed compliance with the regulation. A few 
commenters suggested that the regulation state that a financial 
institution is not obligated to comply with an example but has the 
latitude to comply with the general rule in other ways. Others stated 
that the examples ought to be identical in each privacy regulation 
adopted by the Agencies. The Commission also received comments 
suggesting that the Commission defer to the expertise of other agencies 
when considering application of its rule to entities such as credit 
unions or investment advisors under its jurisdiction.
    The Commission believes that more examples would be helpful and has 
included additional examples in appropriate places throughout the rule. 
The Commission has also provided sample clauses in Appendix A to the 
rule to aid financial institutions in their drafting of privacy 
notices. The sample clauses are provided to illustrate the level of 
detail the Commission believes is appropriate. The Commission cautions 
financial institutions against relying on the sample clauses without 
determining the relevance or appropriateness of the disclosure for 
their operations. The Commission has used statutory terms, such as 
``nonpublic personal information'' and ``nonaffiliated third parties,'' 
in the sample clauses to convey generally the subject of the clauses. 
However, a financial institution that uses these terms must provide 
sufficient information to enable consumers to understand what these 
terms mean in the context of the institution's notices. Moreover, the 
Commission notes that, in providing the sample disclosures, the 
Commission is addressing solely the

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level of detail required and is not attempting to provide guidance on 
issues such as type size, margin width, ``clear and conspicuous'' 
generally, and so on.
    The rule does not contain a statement regarding a financial 
institution's ability to comply with the rule in ways other than as 
suggested in the examples, but does provide that the examples are not 
exclusive. The rule also states that compliance with the examples will 
constitute compliance with the rule. The Commission believes that, when 
read together, these provisions give financial institutions sufficient 
flexibility to comply with the regulation but also sufficient guidance 
about the use of examples.
    The Commission understands that the NCUA and SEC have issued, or 
will issue, final rules with examples that are tailored to entities 
under their jurisdiction. Therefore, the Commission has stated in 
Sec. 313.2 that compliance by non-federally insured credit unions with 
credit union examples in the NCUA rule will constitute compliance with 
the Commission's rule. Similarly, compliance by interstate securities 
broker-dealers and investment advisers that are not registered with the 
SEC with applicable examples in the SEC rule will constitute compliance 
with the Commission's rule.

Section 313.3  Definitions

    a. Affiliate. The proposal adopted the definition of ``affiliate'' 
that is used in section 509(6) of the G-L-B Act. An affiliation exists 
when one company ``controls'' (which is defined in Sec. 313.3(g), 
below), is controlled by, or is under common control with another 
company. The definition includes both financial institutions and 
entities that are not financial institutions.
    The Commission received comparatively few comments in response to 
this definition. A few commenters requested that the final rule state 
that a credit union service organization will be deemed to be an 
affiliate of every credit union that has an interest in it. The 
Commission has declined to adopt this suggestion. If the relationship 
between a credit union and a credit union service organization 
satisfies the test for affiliation set out in the statute and 
regulation, then an affiliation exists.
    In light of the comparatively few comments received and the nature 
of those comments, the Commission adopts the definition of 
``affiliate'' as proposed.
    b. Clear and conspicuous. Under the proposed rule, various notices 
must be ``clear and conspicuous.'' The proposed rule defines this term 
to mean that the notice must be reasonably understandable and designed 
to call attention to the nature and significance of the information 
contained in the notice. The proposal did not mandate the use of any 
particular technique for making the notices clear and conspicuous, but 
provided examples of how a notice may be made clear and conspicuous. As 
noted in the preamble to the proposed rule, each financial institution 
retains the flexibility to decide for itself how best to comply with 
this requirement.
    The Commission received a large number of comments on this proposed 
definition. Some commenters favored adopting the definition as 
proposed, with some of these advocating that the final rule add a 
requirement that disclosures must be on a separate piece of paper in 
order to ensure that they will be conspicuous. Others stated that the 
definition was unnecessary, given the experience financial institutions 
have in complying with requirements that disclosures mandated by other 
laws be clear and conspicuous. Several commenters made the related 
point that the rule proposed is inconsistent with requirements in other 
consumer protection regulations such as Reg. Z and the Truth in Savings 
regulation (Regulation DD, 12 CFR part 230), which require only that a 
disclosure be reasonably understandable. Many of these commenters 
expressed concern that the examples would invite litigation because of 
ambiguities inherent in terms used in the examples in the proposed rule 
such as ``ample line spacing,'' ``wide margins,'' and ``explanations * 
* * subject to different interpretations.'' A few commenters questioned 
how the requirement would work in a document that contains several 
disclosures that each must be clearly and conspicuously disclosed, 
while others raised questions about how a disclosure may be clear and 
conspicuous on a web site. These comments are addressed below.
    New standard for ``clear and conspicuous'' The Commission 
recognizes that the proposed definition articulates the concept of 
``clear and conspicuous'' in ways perhaps not familiar to some 
commenters. However, the Commission included the phrase ``designed to 
call attention to the nature and significance of the information 
contained'' to provide added meaning to the term ``conspicuous.'' The 
Commission believes that this standard, when coupled with the existing 
standard requiring that a disclosure be readily understandable, likely 
will result in notices to consumers that communicate effectively the 
information needed by consumers to make an informed choice about the 
privacy of their information, including whether to transact business 
with a financial institution.
    The standard for clear and conspicuous adopted by the Commission in 
this rulemaking applies solely to disclosures required under the 
privacy rules. Disclosures governed by other rules requiring clear and 
conspicuous disclosures (such as Reg. Z) are beyond the scope of this 
rulemaking.
    Examples of ``clear and conspicuous'' The Commission recognizes 
that many of the examples require judgment in their application. The 
Commission believes, however, that more prescriptive examples, while 
perhaps easier to conform to, likely would result in requirements that 
would be inappropriate in a given circumstance. To avoid this result, 
the examples provide generally applicable guidance about ways in which 
a financial institution may make a disclosure clear and conspicuous. 
The Commission notes that the examples of how to make a disclosure 
clear and conspicuous are not mandatory. A financial institution must 
decide for itself how best to comply with the general rule and may use 
techniques not listed in the examples. To address these concerns, the 
Commission has incorporated several of the commenters' suggestions for 
ways to make the guidance more helpful.
    Combination of several ``clear and conspicuous'' notices. A 
document may combine several disclosures that each must be clear and 
conspicuous. The final rule provides an example, in 
Sec. 313.3(b)(2)(ii)(E), of how a financial institution may make 
disclosures conspicuous, including disclosures on a combined notice. In 
order to avoid the potential conflicts envisioned by several commenters 
between two different requirements, the final rule does not mandate 
precise specifications for how various disclosures must be presented.
    Because the Commission believes that privacy disclosures may be 
clear and conspicuous when contained in a document containing other 
disclosures, the rule does not mandate that disclosures be provided on 
a separate piece of paper. Such a requirement is not necessary and 
would significantly increase the burden on financial institutions. 
Moreover, it would not necessarily provide the most effective notice in 
all circumstances.
    Disclosures on web pages. Several commenters requested guidance on 
how they may clearly and conspicuously

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disclose privacy-related information on their Internet sites. The 
Commission recognizes that disclosures over the Internet present some 
issues that will not arise in paper-based disclosures. There may be web 
pages within a financial institution's website that consumers may view 
in a different order each time they access the site, aided by hypertext 
links. Depending on the customer hardware and software used to access 
the Internet, some web pages may require consumers to scroll down to 
view the entire page. To address these issues, the Commission has 
included a statement in the example in Sec. 313.3(b)(2)(iii) concerning 
Internet disclosures informing financial institutions that they may 
comply with the rule if they use text or visual cues to encourage 
scrolling down the page if necessary to view the entire notice and 
ensure that other elements on the web site (such as text, graphics, 
hyperlinks, or sound) do not distract attention from the notice. In 
addition, a financial institution is to place either a notice or a 
conspicuous link on a page frequently accessed by consumers, such as a 
page on which transactions are conducted.
    Given current technology, there are a range of approaches a 
financial institution could take to comply with the rule. For example, 
a financial institution could use a dialog box that pops up to provide 
the disclosure before a consumer provides information to the 
institution. Another approach would be a simple, clearly labeled 
graphic located near the top of the page or in close proximity to the 
financial institution's logo, directing the customer, through a 
hypertext link or hotlink, to the privacy disclosures on a separate web 
page.
    For the reasons advanced above, the Commission has adopted the 
definition of ``clear and conspicuous,'' with the changes previously 
described and with certain other changes intended to make the 
definition easier to apply.
    c. Collect. The statute requires a financial institution to include 
in its initial and annual notices a disclosure of the categories of 
nonpublic personal information that the institution collects. The 
proposal defined ``collect'' to mean obtaining any information that is 
organized or retrievable on a personally identifiable basis, 
irrespective of the source of the underlying information. This 
definition was included to provide guidance about the information that 
a financial institution must include in its notices and to clarify that 
the obligations arise regardless of whether the financial institution 
obtains the information from a consumer or from some other source.
    Commenters suggested that the final rule treat information that is 
not organized and retrievable in an automated fashion as not 
``collected.'' This approach would exclude separate documents not 
included in a file. The Commission disagrees that information should 
not be deemed to be collected simply because it is not retrievable in 
an automated fashion. The Commission believes that the method of 
retrieval is irrelevant to whether information should be protected 
under the rule. The Commission agrees, however, that the scope of the 
regulation should be refined, and has changed the definition of 
``collect'' by using language taken from the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 
U.S.C. 552a).
    Other commenters requested that the rule clarify that information 
that is received by a financial institution but then immediately passed 
along without otherwise disclosing, using, or maintaining a copy of the 
information is not ``collected'' as this term is used in the final 
rule. The Commission believes that merely receiving information without 
maintaining it would not be ``collecting'' the information. The final 
rule reflects this by stating that the information must be organized or 
retrievable by the financial institution. Otherwise, the definition of 
``collect'' is adopted as proposed.
    d. Company. The proposal defined ``company,'' which is used in the 
definition of ``affiliate,'' as any corporation, limited liability 
company, business trust, general or limited partnership, association, 
or similar organization.
    The Commission received no substantive comments on this proposed 
definition.\13\ Accordingly, the Commission adopts the definition of 
``company'' as proposed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \13\ However, the Commission did receive a few comments asking 
that sole proprietors be excluded from the definitions of both 
``company'' and ``financial institution.'' Those comments are 
discussed in the context of Sec. 313.3(k).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    e. Consumer. The G-L-B Act distinguishes ``consumers'' from 
``customers'' for purposes of the notice requirements imposed by the 
Act. A financial institution is required to give a ``consumer'' the 
notices required under Title V only if the institution intends to 
disclose nonpublic personal information about the consumer to a 
nonaffiliated third party for purposes other than as permitted by 
section 502(e) of the statute (as implemented by Secs. 313.14 and 
313.15). By contrast, a financial institution must give all 
``customers'' a notice of the institution's privacy policy at the time 
of establishing a customer relationship and annually thereafter during 
the continuation of the customer relationship.
    The proposed rule defined ``consumer'' to mean an individual (and 
his or her legal representative) who obtains, from a financial 
institution, financial products or services that are to be used 
primarily for personal, family, or household purposes. Because 
``financial product or service'' is defined to include the evaluation 
by a financial institution of an application to obtain a financial 
product or service (see further discussion of this point, below), a 
person becomes a consumer even if the application is denied or 
withdrawn. An individual also would be deemed to be a consumer (as well 
as a customer) of a financial institution that purchases the 
individual's account from some other institution.
    The Commission received a large number of comments on this proposed 
definition, raising questions about how the definition would apply in a 
variety of situations. These comments are addressed below.
    Distinction between ``consumer'' and ``customer.'' While many 
agreed with the distinction drawn in the proposal between ``consumer'' 
and ``customer,'' a few commenters suggested that no distinction 
between ``consumer'' and ``customer'' should be made, given that, in 
these commenters'' views, the statute appears to use the terms 
interchangeably. The Commission believes, however, that the distinction 
was deliberate and that the rule should implement it accordingly. A 
plain reading of the statute supports the conclusion that Congress 
created one set of protections for anyone who obtains a financial 
product or service (i.e., who receives a financial institution's 
privacy policy and opt out notice only if a financial institution 
intends to disclose nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated 
third parties), and an additional set of protections for anyone who 
establishes a relationship of a more lasting nature than an isolated 
transaction with a financial institution (i.e., who gets a notice of 
the institution's privacy policy at the time of establishing a customer 
relationship, and annual notices as appropriate thereafter). Because 
the statute tailors the notice requirements to the type of relationship 
an individual has with a financial institution, that distinction is 
preserved in the rule.
    Applicants as consumers. Many of the comments received by the 
Commission concerning the proposed definition of ``consumer'' disagreed 
that someone should be deemed a consumer of a financial institution 
simply by

[[Page 33651]]

virtue of the institution evaluating an application. These commenters 
maintained that the individual has not obtained a financial product or 
service, as is required by the statutory definition of ``consumer.'' 
The Commission believes that the better reading of the G-L-B Act is 
that an individual has obtained a financial product or service when a 
financial institution evaluates information provided to the financial 
institution for the purpose of the individual obtaining some other 
financial product or service. Financial institutions frequently provide 
a range of services in connection with the delivery of a financial 
product. Included within these will be the evaluation by the financial 
institution of information provided by an individual. In certain 
instances, such as when an individual is shopping for the best rate on 
a mortgage loan or the lowest premium for an insurance policy, that 
evaluation may be the sole financial product or service obtained. In 
other instances, the evaluation may be one of several services provided 
that lead up to the eventual establishment of a customer relationship. 
In either case, the individual will have obtained a financial product 
or service from the financial institution when the financial 
institution evaluates the information and informs the individual of the 
outcome of that evaluation.
    In addition to being consistent with the language of the statute, 
the proposed definition of ``consumer'' is consistent with one of the 
primary purposes of Title V of G-L-B Act, namely, to enable an 
individual to limit the sharing of nonpublic personal information by a 
financial institution with a nonaffiliated third party. The information 
provided by a person to a financial institution before a customer 
relationship is established is likely to contain precisely the types of 
information that the statute is designed to protect. This information 
is no less deserving of protection simply because an application is 
denied or withdrawn. For these reasons, the Commission has retained the 
individual whose application is evaluated by a financial institution as 
an example of ``consumer'' in Sec. 313.3(e)(2)(i).
    Loan sales. Several commenters requested clarification of whether 
an individual becomes a consumer in various other scenarios involving 
loans. Commenters posited a wide variety of examples, which, if each 
were to be addressed specifically in the rule, would require a final 
rule of enormous complexity and detail. The Commission believes that a 
rule setting forth a general principle that is flexible enough to be 
applied in the array of loan transactions posited by the commenters is 
more appropriate. Towards this end, the Commission's rule provides, by 
example at Sec. 313.3(e)(2)(iv), that a person will be a consumer of 
any entity that holds ownership or servicing rights to an individual's 
loan. \14\ Financial institutions that own or service a loan are 
providing a financial product or service to the individual borrower in 
question. In some cases, the product or service is the funding of the 
loan, directly or indirectly. In other cases, the product or service is 
the processing of payments, sending account-related notices, responding 
to consumer questions and complaints about the handling of the account, 
and so on. The rule defines ``consumer'' in a way that covers 
individuals receiving financial products or services in each of these 
situations.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \14\ Such a person may not be a customer, however. See 
explanation of how the definition of ``customer'' will be applied in 
the loan context, in the discussion of the definition of 
Sec. 313.3(h) and (i) below. See also Sec. 313.4(c)(2) and (3)(ii) 
for further discussion concerning when a borrower establishes a 
customer relationship in the context of a loan sale.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Agents of financial institutions. Several commenters agreed with 
the principle set out in the proposed rule that an individual should 
not be considered to be a consumer of an entity that is acting as agent 
for a financial institution. These commenters noted that the financial 
institution that hires the agent is responsible for that agent's 
conduct in carrying out the agency responsibili ties. The Commission 
agrees that the purposes of the G-L-B Act will be met provided the 
activities of the agent are the responsibility of the financial 
institution, and, therefore, the financial institution fulfills any 
obligations regarding the agent's handling of consumer information that 
otherwise would fall on the agents. \15\ Of course, those providing 
services to a financial institution will also be subject to the 
limitations on reuse of information. See Sec. 313.3(e)(2)(v).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \15\ Of course, in some cases two institutions will each provide 
a financial service to the consumer as part of the same transaction, 
such as a loan broker that locates a creditor who makes a loan to 
the individual, in which case the consumer will have a customer 
relationship with both financial institutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Legal representative. The Commission also agrees with the 
suggestion made by several commenters that the definition of 
``consumer'' should clarify that the obligations stemming from a 
consumer relationship may be satisfied by dealing either with the 
individual who obtains a financial product or service from a financial 
institution or that individual's representative. The Commission does 
not intend for the rule to require a financial institution to send opt 
out and initial notices to both the individual and the individual's 
legal representatives and has amended the final rule accordingly in 
Sec. 313.3(e)(1).
    Trusts. The Commission and the other Agencies received several 
comments concerning whether an individual who obtains financial 
services in connection with trusts is a consumer or customer of a 
financial institution. Several commenters urged the Agencies to exempt 
generally a financial institution from the requirements of the rule 
when it acts as a fiduciary, or, in the alternative, to clarify the 
categories of individuals that are considered to be customers. 
Commenters proposed, for example, that individuals who are 
beneficiaries with current interests should be identified as customers, 
whereas individuals who are only contingent beneficiaries should not be 
customers. Other commenters stated that when the financial institution 
serves as trustee of a trust, neither the grantor nor beneficiary is a 
consumer or customer under the rule. In these commenters' view, the 
trust itself is the institution's ``customer,'' and, therefore, the 
rule should not apply to a financial institution when it acts as 
trustee. These commenters also stated that when a financial institution 
is a trustee, it serves as a fiduciary and is subject to other 
obligations to protect the confidentiality of the beneficiaries' 
information that are more stringent than those under the provisions in 
the G-L-B Act. Similarly, these and other commenters claimed that an 
individual who is a participant in an employee benefit plan 
administered or advised by a financial institution does not qualify as 
a consumer or customer. The commenters opined that the plan sponsor, or 
the plan itself, is the ``customer'' for the purposes of the proposed 
rule. These commenters contended that plan participants have no direct 
relationship with the financial institution and, in any event, the 
financial institution is authorized to use information that would be 
covered under the G-L-B Act only in accordance with the directions of 
the plan sponsor. The commenters concluded, therefore, that the 
regulations should specifically exclude individuals who are 
participants in an employee benefit plan from the definition of 
consumer.
    The definition of ``consumer'' in the G-L-B Act does not squarely 
resolve whether the beneficiary of a trust is a consumer of the 
financial institution that is the trustee. One consideration is that a 
financial institution that is a trustee assumes obligations as a 
fiduciary, including the duty to protect

[[Page 33652]]

the confidentiality of the beneficiaries' information, that are 
consistent with the purposes of the G-L-B Act and enforceable under 
state law. The Commission agrees with the commenters who concluded 
that, when the financial institution serves as trustee of a trust, 
neither the grantor nor the beneficiary is a consumer or customer under 
the rule. Instead, the trust itself is the institution's ``customer,'' 
and therefore, the rule does not apply because the trust is not an 
individual. Similarly, the Commission has excluded an individual who is 
a beneficiary of a trust or a plan participant of an employee benefit 
plan from the definitions of ``consumer'' and ``customer.'' 
Nevertheless, the Commission believes that an individual who selects a 
financial institution to be a custodian of securities or assets, for 
example in an IRA, is obtaining a financial product or service from the 
financial institution and is, therefore, a ``consumer'' under the G-L-B 
Act. The Commission has included examples in the rule that 
appropriately illustrate this interpretation of the G-L-B Act in 
Secs. 313.3(e)(2)(vi)-(viii) and 313.3(i)(2)(i)(D).
    Requirements arising from consumer relationship. While the proposed 
and final rule defines ``consumer'' broadly, this will not result in 
any additional burden to a financial institution in situations where 
(a) no customer relationship is established and (b) the institution 
does not intend to disclose nonpublic personal information about a 
consumer to nonaffiliated third parties. Under the final rule, a 
financial institution is under no obligation to provide a consumer who 
is not a customer with any privacy disclosures unless it intends to 
disclose the consumer's nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated 
third parties outside the exceptions in Secs. 313.14 and 313.15. A 
financial institution that wants to disclose a consumer's nonpublic 
personal information to nonaffiliated third parties is not prohibited 
by the rule from doing so, if the requisite notices are delivered and 
the consumer does not opt out. Thus, a financial institution that does 
not wish to be subject to the disclosure obligations of the rule as it 
applies to consumers who are not customers may simply decide not to 
share consumers' information with nonaffiliated third parties. 
Conversely, if a financial institution determines that the benefits of 
such sharing outweigh the attendant burdens, the financial institution 
is free to do so provided it notifies consumers about the disclosure 
and affords them a reasonable opportunity to opt out. In this way, the 
rule attempts to strike a balance between protecting an individual's 
nonpublic personal information and minimizing the burden on a financial 
institution.
    f. Consumer reporting agency. The proposal adopted the definition 
of ``consumer reporting agency'' that is used in section 603(f) of the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)). It is used in 
Secs. 313.6(c), 313.12(a), and 313.15(a)(5) of the final rule.
    The Commission received no comments suggesting any changes to this 
definition. Accordingly, the definition is adopted as proposed.
    g. Control. The proposal defined ``control'' using the tests 
applied in section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c). 
This definition is used to determine when companies are affiliated (see 
discussion of Sec. 313.3(a), above), and would result in financial 
institutions being considered as affiliates regardless of whether the 
control is by a company or individual.
    The Commission received few comments in response to this 
definition. Some commenters suggested that a definition that did not 
require 25% ownership be adopted, while others suggested adopting a 
test focused solely on percent of stock owned in a company so as to 
avoid the uncertainties arising from a ``control in fact'' test.
    The Commission believes that the proposed test is sufficiently well 
established and has concluded that an alternative test to be used 
solely in the privacy rule could create confusion. The Commission also 
believes that any test based only on stock ownership is unlikely to be 
flexible enough to address all situations in which companies are 
appropriately deemed to be affiliated and that including the stock 
ownership as one measurement of control provides necessary flexibility. 
Accordingly, the Commission adopts the definition of ``control'' as 
proposed.
    h. Customer. The proposal defined ``customer'' as any consumer who 
has a ``customer relationship'' with a particular financial 
institution. As is explained more fully in the discussion of 
Sec. 313.4, below, a consumer is a customer of a financial institution 
when the consumer has a continuing relationship with the institution.
    The Commission received a large number of comments on the 
definition of ``customer'' and ``customer relationship.'' Given the 
interdependence of the two terms, the following analysis of the 
comments received will address both under the heading ``customer 
relationship.''
    i. Customer relationship. The proposed rule defined ``customer 
relationship'' as a continuing relationship between a consumer and a 
financial institution whereby the institution provides a financial 
product or service that is to be used by the consumer primarily for 
personal, family, or household purposes. As noted in the proposal, a 
one-time transaction may be sufficient to establish a customer 
relationship, depending on the nature of the transaction. A consumer 
would not become a customer simply by repeatedly engaging in isolated 
transactions that by themselves would be insufficient to establish a 
customer relationship, such as withdrawing funds at regular intervals 
from an ATM owned by an institution at which the consumer has no 
account. However, an individual who becomes the client of a loan 
brokerage, tax preparation firm, or financial counseling service would 
be a customer. The proposal also stated that a consumer would have a 
customer relationship with a financial institution that makes a loan to 
the consumer and then sells the loan but retains the servicing rights. 
The Commission received a large number of comments on this definition, 
as discussed below.
    Point at which one becomes a customer. The Commission received many 
comments in response to the definitions of ``customer'' and ``customer 
relationship.'' Some commenters criticized what they considered to be 
the ill-defined line distinguishing consumers from customers. These 
commenters stated that the proposed distinction makes it difficult for 
a financial institution to know when the obligations attendant to a 
customer relationship arise. Several suggested that the distinction 
should be based on when a consumer and financial institution enter into 
a written contract for a financial product or service.
    The Commission recognizes that the distinction between consumers 
and customers will, in some instances, require a financial institution 
to evaluate whether the particular facts of its consumer transactions 
fit within the definition of customer relationship. In those cases 
where an individual engages in a transaction that is isolated in nature 
(such as ATM transactions, purchases of money orders, or cashing of 
checks), the individual will not have established a customer 
relationship as a result of that transaction. In other situations, 
where a consumer typically would receive some measure of service such 
that the consumer's contact with the financial institution is more 
significant (such as would be the case when a consumer

[[Page 33653]]

borrows money, obtains investment advice, or becomes the client of an 
institution for the purpose of receiving tax preparation, loan 
brokerage, or credit counseling services), a customer relationship will 
be established. In those cases, the nature of the relationship 
indicates that it is not an isolated transaction, even though it may be 
short-term in duration.\16\ The Commission believes that the 
distinction set out in the proposed rule, as further clarified by the 
examples in the final rule regarding the establishment of a customer 
relationship, provides sufficiently clear principles that can be 
applied to most fact situations that arise in the financial 
marketplace.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \16\ Many of the customer relationships established by 
institutions under the Commission's jurisdiction may well be short-
term, as can be seen from the examples in Sec. 313.5(b)(2) of when a 
customer relationship terminates.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Customer relationship defined by written contract. The Commission 
agrees with those commenters who consider the execution of a written 
contract by a consumer and financial institution as clear evidence that 
a customer relationship has been established. The proposal cited the 
execution of a written contract as an example of when a customer 
relationship is established, and the final rule retains that example in 
Sec. 313.4(c)(3)(i)(B). However, a test based solely on whether there 
is a written contract could inappropriately exclude situations in which 
an individual is a customer of a financial institution as a result of 
obtaining, for instance, financial, economic, or investment advisory 
services from a financial institution. Accordingly, the final rule does 
not define a customer relationship solely by the execution of a written 
contract.
    Purchase of insurance. Other commenters suggested that, in the 
context of financial institutions that engage in the sale of insurance, 
the customer should be the policyholder and not the beneficiary. The 
Commission agrees and has retained the example in 
Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(i)(C) of purchasing an insurance product as one 
situation in which a customer relationship is formed.\17\ In this case, 
the person obtaining a financial product or service from the financial 
institution is the person purchasing the policy. The beneficiaries 
would be recipients of the insurance proceeds, thereby entitling them 
to the protections afforded consumers.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \17\ Despite its lack of enforcement jurisdiction over persons 
providing insurance, the Commission retains this example because it 
may be useful in evaluating analogous situations. Some commenters 
also asked for further clarification of ``purchase'' in this 
context. The Commission does not believe such clarification is 
necessary and has retained the example as proposed.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Sales of loans. As previously noted, several commenters raised 
questions in the context of loan sales. Many commenters stated that, 
under the final rule, a person should not be considered a customer of 
two financial institutions when the originating bank sells the 
servicing rights. A point consistently made by these commenters was 
that a borrower would be equally well protected with less risk of 
confusion if the borrower is deemed to be a customer of only one entity 
in connection with a loan, with that entity perhaps being the party 
with whom the borrower communicates about the loan. The Commission 
believes that it is appropriate to consider a loan transaction as 
giving rise to only one customer relationship, with the recognition 
that this customer relationship may be transferred in connection with a 
sale of part or all of the loan. In this way, the borrower will not be 
inundated by privacy notices (but rather will normally receive annual 
notices from the loan servicer), many of which might be from 
subservicers that the borrower did not know had any connection to his 
or her loan. However, that customer will remain a consumer of the 
entity that transfers the servicing rights, as well as a consumer of 
any other entity that holds an interest in the loan.
    In order to satisfy the statutory requirement that a customer 
receive an annual notice from a financial institution until that 
relationship terminates, the final rule provides that the borrower must 
be deemed to have a customer relationship with at least one of the 
entities that hold an interest in the loan. A financial institution 
that makes a loan, retains it in its portfolio, and provides servicing 
for the loan clearly would have a customer relationship with the 
borrower. More complex, however, are situations in which servicing is 
sold or investors purchase a partial interest in a loan. The Commission 
has adopted an approach designed to ensure that a customer receives 
annual notices for the duration of the customer relationship from the 
most appropriate financial institution.
    Under the final rule, as stated in Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(i)(B), a 
customer relationship will be established as a general rule with the 
financial institution that makes a loan to an individual. This customer 
relationship then will attach to the entity providing servicing. Thus, 
if the originating lender retains the servicing, it will continue to 
have a customer relationship with the borrower and will be obligated to 
provide annual notices for the duration of the customer relationship. 
If the servicing is sold, then the purchaser of the servicing rights 
will establish a customer relationship (and the originating lender will 
have a consumer relationship with the borrower). See 
Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(ii)(B). In this way, the borrower will be entitled to 
receive an initial notice and annual notices from the loan servicer, 
but will not be inundated by initial and annual notices from entities 
that hold interests in the loan but are unknown to the consumer (and 
who do not share the consumer's nonpublic personal information with 
unaffiliated third parties).
    Collection agencies that purchase accounts in their own name. The 
Commission received a substantial number of comments from different 
types of debt collectors and their representatives. This section 
addresses several comments the Commission received concerning the 
proposed rule's differentiation between collectors who assist creditors 
in collecting delinquent accounts, and those who purchase them in their 
own name.\18\ The Commission also received comments from all types of 
collection agencies on other points. Several contested the Commission's 
treatment of debt collectors as financial institutions.\19\ Others were 
concerned that the rule would prohibit communications with a creditor 
that retained ownership on the account and hired the agency to obtain 
payment from debtors.\20\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \18\ ``A consumer has a ``customer relationship'' with a debt 
collector that purchases an account from the original creditor 
(because he or she would have a credit account with the collector), 
but not with a debt collector that simply attempts to collect 
amounts owed to the creditor.'' 65 FR 11174 at 11176 (Mar. 1, 2000).
    \19\ Those issues are discussed under Secs. 313.1(b), 313.3(k) 
and 313.4.
    \20\ This fear is unfounded, because such a communication by a 
collection agency reporting to a creditor that has retained 
ownership of an account would be permitted under 
Sec. 313.15(a)(2)(iv). That section allows communications to parties 
holding a legal interest relating to the consumer, which would 
certainly include a creditor that owns the debt.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Representatives of two major trade associations of debt collectors 
pointed to the definitions set forth in section 803 of the Fair Debt 
Collection Practices Act, which specifically exempts any ``creditor'' 
collecting its own accounts in its own name from being within the 
definition of a ``debt collector'' subject to that statute, and the 
case law holding that the ``creditor'' exemption does not include debt 
collectors that purchase defaulted accounts in their own name

[[Page 33654]]

for collection.\21\ The commenters argued that, because the FDCPA does 
not treat collection agencies that purchase defaulted accounts in their 
own name as creditors, the G-L-B Act should not be interpreted to do 
so. In addition, debt buyers stated that they frequently made bulk 
purchases of defaulted accounts from creditors, immediately discarded 
and never even attempted to collect many of the accounts they 
purchased, and were unable to locate many of the account debtors from 
whom they wanted to collect amounts due.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \21\ 15 U.S.C. 1692a(4) and 1692a(6). Cirkot v. Diversified Fin. 
Sys., Inc., 839 F. Supp. 941, 944-45 (D. Conn. 1993); Holmes v. 
Telecredit Service Corp., 736 F. Supp. 1289, 1293 (D. Del. 1990); 
Kimber v. Federal Fin. Corp., 668 F. Supp. 1480, 1485-86 (D. Ala. 
1987).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission recognizes that these businesses have some 
attributes of creditors who buy active accounts (where the debtors 
clearly become customers of the account purchaser) and some attributes 
of regular debt collectors who attempt to collect amounts due on behalf 
of the creditor (where the debtors clearly remain the creditor's 
customer). After careful consideration of the comments and the purposes 
of the Act, the Commission retains its view that if a business 
purchases a defaulted account for collection, it may establish a 
``customer relationship'' with the account debtor. However, such a 
relationship occurs only in those instances where the agency locates 
the individual and tries to obtain payments on the debt. This approach 
reflects the reality that the collector has purchased the account 
(albeit for less than it would pay for a current account) and avoids 
the result that otherwise the individual would not have a ``customer 
relationship'' with anyone because the former relationship with the 
creditor will have been terminated. At the same time, it responds to 
industry commenters that contested the Commission's previous position 
that purchase of the account automatically establishes a customer 
relationship. The applicable example in Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(i)(J) makes it 
clear that a debt buyer does not have a customer relationship if it 
does not attempt to collect payments from, or is unable to locate, the 
individual named on an account it has purchased.
    Brokers. Several commenters suggested that the use of a mortgage 
broker, or other business that procures credit on behalf of a consumer, 
such as financing to purchase an automobile, should not create a 
customer relationship. The Commission disagrees. A relationship between 
such a business and a consumer is more than an isolated transaction, 
given that the broker will likely provide significant services for a 
consumer, such as providing information or advice about financing 
options, actively assisting the consumer in contacting potential 
financing sources, analyzing financial information, or performing 
credit checks. In some cases, the broker will also negotiate with other 
financial institutions on the consumer's behalf and/or assist with 
paperwork and loan closings. In light of the nature of the services 
provided by a loan broker or other credit arranger in assisting the 
consumer with financial transactions, it is appropriate to consider the 
business to be a financial institution that establishes a customer 
relationship when it undertakes to arrange or broker a home mortgage 
loan or other credit for the consumer. The final rule reflects this 
conclusion in Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(i)(E).
    IRA Custodians. The final rule adds an example in 
Sec. 313.3(i)(2)(i)(D) to clarify that an individual will be deemed to 
establish a customer relationship when a financial institution acts as 
a custodian for securities or assets in an IRA. This example is 
consistent with the explanation set out above in the discussion of 
``consumer'' concerning trusts.
    j. Federal functional regulator. The proposal sought comment on a 
definition of ``government regulator'' that included all of the 
Agencies and State insurance authorities under the circumstances 
identified in the definition.\22\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \22\ This term was used in the exception set out in 
Sec. 313.11(a)(4) of the proposal as it related to disclosures to 
law enforcement agencies, ``including government regulators.''
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The few comments that were received on this definition suggested 
that it be expanded to include additional governmental entities. The 
Commission notes that, for purposes of the privacy rule, this term 
(which does not include the Commission) is relevant only in the 
discussion of when a financial institution may disclose information to 
a law enforcement agency. The exception as stated in the statute uses 
the term ``federal functional regulator'' (see section 502(e)(5)), 
which term is defined in the statute at section 509(2) and also 
includes the Commission and Secretary of the Treasury, for purposes of 
the exception permitting disclosures to law enforcement agencies. The 
Commission has decided simply to use the statutory term.
    k. Financial institution. The Commission's proposed rule defined 
financial institution as ``any institution the business of which is 
engaging in activities that are financial in nature as described in 
section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act * * *'' Through the 
examples, the Commission expressed its view that an institution is a 
financial institution ``the business of which is engaging in activities 
that are financial in nature'' only if the entity is significantly 
engaged in such activities. The Commission received numerous comments 
concerning this definition.
    Some commenters requested that the Commission adopt the definition 
of financial institution contained in the other Agencies' definition. 
The other Agencies defined financial institution as ``any institution 
the business of which is engaging in activities that are financial in 
nature or incidental to such financial activities as described in 
section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act.'' Section 509(3) of the 
G-L-B Act defines the term as ``any institution the business of which 
is engaging in financial activities as described in section 4(k) of the 
Bank Holding Company Act of 1956.'' Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding 
Company Act refers to three types of activities that the Board may 
determine permissible for financial holding companies: those that are 
financial in nature, those that are incidental to such financial 
activity, and those that are complementary to financial activities. The 
Commission interprets the G-L-B Act to refer to those activities in 
Section 4(k) that are described as financial in nature at present, and 
not to include automatically those activities that the Board later 
determines are incidental or complementary to financial activities. 
Such activities are not necessarily themselves financial activities 
and, therefore, should not have an impact on the definition of 
financial institution. Thus, the final rule incorporates the statutory 
language in Sec. 313.3(k).\23\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \23\ See also the discussion of the effective date at 
Sec. 313.18, infra. Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act 
established procedures whereby the Board can add activities to the 
list of activities that it is permissible for financial holding 
companies to engage in. To the extent these later added activities 
are financial activities, and not incidental activities, the rule 
will not be effective as to those new financial institutions until 
the Commission so determines.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Given the breadth of the definition, some commenters requested that 
the Commission provide a definitive list of the entities that are 
subject to the rule. The Commission deems it inappropriate to publish 
such a definitive list. The institutions covered by the rule currently 
are defined by reference to the comprehensive list of activities found 
at section 4(k)(4) of the Bank Holding Company Act.\24\ The Commission 
has

[[Page 33655]]

reformatted and added additional examples of financial institutions in 
the final rule to guide the analysis of whether a particular entity is 
a financial institution through reference to section 4(k)(4) and 
particular sections of the Board regulations that are incorporated 
therein by reference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \24\ See footnotes 5-8 and accompanying text, supra. These are 
activities either specified in Section 4(k)(4) itself, or are 
activities listed in Board regulations referenced in Section 4(k)(4) 
already in effect on the effective date of the G-L-B Act. This list 
of activities may expand as the Board exercises its authority to add 
additional activities that are financial in nature pursuant to 
Section 4(k)(1-3) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The Commission received several comments on the ``significantly 
engaged'' standard set forth in the examples in the proposed rule. A 
few expressed concern that the ``significantly engaged'' test was too 
imprecise to allow some businesses to know whether they were within the 
definition, usually suggesting alternatives that would exclude the 
industries they represent. The final rule does not define 
``significantly engaged.'' The revenue tests suggested by some 
commenters are too inflexible to take into consideration all instances 
where an institution may be significantly engaged in a financial 
activity. The final rule retains the flexibility of the ``significantly 
engaged'' standard and provides guidance through examples. To that end, 
the Commission has moved the ``significantly engaged'' language into 
the text of the final rule and retains in the final rule those examples 
from the proposed rule of entities that are and are not significantly 
engaged in a financial activity. A retail business that issues its own 
credit card directly to consumers is a financial institution 
significantly engaged in the extension of credit, but a retail business 
that merely allows its retail clients to make payments through 
occasional lay-away plans is not significantly engaged in a financial 
activity. Similarly, a small merchant that informally extends credit 
when it ``runs a tab'' for some individuals is not significantly 
engaged in the business of extending credit. The Commission believes 
that the concept of ``significantly engaged'' is sufficiently clear to 
provide guidance to most entities in analyzing their specific factual 
situations.
    Many commenters, especially some representatives of the consumer 
debt collection industry,\25\ expressed concern at the breadth of the 
definition and asserted that Congress could not have intended to 
include all institutions that engage in the activities referenced in 
Section 4(k). The plain language of the statute, however, dictates that 
breadth and grants the Commission no authority to exclude particular 
entities from the definition. The broad scope of the Act, and the 
comments received by the Commission, are also discussed above in more 
detail in the context of Sec. 313.1(b). While it is not possible to 
discuss every potential financial institution in detail, the Commission 
specifically sought comment on certain of the activities listed in 
section 4(k) and the Board regulations that are incorporated by 
reference.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \25\ The statute is clear that debt collection agencies are 
financial institutions under its terms. As noted in the discussion 
of the definition of ``financial institution'' below, the statute 
treats a broad range of activities as ``financial in nature.'' 
Section 509(3) of the G-L-B Act defines the term to mean ``any 
institution the business of which is engaging in financial 
activities as described in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company 
Act of 1956.'' Section 4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank Holding Company Act 
includes all financial activities deemed by the Federal Reserve 
Board ``to be so closely related to banking or managing or 
controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto.'' In 
Regulation Y, 12 CFR 225.28(b)(2)(iv), the Board specifically 
designated ``collection agency services'' as such a financial 
activity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The proposed rule acknowledged that one of the activities 
characterized as financial in nature in Section 4(k)(4) of the Bank 
Holding Company Act is operating a travel agency in connection with 
offering financial services.\26\ The Commission received few comments 
on the extent to which travel agents operate in connection with 
financial services. The comments did indicate that travel agents 
generally do sell travelers checks, trip insurance, and travel 
insurance, all of which constitute financial products or services. 
However, the Commission does not consider a travel agency's operations 
to be ``in connection with offering financial services'' and therefore 
covered simply because it offers travelers checks or travel related 
insurance to their travel clients. Rather, the Commission interprets 
the G-L-B Act to cover travel agencies only if their travel-related 
services are offered in addition to offering other financial 
services.\27\ This would cover, for example, entities that offer 
credit, investment, or insurance products or services, and also offer 
travel-related services to their clients. For these types of entities, 
travel operations would thereby become covered services and their 
travel transactions would be protected by the G-L-B Act.\28\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \26\ See footnote 5 of the Commission's discussion of the 
proposal at 65 FR 11176. Section 4(k)(4)(G) of the Bank Holding 
Company Act includes all financial activities conducted in the 
United States deemed by the Federal Reserve Board ``to be usual in 
connection with the transaction of banking or other financial 
operations abroad.'' In Regulation K, 12 CFR 211.(d)(15), the Board 
specifically designated ``[o]perating a travel agency * * * in 
connection with financial services'' as such a financial activity.
    \27\ This analysis is consistent with an interim rule published 
by the Board at 12 CFR 225.86(b)(2), in which it characterized the 
travel agency activity ``operating a travel agency in connection 
with financial services offered by the financial holding company or 
others.'' 65 FR 14433, 14439 (Mar. 17, 2000).
    \28\ See the Commission's discussion of ``financial product or 
service'' in the next section, as it relates to the Act's 
inapplicability to nonfinancial products or services of financial 
institutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Some commenters requested clarification concerning whether certain 
Internet industries are affected by the rule. The comments in this 
regard did not provide sufficient detail for the Commission to evaluate 
all of the concerns of the commenters, but the Commission notes that 
institutions operating on-line, like those operating off-line, will 
have to evaluate (1) whether they are engaged in a financial activity, 
and (2) if so, whether they have consumers or customers that trigger 
the disclosure or other requirements of the Act. On a related issue, 
the Commission notes that one of the financial activities incorporated 
by reference into Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act is:

``providing data processing and data transmission services, 
facilities (including data processing and data transmission 
hardware, software, documentation, or operating personnel), data 
bases, advice, and access to such services, facilities, or data 
bases by any technological means, if * * * [t]he data to be 
processed or furnished are financial, banking, or economic * * *.''


12 CFR 225.28 (b)(14). The Commission notes with respect to this 
activity that financial software and hardware manufacturers, as 
described, are financial institutions but will have no disclosure 
obligations if they sell only to businesses. Furthermore, in the case 
of an isolated one-time sale of software or hardware to a consumer, 
their disclosure obligations would be very limited. In addition, this 
language brings into the definition of financial institution an 
Internet company that compiles, or aggregates, an individual's on-line 
accounts (such as credit cards, mortgages, and loans) at that company's 
web site as a service to the individual, who then may access all of its 
account information through that Internet site.
    Many entities that come within the broad definition of financial 
institution will likely not be subject to the disclosure requirements 
of the rule because not all financial institutions have ``consumers'' 
or establish ``customer relationships.'' Several commenters supported 
this distinction and the Commission retains it here. For example, 
management consulting is a ``financial activity'' but it is not likely

[[Page 33656]]

that any individual obtains management consulting services for 
personal, family or household purposes. Likewise, courier services, 
data processors, and real estate appraisers who perform services for a 
financial institution, but do not provide financial products or 
services to individuals, will not be required to make the disclosures 
mandated by the rule because they do not have ``consumers'' or 
``customers'' as defined by the rule.\29\ The Commission declines to 
adopt a definitive list, as requested by some commenters, of all of the 
financial institutions that do not have consumers and customers. Such a 
list inevitably will not be exclusive and may include some institutions 
that operate so that in some instances they have consumers and 
customers and in others they do not.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \29\ If such financial institutions receive consumers' nonpublic 
personal information from nonaffiliated financial institutions 
pursuant to one of the exceptions set forth in Secs. 313.14 and 
313.15, however, they would be required to observe the Sec. 313.11 
limitations on reuse and redisclosure of that information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Some commenters suggested that sole proprietors be exempt from the 
definition, but provided no helpful rationale for doing so, while 
others requested clarification as to whether nonprofit entities could 
be financial institutions covered by the rule. Whether or not a 
commercial enterprise is operated by a single individual is not 
determinative in analyzing whether the entity is a ``financial 
institution.'' If an individual is in the ``business of * * * engaging 
in financial activities * * *,'' that ``business'' is included within 
the ``financial institution'' definition.\30\ Similarly, nothing in the 
definition of financial institution excludes nonprofit entities from 
the definition of financial institution.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \30\ An individual who provides a financial service only 
informally (e.g., preparing tax forms without remuneration for 
friends or family, or as community service) is not likely 
significantly engaged in a financial activity.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Few commenters addressed proposed Sec. 313.3(j)(3)(iii), which 
incorporated the Act's exemption for institutions chartered by Congress 
to engage in secondary market sales and similar transactions related to 
consumers, as long as the institution does not sell or transfer 
nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party. This 
exemption applies even if the chartered institution sells or transfers 
information as permitted by the exceptions to the notice and opt out 
requirements in proposed Secs. 313.10 and 313.11 (Secs. 313.14 and 
313.15 in the final rule). The Commission also sought comment on 
whether it should require chartered institutions, as a condition of 
their exemption, to enter into a confidentiality agreement with any 
nonaffiliated third parties with whom they share information pursuant 
to the exceptions. Chartered institutions supported the interpretation; 
one commenter contended that such additional language was not in 
keeping with the intent of the exemption. The Commission believes that 
its interpretation merely operates to allow chartered institutions to 
continue their normal business, and does not permit them (or any party 
receiving information from them) to disclose information unrestrained. 
In accord with the limitations on reuse and redisclosure in section 
502(c) of the G-L-B Act, both chartered institutions and recipients of 
nonpublic personal information are limited in that regard. The 
Commission has adopted the provision as proposed.
    l. Financial product or service. The proposal defined ``financial 
product or service'' as a product or service that a financial 
institution could offer by engaging in an activity that is financial in 
nature under section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956. The 
proposal's definition included the financial institution's evaluation 
of information collected in connection with an application by a 
consumer for a financial product or service even if the application 
ultimately is rejected or withdrawn. It also included the brokerage and 
distribution of information about a consumer for the purpose of 
assisting the consumer in obtaining a financial product or service.
    The most frequent comment on this proposed definition was that the 
evaluation of application information should not be considered a 
financial product or service. For the reasons advanced above in the 
discussion of the definition of ``consumer,'' the Commission concludes 
that it is appropriate to retain evaluation activity within the scope 
of financial product or service covered by the rule. Evaluation is one 
of many financial services provided by financial institutions. 
Moreover, a consumer is likely to provide the type of information that 
the statute is designed to protect in the course of obtaining the 
financial institution's evaluation.
    An entity's status as a financial institution does not cause every 
product or service offered by that entity to be a financial product or 
service. A retailer that issues its own credit card directly to 
consumers provides a financial service (credit) to consumers who 
utilize the card; but when that same retailer sells merchandise, it 
provides a nonfinancial product or service (retail sale of 
merchandise).
    The Commission has retained the essence of the proposed definition, 
but has revised Sec. 313.(l)(1) to mirror its change to the definition 
of ``financial institution'' in Sec. 313.3(k) and eliminated the word 
``distribution'' from Sec. 313.3(l)(2) because it is not intended to 
mean anything different from ``brokerage'' and, therefore, its use 
invites confusion.
    m. Nonaffiliated third party. The proposal defined ``nonaffiliated 
third party'' as any person (which includes natural persons as well as 
corporate entities) except (1) an affiliate of a financial institution 
and (2) a joint employee of a financial institution and a third party. 
The proposal clarified the circumstances under which a company that is 
controlled by a financial institution pursuant to that institution's 
merchant banking activities or insurance company activities would be a 
``nonaffiliated third party'' of that financial institution.
    The Commission received very few comments in response to this 
proposed definition. One commenter requested that the final rule 
provide that a disclosure of information to someone who is serving as a 
joint employee of two financial institutions should be deemed to have 
been disclosed to both financial institutions. The Commission disagrees 
with this result. Instead, the Commission believes it is appropriate to 
deem the information to have been given to the financial institution 
that is providing the financial product or service in question. Thus, 
if an employee of a mortgage lender is a dual employee with a 
securities firm, information received by that person in connection with 
a securities transaction conducted with the securities firm would be 
deemed to have been received by the securities firm.
    The Commission notes that its proposal omitted a section included 
in the other Agencies' rules relating to companies engaged in merchant 
banking, investment banking, or investment activities described in 
section 4(k)(4)(H-I) of the Bank Holding Company Act. For purposes of 
consistency with the rules to be adopted by the other Agencies, the 
Commission has included it at Sec. 313.3(m)(2). Otherwise, the final 
rule defines ``nonaffiliated third party'' as proposed.
    n. Nonpublic personal information. Section 509(4) of the G-L-B Act 
defines ``nonpublic personal information'' to mean ``personally 
identifiable financial information'' that is provided by a consumer to 
a financial institution, results from any transaction with the

[[Page 33657]]

consumer or any service performed for the consumer, or is otherwise 
obtained by the financial institution. It also includes any ``list, 
description, or other grouping of consumers (and publicly available 
information pertaining to them) that is derived using any nonpublic 
personal information other than publicly available information.'' The 
statute excludes publicly available information (unless provided as 
part of the list, description or other grouping described above), as 
well as a list, description, or other grouping of consumers (and 
publicly available information pertaining to them) that is derived 
without using nonpublic personal information. The statute does not 
define either ``personally identifiable financial information'' or 
``publicly available information.''
    The proposed rule restated the categories of information described 
above and presented two alternative approaches to identifying what 
information would be regarded as publicly available (and therefore, as 
a general rule, outside the definition of ``nonpublic personal 
information''). Alternative A deemed information as publicly available 
only if a financial institution actually obtained the information from 
a public source while Alternative B treated information as publicly 
available if a financial institution could obtain it from such a 
source. Both Alternatives A and B included within the definition of 
``nonpublic personal information'' publicly available information that 
is provided as part of a list, description, or other grouping of 
consumers. In addition to requesting comment on Alternatives A and B, 
the Commission requested comment concerning whether a variation of the 
two alternatives should be adopted that would require a financial 
institution to undertake reasonable procedures to establish that 
information is, in fact, publicly available.
    Commenters favoring Alternative A noted that it provided the 
greatest protection for consumers by treating anything the consumer 
gives to a financial institution to obtain a financial product or 
service as nonpublic personal information. Under Alternative A, this 
protection would be lost only if a financial institution actually 
obtained the information from a public source. These commenters also 
preferred the bright-line distinction drawn by treating as nonpublic 
personal information any information given by a consumer to obtain a 
financial product or service or information that results from 
transactions between a financial institution and a consumer. However, 
the majority of those commenting on this issue favored Alternative B, 
noting that this alternative was consistent with the statute and would 
be far less burdensome on financial institutions. These commenters 
suggested that a requirement that the information actually be obtained 
from a public source would impose needless burdens on financial 
institutions (by requiring, for instance, that a financial institution 
``tag'' information they obtained from public records) and is not 
required by the statute.
    The final rule incorporates the benefits of both alternatives. 
Under the final rule, information will be deemed to be ``publicly 
available'' and therefore excluded from the definition of ``nonpublic 
personal information'' if a financial institution has a reasonable 
basis to believe that the information is lawfully made available to the 
general public from one of the three categories of sources listed in 
the rule. See Sec. 313.3(p)(1). The final rule provides that a 
financial institution will have a ``reasonable basis'' for believing 
that information is lawfully made available if the financial 
institution has taken steps to determine whether the information is of 
the type that is available to the general public, whether an individual 
can direct that the information not be made available to the general 
public, and, if so, that the financial institution's particular 
consumer has not so directed. In this way, a financial institution will 
be able to avoid the burden of having to actually obtain information 
from a public source, but will not be free simply to assume that 
information is publicly available without some reasonable basis for 
that belief.
    An example of information a financial institution might have a 
reasonable basis to believe is publicly available, cited in the final 
rule, is the fact that someone has a loan that is secured by a 
mortgage, as long as the financial institution has determined that the 
mortgage information is included on the public record in the relevant 
jurisdiction. See Sec. 313.3(p)(3)(iii)(1). The rule also explains that 
a financial institution will have a reasonable basis to believe that a 
telephone number is publicly available only if the institution has 
either located the number in a telephone book or has been informed by 
the consumer that the number is not an unlisted telephone number. See 
Sec. 313.3(p)(3)(iii)(2). This approach is based on the underlying 
principle that a financial institution should not automatically assume 
that an individual's information is publicly available, especially if a 
consumer has some measure of control over the public availability of 
the information.
    With regard to some types of information that may be available to 
the general public, the extent to which a consumer can control the 
release of that information should be well known. For example, in most 
jurisdictions, a borrower has no choice about whether a lender will 
make a mortgage a matter of public record; a lender must do so in order 
to protect its security interest. In the case of a telephone number, it 
is well established that a person may request that his or her number be 
unlisted; thus, the financial institution will have to takes steps to 
determine whether a particular consumer has exercised that option. In 
other instances, there will be more variation on the general 
availability of the information and the consumer's right to direct that 
it not be disclosed. Some jurisdictions, for example, make driver's 
license information more available than others.\31\ In evaluating 
whether it is reasonable to believe that information is publicly 
available, a financial institution must consider whether the 
information is of a type that a consumer could keep from being a matter 
of public record.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \31\ The Driver's Privacy Protection Act, 18 U.S.C. 2721-2725, 
restricts the states' ability to disclose a driver's personal 
information without the driver's consent. Reno v. Condon __ U.S. __, 
120 S. Ct. 666 (2000).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    To implement the Act's complex definition of ``nonpublic personal 
information'' that is provided in the statute, the final rule adopts a 
definition that consists, generally speaking, of (1) personally 
identifiable financial information, plus (2) a consumer list (and 
publicly available information pertaining to the consumers on that 
list) that is derived using personally identifiable financial 
information that is not publicly available. From that body of 
information, the final rule excludes publicly available information 
(except as noted above) and any consumer list that is derived without 
using personally identifiable financial information that is not 
publicly available. See Sec. 313.3(n)(1) and (2). Examples are provided 
in Sec. 313.3(n)(3) to illustrate how this definition applies in the 
context of consumer lists.
    o. Personally identifiable financial information. The proposed rule 
defined ``personally identifiable financial information'' to include 
information that a consumer provides to a financial institution in 
order to obtain a financial product or service, information resulting 
from any transaction between the consumer and the financial institution 
involving a financial product or service,

[[Page 33658]]

and information about a consumer a financial institution otherwise 
obtains in connection with providing a financial product or service to 
the consumer. The proposed rule also treated the fact that someone is a 
customer of a financial institution as personally identifiable 
financial information. In essence, the proposed rule treated any 
personally identifiable information as financial if it was obtained by 
a financial institution in connection with providing a financial 
product or service to a consumer. The Commission noted in the preamble 
to the proposed rule that this interpretation may result in certain 
information being covered by the rule that may not be considered 
intrinsically financial, such as health status.
    The Commission received a large number of comments in response to 
this definition, most of which stated that the definition 
inappropriately included certain identifying information that is not 
financial, such as name, address, and telephone number. Many others 
maintained that ``personally identifiable financial information'' 
should not include the fact that someone is a customer of a financial 
institution. These commenters typically noted that many customer 
relationships are matters of public record (such as would be the case, 
for instance, anytime a transaction results in the recordation of a 
security interest) while other customer relationships are matters of 
public knowledge (because consumers frequently disclose the 
relationships by writing checks, using credit cards, and so on). Many 
commenters stated that aggregate data about a financial institution's 
customers that lack personal identifiers should not be considered 
personally identifiable financial information.
    Treatment of identifying information as financial. The Commission 
continues to believe that any information should be considered 
financial information if it is requested by a financial institution for 
the purpose of providing a financial product or service. This approach 
is consistent with the broad definition of ``financial institution'' 
used in the statute, which encompasses not only traditional financial 
activities (such as banks, mortgage lenders, finance companies), but 
also a large number of entities that engage in activities not 
traditionally considered financial (such as financial career 
counselors, insurance companies, and data processors). As a consequence 
of that definition, the range of information that has a bearing on the 
terms and availability of a financial product or service or that is 
used by a financial institution in connection with providing a 
financial product or service is extremely broad and may include, for 
instance, medical information and other sorts of information that might 
not be thought of as financial.
    Many commenters, including several hundred private investigators, 
expressed concern about the need for ready access to identifying 
information to locate people attempting to evade their financial 
obligations. These commenters consistently suggested that names, 
addresses, and telephone numbers should not be treated as financial 
information. However, financial institutions rely on a broad range of 
information that they obtain about consumers, including information 
such as addresses and telephone numbers, when providing financial 
products or services. Location information is used by financial 
institutions to provide a wide variety of financial services, from the 
sending of checking account statements to the disbursing of funds to a 
consumer. Other information, such as the maiden name of a consumer's 
mother often will be used by a financial institution to verify the 
consumer's identity. The Commission concluded that it would be 
inappropriate to carve out certain items of information that a 
particular financial institution might rely on when providing a 
particular financial product or service.
    The Commission notes that names, addresses, and telephone numbers, 
if publicly available, will not be subject to the opt out provisions of 
the statute unless that information is ``derivative information'' 
(i.e., information that is part of a list, description, or other 
grouping of consumers that is derived from personally identifiable 
financial information that is not publicly available). Thus, in 
instances involving specific requests about individuals, a financial 
institution still may disclose information about the individual that 
the institution has a reasonable basis to believe is publicly 
available, provided that in so doing the institution does not disclose 
the existence of a customer relationship (unless the relationship is a 
matter of public record, as in the case of most mortgage loans). 
Moreover, in instances when a consumer does not opt out, a financial 
institution may disclose any nonpublic personal information to a 
nonaffiliated third party provided that the disclosure is consistent 
with the institution's opt out and privacy notices.
    Customer relationship as ``personally identifiable financial 
information.'' The Commission disagrees with those commenters who 
maintain that customer relationships should not be considered to be 
personally identifiable financial information. Information that a 
particular person has a customer relationship identifies that person, 
and thus is personally identifiable. This information also is 
financial, because it communicates that the person in question has a 
transaction involving a financial product or service with a financial 
institution. While this information could in certain cases be a matter 
of public record, that does not change the analysis of whether the 
information is personally identifiable financial information.
    Changes made to the definition. The final rule makes various 
stylistic changes to the definition to make it easier to read and 
understand. In addition, the final rule adds to the examples of 
information covered by the rule any information that the institution 
collects through a ``cookie.'' \32\ See Sec. 313.3(o)(2)(F). This 
illustrates one of the various means by which a financial institution 
may ``otherwise obtain'' information about a consumer in connection 
with providing a financial product or service to that consumer.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \32\ A cookie is a small text file placed on a consumer's 
computer hard drive by a web server. The cookie transmits 
information back to the server that placed it.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    An example in Sec. 313.3(o)(2)(ii)(B) clarifies that aggregate 
information or blind data lacking personal identifiers is not covered 
by the definition of ``personally identifiable financial information.'' 
The Commission agrees with those commenters who opined that such data, 
by definition, do not identify any individual.
    p. Publicly available information. The proposal defined ``publicly 
available information'' to include information that is lawfully made 
available to the public from official public records (such as real 
estate recordations or security interest filings), information from 
widely distributed media (such as a telephone book, television or radio 
program, or newspaper), and information that is required to be 
disclosed to the general public by Federal, State, or local law (such 
as securities disclosure documents). The proposed rule stated that 
publicly available information from widely distributed media would 
include information from an Internet site that is available to the 
general public without requiring a password or similar restriction.
    As noted in the discussion of ``nonpublic personal information,'' 
the Commission proposed two versions of the definition of ``publicly 
available information.'' The final rule more closely tracks the statute 
while

[[Page 33659]]

incorporating the benefits of both alternatives.
    Several commenters questioned the appropriateness of excluding 
information from the definition of ``publicly available information'' 
if a person who seeks to obtain the information over the Internet must 
have a password or comply with a similar restriction. These commenters 
made the point that many Internet sites are available to a large number 
of people, each of whom need a user name and identification number to 
access the sites. Several of these commenters suggested that it is more 
appropriate to focus on whether the information was lawfully placed on 
the Internet.
    The Commission agrees and has amended the final rule to remove the 
reference to passwords or similar restrictions from the example of the 
Internet as a ``widely distributed'' medium of communication. In its 
place, the Commission has substituted a standard requiring that the 
information be available on an unrestricted basis, and has then 
specified that a site is not restricted merely because an Internet 
service provider or a site operator requires a fee or password as long 
as access is otherwise available to the general public. The traditional 
use of passwords is to confine the access of individual customers to 
specific, individual information. However, website operators, in 
particular, may require user identifications and passwords as a method 
of tracking access rather than restricting access to the information 
available through the website. Fees may be levied to enhance the 
revenue of the Internet service provider or site operator rather than 
restrict access. Therefore, the Commission believes that the definition 
of ``widely distributed media'' should properly focus on whether the 
information is lawfully available to the general public, rather than on 
the type of medium from which information is obtained.
    The concept of information being lawfully obtained was included in 
the proposal, and is retained in the final rule. Thus, information 
unlawfully obtained will not be deemed to be publicly available 
notwithstanding that it may be available to the general public through 
widely distributed media.
    The following example illustrates how ``nonpublic personal 
information,'' ``personally identifiable financial information,'' and 
``publicly available information'' will work under the final rule. 
Assume that Mary provides a mortgage lender with information in order 
to obtain a loan to finance a home purchase, and the same information 
to a retail store to open a credit card account. Under the final rule, 
all of this information would be personally identifiable financial 
information. Once Mary establishes the customer relationships she 
seeks, the fact that Mary is a mortgage loan customer and a credit card 
customer at the financial institutions also would be personally 
identifiable financial information.
    Certain information provided by Mary, such as her name and address, 
may be publicly available. If the mortgage lender has a reasonable 
basis to believe that this information is publicly available, and if 
the information was included on a list of all of the institution's 
mortgage loan customers, then her name and address would fall outside 
the definition of ``nonpublic personal information'' in those 
jurisdictions where mortgages are a matter of public record. However, 
Mary's name and address would be protected as nonpublic personal 
information if the retailer wanted to include those items on a list of 
holders of its proprietary credit card. The difference in treatment 
stems from the distinction drawn in the statute between lists prepared 
using publicly available information (as would be the case in the 
mortgage loan hypothetical) and lists prepared using information that 
is not publicly available (as would be the case in the credit card 
hypothetical).
    The Commission concludes that this relatively complex approach is 
mandated by the statute's definition of ``nonpublic personal 
information.'' The final rule also is consistent with the fact that 
certain relationships are matters of public record, and, therefore, 
less deserving of protection from disclosure.
    q. You. The Commission used the pronoun ``you'' to refer to 
financial institutions within its jurisdiction in the proposal and 
defined ``you'' to mean those entities.
    The Commission received no comments in response to this definition 
and adopts the definition set forth in the proposed rule.

Section 313.4  Initial Privacy Notice to Consumers Required

    The G-L-B Act requires a financial institution to provide an 
initial notice of its privacy policies and practices in two 
circumstances. For customers, the notice must be provided at the time 
of establishing a customer relationship. For consumers who are not 
customers, the notice must be provided prior to disclosing nonpublic 
personal information about the consumer to a nonaffiliated third party.
    The proposed rule implemented these requirements by mandating that 
a financial institution provide the initial notice to an individual 
prior to the time a customer relationship is established and the opt 
out notice prior to disclosing nonpublic personal information to 
nonaffiliated third parties. These notices were required to be clear 
and conspicuous and to accurately reflect the institution's privacy 
policies and practices. The proposal also set out standards governing 
when a customer relationship is established and how a financial 
institution is to provide notice.
    The Commission received many comments on proposed Sec. 313.4. Most 
of the comments raised questions about the time by which initial 
notices must be provided, whether new notices are required for each new 
financial product or service obtained by a customer, the point at which 
a customer relationship is established, and how initial notices may be 
provided.
    Providing initial notices ``prior to'' time customer relationship 
is established. Many commenters stated that, because the statute 
requires only that the initial notice be provided ``at the time of 
establishing a customer relationship,'' the regulation should not 
require that the notice be provided ``prior to'' the point at which a 
customer relationship is established. These commenters were concerned 
that the rule could be interpreted as requiring a financial institution 
to provide disclosures at a point different from when they must provide 
other federally mandated consumer disclosures during the process of 
establishing a customer relationship.
    In response to these comments, the Commission has clarified the 
timing for providing initial notices. The final rule provides that, as 
a general rule, the initial notice must be given not later than the 
time when a financial institution establishes a customer relationship. 
See Sec. 313.4(a)(1). As in the proposal, the initial notices may be 
provided at the same time a financial institution is required to give 
other notices, such as those required by the Board's regulations 
implementing the TILA. This approach, like the approach taken in the 
proposed rule, strikes a balance between (1) ensuring that consumers 
will receive privacy notices at a meaningful point along the continuum 
of ``establishing a customer relationship'' and (2) minimizing 
unnecessary burdens on financial institutions that may otherwise result 
if the final rule were to require financial institutions to provide 
consumers with a series of notices at different times in a transaction.

[[Page 33660]]

    Providing notices after customer relationship is established. 
Several commenters stated that the rule should provide financial 
institutions with the flexibility to deliver the initial notice after 
the customer relationship is established under certain circumstances. 
These commenters posited several situations in which a customer 
relationship is established without face-to-face contact between the 
consumer and financial institution. For example, collection agencies 
that purchase accounts in default noted that it frequently takes time 
to locate debtors on such accounts (and that sometimes they do not even 
try to do so.) The commenters stated that delivery of the initial 
notice before the customer relationship is established in these 
situations would be impractical, and a requirement along those lines 
would have a significant adverse effect on the ability to provide a 
financial product or service to a consumer as quickly as the consumer 
desires.
    The Commission believes that it is appropriate for financial 
institutions to have flexibility in certain circumstances to provide 
the initial notice at a point after the customer relationship is 
established. To accommodate the wider range of situations presented by 
the commenters, the Commission has modified the relevant examples so 
that they now are more broadly applicable. As stated in the final rule 
in Sec. 313.4(e), a financial institution may provide the initial 
notice within a reasonable time after establishing a customer 
relationship in two instances. First, notice may be provided after the 
fact if the establishment of the customer relationship is not at the 
customer's election. See Sec. 313.4(e)(1)(i). This might occur, for 
instance, when a credit account is sold. Second, a notice may be sent 
after establishing a customer relationship when to do otherwise would 
substantially delay the consumer's transaction and the consumer agrees 
to receive the notice at a later time. See Sec. 313.4(e)(1)(ii). An 
example of this would be when a transaction is conducted over the 
telephone and the customer desires prompt delivery of the item 
purchased. Another example of when this might occur is when a lender 
(other than a college or university) establishes a customer 
relationship with an individual under a student loan program as 
described in the final rule where loan proceeds are disbursed promptly 
without prior communication between the bank and the customer.
    In most situations, and particularly where the establishment of a 
customer relationship is in person, a financial institution should give 
the initial notice at a point when the consumer still has a meaningful 
choice about whether to enter into the customer relationship. The 
exceptions listed in the examples, while not exhaustive, illustrate the 
less frequent situations when delivery either would pose a significant 
impediment to the conduct of a routine business practice or the 
consumer agrees to receive the notice later in order to obtain a 
financial product or service immediately.
    In circumstances when it is appropriate to deliver an initial 
notice after the customer relationship is established, a financial 
institution should deliver the notice within a reasonable time 
thereafter. For example, a debt buyer that has purchased a defaulted 
account for collection in its own name would be authorized by 
Sec. 313.4(e)(2)(i) to provide its privacy notice shortly after 
locating the debtor. Several commenters requested that the final rule 
specify precisely how many days a financial institution has in which to 
deliver the notice under these circumstances. However, the Commission 
believes that a rule prescribing the maximum number of days would be 
inappropriate because (a) the circumstances of when an after-the-fact 
notice is appropriate are likely to vary significantly, and (b) a rule 
that attempts to accommodate every circumstance is likely to provide 
more time than is appropriate in many instances. Thus, rather than 
establish an inflexible rule, the Commission has elected to retain the 
more general rule as set out in the proposal in Sec. 313.4(e)(1).
    Nothing in the rule is intended to discourage a financial 
institution from providing an individual with a privacy notice at an 
earlier point in the relationship if the institution wishes to do so in 
order to make it easier for the individual to compare its privacy 
policies and practices with those of other institutions in advance of 
conducting transactions.
    New notices not required for each new financial product or service. 
Several commenters asked whether a new initial notice is required every 
time a customer obtains a financial product or service from that 
financial institution. These commenters suggested that the public would 
not materially benefit from repeated disclosures of the same 
information, and that requiring additional initial notices to be 
provided to the same consumer would be burdensome on financial 
institutions.
    The Commission agrees that it would be burdensome, with little 
corresponding benefit to the public, to require a financial institution 
to provide the same consumer with additional copies of its initial 
notice every time the consumer obtains a financial product or service. 
Accordingly, the final rule states, in Sec. 313.4(d)(2), that a 
financial institution will satisfy the notice requirements when an 
existing customer obtains a new financial product or service if the 
institution's initial, revised, or annual notice (as appropriate) is 
accurate with respect to the new financial product or service.
    Joint accountholders. The majority of comments on how to provide 
notice suggested that the final rule state that a financial institution 
is not obligated to provide more than one notice to joint 
accountholders. Several of these commenters noted that disclosure 
obligations arising from joint accounts are well settled under other 
rules, such as the regulations implementing the Equal Credit 
Opportunity Act (Regulation B, 12 CFR part 202, ) and TILA. Under both 
Reg. B and Reg. Z, a financial institution is permitted to give only 
one notice. The authorities cited include requirements that the 
financial institution give disclosures, as appropriate, to the 
``primary applicant'' if this is readily apparent (in the case of Reg. 
B; see 12 CFR 202.9(f)) or to a person ``primarily liable on the 
account'' (in the case of Reg. Z; see 12 CFR 226.5(b)).
    The Commission agrees that a financial institution should be 
allowed to provide initial notices in a manner consistent with other 
disclosure obligations. There are also circumstances, however, where 
more than one of the joint account holders may want separate notices. 
Therefore, the final rule states in Sec. 313.9 that the financial 
institution may send one notice, but must honor requests from one or 
more account holders for separate notices. Even absent a request, a 
financial institution may, in its discretion, provide notices to each 
party to the account. This situation might arise, for instance, when a 
financial institution does not want one opt out election to apply 
automatically to all joint accountholders (see discussion of how to 
provide opt out notices, below).
    Mergers. A few commenters requested guidance on what notices are 
required in the event of a merger of two financial institutions or an 
acquisition of one financial institution by another. In such a 
situation, the need to provide new initial (and opt out) notices to the 
customers of the entity that ceases to exist will depend on whether the 
notices previously given to those customers accurately reflect the 
policies and practices of the surviving entity. If

[[Page 33661]]

they do, the surviving entity will not be required under the rule to 
provide new notices.
    As was stated in the preamble to the proposed rule, a financial 
institution must maintain any protections that it represents it will 
provide in its privacy notices. Financial institutions must take 
appropriate measures to adhere to their stated policies and practices.

Section 313.5  Annual Privacy Notice to Customers Required

    Section 503 of the G-L-B Act requires a financial institution to 
provide notices of its privacy policies and practices at least annually 
to its customers ``during the continuation'' of a customer 
relationship. The proposed rule implemented this requirement by 
requiring a clear and conspicuous notice that accurately reflects the 
privacy policies and practices then in effect to be provided at least 
once during any period of twelve consecutive months. The proposed rule 
noted that provisions governing how to provide an initial notice also 
would apply to annual notices, and stated that a financial institution 
would not be required to provide annual notices to a customer with whom 
it no longer has a continuing relationship.
    Several commenters requested that the final rule permit annual 
notices to be given each calendar year, instead of every twelve months. 
A variation suggested by a few commenters was to state that notices 
must be provided during each calendar year, with no more than 15 months 
elapsing between mailings. To clarify the extent of financial 
institutions' flexibility, the final rule retains the general rule 
requiring annual notices but then provides an example, in 
Sec. 313.5(a)(2), stating that a financial institution may select a 
calendar year as the 12-month period within which notices will be 
provided and provide the first annual notice at any point in the 
calendar year following the year in which the customer relationship was 
established. The final rule also requires that a financial institution 
apply the 12-month cycle to its consumers on a consistent basis.
    Several commenters suggested that a financial institution be 
permitted to make the annual notice available upon request only, 
particularly if there have been no material changes to the notice since 
it was last delivered or the customer has opted out. These commenters 
maintained that little value is added by providing customers with 
additional copies each year of the same information. Some suggested 
that financial institutions be permitted to provide a ``short-form'' 
annual notice, in which the institution informs its customers that 
there has been no change to its privacy policies and practices and that 
the customers may obtain a copy upon request.
    The Commission has not amended the final rule to permit this 
approach, for two reasons. First, the Commission interprets the statute 
as contemplating complete disclosures annually to all customers during 
the duration of the customer relationship. Section 503 of the G-L-B Act 
states that ``not less than annually during the continuation of [a 
customer] relationship, a financial institution shall provide a clear 
and conspicuous disclosure to such consumer [i.e., one with whom a 
customer relationship has been formed], . . . of such financial 
institution's policies and practices with respect to'' the information 
enumerated in the statute. The Commission believes that this provision 
contemplates a full set of disclosures to each customer once a year.
    Second, the clarifications made in the final rule to the disclosure 
provisions make it clear that a financial institution is not required 
to provide a lengthy and detailed privacy notice to comply with the 
rule. Small institutions that do not share information with third 
parties beyond the statutory exceptions should be able to provide a 
short, streamlined notice. The rule also permits a financial 
institution to provide annual notices to customers over the 
institution's web site if the customer conducts transactions 
electronically and agrees to such disclosures (see additional 
discussion of this flexibility, below, in Sec. 313.9). As a result, the 
final rule achieves much of the burden reduction sought by those 
requesting a short-form annual notice option.
    Most of the remaining comments received in response to proposed 
Sec. 313.5 addressed the sections governing when a customer 
relationship is terminated. Some noted that the examples used 
``consumer'' when ``customer'' was appropriate, and the final rule is 
revised accordingly. A few commenters, including retailers and some 
whose business related to real estate transactions, stated that the 
example of no communication with a customer for twelve months should be 
amended to clarify that promotional materials would not be considered a 
communication about the relationship sufficient to reactivate a dormant 
or terminated customer relationship. These commenters generally 
suggested that the rule be tied to communications initiated by the 
customer. The Commission agrees that a communication that merely 
informs a person about, or seeks to encourage use of, a financial 
institution's products or services is not the type of communication 
that signifies an ongoing relationship. The final rule has been amended 
in Sec. 313.5(b)(2)(vii) to reflect that the distribution of 
promotional materials will not prolong a customer relationship under 
the rule. The Commission disagrees, however, that the test should focus 
on whether there has been any customer-initiated contact, because there 
will be instances in which the customer will not initiate a contact 
with a financial institution within the relevant time period but 
nonetheless has an ongoing relationship.

Section 313.6  Information To Be Included in Initial and Annual Privacy 
Notices

    Section 503 of the G-L-B Act identifies the items of information 
that must be included in a financial institution's initial and annual 
notices. Section 503(a) of the G-L-B Act sets out the general 
requirement that a financial institution must provide customers with a 
notice describing the institution's policies and practices with respect 
to, among other things, disclosing nonpublic personal information to 
affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties. Section 503(b) of the Act 
identifies certain elements that must be addressed in that notice.
    The proposed rule implemented section 503 by requiring a financial 
institution to provide information concerning:
    <bullet> The categories of nonpublic personal information that a 
financial institution may collect;
    <bullet> The categories of nonpublic personal information that a 
financial institution may disclose;
    <bullet> The categories of affiliates and nonaffiliated third 
parties to whom a financial institution discloses nonpublic personal 
information, other than those to whom information is disclosed pursuant 
to an exception in section 502(e) of the G-L-B Act;
    <bullet> The financial institution's policies with respect to 
sharing information about former customers;
    <bullet> The categories of information that are disclosed pursuant 
to agreements with third party service providers and joint marketers 
and the categories of third parties providing the services;
    <bullet> A consumer's right to opt out of the disclosure of 
nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated third parties;
    <bullet> Any disclosures regarding affiliate information sharing 
opt outs a financial

[[Page 33662]]

institution is providing under the FCRA; and
    <bullet> The financial institution's policies and practices with 
respect to protecting the confidentiality, security, and integrity of 
nonpublic personal information.
    The Commission received a large number of comments concerning these 
requirements, with the majority of comments making the points 
summarized below.
    Level of detail required. Many commenters offered the general 
observation that the level of detail that would be required under the 
proposed rule would result in lengthy, complicated, and ultimately 
confusing disclosures. These comments have led the Commission to 
clarify the level of detail that is required in a financial 
institution's initial and annual disclosures to contain.
    Neither the Act nor this rule requires a financial institution to 
publish lengthy disclosures that identify with precision every type of 
information collected or disclosed, the name of every entity with whom 
the financial institution shares information, a complete description of 
the technical specifications of methods used by the institution to 
protect its customers' records, or the identity of each employee who 
has access to the records. Instead, the Commission has concluded that 
the statute, by focusing on ``categories'' of information and 
recipients of information, is intended to require notices that provide 
consumers with a general description of the third parties to whom a 
financial institution discloses nonpublic personal information, the 
types of information it discloses, and the other information about the 
institution's privacy policies and practices listed above. The 
Commission's intent is that the notice must be reasonably designed to 
be meaningful to consumers. The final rule, like the proposal, permits 
a financial institution to comply with these notice requirements by 
providing a description that accurately represents its privacy policies 
and practices. The Commission believes that in most cases the initial 
and annual disclosure requirements can be satisfied by disclosures 
contained in a tri-fold brochure.
    To address commenters' concerns about the likelihood that consumers 
will not read long, detailed disclosures, the Commission has revised 
the examples of the disclosures set out in proposed Sec. 313.6(e), 
which appears in the final rule at Sec. 313.6(c), to clarify the level 
of detail that it thinks is appropriate under the G-L-B Act. Sample 
clauses have been provided in Appendix A to the rule, and guidance for 
certain institutions has been set out below in Section D. Because the 
examples are not exclusive, the final rule permits a financial 
institution to use categories different from those provided in the 
examples, thereby providing additional flexibility for financial 
institutions in complying with the disclosure requirements. In 
addition, the language in Sec. 313.6(a) that precedes the items of 
information to be addressed in the initial notice has been amended to 
clarify that a financial institution is required only to address those 
items that apply to the institution. Thus, for instance, if a financial 
institution does not disclose nonpublic personal information to third 
parties, it may simply omit any reference to the categories of 
affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties to whom the institution 
discloses nonpublic personal information. The Commission has made these 
changes to clarify financial institutions' obligations under the 
statute and thereby eliminate unnecessary confusion.
    The required content is the same for both the initial and annual 
notices of privacy policies and practices. While the information 
contained in the notices must be accurate as of the time the notices 
are provided, a financial institution may prepare its notices based on 
current and anticipated policies and practices.
    The Commission received conflicting suggestions relating to 
disclosures required about information provided to service providers 
and joint marketers. Some industry commenters suggested that the 
example in Sec. 313.6(a)(5) required the same specificity as other 
disclosures and that it should be collapsed into Sec. 313.6(a)(1-4). 
Some consumer advocates asked for more detail with respect to these 
disclosures, because consumers cannot opt out of them. The Commission 
believes that the example in Sec. 313.6(a)(5) appropriately requires a 
``separate statement'' on this point, and that this is sufficient to 
alert consumers about this practice. Therefore, it retains the example 
as proposed.
    Short-form initial notice. The Commission has reconsidered the need 
to give consumers a copy of a financial institution's complete initial 
notice when there is no customer relationship. In these circumstances, 
the Commission believes that the objectives of the statute can be 
accomplished in a less burdensome way than was proposed and has 
exercised its exemptive authority as provided in section 504(b) to 
create an exception to the general rule that otherwise requires a 
financial institution to provide both the initial and opt out notices 
to a consumer before disclosing nonpublic personal information about 
that consumer to nonaffiliated third parties.
    This exception is set out in Sec. 313.6(d) of the final rule, which 
states that a financial institution may provide a ``short-form'' 
initial privacy policy notice along with the opt out notice to a 
consumer with whom the institution does not have a customer 
relationship. The short-form notice, along with the opt out notice, 
must clearly and conspicuously state that the disclosure containing 
information about the institution's privacy policies and practices is 
available upon request and provide one or more reasonable means by 
which the consumer may obtain a copy of the notice. This approach 
reflects the conclusion that consumers who do not become customers of a 
financial institution generally will have less interest in the privacy 
policies of that financial institution and will benefit from obtaining 
a concise, but meaningful, opt out notice that informs the consumer 
about the categories of their information the institution intends to 
disclose and the categories of nonaffiliated third parties that will 
receive the information. Consumers who are interested in the more 
complete privacy disclosures will be provided with a convenient means 
to obtain them.
    Information about affiliate sharing. Another point made by several 
commenters in response to proposed Sec. 313.6 was that the rule should 
not include a requirement that categories of affiliates with whom a 
financial institution shares information be included in the initial and 
annual notices. These commenters pointed out that the statute 
specifically requires disclosures of categories of nonaffiliated third 
parties only, and that the only statutorily mandated disclosures 
concerning affiliate sharing are disclosures required, if any, 
concerning affiliate sharing pursuant to section 603(d)(2)(A)(iii) of 
the FCRA.\33\ These commenters concluded that the Commission, by 
expanding the disclosure requirements in the manner

[[Page 33663]]

prescribed in the proposed rule, would be exceeding its rulemaking 
authority and imposing unnecessary burdens on financial institutions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \33\ Section 603(d)(2)(A)(iii) excludes from the definition of 
``consumer report'' the communication of certain consumer 
information among affiliated entities if the consumer is notified 
about the disclosure of such information and given an opportunity to 
opt out of the disclosure of that information. The information that 
can be disclosed to affiliates under this provision includes 
information from consumer reports. It also includes personal 
information provided directly by consumers to institutions in 
applications for financial products or services, such as information 
on income and assets.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The language and legislative history of section 503 support 
requiring disclosures of affiliate sharing beyond what may be required 
by the FCRA. First, section 503(b) does not state that the items listed 
therein are to be the only items set out in a financial institution's 
initial and annual disclosures. Instead, it uses the nonrestrictive 
phrase ``shall include'' when discussing the contents of the 
disclosures, thereby preserving flexibility for the Commission (which 
was expressly granted authority under section 503(a) to prescribe rules 
governing these notices) to require that additional items be addressed 
in the disclosures consistent with those specifically enumerated.
    Second, section 503(a) provides that the financial institution 
shall provide in its initial and annual notices ``a clear and 
conspicuous disclosure * * * of such financial institution's policies 
and practices with respect to--(1) disclosing nonpublic personal 
information to affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties, consistent 
with section 502, including the categories of information that may be 
disclosed; * * *.'' While the FCRA disclosures would be a subset of the 
disclosures required by section 503(a)(1), they may not be sufficient 
to fully satisfy that requirement.
    Third, the legislative history of the G-L-B Act suggests that 
Congress intended for the disclosures to provide more information about 
affiliate sharing than what may be required under the FCRA.\34\ That 
history underscores the Congressional intent of ensuring that 
individuals are given the opportunity to make informed decisions by 
reviewing the privacy policies and practices of financial institutions. 
The Commission believes that limiting the disclosures about affiliate 
sharing just to those disclosures required under the FCRA would 
frustrate that purpose.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \34\ See, e.g., remarks of Sen. Gramm (noting that the privacy 
bill contains ``for the first time a full disclosure requirement. It 
requires every bank in America, when you open your account to tell 
you precisely what their policy is: Do they share personal financial 
information within the bank? Do they share it outside the bank?''), 
145 Cong. Rec. S13786 (daily ed. Nov. 3, 1999); remarks of Sen. 
Hagel, id. at S13876 (``Financial institutions would be required to 
disclose their privacy policies to their customers on a timely 
basis. If customers do not believe adequate protections exist at 
their institution, they can take their business elsewhere.'').
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Disclosures of the FCRA opt out right. Another frequent comment was 
that a financial institution should not be required to include FCRA 
disclosures in its annual notices. As previously discussed, section 
503(b)(4) of the G-L-B Act requires a financial institution's initial 
and annual notice to include the disclosures required, if any, under 
section 603(d)(2)(A)(iii) of the FCRA. The proposed rule implemented 
section 503(b)(4) of the G-L-B Act by including the requirement that a 
financial institution's initial and annual notice include any 
disclosures a financial institution makes under section 
603(d)(2)(A)(iii) of the FCRA. Several commenters pointed out that the 
FCRA requires disclosures of a consumer's right to opt out of affiliate 
sharing only once. They noted that the G-L-B Act states, in section 
506(c), that nothing in the G-L-B Act is to be construed to modify, 
limit, or supersede the operation of the FCRA. The ``if any'' language 
of section 503(b)(4), read in the context of section 506, suggests 
that, since at most only one notice must be provided under the FCRA, 
section 503 should require only one FCRA disclosure under the privacy 
rule. The commenters concluded that, by requiring more notices than are 
required under the FCRA, the Commission would be violating this express 
preservation of the FCRA.
    In order to comply with the requirement of the G-L-B Act that it 
disclose its policies and practices with respect to sharing information 
with affiliated and nonaffiliated third parties, a financial 
institution, must describe the circumstances under which it will be 
sharing information with affiliates. Clearly, the ability of consumers 
to opt out of affiliate information sharing under the FCRA affects a 
financial institution's policies and practices with respect to 
disclosing information to its affiliates. The Commission finds that 
failing to include this information and an explanation of how the opt 
out right may be exercised would make the disclosures incomplete. Thus, 
a financial institution must include this information in its initial 
and annual notices.
    The commenters' reading of sections 503 and 506 is wrong. Section 
503 does not distinguish between the disclosures to be provided in the 
initial notice from those to be provided in the annual notice. Thus, a 
plain reading of section 503 suggests that any disclosures that are 
required under the FCRA must be included in both the initial and annual 
notices.
    The ``if any'' language is a recognition that not all institutions 
provide FCRA notices because not all institutions engage in the type of 
affiliate sharing covered by the FCRA. By requiring the FCRA notice to 
appear as part of the annual notice under the privacy rule, the 
Commission is not modifying, limiting, or superseding the operation of 
the FCRA; financial institutions will have exactly the same FCRA 
obligations following the effective date of the privacy rule as they 
had before. The only difference will be that, as is required by the G-
L-B Act, a financial institution's initial and annual disclosures about 
its privacy policy and practices will need to reflect how the financial 
institution complies with the affiliate sharing provisions of the FCRA.
    Disclosures of the right to opt out. Other commenters suggested 
that the final rule eliminate the requirement that the initial and 
annual notices contain disclosures about a consumer's right to opt out. 
These commenters pointed out that the statute does not specifically 
require these disclosures.
    As previously discussed, section 503(a) of the statute requires a 
financial institution to disclose its policies and practices with 
respect to sharing information, both with affiliated and nonaffiliated 
third parties. Given that a financial institution's practices with 
respect to sharing nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated 
third parties will be affected by the opt out rights created by the 
statute, an institution will need to describe these opt out rights in 
order to provide a complete disclosure that satisfies the statute.
    Other comments. Many commenters expressed support for a number of 
the provisions in proposed Sec. 313.6. For instance, several commenters 
noted their agreement with the approach of permitting a financial 
institution to state generally that it makes disclosures to 
nonaffiliated third parties ``as permitted by law'' to describe 
disclosures made pursuant to one of the exceptions. Others agreed with 
the proposed flexibility to allow a disclosure to be based on current 
and contemplated information sharing. In addition, the Commission 
received may requests for model forms of privacy notices. In light of 
these comments, the Commission has adopted proposed Sec. 313.6 with 
changes as discussed above, plus stylistic changes to the material in 
Sec. 313.6 that are intended to make the rule easier to read, and added 
the sample clauses in Appendix A.

Section 313.7  Form of Opt Out Notice to Consumers; Opt Out Methods

    Paragraph (a) of proposed Sec. 313.8 required that any opt out 
notice provided by a financial institution be clear and conspicuous and 
accurately explain the right to opt out. The

[[Page 33664]]

proposed rule also required a financial institution to provide the 
consumer with a reasonable means by which to opt out, required a 
financial institution to honor an opt out election as soon as 
reasonably practicable, and stated that an opt out election survived 
until revoked by the consumer. The Commission received several comments 
in response to each of these provisions, addressing the application of 
these rules to joint accounts, the means by which an opt out right may 
be exercised, duration of an opt out, the level of detail required in 
the opt out notice, and the time by which an opt out election must be 
honored. These points are addressed below.
    Joint accounts. Most of the commenters on this issue stated that a 
financial institution should have the option of providing one notice 
per account, regardless of the number of persons on the account. The 
Commission has added a new Sec. 313.7(d) to address this issue. Under 
the final rule, a financial institution has the option of providing 
only one initial, annual, and opt out notice per account. However, if 
one or more of the joint account holders requests separate notices, the 
financial institution must honor that request. Even in instances where 
only one notice is provided, any of the accountholders must have the 
right to opt out. The final rule requires a financial institution to 
state in the opt out notice provided to a joint accountholder whether 
the institution will consider an opt out by a joint accountholder as an 
opt out by all of the associated accountholders or whether each 
accountholder is permitted to opt out separately.
    Means of opting out. Another issue addressed by many commenters 
concerned the means by which consumers may opt out. Several suggested 
that a financial institution, after having provided reasonable means of 
opting out, should be able to require consumers to use those means 
exclusively. The Commission recognizes that a financial institution may 
not have trained personnel or systems in place to handle opt out 
elections at each point of contact between a consumer and financial 
institution. Assuming a financial institution offers one or more of the 
opt out means provided in the examples in the final rule or a means of 
opting out that is comparably convenient for a consumer, the 
institution may require consumers to opt out in accordance with those 
means and choose not to honor opt out elections communicated to the 
institution through alternative means. A new paragraph (iv) has been 
added to Sec. 313.7(a)(2)(iv) to reflect this. However, as stated in 
Sec. 313.7(a)(2)(iii)(A), a financial institution may not require a 
consumer to write his or her own letter in order to opt out.
    Several commenters supported the alternative ways in which 
financial institutions could provide for consumers to opt out, 
especially the toll-free number set forth in Sec. 313.8(a)(2)(ii)(D) in 
the Commission's proposal that was not included in the other Agencies' 
proposed rule. The Commission has retained that example in 
Sec. 313.7(a)(2)(ii)(D) of the final rule, and the other Agencies have 
added the toll-free telephone number to their lists of examples. The 
Commission also received numerous comments indicating that one of the 
proposal's means of opting out, providing a self-addressed stamped 
envelope with a detachable card, was too burdensome. The Commission 
has, therefore, revised that example to provide for a reply form that 
contains the relevant address to facilitate the consumers ability to 
return it.
    Duration of opt out. Several commenters questioned the practicality 
of the rule concerning duration of an opt out, as provided in 
Sec. 313.8(e) of the proposal. These commenters noted that, under the 
proposal, a financial institution would be required to keep track of 
opt out elections forever. To illustrate their point, the commenters 
posited the example of a person who opts out during the course of 
establishing a customer relationship with a financial institution, 
terminates that relationship, and then establishes another customer 
relationship several years later, perhaps under a different name or 
with someone on a joint account. The commenters suggested that it would 
be more appropriate in these circumstances to treat the opt out 
election made in connection with the first relationship as applying 
solely to that relationship.
    The Commission agrees. Thus, under the final rule, a financial 
institution is not required to treat an opt out election made by a 
customer in connection with a prior customer relationship as applying 
solely to the nonpublic personal information that the financial 
institution collected during, or related to, that relationship. That 
opt out will continue until the customer revokes it. However, if the 
customer relationship terminates and a new one is established at a 
later point, the financial institution must then provide a new opt out 
notice to the customer in connection with the new relationship and any 
prior opt out election does not apply to the new relationship.
    Level of detail required in opt out notice. A few commenters 
expressed concern about the level of detail they perceived the proposed 
rule to require in an opt out notice. These commenters interpreted the 
statement in proposed Sec. 313.8(a)(2) that a financial institution 
``provides adequate notice . . . if [the institution] identifies all of 
the categories of nonpublic personal information that [the institution] 
discloses or reserves the right to disclose to nonaffiliated third 
parties as described in [Sec. 313.6]'' as requiring a more detailed 
disclosure of categories of nonpublic personal information and 
nonaffiliated third parties than is required in the initial and annual 
notices.
    The Commission did not intend this result, and specifically 
referred to Sec. 313.6 in the proposed opt out provision to address 
precisely the concern raised by these commenters. The disclosures in 
the initial and annual notices of the categories of nonpublic personal 
information being disclosed and the categories of nonaffiliated third 
parties to whom the information is disclosed will suffice for purposes 
of the opt out notices as well. If the opt out notice is a part of the 
same document that contains the disclosures that must be included in 
the initial notice, then the financial institution is not required to 
restate the same information in the opt out notice. In this instance, 
the rule requires only that the categories of nonpublic personal 
information the institution intends to share and the categories of 
nonaffiliated third parties with whom it will share are clearly 
disclosed to the consumer when the opt out and privacy notices are read 
together.
    One commenter suggested that, while a financial institution should 
have the option of providing an opt out notice that is sufficiently 
broad to cover anticipated disclosures, the financial institution also 
should be permitted to provide a customer who already has opted out 
with a new opt out notice in connection with a new financial product or 
service and, if the consumer does not opt out a second time, be free to 
disclose nonpublic personal information obtained in connection with 
that financial product or service to nonaffiliated third parties. The 
Commission believes that a financial institution should be permitted 
the flexibility to provide opt out notices that are either clearly 
limited to specific types of nonpublic personal information and types 
of nonaffiliated third parties, or that are more broadly worded to 
anticipate future disclosure plans. However, if a consumer opts out 
after

[[Page 33665]]

receiving an opt out notice from a financial institution that is broad 
enough to cover the new type of information sharing desired by that 
institution, the failure of the consumer to opt out again does not 
revoke the earlier opt out election.
    Time by which opt out must be honored. Under the proposal, a 
financial institution is directed to comply with an opt out election 
``as soon as reasonably practicable.'' A large number of comments asked 
the Commission to clarify in the final rule how long a financial 
institution has after receiving an opt out election to cease disclosing 
nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated third parties. 
Suggestions for a more precise standard ranged from mandating that a 
financial institution stop disclosing information immediately to a 
mandatory cessation within several months of receiving the opt out. As 
was the case with other suggestions for bright-line standards in 
different contexts, the Commission believes that it is appropriate to 
retain a more general rule in light of the wide range of practices 
throughout the various financial institutions within its jurisdiction. 
A potential drawback of a more prescriptive rule is that an institution 
might use the standard as a safe harbor in all instances and thus fail 
to honor an opt out election as early as it is otherwise capable of 
doing. Another drawback is that a standard that is set in light of 
current industry practices and capabilities may become outmoded as 
advances in technology increase efficiency. The Commission therefore 
declines to adopt a more rigid standard and instead retains the rule as 
set out in Sec. 313.7(e) of the final rule.
    For the reasons stated above, the Commission adopts, in Sec. 313.7, 
the rule governing the form of opt out notices and methods of opting 
out as discussed above. This section contains other stylistic changes 
to what was proposed in order to make the final rule easier to read.

Section 313.8  Revised Privacy Notices

    The proposed rule, in Sec. 313.8(c) (``Notice of change in 
terms''), prohibited a financial institution (directly, or through its 
affiliates) from disclosing nonpublic personal information about its 
consumers to nonaffiliated third parties unless the institution first 
provided a copy of its privacy notice and opt out notice. The proposal 
also required that these notices be accurate when given. Thus, if an 
institution wants to disclose nonpublic personal information in a way 
that is not accurately described in its notices, the institution would 
be required under the proposed rule to provide new notices before 
making the disclosure in question.
    The only comments relating to these requirements received by the 
Commission posited that a revised notice should be required only upon 
material changes. Section 313.8(a)(i) addresses this point--no new 
notice is required if the original notice ``accurately describes'' the 
institution's policies. Accordingly, the Commission adopts the rule as 
proposed, but places the relevant provisions in a separate section 
(Sec. 313.8, ``Revised privacy notices'') in the final rule for 
emphasis. The final rule sets out examples in Sec. 313.8(b) of when a 
new notice would, and would not, be required.

Section 313.9  Delivering Privacy and Opt Out Notices

    The proposed rules governing delivery of initial, annual, and opt 
out notices were set out in proposed Secs. 313.4(d), 313.5(b), and 
313.8(b), respectively. Given the substantial similarities between the 
three sets of rules, the Commission has decided to combine the rules in 
one section in order to make it easier for the reader. Accordingly, the 
final rule states these rules in Sec. 313.9.
    The general rule requires that notices be provided in a manner so 
that each consumer can reasonably be expected to receive actual notice 
in writing, or, if the consumer agrees, electronically. The Commission 
received a number of comments on the various provisions governing 
delivery, as discussed below.
    Posting initial notices on a web site. A few commenters suggested 
that a financial institution be allowed to deliver initial notices 
simply by posting its notice on the institution's web site. Some of 
them criticized the example in proposed Sec. 313.4(d)(5)(C) that 
required the consumer to acknowledge receipt of an electronic 
communication as tantamount to an ``opt-in'' provision; conversely, at 
least one consumer representative vigorously contended that it was 
essential that the consumer affirmatively respond in this situation 
because computer literacy cannot be presumed from the use of a web 
site.
    There will be instances when a notice on a web site may be 
delivered in a way that will enable the financial institution to 
reasonably expect that the consumer will receive it. The final rule 
retains, as an example of one way to comply with the rule, the posting 
of a notice on a web site and requiring a consumer to acknowledge 
receipt of the notice as a step in the process of obtaining a financial 
product or service. See Sec. 313.9(b)(1)(iii). However, the mere 
posting of a notice on a web site would not be sufficient in all cases 
for the financial institution to reasonably expect its consumers to 
receive the notice. Accordingly, the Commission does not view the 
limited acknowledgment of receipt in this context as equivalent to an 
opt in requirement.
    Posting annual notices on a web site. Several commenters requested 
that a privacy notice posted by a financial institution on its web site 
be deemed to satisfy the annual notice requirement, at least for 
customers who agree to receive notices on the institution's web site. 
The final rule contains a new Sec. 313.9(c)(i) to clarify that a 
financial institution may reasonably expect that a customer who uses 
the institution's web site to access financial products or services 
will receive actual notice if the customer has agreed to accept notices 
at the institution's web site and the financial institution posts a 
current notice of its privacy policies and practices continuously and 
in a clear and conspicuous manner on the web site.
    The Commission views it as appropriate to post the annual notice on 
the web site only where the customer is in a relationship with the 
financial institution that is conducted almost entirely at the web site 
and where the customer has explicitly agreed to receive all of its 
notices and financial information at the web site. Moreover, the 
financial institution must position any link or links to the privacy 
policy such that they are evident to the customer wherever the customer 
may go on the web site to conduct transactions or obtain information. 
In those circumstances, the Commission agrees that it is appropriate to 
provide annual notices in this way for customers who conduct 
transactions electronically and agree to accept notices on a web site. 
This will reduce burden on financial institutions while ensuring that 
customers who transact business electronically will have access to 
institutions' privacy policies and practices.
    Disclosures to customers requesting no communication. Several 
commenters suggested the Commission clarify in the final rule how the 
disclosure obligations may be met in the case of a customer who 
requests that the institution refrain from sending information about 
the customer's relationship. These commenters stated that, in this 
case, the customer's request should be honored.
    The Commission agrees. When a customer provides explicit 
instructions for a financial institution not to communicate with that 
customer, the

[[Page 33666]]

Commission believes that the request should be honored. The final rule 
clarifies, in Sec. 313.9(c)(ii), that financial institutions need not 
send notices to a customer who requests no communication, provided that 
a notice is available upon request.
    Reaccessing a notice. A few commenters stated that the requirement 
that a privacy policy be provided in a way that enables a customer to 
either retain or reaccess the notice should clarify that the rule 
obligates a financial institution to make available only the privacy 
policy currently in effect. These commenters were concerned about the 
potential for confusion and the burden stemming from a rule that would 
require a financial institution to make available every version of its 
privacy policies. The Commission agrees that it is appropriate to 
require only that the current privacy policy be made available to 
someone seeking to obtain it after having received the initial notice, 
and has revised the final rule accordingly in Sec. 313.9(e)(2)(iii).
    Joint notices. Other commenters requested that the rule clarify 
that the privacy policies and practices of several different affiliated 
financial institutions may be described on a single notice. Further, 
commenters requested that the final rule address whether affiliated 
financial institutions, each of whom has a customer relationship with 
the same consumer, may elect to send only one notice to the consumer on 
behalf of all of the affiliates covered by the notice and have that one 
notice satisfy the disclosure obligations under Sec. 313.4 of each 
affiliate. Financial institutions should be able to combine initial 
disclosures in one document. The Commission also believes that it is 
appropriate to permit financial institutions that prepare a combined 
initial or annual notice to give, on a collective basis, a consumer 
only one copy of the notice. The final rule reflects this flexibility, 
in Sec. 313.9(f). The notice must be accurate for all financial 
institutions using the notice, and must identify by name each of the 
institutions. The Commission also notes that financial institutions 
that provide one combined notice must be capable of keeping track of 
whether a consumer has opted out in order to ensure that disclosures 
are made in accordance with whatever opt out instructions a consumer 
provides after having received the joint notice.

Section 313.10  Limits on Disclosure of Nonpublic Personal Information 
to Nonaffiliated Third Parties

    Section 502(a) of the G-L-B Act generally prohibits a financial 
institution, directly or through its affiliates, from sharing nonpublic 
personal information about a consumer with a nonaffiliated third party 
unless the institution provides the consumer with a notice of the 
institution's privacy policies and practices. Section 502(b) further 
requires that the financial institution provide the consumer with a 
clear and conspicuous notice that the consumer's nonpublic personal 
information may be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties, that the 
consumer be given an opportunity to opt out of that disclosure, and 
that the consumer be informed of how to opt out. Section 313.7 of the 
proposed rule implemented these provisions by requiring a financial 
institution to give the consumer the initial notice required by 
Sec. 313.4, the opt out notice required by Sec. 313.8, and a reasonable 
opportunity to opt out.
    Most of the comments addressing these requirements focused on the 
question of what is a reasonable opportunity to opt out. Suggestions 
ranged from a financial institution having the right to begin sharing 
information immediately (when the opt out and initial notices are 
provided as part of a transaction being conducted electronically, such 
as might be the case in an ATM transaction) up to a mandatory delay of 
120 days from the time the notices are provided.
    The wide variety of suggestions underscores the appropriateness of 
a more general test that avoids setting a mandatory waiting period 
applicable in all cases. For isolated transactions where a financial 
institution intends to disclose nonpublic personal information that it 
obtains through an electronic transaction and the consumer is provided 
a convenient means of opting out as part of the transaction, it would 
be reasonable not to force the financial institution to wait a set 
period of time before sharing the information. Thus, the example in 
Sec. 313.10(a)(3)(iii) provides flexibility. For other opt out notices 
that are provided by mail, the Commission believes it is appropriate to 
allow the consumer additional time. In these latter instances, the 
Commission considers it reasonable to permit the consumer to opt out by 
mailing back a form, by calling a toll-free number, or by any other 
reasonable means within 30 days from the date the opt out notice was 
mailed. See Sec. 313.10(a)(3)(i). The final rule also provides an 
example of a reasonable opportunity for opting out in connection with 
accounts opened on-line. See Sec. 313.10(a)(3)(ii). However, rather 
than try to anticipate every scenario and establish a time frame that 
would accommodate each, the rule simply provides that the consumer must 
be given a reasonable opportunity to opt out and then provide a few 
illustrative examples of what would be reasonable in different 
contexts.
    Other comments pointed out that proposed Sec. 313.7(a)(3)(i), which 
is Sec. 313.10(a)(3)(i) of the final rule, inappropriately implied that 
the opportunity to opt out by mail is available only when a consumer 
has a customer relationship with the financial institution. The final 
rule deletes the reference to a customer relationship in that section 
to avoid that implication.

Section 313.11  Limits on Redisclosure and Reuse of Information

    Section 502(c) of the G-L-B Act provides that a nonaffiliated third 
party that receives nonpublic personal information from a financial 
institution shall not, directly or indirectly through an affiliate, 
disclose the information to any person that is not affiliated with both 
the financial institution and the third party, unless the disclosure 
would be lawful if made directly by the financial institution. The 
proposed rule implemented section 502(c) by imposing limits on 
redisclosure that apply both to a financial institution that receives 
information from a nonaffiliated financial institution and to any 
nonaffiliated third party that receives nonpublic personal information 
from a financial institution. The proposed rule also imposed limits on 
the ability of financial institutions and nonaffiliated third parties 
to reuse nonpublic personal information they receive. As noted in the 
preamble to the proposed rule, sections 502(b)(2) and 502(e) permit 
disclosures of nonpublic personal information for specific purposes. 
The Commission sought comment on whether the final rule should limit 
the ability of an entity that receives nonpublic personal information 
pursuant to an exception to use that information only for the purpose 
of that exception. The Commission also sought comment on what the term 
``lawful'' means in the context of section 502(c), and whether a 
recipient of nonpublic personal information could ``lawfully'' disclose 
information if the disclosure complied with a notice provided by the 
institution that made the disclosure initially. Finally, the Commission 
invited comment on whether the rule should require a financial 
institution that discloses nonpublic personal information to a 
nonaffiliated third party to develop policies and procedures to ensure 
that the third party complies with the limits on redisclosure of that 
information.

[[Page 33667]]

    The Commission received many comments in response to this proposed 
section. A few opined that the Commission would exceed its rulemaking 
authority if the final rule were to retain the limits on reuse of 
information, given that section 502(c) expressly addresses only 
redisclosures and not reuse. Most comments concerning proposed 
Sec. 313.12 stated that financial institutions should not have to 
monitor compliance with the redisclosure and reuse provisions of the 
rule, although these commenters said that financial institutions 
typically will contractually limit the recipient's ability to reuse 
information for purposes other than those for which the information was 
disclosed. The Commission also received comments from consumer 
reporting agencies, individual reference services, private 
investigators, and direct marketers stating that consumer reporting 
agencies should be able to continue their practice of selling ``credit 
header'' information that they obtain from financial institutions, as 
well as some comments stating that the Commission should clarify that 
the rules prohibit the continued distribution of such information by 
consumer reporting agencies. These issues are addressed below.
    Limits on reuse. Those critical of imposing limits on reuse believe 
that Congress, by addressing limits on redisclosures in section 502(c), 
provided the only limits that may be imposed on what a recipient of 
nonpublic personal information can do with that information. The 
Commission disagrees. Section 502(c) is silent on the question of 
reuse, making it necessary to look to the overall purposes of the 
statute to determine whether the Commission should impose limits on the 
ability of nonaffiliated third parties to reuse nonpublic personal 
information that they receive from a financial institution. The Act 
makes it appropriate to impose limits on reuse, depending on whether 
the information was obtained pursuant to one of the exceptions in 
section 502(e) of the G-L-B Act (as implemented by Secs. 313.14 and 
313.15 of the final rule).
    When disclosures are made to nonaffiliated third parties in 
connection with one of the purposes set out in section 502(e), those 
disclosures are exempt from the notice and opt out protections 
altogether. A customer has no right to prohibit those disclosures or 
even to know more than that the disclosures are being made ``as 
permitted by law.'' A consumer who does not establish a customer 
relationship is not even put on notice that the disclosures are made as 
permitted by law, because the consumer is not entitled to any privacy 
or opt out notice. The only protection afforded by the statute for 
disclosures made under section 502(e) is the limited nature of the 
exceptions. It would be inappropriate to undermine the key privacy 
requirements of the Act that ensure a consumer can generally control 
the disclosure of his or her nonpublic personal information by allowing 
the recipient of nonpublic personal information under the section 
502(e) exception to reuse the information for any purpose, including 
marketing.
    By contrast, when a consumer decides not to opt out after being 
given adequate notices and the opportunity to do so, that consumer has 
made a decision to permit the sharing of his or her nonpublic personal 
information with the categories of entities identified in the financial 
institution's notices. The consumer's primary protection in the case of 
a disclosure falling outside the section 502(e) exceptions comes from 
receiving the mandatory disclosures and the right to opt out. The 
statute provides only the additional protection in section 502(c), 
restricting a recipient's ability to redisclose information to entities 
that are not affiliated with either the recipient or the financial 
institution making the disclosure initially. Thus, if a consumer 
permits a financial institution to disclose nonpublic personal 
information to the categories of nonaffiliated third parties that are 
described in the institution's notices, recipients of that nonpublic 
personal information appear authorized under the statute to make 
disclosures that comply with those notices.
    To implement this statutory scheme, the Commission has retained a 
limit on reuse in addition to the limit on redisclosures. The limits on 
redisclosure and reuse that apply to recipients of information and 
their affiliates will vary, depending on whether the information was 
provided pursuant to one of the section 502(e) exceptions.
    For nonpublic personal information provided pursuant to section 
502(e), a financial institution receiving the information may disclose 
the information to its affiliates or to affiliates of the financial 
institution from which the information was received. It may also 
disclose and use the information pursuant to an exception in 
Secs. 313.14 or 313.15 in the ordinary course of business to carry out 
the activity covered by the exception under which the institution 
received the information. Therefore, the financial institution's 
affiliates may disclose and use the information, but only to the extent 
permissible for the financial institution under those exceptions.
    For nonpublic personal information provided outside one of the 
section 502(e) exceptions (i.e., where a customer or consumer has not 
opted out), the financial institution receiving the information may 
disclose the information to its affiliates or to the affiliates of the 
financial institution that made the initial disclosure. It may also 
disclose the information to any other person, if the disclosure would 
be lawful if made directly by the financial institution from which the 
information was received. This would enable the receiving institution 
to redisclose information pursuant to one of the section 502(e) 
exceptions. It also would permit the receiving institution to 
redisclose information in accordance with the opt out and privacy 
notices given by the institution making the initial disclosures, as 
limited by any opt out elections received by that institution. The 
affiliates of a financial institution that receives nonpublic personal 
information may disclose only to the extent that the financial 
institution may disclose the information.
    These same general rules apply to a non-financial institution third 
party that receives nonpublic personal information from a financial 
institution. Thus, the third party receiving the information pursuant 
to one of the section 502(e) exceptions may disclose the information to 
its affiliates or to the affiliates of the financial institution that 
made the disclosure. The third party also may disclose and use the 
information pursuant to one of the section 502(e) exceptions as noted 
in the rule. The affiliates of the third party may disclose and use the 
information only to the extent permissible for the third party. If the 
third party receives the information from a financial institution 
outside one of the section 502(e) exceptions, the third party may 
disclose to its affiliates or to the affiliates of the financial 
institution. It may also disclose to any other person if the disclosure 
would be lawful if made by the financial institution. The third party's 
affiliates may disclose and use the information to the same extent 
permissible for the third party.
    To summarize, in cases where an entity receives information outside 
of one of the section 502(e) exceptions, that entity will in essence 
``step into the shoes'' of the financial institution that made the 
initial disclosures. Thus, if the financial institution made the 
initial disclosures after representing to its consumers that it had 
carefully screened the entities to whom it intended to

[[Page 33668]]

disclose the information, the receiving entity must be able to comply 
with those representations. Otherwise, the subsequent disclosure by the 
receiving entity would not be in accordance with the notices given to 
consumers and would not, therefore, be lawful. Even if such 
representations do not prevent the recipient from redisclosing the 
information, the recipient's ability to redisclose will be limited by 
whatever opt out instructions were given to the institution making the 
initial disclosures and by whatever new opt out instructions are given 
after the initial disclosure. The receiving entity, therefore, must 
have procedures in place to continually monitor the status of who opts 
out and to what extent. Given these practical limitations on the 
ability of a recipient to disclose pursuant to another institution's 
privacy and opt out notices, redisclosure of information is most likely 
to arise under one of the section 502(e) exceptions (as implemented by 
Secs. 313.14 and 313.15 of the final rule).
    Monitoring third parties. The final rule does not impose a general 
duty on financial institutions to monitor third parties' use of 
nonpublic personal information provided by the institutions. 
Obligations to do so may arise in other contexts, however. For 
instance, some of the commenters who requested that the Commission not 
impose such a duty stated that they have contracts in place that limit 
what the recipient may do with the information. Also, the limits on 
reuse as stated in the final rule provide a basis for an action to be 
brought against an entity that violates those limits.
    Redisclosure by consumer reporting agencies. Comments regarding the 
availability of credit header information \35\ from consumer reporting 
agencies addressed not only the reuse and redisclosure provisions, but 
also the definition of nonpublic personal information (see 
Sec. 313.3(n, o, p) above), the exception in Sec. 313.15(a)(5), and the 
operation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (see Sec. 313.16 below). For 
clarity, the Commission addresses the credit header issue here, with 
reference as appropriate to other provisions of the final rule.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \35\ ``Credit header'' information was traditionally defined to 
include identifying information such as name, address, telephone 
number, social security number, mother's maiden name, and age. 
However, the Commission's recent decision in In re Trans Union, 
Docket No. 9255 (Feb. 10, 2000), appeal docketed, No. 00-1141 (D.C. 
Cir. Apr. 4, 2000), determined that age is a ``consumer report'' and 
can be disclosed only pursuant to a permissible purpose under 
Section 604 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    The definition of nonpublic personal information dictates that all 
of the information a financial institution provides to a consumer 
reporting agency is nonpublic personal information: ``Any list, 
description or other grouping of consumers (and publicly available 
information pertaining to them) that is derived using any personally 
identifiable financial information * * *.'' 
(Sec. 313.3(n)(1)(ii)(emphasis added).) The financial institution is 
permitted under Sec. 313.15(a)(5) to disclose this nonpublic personal 
information, without giving the consumer notice and the opportunity to 
opt out, ``[t]o a consumer reporting agency * * *.'' That same 
exception states that the notice and opt out provisions do not apply to 
nonpublic personal information ``from a consumer report reported by a 
consumer reporting agency.''
    The Commission recognizes that Sec. 313.15(a)(5) permits the 
continuation of the traditional consumer reporting business, whereby 
financial institutions report information about their consumers to the 
consumer reporting agencies and the consumer reporting agencies, in 
turn, disclose that information in the form of consumer reports to 
those who have a permissible purpose to obtain them. Despite a contrary 
position expressed by some commenters, this exception does not allow 
consumer reporting agencies to redisclose the nonpublic personal 
information it receives from financial institutions other than in the 
form of a consumer report. Therefore, the exception does not operate to 
allow the disclosure of credit header information to individual 
reference services, direct marketers, or any other party that does not 
have a permissible purpose to obtain that information as part of a 
consumer report.\36\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \36\ Section 608 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act does allow 
consumer reporting agencies to furnish a consumer's name, address, 
former addresses, places of employment, and former places of 
employment to a governmental agency.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Disclosure by a consumer reporting agency of the nonpublic personal 
information it receives from a financial institution pursuant to the 
exception, other than in the form of a consumer report, is governed by 
the limitations on reuse and redisclosure in Sec. 313.11, discussed 
above in ``Limits on reuse.'' Those limitations do not permit consumer 
reporting agencies to disclose credit header information that they 
received from financial institutions to nonaffiliated third parties. 
Some commenters suggested that the information loses its status as 
``nonpublic personal information'' when the consumer reporting agencies 
combine it with other information in their databases. The Commission 
does not agree. The information is disclosed to the consumer reporting 
agencies as nonpublic personal information and it retains that status 
regardless of how the consumer reporting agency stores or rediscloses 
that data.
    Several commenters stated that the Fair Credit Reporting Act 
operates to allow consumer reporting agencies to disclose credit header 
information and, therefore, any prohibition on the sale of credit 
header information violates section 506 of the G-L-B Act, which states 
that ``nothing in [Title V of the G-L-B Act] shall be construed to 
modify, limit, or supercede the operation of the [FCRA].'' The 
Commission does not agree. To the extent credit header information is 
not a consumer report, it is not regulated by the FCRA and a 
prohibition on its disclosure by a consumer reporting agency consistent 
with the statutory scheme of the G-L-B Act in no way modifies, limits 
or supercedes the operation of the FCRA.\37\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \37\ To the extent that previously-considered credit header 
information is now deemed consumer report information (i.e., age), 
the FCRA provides requirements and protections in addition to those 
provided under the G-L-B Act.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    At least one commenter requested that the Commission make use of 
the authority granted to it under section 504(b) of the G-L-B Act to 
provide for an exception to the reuse and redisclosure limitations that 
would allow consumer reporting agencies to sell credit header 
information. The Commission does not believe that such an exception is 
consistent with the privacy provisions of the Act, which function to 
protect a consumer's nonpublic personal information from widespread 
distribution without notice and the opportunity for the consumer to opt 
out. An exception that allows a consumer reporting agency to redisclose 
that information where there has been no notice to the consumer and no 
opportunity for the consumer to direct that the information not be 
disclosed works at cross purposes with the Act. The Commission, 
therefore, declines to adopt such an exception.
    If consumer reporting agencies receive credit header information 
from financial institutions outside of an exception, the limitations on 
reuse and redisclosure may allow them to continue to sell that 
information. This could occur if the originating financial institutions 
disclose in their privacy policies that they share consumers' nonpublic 
personal information with consumer reporting agencies, and provide 
consumers with the opportunity to opt out. Then, like any other 
nonaffiliated third party that receives information outside of an 
exception, the consumer

[[Page 33669]]

reporting agency can redisclose that information consistent with the 
originating financial institutions' privacy policies and subject to 
applicable consumer opt out directions.

Section 313.12  Limits on Sharing Account Number Information for 
Marketing Purposes.

    Section 502(d) of the G-L-B Act prohibits a financial institution 
from disclosing, ``other than to a consumer reporting agency, an 
account number or similar form of access number or access code for a 
credit card account, deposit account, or transaction account of a 
consumer to any nonaffiliated third party for use in telemarketing, 
direct mail marketing, or other marketing through electronic mail to 
the consumer.'' Proposed Sec. 313.13 applied this statutory prohibition 
to disclosures made directly or indirectly by a financial institution 
and sought comment on whether one or more exceptions to the flat 
prohibition should be created.
    The Commission received many comments from people who suggested 
that various exceptions be created, as well as people who believe that 
a flat prohibition is necessary to protect consumers from unscrupulous 
practices. After considering the suggestions from all of the commenters 
addressing this issue, the Commission has decided, pursuant to its 
authority under 504(b), to modify proposed Sec. 313.13 by (a) adding 
two exceptions that allow financial institutions to engage in 
legitimate, routine business practices and that are unlikely to pose a 
significant potential for abuse and (b) clarifying that the prohibition 
does not apply in two circumstances frequently mentioned in the 
comments. These exceptions and clarifications are discussed below.
    Disclosures to a financial institution's agent or service provider. 
Many financial institutions noted that they use agents or service 
providers to conduct marketing on the institution's behalf. This might 
occur, for instance, when a mortgage lender instructs a service 
provider that assists in the delivery of monthly statements to include 
a ``statement stuffer'' with the statement informing consumers about a 
financial product or service offered by the institution. The Commission 
recognizes the need to disclose account numbers in this instance, and 
believe that there is little risk to the consumer presented by such 
disclosure.
    Similarly, the Commission recognizes that a financial institution 
may use agents to market the institution's own financial products and 
services. Commenters advocating that the final rule exclude disclosures 
to agents stated that the agents effectively act as the financial 
institution in the marketing of the institution's financial products 
and services. These commenters suggested that there was no more reason 
to preclude sharing the account numbers with an agent hired to market 
the institution's financial products and services than there would be 
to preclude sharing between two departments of the same institution. 
The Commission is concerned, however, about the possibility of 
transactions being consummated by a financial institution's agent who 
may be engaging in practices contrary to the institution's 
instructions. While the Commission recognizes that a financial 
institution frequently will use agents to assist it in marketing its 
products, a consumer's protections are potentially eroded by allowing 
agents to have access to a consumer's account. Accordingly, an 
exception in Sec. 313.12(b)(1) will permit disclosures of account 
numbers by a financial institution to an agent for the purpose of 
marketing the financial institution's financial product or services, 
but has qualified that exception by stating that the agent has no 
authority to make charges to the account.
    Private label credit cards and affinity programs. Many commenters 
stated that the final rule should not prevent the disclosure of account 
numbers in the situation where a consumer chooses to participate in a 
private label credit card program or other affinity program. Under 
these programs, a consumer typically will be offered certain benefits, 
often by a retail merchant, in return for using a credit card that is 
issued by a particular financial institution. The commenters suggested 
that, in the example of an affinity program, the consumer understands 
the need for the merchant and financial institution to share the 
consumer's account number. The Commission agrees that this type of 
disclosure is appropriate and does not create a significant risk to the 
consumer. Accordingly, Sec. 313.12(b)(2) has been added to the final 
rule to exclude the sharing of account numbers where the participants 
are identified to the consumer at the time the consumer enters into the 
program.
    Encrypted numbers. Many commenters urged the Commission to exercise 
its exemptive authority to permit the transmission of account numbers 
in encrypted form. Several commenters noted that encrypted account 
numbers and other internal identifiers of an account are frequently 
used to ensure that a consumer's instructions are properly executed and 
that the inability to continue using these internal identifiers would 
increase the likelihood of errors in processing a consumer's 
instructions. These commenters also point out that if internal 
identifiers may not be used, a consumer would need to provide an 
account number in order to ensure proper handling of a request, which 
would expose the consumer to a greater risk than would the use of an 
internal tracking system that preserves the confidentiality of a number 
that may be used to access the account.
    The Commission believes an encrypted account number without the key 
is something different from the number itself and thus falls outside 
the prohibition in section 502(d). In essence, it operates as an 
identifier attached to an account for internal tracking purposes only. 
The statute, by contrast, focuses on numbers that provide access to an 
account. Without the key to decrypt an account number, an encrypted 
number does not permit someone to access an account.
    In light of the statutory focus on access numbers, and given the 
demonstrated need to be able to identify which account a financial 
institution should debit or credit in connection with a transaction, 
the Commission has included a clarification in Sec. 313.12(c)(1) of the 
final rule stating that an account number, or similar form of access 
number or access code, does not include a number or code in an 
encrypted number form, as long as the financial institution does not 
provide the recipient with the means to decrypt the number. Consumers 
will be adequately protected by disclosures of encrypted account 
numbers that do not enable the recipient to access the consumer's 
account.
    Definition of ``transaction account.'' Several commenters suggested 
that the final rule clarify that accounts to which no charge may be 
posted are not covered by the prohibition against disclosing account 
numbers. These commenters frequently cited mortgage loan accounts as 
typical of those that should fall outside the scope of the prohibition. 
The Commission agrees with the principle behind these suggestions. 
However, there have been instances in which a borrower's monthly 
payments on a mortgage loan have been increased in connection with the 
marketing of a financial product or service without the borrower's 
knowledge or permission. Accordingly, the final rule clarifies in 
Sec. 313.12(c)(2) that a transaction account is an account, other than 
a deposit account or a credit card account, to which third parties can 
initiate charges.

[[Page 33670]]

If it would be possible, for instance, for a third party marketer to 
initiate a charge to a mortgage loan account, then the final rule would 
prohibit the disclosure of that account number to the marketer.

Section 313.13  Exception To Opt Out Requirements for Service Providers 
and Joint Marketing

    Section 502(b) of the G-L-B Act creates an exception to the opt out 
rule for the disclosure of information to a nonaffiliated third party 
for use by the third party to perform services for, or functions on 
behalf of, the financial institution, including the marketing of the 
financial institution's own products or services or financial products 
or services offered pursuant to a joint agreement between two or more 
financial institutions. A consumer will not have the right to opt out 
of disclosing nonpublic personal information about the consumer to 
nonaffiliated third parties under these circumstances, if the financial 
institution ``fully discloses'' to the consumer that it will provide 
this information to the nonaffiliated third party before the 
information is shared and enters into a contract with the third party 
that requires the third party to maintain the confidentiality of the 
information. As noted in the proposed rule, this contract should be 
designed to ensure that the third party (a) will maintain the 
confidentiality of the information at least to the same extent as is 
required for the financial institution that discloses it, and (b) will 
use the information solely for the purposes for which the information 
is disclosed or as otherwise permitted by Secs. 313.10 and 313.11 of 
the proposed rule. The Commission invited comment on whether the 
statute would prohibit the sharing of aggregate data without personal 
identifiers and whether additional requirements should be imposed on 
the agreements to address, for instance, reputation risk and legal risk 
for a financial institution entering into such an agreement.
    The majority of the comments on this exception expressed concern 
that routine servicing agreements between a financial institution and, 
for instance, a loan servicer would be subject to the requirements of 
proposed Sec. 313.9, which appears as Sec. 313.13 in the final rule. 
These commenters consistently pointed out that section 502(e) of the G-
L-B Act contains several exceptions for the sharing of information by a 
financial institution that is necessary to permit a third party to 
perform services for a financial institution. The commenters requested 
clarification that disclosures made pursuant to one of the section 
502(e) exceptions are not subject to the requirements imposed on 
disclosures made pursuant to section 502(b)(2) of the G-L-B Act. The 
Commission agrees that when a disclosure may be made under section 
502(e), the Act permits that disclosure without first complying with 
the requirements of section 502(b)(2).
    A related issue is whether a financial institution must satisfy the 
disclosure obligations of section 502(b)(2) and have a confidentiality 
agreement in the case of a service provider that is performing an 
activity governed by section 502(b)(2) (i.e., those that are not 
covered by one of the section 502(e) exceptions). Several commenters 
maintained that those requirements apply only to joint marketing 
agreements and that it is illogical to impose a set of requirements on 
disclosures to the section 502(b)(2) service providers when no such 
requirements are imposed on the section 502(e) service providers. The 
Commission believes, however, that a plain reading of section 502(b)(2) 
leads to that result. \38\ The Commission reads the phrase ``if the 
financial institution fully discloses * * *'' as used in section 
502(b)(2) as modifying the phrase ``[t]his subsection shall not prevent 
a financial institution from providing nonpublic personal information 
to a nonaffiliated third party to perform services for or functions on 
behalf of the financial institution, * * *'' The Commission thus has 
concluded that any disclosure to a service provider not covered by 
section 502(e) must satisfy the disclosure and written contract 
requirements of section 502(b)(2).
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \38\ Section 502(b)(2) states, in relevant part, that the opt 
out provision: ``shall not prevent a financial institution from 
providing nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third 
party to perform services for or functions on behalf of the 
financial institution, including the marketing of the financial 
institution's own products or services, or financial products or 
services offered pursuant to joint agreements between two or more 
financial institutions that comply with the requirements imposed by 
the regulations prescribed under section 504, if the financial 
institution fully discloses the providing of such information and 
enters into a contractual agreement with the third party that 
requires the third party to maintain the confidentiality of such 
information.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Several other commenters addressed the question of whether the rule 
should include safeguards beyond those provided by the statute to 
protect a financial institution from the risks that can arise from 
agreements with third parties. Most suggested that safety and soundness 
concerns were more appropriately addressed in a forum other than a rule 
designed to protect consumers' financial privacy. Others opined that 
financial institutions did not need the rule to mandate certain 
protections on their behalf. The Commission has concluded that the 
protections set out in the statute, as implemented by 
Sec. 313.13(a)(1)(ii), are adequate for purposes of the privacy rule. 
Those protections require a financial institution to provide the 
initial notice required by Sec. 313.4 of the final rule as well as 
enter into a contractual agreement with the third party that prohibits 
the third party from disclosing or using the information other than to 
carry out the purposes for which the financial institution disclosed 
the information, including use under an exception in Secs. 313.14 or 
313.15 in the ordinary course of business to carry out those purposes. 
These limitations will preclude recipients from sharing a consumer's 
nonpublic personal information pursuant to a chain of third party joint 
marketing agreements.
    Several commenters asked whether a financial institution would have 
to modify existing contracts with third parties to comply with the 
rule. The Commission believes that a balance must be struck that 
minimizes interference with existing contracts while preventing 
evasions of the regulation. To achieve these goals, the final rule 
states, in Sec. 313.18(c), that contracts in effect as of July 1, 2000 
must be brought into compliance with the provisions of Sec. 313.13 by 
July 1, 2002. For the reasons expressed above, the Commission has 
adopted the provisions that were set out in Sec. 313.9 of the proposal, 
with the changes noted above, as Sec. 313.13 of the final rule.

Section 313.14  Exceptions to Notice and Opt Out Requirements for 
Processing and Servicing Transactions

    As previously discussed, section 502(e) of the G-L-B Act creates 
exceptions to the requirements that apply to the disclosure of 
nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated third parties. 
Paragraph (1) of that section sets out certain exceptions for 
disclosures made, generally speaking, in connection with the 
administration, processing, servicing, and sale of a consumer's 
account. Proposed Sec. 313.10 implemented those exceptions by restating 
them with only stylistic changes that were intended to make the 
exceptions easier to read. The preamble to that proposed section noted 
that the exceptions set out in proposed Sec. 313.10 (as well as the 
exceptions set out in Sec. 313.11 of the proposal) do not affect a 
financial institution's obligation to provide initial notices of its 
privacy policies and practices prior to the time it establishes a 
customer relationship and annual notices thereafter.

[[Page 33671]]

    The Commission received several comments from institutions pointing 
out that, by deleting the statutory phrase ``in connection with'' from 
the exceptions for information shared (a) to service or process a 
financial product or service requested by the consumer or (b) to 
maintain or service a customer account, the Commission narrowed the 
application of the exception. The Commission did not intend this result 
and has changed the final rule accordingly. See Sec. 313.14(a).
    Several other commenters requested that the final rule specifically 
state that certain services, such as those provided by attorneys, 
appraisers, financial planners, and debt collectors (as appropriate), 
are ``necessary'' to effect, administer, or enforce a transaction, as 
that term is used in paragraph (a) and defined in paragraph (b) of 
proposed Sec. 313.10. Others cited examples of entities seeking to 
verify funds availability or obtain loan payoff information as 
instances where a disclosure would fall within the exceptions described 
in proposed Sec. 313.10. The Commission believes that disclosures to 
these types of professionals and under the circumstances posited by the 
commenters may be necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a 
transaction in a given situation. However, the Commission has not 
listed specific types of disclosures in the regulation as necessarily 
falling within the scope of the exception because such a general 
statement could be applied inappropriately to shelter disclosures that, 
in fact, are not necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a 
transaction.
    Other commenters suggested that the final rule clarify, in 
situations where a financial institution uses an agent to provide 
services to a consumer, that the consumer need not have directly 
requested or authorized the service provider to provide the financial 
product or service but may request it from the principal instead. The 
Commission agrees that the communication may be between the consumer 
and the service provider and notes that the rule governing agents as 
set out in the definition of ``consumer'' above, provides the 
flexibility sought by the commenters. Briefly stated, an individual is 
not a consumer of an entity that is acting as agent for another 
financial institution in connection with that financial institution's 
providing a financial product or service to the consumer.

Section 313.15  Other Exceptions to Notice and Opt Out Requirements

    As noted above, section 502(e) contains several exceptions to the 
requirements that otherwise would apply to the disclosures of nonpublic 
personal information to nonaffiliated third parties. Proposed 
Sec. 313.11 set out those exceptions for disclosures that are not made 
in connection with the administration, processing, servicing, and sale 
of a consumer's account and made stylistic changes to the statutory 
language intended to clarify the exceptions. The proposal also provided 
an example of the consent exception in the context of a financial 
institution that has received an application from a consumer for a 
mortgage loan informing a nonaffiliated insurance company that the 
consumer has applied for a loan. The Commission invited comment on 
whether safeguards should be added to the exception for consent in 
order to minimize the potential for consumer confusion.
    Several commenters responded to the request for comment on whether 
the consent exception should include safeguards, such as a requirement 
that the consent be written, be indicated by a signature on a separate 
line, or automatically terminate after a certain period of time. Of 
these, some favored the additional safeguards discussed in the 
proposal, while others maintained that such precautions are 
unnecessary. Several suggested that the consent exception include a 
provision noting that participation in a program where a consumer 
receives ``bundled'' products and services (such as would be the case, 
for instance, in an affinity program) necessarily implies consent to 
the disclosure of information between the entities that provide the 
bundled products or services. Others suggested that certain terms and 
conditions be imposed on any consent agreement, such as a time by which 
the financial institution must stop disclosing nonpublic personal 
information once a consent is revoked.
    The Commission has declined to elaborate on the requirements for 
obtaining consent or the consumer safeguards that should be in place 
when a consumer consents. The resolution of this issue is appropriately 
left to the particular circumstances of a given transaction. Any 
financial institution that obtains the consent of a consumer to 
disclose nonpublic personal information should take steps to ensure 
that the limits of the consent are well understood by both the 
financial institution and the consumer. If misunderstandings arise, 
consumers may have means of redress, such as in situations when a 
financial institution obtains consent through a deceptive or fraudulent 
practice. Moreover, a consumer may always revoke his or her consent. In 
light of the safeguards already in place, the Commission has decided 
not to add safeguards to the consent exception.
    Many commenters offered specific suggestions for additional 
exceptions or amendments to the proposed exceptions. In many cases, the 
suggestions are accommodated elsewhere in the regulation (such as is 
the case, for instance, for exceptions to permit (a) verification of 
available funds or (b) disclosures to or by appraisers, flood insurers, 
attorneys, insurance agents, or mortgage brokers to effect a 
transaction). In other cases, the suggestions are inconsistent with the 
statute (as is the case, for instance, with one commenter's suggestion 
that the Commission completely exempt a financial institution from all 
of the statute's requirements if the institution makes no disclosures 
other than what is permitted by section 502(e)). Accordingly, the 
Commission has retained, in Sec. 313.15, the statement of the 
exceptions as proposed and invites interested parties to seek 
clarifications as necessary in their particular circumstance. See 16 
CFR pt. 1.

Section 313.16  Protection of the Fair Credit Reporting Act

    Section 506 of the G-L-B Act makes several amendments to the FCRA 
to vest rulemaking authority in various agencies and to restore the 
Agencies' regular examination authority. Paragraph (c) of section 506 
states that, except for the amendments noted regarding rulemaking 
authority, nothing in Title V of the G-L-B Act is to be construed to 
modify, limit, or supersede the operation of the FCRA, and no inference 
is to be drawn on the basis of the provisions of Title V whether 
information is transaction or experience information under section 603 
of the FCRA. Proposed Sec. 313.14 implemented section 506(c) of the G-
L-B Act by restating the statute, making only minor stylistic changes 
intended to make the rule clearer.
    Comments about this provision focused mainly on whether the 
Commission, by requiring annual notice of a consumer's right to opt out 
under the FCRA, was modifying, limiting, or superseding the operation 
of the FCRA. For the reasons explained in the discussion of Sec. 313.6, 
above, the annual disclosure mandated by the G-L-B Act does not affect 
the obligations imposed by the FCRA.

[[Page 33672]]

    Other commenters suggested that this section protects the ability 
of consumer reporting agencies to disclose credit header information to 
unaffiliated third parties. As discussed in Sec. 313.11 above, the 
Commission disagrees with this position. Finally, at least one 
commenter requested that the Commission specifically reference 
provisions of the Fair Credit Reporting Act that are not modified, 
limited, or superceded by the G-L-B Act. Such an approach is not 
necessary to implement section 506 of the Act and, therefore, the final 
rule adopts in Sec. 313.16 the text set out in Sec. 313.14 of the 
proposal.

Section 313.17  Relation to State Laws

    Section 507 of the G-L-B Act states, in essence, that Title V does 
not preempt any State law that provides greater protections than are 
provided by Title V. Determinations of whether a State law or Title V 
provides greater protections are to be made by the Commission after 
consultation with the agency that regulates either the party filing a 
complaint or the financial institution about which the complaint was 
filed, and may be initiated by any interested party or on the 
Commission's own motion. The Act does not require such determinations 
for consistent state laws. Some commenters suggested that the 
Commission lacks the authority to consider preemption issues with 
respect to the rule, but only with respect to the Act. The Commission 
disagrees with the analysis. Any determination of whether a state law 
provides greater protection than the Act will necessarily require 
consideration of the rules that implement the Act.
    Comments on this section ranged from those who suggested that 
federal law should preempt state law in every case where there is a 
conflict to those who encouraged the Commission to support the rights 
of states to enact greater protections. Some requested clarification of 
whether a particular state law would be considered more restrictive, 
while others suggested that the Commission establish in the final rule 
a choice of law principle for financial institutions operating in more 
than one state. These and other suggestions exceed the scope of this 
rulemaking and are better addressed, to the extent practicable, in the 
context of a preemption determination. Accordingly, the Commission has 
adopted in Sec. 313.17 the text set out in proposed Sec. 313.15.

Section 313.18  Effective Date; Transition Rule

    Section 510 of the G-L-B Act states that, as a general rule, the 
relevant provisions of Title V take effect 6 months after the date on 
which rules are required to be prescribed, i.e., November 13, 2000. 
However, section 510(1) authorizes the Commission to prescribe a later 
date in the rule enacted pursuant to section 504. The proposed rule 
sought comment on the effective date prescribed by the statute. It also 
would have required that financial institutions provide initial 
notices, within 30 days of the effective date of the final rule, to 
people who were customers as of the effective date. The preamble to the 
proposed rule noted that a financial institution would have to provide 
opt out notices before the rule's effective date if the institution 
wanted to continue sharing nonpublic personal information with 
nonaffiliated third parties without interruption.
    The overwhelming majority of commenters addressing this provision 
requested additional time to comply with the final rule. Commenters 
stated that six months would not be sufficient to take the steps needed 
to comply with the regulation, including preparing new disclosure 
forms, developing software needed to track opt outs, training 
employees, creating management oversight systems, and undergoing 
internal examination and auditing to ensure compliance. Several 
commenters suggested that it would be less effective and potentially 
more confusing for consumers to receive several notices all around the 
end of the year 2000 than it would be for the notices to be delivered 
during a rolling phase-in. Others noted that the proposed effective 
date would place a severe strain on financial institutions at a time 
when other year-end notices need to be prepared and delivered. Several 
commenters noted that financial institutions have not budgeted for the 
expenses in the current year that likely will be incurred. They also 
noted that the disclosures regarding the standards to be followed to 
protect customers' records have not been proposed for comment, thereby 
making it impossible for financial institutions to know how to prepare 
at least that part of the initial privacy notices. Requests for 
extensions of the effective date typically ranged from 12 months to 24 
months from publication of the rule.
    Many commenters also stated that a 30-day phase-in for initial 
notices to existing customers is not feasible, given the large number 
of notices, the short period of time allowed, and the competing demands 
on financial institutions at the time when the initial notices must be 
sent. A few suggested that the rule require initial notices to be sent 
only to people who establish customer relationships after the effective 
date of the rule and allow a financial institution to send annual 
notices to existing customers at some point during the next 12 months 
and annually thereafter.
    The Commission agrees that six months may be insufficient in 
certain instances for a financial institution to ensure that its forms, 
systems, and procedures comply with the rule. In order to accommodate 
situations requiring additional time, the Commission has retained the 
effective date of November 13, but, consistent with its authority under 
section 510(1) of the G-L-B Act to extend the effective date, the 
Commission will give financial institutions until July 1, 2001 to be in 
full compliance with the regulation. Financial institutions are 
expected, however, to begin compliance efforts promptly, to use the 
period prior to June 30, 2001 to implement and test their systems, and 
to be in full compliance by July 1, 2001. Because financial 
institutions will have slightly over 13 months in which to comply with 
the rule, there no longer is any need for a separate phase-in for 
providing initial notices. Thus, a financial institution will need to 
deliver all required opt out notices and initial notices before July 1, 
2001. This extension represents a fair balance between those seeking 
prompt implementation of the protections afforded by the statute and 
those concerned about the reliability of the systems that are put in 
place.
    Financial institutions are encouraged to provide disclosures as 
soon as practicable. Institutions that do not disclose nonpublic 
personal information to third parties have fewer burdens under the rule 
(both in terms of notice requirements and opt out mechanism) and should 
therefore be able to provide privacy notices to their consumers more 
expeditiously. Depending on the readiness of an institution to process 
opt out elections, institutions might wish to consider including the 
privacy and opt out notices in the same mailing as is used to provide 
tax information to consumers in the first quarter of 2001 so that 
consumers are less likely to overlook the notices.
    The Commission has concluded that the extension of the date by 
which financial institutions must be in full compliance provides much 
of the relief sought by those who suggested that initial notices should 
not be required for existing customers. By allowing financial 
institutions to deliver notices over a significantly longer period of 
time than was proposed, the concentrated burden that would have been 
imposed by the proposed rule is avoided. Accordingly, the Commission

[[Page 33673]]

has decided not to adopt the suggestion that initial notices be 
required only for new customers after the effective date of the rule. 
Initial notices need not be given to customers whose relationships have 
terminated prior to the date by which institutions must be in 
compliance with the rule. Thus, if an account is inactive according to 
a financial institution's policies before July 1, 2001, then no initial 
notice would be required in connection with that account. However, 
because these former customers would remain consumers, a financial 
institution would have to provide a privacy and opt out notice to them 
if the financial institution intended to disclose their nonpublic 
personal information to nonaffiliated third parties beyond the 
exceptions in Secs. 313.14 and 313.15.
    The Commission notes that full compliance with the rule's 
restrictions on disclosures is required on July 1, 2001. To be in full 
compliance, institutions must have provided their existing customers 
with both a privacy notice and a reasonable amount of time to opt out 
prior to that date. If these have not been provided, the disclosure 
restrictions will apply. This means that a financial institution would 
have to cease sharing customers' nonpublic personal information with 
nonaffiliated third parties on that date, unless it may share the 
information pursuant to an exception under Secs. 313.14 or 313.15. 
However, financial institutions that both provide the privacy notice 
and allow a reasonable period of time to opt out before July 1, 2001 
may continue to share nonpublic personal information after that date 
about customers who do not opt out.
    The Commission's final rule provides for an exception to the 
effective date to take into consideration the Board's authority to add 
activities that are permissible for financial holding companies to 
engage in. The Board's addition of permissible activities (``subsequent 
permissible activities'') will cause some entities that are not now 
financial institutions to come within the definition at a later date. 
The exception provides that the rule is not effective as to any entity 
engaging in subsequent permissible activities until the Commission so 
determines.
    The Board has the authority to allow financial holding companies to 
engage in activities that are financial in nature, activities that are 
incidental to financial activities, and activities that are 
complementary to financial activities. If the Board, therefore, issues 
an order or regulation identifying the activity that the financial 
holding company may engage in without characterizing that activity, the 
Commission will have to determine whether any entities engaging in such 
activity should be covered by the privacy provisions of the G-L-B Act 
and, if so, to what extent. The Commission intends to publish for 
notice and comment its proposals with respect to entities engaging in 
subsequent permissible activities.

Appendix A--Sample Clauses

    In order to provide additional guidance to financial 
institutions concerning the level of detail the Commission believe 
is appropriate under the statute, the Commission has set forth a 
variety of sample clauses for financial institutions to consider. 
The Commission urges financial institutions to carefully review 
whether these clauses accurately reflect a given institution's 
policies and practices before using the clauses. Financial 
institutions are free to use different language and to include as 
much additional detail as they think is appropriate in their 
notices.

Derivation Chart

    Below is a chart showing the derivation of the sections in the 
final privacy rule from the proposal. Only changes are noted.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Proposal                                                                Content of provision                                                             Final rule
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
4(d).....................................  How to provide initial notice...................................................................................  9(a)
N/A......................................  New product for existing customer...............................................................................  4(d)
4(d)(3)..................................  Oral delivery (privacy notice)..................................................................................  9(d)
4(d)(4)..................................  Retainable notice...............................................................................................  9(e)
N/A......................................  Joint relationships (privacy notice)............................................................................  4(f)
5(b).....................................  How to provide annual notice....................................................................................  9(a) and (c)
5(c).....................................  Terminated customer relationships...............................................................................  5(b)
N/A......................................  Delivering short-form initial notices...........................................................................  6(d)(3)
7........................................  Main operative provision........................................................................................  10
8(a).....................................  Opt out methods; opt out notice content.........................................................................  7(a)
8(b)(1)..................................  How to deliver opt out notices..................................................................................  9(a)
8(b)(2)..................................  Oral delivery (opt out notice)..................................................................................  9(d)
8(b)(3)..................................  Same form as initial notice.....................................................................................  7(b)
8(b)(4)..................................  Initial notice must accompany opt out notice....................................................................  7(c)
N/A......................................  Joint relationships (opt out notice)............................................................................  7(d)
8(d).....................................  Time to comply with opt out; continuing right to opt out........................................................  7(e) and (f)
8(e).....................................  Duration of opt out.............................................................................................  7(g)
8(c)(1)..................................  Revised notices.................................................................................................  8(a)
8(c)(2)..................................  How to deliver revised notice...................................................................................  8(c)
8(c)(3)..................................  Examples of when revised notice is required.....................................................................  8(b)
9........................................  Exception for service providers and joint marketers.............................................................  13
10.......................................  Exceptions for processing and servicing transactions............................................................  14
11.......................................  Other exceptions................................................................................................  15
12.......................................  Redisclosure and reuse..........................................................................................  11
13.......................................  Sharing account number information..............................................................................  12
14.......................................  FCRA............................................................................................................  16
15.......................................  State law.......................................................................................................  17
16.......................................  Effective date..................................................................................................  18
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section D. Guidance for Certain Institutions

    To minimize the burden and costs to a financial institution 
(``you'') and generally clarify the operation of the final rule, the 
Agencies have included this guidance that you may use in conjunction 
with the sample clauses in Appendix A. This guidance specifically 
applies to you if you:
    (1) do not have any affiliates;
    (2) only disclose nonpublic personal information to nonaffiliated 
third

[[Page 33674]]

parties in accordance with an exception under Secs. 313.14 or 313.15, 
such as in connection with servicing or processing a financial product 
or service that a consumer requests or authorizes ; and
    (3) do not reserve the right to disclose nonpublic personal 
information to nonaffiliated third parties, except under Secs. 313.14 
and 313.15. \39\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \39\ If you disclose or reserve the right to disclose nonpublic 
personal information to a nonaffiliated third party under other 
circumstances, you must comply with other provisions in the rule, 
notably Secs. 313.7, 313.8, and 313.13, if applicable. If you 
disclose or reserve the right to disclose nonpublic personal 
information to an affiliate you must comply with other provisions in 
the rule, notably Sec. 313.6(a)(7), as applicable.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    In addition, if you disclose nonpublic personal information in 
accordance with the exception in Sec. 313.13 for service providers and 
joint marketers, you also must include an accurate description of that 
information, as illustrated by the sample clause in section (K) below.
    In general, if you disclose nonpublic personal information to 
nonaffiliated third parties only as authorized under an exception, then 
your only responsibilities under the regulation are to provide initial 
and annual notices to each of your customers. You do not need to 
provide an opt out notice or opt out rights to your customers.
    A. Initial notice to customers. You must provide an initial notice 
to each of your customers. A customer is a natural person who has a 
continuing relationship with you, as described in Sec. 313.4(c). For 
instance, a ``pay day'' lender who extends a loan to an individual has 
a customer relationship with that individual. By contrast, if the ``pay 
day'' lender only cashes a check for that individual, there is no 
customer relationship; even if that individual repeatedly cashes checks 
with the same pay-day lender, she remains only the lender's consumer. 
In other words, you must provide initial and annual notices to each of 
your customers, but not to others.
    B. Time to provide initial notice. You must provide an initial 
privacy notice to each of your customers not later than when you 
establish a customer relationship (Sec. 313.4(a)(1)). For instance, you 
must provide a privacy notice to an individual not later than when that 
individual executes the contract to open a checking account. Thus, you 
can provide the notice to a checking account customer together with the 
account agreement and signature card.
    Similarly, in the case of extending a mortgage loan, you must 
provide a privacy notice to an individual not later than when you and 
the individual enter into an agreement that you will serve as the 
mortgage lender. For example, you can provide the notice to an 
individual together with the documents (or other forms) that constitute 
the contract to extend the loan. You may always deliver your privacy 
notices earlier than required.
    If one of your existing customers obtains a new financial product 
or service from you, then you need not provide another initial notice 
to that customer (Sec. 313.4(d)) if that earlier notice covered the 
subsequent product.
    For instance, if Alison Individual enters Lender's offices for the 
first time on July 2, 2001 to obtain a mortgage, then Lender complies 
with Sec. 313.4(a)(1) of the rule if it provides an initial notice to 
Alison with the mortgage agreement. When Alison obtains her mortgage, 
she becomes a customer of Lender. Alison makes regular payments to 
Lender on her mortgage and, two years later, returns to Lender to 
obtain a credit card. If the initial notice that Lender provided to 
Alison is accurate with respect to the terms of that credit card, then 
Lender need not provide another initial notice to her when she obtains 
the credit card because Lender has already provided a notice to Alison 
that covers that relationship.
    C. Method of providing the initial notice. You must provide your 
initial notice so that each customer can reasonably be expected to 
receive actual notice of it, in writing (Sec. 313.9(a)). For example, 
you may provide the initial notice by mailing a printed copy of it 
together with a loan contract. Similarly, you may provide the initial 
notice by hand-delivering a printed copy of it to the customer together 
with a deposit account agreement.
    D. Compliance with initial notice requirement for existing 
customers by effective date. You must provide an initial notice to each 
of your current customers not later than July 1, 2001 (Sec. 313.18(b)). 
You may do so by mailing a printed copy of the notice to the customer's 
last known address.
    E. Annual notice. During the continuation of the customer 
relationship, you must provide an annual notice to the customer, as 
described in Sec. 313.5(a). You must provide an annual notice to each 
customer at least once in any period of 12 consecutive months during 
which the customer relationship exists. You may define the 12-
consecutive-month period, but must consistently apply that period to 
the customer. You may define the 12-consecutive-month period as a 
calendar year and provide the annual notice to the customer once in 
each calendar year following the calendar year in which you provided 
the initial notice.
    For example, assume that Lender defines the 12-consecutive-month 
period as a calendar year and provides annual notices to all of its 
customers on October 1 of each year. If Alison Individual obtained her 
mortgage with Lender on July 2, 2001, thereby becoming a customer, then 
Lender must provide an initial notice to Alison together with the 
mortgage agreement or earlier. Lender must provide an annual notice to 
Alison by December 31, 2002. If Lender provides an annual notice to 
Alison on October 1, 2002, as it does for other customers, then it must 
provide the next annual notice to Alison not later than October 1, 
2003.
    F. Method of providing the annual notice. Like the initial notice, 
you must provide the annual notice so that each customer can reasonably 
be expected to receive actual notice of it, in writing (Sec. 313.9(a)). 
You may do so by mailing a printed copy of the notice to the customer's 
last known address.
    G. Joint accounts. If two or more customers jointly obtain a 
financial product or service, then you may provide one initial notice 
to those customers jointly. Similarly, you may provide one annual 
notice to those customers jointly (Sec. 313.4(f)).
    H. Information described in the initial and annual notices. The 
initial and annual notices must include an accurate description of the 
following four items of information:
    (a) The categories of nonpublic personal information that you 
collect (Sec. 313.6(a)(1));
    (b) The fact that you do not disclose nonpublic personal 
information about your current customers to affiliates or nonaffiliated 
third parties, except as authorized by Secs. 313.14 and 313.15 
(Sec. 313.6(a)(2)-(3), (9)). When describing the categories with 
respect to those parties, you are required to state only that you make 
disclosures to other nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law 
(Sec. 313.6(b));
    (c) The categories of nonpublic personal information about your 
former customers that you disclose and the categories of affiliates and 
nonaffiliated third parties to whom you disclose nonpublic personal 
information about your former customers (Sec. 313.6(a)(4));
    (d) Your policies and practices with respect to protecting the 
confidentiality and security of nonpublic personal information 
(Sec. 313.6(a)(8)).
    For each of these four items of information above, you may use a 
sample clause from Appendix A. The Agencies emphasize that you may use 
a sample clause only if that clause

[[Page 33675]]

accurately describes your actual policies and practices.
    I. Example of notice. A financial institution (``Lender'') that (i) 
does not have any affiliates and (ii) only discloses nonpublic personal 
information to nonaffiliated third parties as authorized under 
Secs. 313.14 and 313.15, may comply with the requirements of Sec. 313.6 
of the rule by using the following notice, if applicable.
    Lender collects nonpublic personal information about you from the 
following sources:
    <bullet> Information we receive from you on applications or other 
forms;
    <bullet> Information about your transactions with us or others; and
    <bullet> Information we receive from a consumer reporting 
agency.\40\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \40\ You only need to describe those general categories that 
apply to your policies and practices. Accordingly, if you do not 
collect information from ``a consumer reporting agency,'' for 
instance, then you need not describe that category in your notices.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about you to 
anyone, except as permitted by law.
    If you decide to pay off your loan(s), we will adhere to the 
privacy policies and practices as described in this notice.
    Lender restricts access to your personal and account information to 
those employees who need to know that information to provide products 
or services to you. Lender maintains physical, electronic, and 
procedural safeguards that comply with federal regulations to guard 
your nonpublic personal information.
    J. Initial and annual notices must be clear and conspicuous. The 
Commission emphasizes that you must ensure that both the initial and 
annual notices are clear and conspicuous, as defined in Sec. 313.3(b).
    K. Example of notice for disclosure to service providers and joint 
marketers. If you disclose nonpublic personal information in accordance 
with the exception in Sec. 313.13, for service providers and joint 
marketers, you also must include an accurate description of that 
information. You may comply with the requirements of Sec. 313.13 of the 
rule by including the following sample clause, if applicable, in the 
example of notice described in section (I) above:
    We may disclose all of the information we collect, as described 
[describe location in the notice, such as ``above'' or ``below'], to 
companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other 
financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements. 

Section E. Final Regulatory Flexibility Analysis

    The Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601-612) (``RFA'') 
requires, subject to certain exceptions, that federal agencies prepare 
an initial regulatory flexibility analysis (``IRFA'') with a proposed 
Rule and a final regulatory flexibility analysis (``FRFA'') with a 
final Rule, unless the agency certifies that the Rule will not have a 
significant economic impact on a substantial number of small entities. 
At the time the proposed Rule was issued, the Commission believed that 
the G-L-B Act's requirements accounted for most, if not all, of the 
economic impact of the Rule, but decided to publish the IRFA to ensure 
that in developing the final Rule it adequately considered the impact 
on small businesses. After reviewing the comments submitted in response 
to the proposed Rule, the Commission continues to believe that the 
burden imposed on small institutions stems primarily from the statute 
and that certification would be proper. However, in order to assist 
those entities with comprehending and complying with the final Rule, 
the Commission has determined that it is appropriate to publish a FRFA 
analyzing the Rule as a whole and highlighting provisions that will 
particularly accommodate the needs of small businesses.
    This FRFA incorporates the Commissions's initial findings, as set 
forth in the IRFA; addresses the comments submitted in response to the 
IRFA; and describes the steps the Commission has taken in the final 
Rule to minimize the impact on small entities, consistent with the 
objectives of the G-L-B Act. The Commission is publishing with this 
part a guide for entities that do not share any nonpublic personal 
information, a disproportionate number of which are likely to be small 
businesses. (See Supplementary Information, Section C.) Also, in 
accordance with Section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory 
Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-121), the Commission 
will in the near future issue a compliance guide to assist small 
entities in complying with this rule.

Succinct Statement of the Need for, Objectives of, and Legal Basis for 
the Rule

    The final Rule implements the provisions of Title V, Subtitle A of 
the G-L-B Act, which addresses consumer privacy. In general, these 
statutory provisions require financial institutions to provide notice 
to consumers about the institution's privacy policies and practices, 
describe the conditions under which financial institutions may disclose 
nonpublic personal information about consumers to nonaffiliated third 
parties, and permit consumers to prevent institutions from sharing 
nonpublic personal information about them with certain non-affiliated 
third parties by ``opting out'' of that disclosure.
    Section 504 of the G-L-B Act requires the Commission to prescribe 
``such regulations as may be necessary'' to carry out the purposes of 
Title V, Subtitle A. In the absence of these regulations, the 
substantive burdens imposed by the Act (e.g., the notice, information-
sharing restrictions, and opt-out requirements) would have become 
effective and binding upon financial institutions within one year of 
the enactment of the law. The Commission believes that the final Rule 
gives the private sector greater certainty and flexibility with respect 
to compliance with the statute, as well as clearer guidance as to how 
the Commission will enforce it.

Description and Estimate of the Number of Small Entities to Which the 
Proposed Rule Will Apply

    Determining a precise estimate of the number of small entities that 
are financial institutions within the meaning of the proposed Rule is 
not readily feasible. The definition of ``financial institution'' 
includes any institution the business of which is engaging in a 
financial activity, as described in section 4(k) of the Bank Holding 
Company Act, which incorporates by reference the activities listed in 
12 CFR 225.28 and 12 CFR 211.5(d). These include lenders, loan brokers 
and servicers, collection agencies, financial advisors, tax preparers, 
real estate settlement services, property appraisers, and others. The 
G-L-B Act does not identify for purposes of the Commission's 
jurisdiction any specific category of financial institution; section 
505(a)(7) vests the Commission with enforcement authority with respect 
to ``any other financial institution or other person that is not 
subject to the jurisdiction of any [other] agency or authority [charged 
with enforcing the statute].'' Jurisdiction is assigned to other 
agencies with respect to banks, bank holding companies, and their 
subsidiaries and affiliates; savings associations, federal credit 
unions, and their subsidiaries; securities brokers and dealers; 
investment advisers and investment companies; and insurers.

[[Page 33676]]

    Although the Commission requested comment on these issues, it did 
not receive a response sufficient to provide a basis for determining 
the number of small entities subject to the final Rule. In the absence 
of such information, there is no way to estimate precisely the number 
of affected entities that share nonpublic personal information with 
nonaffiliated third parties or that establish customer relationships 
with consumers and therefore assume greater disclosure obligations.

Description of Projected Reporting, Recordkeeping, and Other Compliance 
Requirements

    The Commission incorporates by reference its description of the 
projected reporting, recordkeeping, and other compliance requirements 
of the Rule, as set forth in the IRFA. The Commission has not received 
any comments that necessitate modification of its previous description 
of projected compliance requirements. Based on the information the 
Commission submitted to the Office of Management and Budget, which 
included an estimated average annual burden over the three-year period 
of clearance of 4.03 million hours and $87.3 million, OMB has approved 
the final Rule for the related purposes of the Paperwork Reduction Act. 
(See section F, infra.)
    Among the principal obligations that Title V, Subtitle A of the G-
L-B Act, as executed by the final Rule, imposes upon financial 
institutions is the preparation of notices explaining their privacy 
policies and practices. Institutions are required to provide those 
notices to consumers as specified in the Rule, and institutions that 
disclose nonpublic personal information about their consumers to 
nonaffiliated third parties will be required to provide opt out 
notices, as well as a reasonable opportunity to opt out of certain 
disclosures, to their consumers. These institutions will have to 
develop systems for keeping track of consumers' opt out directions. 
Some institutions, particularly those that disclose nonpublic 
information about consumers to nonaffiliated third parties, will likely 
need the advice of legal counsel to ensure that they comply with the 
Rule and may also require computer programming changes and additional 
staff training.
    A detailed, section-by-section analysis of the final Rule is set 
forth above in section B. of the Supplementary Information part of this 
notice.

Summary of Significant Issues Raised by Public Comments and Description 
of Steps the Commission Has Taken To Minimize the Significant Economic 
Impact on Small Entities

    The Commission has sought to minimize the burden on all businesses, 
including small entities, in promulgating this final rule. Although one 
method of accomplishing this objective would be to adopt a specific 
exemption for small entities, the G-L-B Act does not authorize the 
Commission to create exemptions based on an institution's size. 
Further, the Commission believes that different compliance standards 
would be inconsistent with the purpose of Title V, which is to offer 
all consumers some measure of control over the dissemination of the 
nonpublic personal information that they provide to financial 
institutions, regardless of the institution's size. As section 501(a) 
of the Act declares, ``[i]t is the policy of the Congress that each 
financial institution has an affirmative and continuing obligation to 
respect the privacy of its customers and to protect the security and 
confidentiality of those customers' nonpublic personal information.'' 
(Emphasis added).
    Notwithstanding its limited authority to accommodate the specific 
needs of smaller institutions, the Commission has requested and 
analyzed throughout this rulemaking process information regarding the 
economic impact of the G-L-B Act's requirements for all financial 
institutions, including small entities. The proposed rule and the IRFA 
included a number of questions for public comment regarding the costs 
associated with complying with the Rule and the impact on small 
entities. Although the Commission received few comments that 
specifically addressed the regulatory flexibility analysis, it 
carefully considered comments concerning the substantive provisions of 
the Rule.\41\ The discussion below reviews some of those key 
recommendations and corresponding changes adopted in the final Rule 
that accommodate those suggestions. Many of the steps taken by the 
Commission will benefit all institutions, regardless of size, while 
others will especially reduce the regulatory burden for small entities. 
For a more complete discussion of these changes, see the section-by-
section analysis under section C of the Supplementary Information part 
of this notice.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \41\ Even if the Commission had the authority to craft 
exceptions strictly based on the size of institutions, the comments 
received did not provide the amount, specificity, or consistency of 
information required to make such targeted policy determinations. 
For example, the Commission received one comment from a regional 
department store retailer with an estimated annual volume of $700 
million in 1999. This small retail chain stated that approximate 
mailing costs associated with issuing privacy notices would be 
$400,000-$500,000, or 4%-5% of its net income. Another commenter 
estimated that total compliance costs would total $97,400 for an 
institution with assets of approximately $100 million. Based on 
these widely disparate projections and scant statistics, an 
exception applicable to all ``small entities'' would be 
impracticable and inappropriate.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Effective Date

    Subject to section 510 of the G-L-B Act, the relevant provisions of 
Title V take effect on November 13, 2000. However, section 510(1) 
authorizes the Commission to prescribe a later date in the regulations 
enacted pursuant to section 504. The proposed Rule sought comment on 
the effective date prescribed by the statute. The overwhelming majority 
of commenters requested additional time to comply with the final rule. 
Several commenters noted that financial institutions may encounter 
difficulty managing the expenses and resources required to comply with 
the final rule as the institution's budget for the current year was 
established prior to the issuance of the proposed regulation. This may 
be especially true for small institutions that face already tight 
budgetary constraints due to heightened competition. In response to 
these concerns, the Commission has retained the effective date of 
November 13, 2000 but, consistent with its authority under section 
510(1) of the statute, will give financial institutions until July 1, 
2001 to be in full compliance with the final Rule. This additional time 
should reduce compliance costs for institutions by allowing additional 
time to budget for any necessary expenses and to implement all 
necessary operational changes required to comply with this Rule.

Examples

    Throughout the final Rule, the Commission has included examples of 
conduct that illustrate ways to comply with particular provisions. As 
the section-by-section analysis above and the Rule itself explain, 
these examples are not exclusive, but they should lessen for 
institutions the burdens imposed by the Rule by clarifying that 
compliance with an applicable example constitutes compliance with the 
applicable provision.

Definition of Nonpublic Personal Information

    In the proposed rule, the Commission provided two alternatives for 
defining nonpublic personal information. The

[[Page 33677]]

first, (Alternative A) deemed information as publicly available only if 
a financial institution actually obtained the information from a public 
source, whereas the second (Alternative B) treated information as 
publicly available if a financial institution could obtain it from such 
a source. A vast majority of commenters favored Alternative B as 
significantly less burdensome than Alternative A. In response to these 
comments, the final Rule adopts a modified version of Alternative B, 
which is more fully explained in the section-by-section analysis.

Content of Notices

    Many commenters interpreted the proposed Rule as mandating lengthy, 
confusing privacy notices that would offer little benefit to consumers, 
and asked for clarification with respect to the content of those 
disclosures. Although the Commission believes that the notice 
obligations are not unduly burdensome, in the final Rule it has taken a 
number of steps to clarify the requirements imposed by the G-L-B Act. 
The final Rule substantially revises the examples of disclosures that 
would satisfy the Rule, includes sample clauses that might be used, and 
adds a new provision for ``short-form'' privacy notices to a consumer 
that does not become a customer, provided the institution gives the 
consumer an opt out notice and a reasonably convenient method of 
obtaining a copy of the full privacy notice. It also retains the 
simplified notice provision for institutions that do not share 
nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated third parties, except 
pursuant to the exceptions set forth in Secs. 313.14 and 313.15 of this 
part. These measures may be particularly helpful to smaller 
institutions who do not disclose nonpublic personal information except 
under those and other exceptions in the final Rule.
    In addition, the Commission has included with the final Rule sample 
disclosures that institutions may use to draft their privacy and opt 
out notices required by this part. As discussed in the section-by-
section analysis above, these clauses are provided to convey to 
institutions the requisite level of detail that these notices must 
contain. Institutions can also consult the Guide for Certain Financial 
Institutions (``Guide''). The Guide generally clarifies the operation 
of the final Rule. It also provides an example of a notice for 
institutions, including small entities, that only share nonpublic 
personal information with nonaffiliated third parties pursuant to the 
exceptions provided in Secs. 313.14 and 313.15. The Guide may be used 
in conjunction with the sample clauses contained in Appendix A. Like 
the examples discussed above, the sample disclosures and the Guide are 
intended to minimize the burden of complying with the final Rule, by 
reducing, among other costs, the need for legal advice.

Joint Account Holders

    Another frequent comment addressed the provision of notice to and 
effect of opt outs exercised by joint account holders. As the section-
by-section analysis describes, the final Rule clarifies that 
institutions may provide a single notice to joint account holders 
(unless otherwise requested), with the understanding that a decision to 
opt out made by one of the joint account holders will, absent a 
provision to the contrary in the opt out notice, be effective with 
respect to each of the account holders. By reducing the number of 
notices that institutions are required to provide, this flexibility 
will particularly benefit those institutions, including small entities, 
that do not share nonpublic personal information with nonaffiliated 
third parties, except pursuant to an exception.

New Notices Not Required for Each New Financial Product or Service

    Some commenters expressed concern that the proposed rule may 
require a new initial notice each time a consumer obtains a new 
financial product or service. This would be especially burdensome for 
an institution that adopts a universal privacy policy that covers 
multiple products and services. To address these concerns and minimize 
economic burden, the final Rule was clarified to instruct institutions 
that a new initial notice is not required if the institution has given 
the customer the institution's initial notice, and that notice remains 
accurate with respect to the new product or service.

Section F. Paperwork Reduction Act

    Pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act, as amended, 44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq., the Commission submitted the proposed Rule to the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB) for review. The OMB has approved the Rule's 
information collection requirements.\42\ A Federal Register notice with 
a 30-day comment period of soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published on March 1, 2000 (65 FR 11174). The 
Commission did not receive any comments that necessitated modifying its 
original burden estimates for the Rule's notice requirements.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

    \42\ The assigned OMB clearance number is 3084-0121.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section G. Final Rule

List of Subjects in 16 CFR Part 313

    Consumer protection, Credit, Data protection, Privacy, Trade 
practices.


    Accordingly, the Commission amends 16 CFR Ch. I, Subchapter C, by 
adding a new Part 313 to read as follows:

PART 313--PRIVACY OF CONSUMER FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Sec.
313.1   Purpose and scope.
313.2   Rule of construction.
313.3   Definitions.
Subpart A--Privacy and Opt Out Notices
313.4   Initial privacy notice to consumers required.
313.5   Annual privacy notice to customers required.
313.6   Information to be included in privacy notices.
313.7   Form of opt out notice to consumers; opt out methods.
313.8   Revised privacy notices.
313.9   Delivering privacy and opt out notices.
Subpart B--Limits on Disclosures
313.10   Limitation on disclosure of nonpublic personal information 
to nonaffiliated third parties.
313.11   Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.
313.12   Limits on sharing account number information for marketing 
purposes.
Subpart C-Exceptions
313.13   Exception to opt out requirements for service providers and 
joint marketing.
313.14   Exceptions to notice and opt out requirements for 
processing and servicing transactions.
313.15   Other exceptions to notice and opt out requirements.
Subpart D--Relation to Other Laws; Effective Date
313.16   Protection of Fair Credit Reporting Act.
313.17   Relation to State laws.
313.18   Effective date; transition rule.

Appendix A to Part 313--Sample Clauses

    Authority: 15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq.


Sec. 313.1  Purpose and scope.

    (a) Purpose. This part governs the treatment of nonpublic personal 
information about consumers by the financial institutions listed in 
paragraph (b) of this section. This part:
    (1) Requires a financial institution in specified circumstances to 
provide notice to customers about its privacy policies and practices;
    (2) Describes the conditions under which a financial institution 
may

[[Page 33678]]

disclose nonpublic personal information about consumers to 
nonaffiliated third parties; and
    (3) Provides a method for consumers to prevent a financial 
institution from disclosing that information to most nonaffiliated 
third parties by ``opting out'' of that disclosure, subject to the 
exceptions in Secs. 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15.
    (b) Scope. This part applies only to nonpublic personal information 
about individuals who obtain financial products or services primarily 
for personal, family or household purposes from the institutions listed 
below. This part does not apply to information about companies or about 
individuals who obtain financial products or services for business, 
commercial, or agricultural purposes. This part applies to those 
``financial institutions'' and ``other persons'' over which the Federal 
Trade Commission (``Commission'') has enforcement authority pursuant to 
Section 505(a)(7) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. An entity is a 
``financial institution'' if its business is engaging in a financial 
activity as described in Section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act 
of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843(k), which incorporates by reference activities 
enumerated by the Federal Reserve Board in 12 CFR 211.5(d) and 12 CFR 
225.28. The ``financial institutions'' subject to the Commission's 
enforcement authority are those that are not otherwise subject to the 
enforcement authority of another regulator under Section 505 of the 
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act. More specifically, those entities include, but 
are not limited to, mortgage lenders, ``pay day'' lenders, finance 
companies, mortgage brokers, account servicers, check cashers, wire 
transferors, travel agencies operated in connection with financial 
services, collection agencies, credit counselors and other financial 
advisors, tax preparation firms, non-federally insured credit unions, 
and investment advisors that are not required to register with the 
Securities and Exchange Commission. They are referred to in this part 
as ``You.'' The ``other persons'' to whom this part applies are third 
parties that are not financial institutions, but that receive nonpublic 
personal information from financial institutions with whom they are not 
affiliated. Nothing in this part modifies, limits, or supersedes the 
standards governing individually identifiable health information 
promulgated by the Secretary of Health and Human Services under the 
authority of sections 262 and 264 of the Health Insurance Portability 
and Accountability Act of 1996, 42 U.S.C. 1320d-1320d-8. Any 
institution of higher education that complies with the Federal 
Educational Rights and Privacy Act (``FERPA''), 20 U.S.C. 1232g, and 
its implementing regulations, 34 CFR part 99, and that is also a 
financial institution subject to the requirements of this part, shall 
be deemed to be in compliance with this part if it is in compliance 
with FERPA.


Sec. 313.2  Rule of construction.

    The examples in this part and the sample clauses in Appendix A of 
this part are not exclusive. Compliance with an example or use of a 
sample clause, to the extent applicable, constitutes compliance with 
this part. For non-federally insured credit unions, compliance with an 
example or use of a sample clause contained in 12 CFR part 716, to the 
extent applicable, constitutes compliance with this part. For 
intrastate securities broker-dealers and investment advisors not 
registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission, compliance with 
an example or use of a sample clause contained in 17 CFR part 248, to 
the extent applicable, constitutes compliance with this part.


Sec. 313.3  Definitions.

    As used in this part, unless the context requires otherwise:
    (a) Affiliate means any company that controls, is controlled by, or 
is under common control with another company.
    (b)(1) Clear and conspicuous means that a notice is reasonably 
understandable and designed to call attention to the nature and 
significance of the information in the notice.
    (2) Examples--(i) Reasonably understandable. You make your notice 
reasonably understandable if you:
    (A) Present the information in the notice in clear, concise 
sentences, paragraphs, and sections;
    (B) Use short explanatory sentences or bullet lists whenever 
possible;
    (C) Use definite, concrete, everyday words and active voice 
whenever possible;
    (D) Avoid multiple negatives;
    (E) Avoid legal and highly technical business terminology whenever 
possible; and
    (F) Avoid explanations that are imprecise and readily subject to 
different interpretations.
    (ii) Designed to call attention. You design your notice to call 
attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if 
you:
    (A) Use a plain-language heading to call attention to the notice;
    (B) Use a typeface and type size that are easy to read;
    (C) Provide wide margins and ample line spacing;
    (D) Use boldface or italics for key words; and
    (E) In a form that combines your notice with other information, use 
distinctive type size, style, and graphic devices, such as shading or 
sidebars, when you combine your notice with other information.
    (iii) Notices on web sites. If you provide a notice on a web page, 
you design your notice to call attention to the nature and significance 
of the information in it if you use text or visual cues to encourage 
scrolling down the page if necessary to view the entire notice and 
ensure that other elements on the web site (such as text, graphics, 
hyperlinks, or sound) do not distract attention from the notice, and 
you either:
    (A) Place the notice on a screen that consumers frequently access, 
such as a page on which transactions are conducted; or
    (B) Place a link on a screen that consumers frequently access, such 
as a page on which transactions are conducted, that connects directly 
to the notice and is labeled appropriately to convey the importance, 
nature and relevance of the notice.
    (c) Collect means to obtain information that you organize or can 
retrieve by the name of an individual or by identifying number, symbol, 
or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, 
irrespective of the source of the underlying information.
    (d) Company means any corporation, limited liability company, 
business trust, general or limited partnership, association, or similar 
organization.
    (e)(1) Consumer means an individual who obtains or has obtained a 
financial product or service from you that is to be used primarily for 
personal, family, or household purposes, or that individual's legal 
representative.
    (2) Examples--(i) An individual who applies to you for credit for 
personal, family, or household purposes is a consumer of a financial 
service, regardless of whether the credit is extended.
    (ii) An individual who provides nonpublic personal information to 
you in order to obtain a determination about whether he or she may 
qualify for a loan to be used primarily for personal, family, or 
household purposes is a consumer of a financial service, regardless of 
whether the loan is extended.
    (iii) An individual who provides nonpublic personal information to 
you in connection with obtaining or seeking to obtain financial, 
investment, or

[[Page 33679]]

economic advisory services is a consumer, regardless of whether you 
establish a continuing advisory relationship.
    (iv) If you hold ownership or servicing rights to an individual's 
loan that is used primarily for personal, family, or household 
purposes, the individual is your consumer, even if you hold those 
rights in conjunction with one or more other institutions. (The 
individual is also a consumer with respect to the other financial 
institutions involved.) An individual who has a loan in which you have 
ownership or servicing rights is your consumer, even if you, or another 
institution with those rights, hire an agent to collect on the loan.
    (v) An individual who is a consumer of another financial 
institution is not your consumer solely because you act as agent for, 
or provide processing or other services to, that financial institution.
    (vi) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she 
has designated you as trustee for a trust.
    (vii) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she 
is a beneficiary of a trust for which you are a trustee.
    (viii) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she 
is a participant or a beneficiary of an employee benefit plan that you 
sponsor or for which you act as a trustee or fiduciary.
    (f) Consumer reporting agency has the same meaning as in section 
603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f)).
    (g) Control of a company means:
    (1) Ownership, control, or power to vote 25 percent or more of the 
outstanding shares of any class of voting security of the company, 
directly or indirectly, or acting through one or more other persons;
    (2) Control in any manner over the election of a majority of the 
directors, trustees, or general partners (or individuals exercising 
similar functions) of the company; or
    (3) The power to exercise, directly or indirectly, a controlling 
influence over the management or policies of the company.
    (h) Customer means a consumer who has a customer relationship with 
you.
    (i)(1) Customer relationship means a continuing relationship 
between a consumer and you under which you provide one or more 
financial products or services to the consumer that are to be used 
primarily for personal, family, or household purposes.
    (2) Examples--(i) Continuing relationship. A consumer has a 
continuing relationship with you if the consumer:
    (A) Has a credit or investment account with you;
    (B) Obtains a loan from you;
    (C) Purchases an insurance product from you;
    (D) Holds an investment product through you, such as when you act 
as a custodian for securities or for assets in an Individual Retirement 
Arrangement;
    (E) Enters into an agreement or understanding with you whereby you 
undertake to arrange or broker a home mortgage loan, or credit to 
purchase a vehicle, for the consumer;
    (F) Enters into a lease of personal property on a non-operating 
basis with you;
    (G) Obtains financial, investment, or economic advisory services 
from you for a fee;
    (H) Becomes your client for the purpose of obtaining tax 
preparation or credit counseling services from you;
    (I) Obtains career counseling while seeking employment with a 
financial institution or the finance, accounting, or audit department 
of any company (or while employed by such a financial institution or 
department of any company);
    (J) Is obligated on an account that you purchase from another 
financial institution, regardless of whether the account is in default 
when purchased, unless you do not locate the consumer or attempt to 
collect any amount from the consumer on the account;
    (K) Obtains real estate settlement services from you; or
    (L) Has a loan for which you own the servicing rights.
    (ii) No continuing relationship. A consumer does not, however, have 
a continuing relationship with you if:
    (A) The consumer obtains a financial product or service from you 
only in isolated transactions, such as using your ATM to withdraw cash 
from an account at another financial institution; purchasing a money 
order from you; cashing a check with you; or making a wire transfer 
through you;
    (B) You sell the consumer's loan and do not retain the rights to 
service that loan;
    (C) You sell the consumer airline tickets, travel insurance, or 
traveler's checks in isolated transactions;
    (D) The consumer obtains one-time personal or real property 
appraisal services from you; or
    (E) The consumer purchases checks for a personal checking account 
from you.
    (j) Federal functional regulator means:
    (1) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;
    (2) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;
    (3) The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation;
    (4) The Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision;
    (5) The National Credit Union Administration Board; and
    (6) The Securities and Exchange Commission.
    (k)(1) Financial institution means any institution the business of 
which is engaging in financial activities as described in section 4(k) 
of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)). An 
institution that is significantly engaged in financial activities is a 
financial institution.
    (2) Examples of financial institution. (i) A retailer that extends 
credit by issuing its own credit card directly to consumers is a 
financial institution because extending credit is a financial activity 
listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(1) and referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of 
the Bank Holding Company Act and issuing that extension of credit 
through a proprietary credit card demonstrates that a retailer is 
significantly engaged in extending credit.
    (ii) A personal property or real estate appraiser is a financial 
institution because real and personal property appraisal is a financial 
activity listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(2)(i) and referenced in section 
4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (iii) An automobile dealership that, as a usual part of its 
business, leases automobiles on a nonoperating basis for longer than 90 
days is a financial institution with respect to its leasing business 
because leasing personal property on a nonoperating basis where the 
initial term of the lease is at least 90 days is a financial activity 
listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(3) and referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of 
the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (iv) A career counselor that specializes in providing career 
counseling services to individuals currently employed by or recently 
displaced from a financial organization, individuals who are seeking 
employment with a financial organization, or individuals who are 
currently employed by or seeking placement with the finance, accounting 
or audit departments of any company is a financial institution because 
such career counseling activities are financial activities listed in 12 
CFR 225.28(b)(9)(iii) and referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank 
Holding Company Act.
    (v) A business that prints and sells checks for consumers, either 
as its sole business or as one of its product lines,

[[Page 33680]]

is a financial institution because printing and selling checks is a 
financial activity that is listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(10)(ii) and 
referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (vi) A business that regularly wires money to and from consumers is 
a financial institution because transferring money is a financial 
activity referenced in section 4(k)(4)(A) of the Bank Holding Company 
Act and regularly providing that service demonstrates that the business 
is significantly engaged in that activity.
    (vii) A check cashing business is a financial institution because 
cashing a check is exchanging money, which is a financial activity 
listed in section 4(k)(4)(A) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (viii) An accountant or other tax preparation service that is in 
the business of completing income tax returns is a financial 
institution because tax preparation services is a financial activity 
listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(6)(vi) and referenced in section 4(k)(4)(G) 
of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (ix) A business that operates a travel agency in connection with 
financial services is a financial institution because operating a 
travel agency in connection with financial services is a financial 
activity listed in 12 CFR 211.5(d)(15) and referenced in section 
4(k)(4)(G) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (x) An entity that provides real estate settlement services is a 
financial institution because providing real estate settlement services 
is a financial activity listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(2)(viii) and 
referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (xi) A mortgage broker is a financial institution because brokering 
loans is a financial activity listed in 12 CFR 225.28(b)(1) and 
referenced in section 4(k)(4)(F) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (xii) An investment advisory company and a credit counseling 
service are each financial institutions because providing financial and 
investment advisory services are financial activities referenced in 
section 4(k)(4)(C) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
    (3) Financial institution does not include:
    (i) Any person or entity with respect to any financial activity 
that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commodity Futures Trading 
Commission under the Commodity Exchange Act (7 U.S.C. 1 et seq.);
    (ii) The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation or any entity 
chartered and operating under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 
2001 et seq.); or
    (iii) Institutions chartered by Congress specifically to engage in 
securitizations, secondary market sales (including sales of servicing 
rights) or similar transactions related to a transaction of a consumer, 
as long as such institutions do not sell or transfer nonpublic personal 
information to a nonaffiliated third party other than as permitted by 
Secs. 313.14 and 313.15 of this part.
    (iv) Entities that engage in financial activities but that are not 
significantly engaged in those financial activities.
    (4) Examples of entities that are not significantly engaged in 
financial activities. (i) A retailer is not a financial institution if 
its only means of extending credit are occasional ``lay away'' and 
deferred payment plans or accepting payment by means of credit cards 
issued by others.
    (ii) A retailer is not a financial institution merely because it 
accepts payment in the form of cash, checks, or credit cards that it 
did not issue.
    (iii) A merchant is not a financial institution merely because it 
allows an individual to ``run a tab.''
    (iv) A grocery store is not a financial institution merely because 
it allows individuals to whom it sells groceries to cash a check, or 
write a check for a higher amount than the grocery purchase and obtain 
cash in return.
    (l)(1) Financial product or service means any product or service 
that a financial holding company could offer by engaging in a financial 
activity under section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 
U.S.C. 1843(k)).
    (2) Financial service includes your evaluation or brokerage of 
information that you collect in connection with a request or an 
application from a consumer for a financial product or service.
    (m)(1) Nonaffiliated third party means any person except:
    (i) Your affiliate; or
    (ii) A person employed jointly by you and any company that is not 
your affiliate (but nonaffiliated third party includes the other 
company that jointly employs the person).
    (2) Nonaffiliated third party includes any company that is an 
affiliate by virtue of your or your affiliate's direct or indirect 
ownership or control of the company in conducting merchant banking or 
investment banking activities of the type described in section 
4(k)(4)(H) or insurance company investment activities of the type 
described in section 4(k)(4)(I) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 
U.S.C. 1843(k)(4)(H) and (I)).
    (n)(1) Nonpublic personal information means:
    (i) Personally identifiable financial information; and
    (ii) Any list, description, or other grouping of consumers (and 
publicly available information pertaining to them) that is derived 
using any personally identifiable financial information that is not 
publicly available.
    (2) Nonpublic personal information does not include:
    (i) Publicly available information, except as included on a list 
described in paragraph (n)(1)(ii) of this section; or
    (ii) Any list, description, or other grouping of consumers (and 
publicly available information pertaining to them) that is derived 
without using any personally identifiable financial information that is 
not publicly available.
    (3) Examples of lists--(i) Nonpublic personal information includes 
any list of individuals' names and street addresses that is derived in 
whole or in part using personally identifiable financial information 
(that is not publicly available), such as account numbers.
    (ii) Nonpublic personal information does not include any list of 
individuals' names and addresses that contains only publicly available 
information, is not derived, in whole or in part, using personally 
identifiable financial information that is not publicly available, and 
is not disclosed in a manner that indicates that any of the individuals 
on the list is a consumer of a financial institution.
    (o)(1) Personally identifiable financial information means any 
information:
    (i) A consumer provides to you to obtain a financial product or 
service from you;
    (ii) About a consumer resulting from any transaction involving a 
financial product or service between you and a consumer; or
    (iii) You otherwise obtain about a consumer in connection with 
providing a financial product or service to that consumer.
    (2) Examples--(i) Information included. Personally identifiable 
financial information includes:
    (A) Information a consumer provides to you on an application to 
obtain a loan, credit card, or other financial product or service;
    (B) Account balance information, payment history, overdraft 
history, and credit or debit card purchase information;
    (C) The fact that an individual is or has been one of your 
customers or has

[[Page 33681]]

obtained a financial product or service from you;
    (D) Any information about your consumer if it is disclosed in a 
manner that indicates that the individual is or has been your consumer;
    (E) Any information that a consumer provides to you or that you or 
your agent otherwise obtain in connection with collecting on, or 
servicing, a credit account;
    (F) Any information you collect through an Internet ``cookie'' (an 
information collecting device from a web server); and
    (G) Information from a consumer report.
    (ii) Information not included. Personally identifiable financial 
information does not include:
    (A) A list of names and addresses of customers of an entity that is 
not a financial institution; and
    (B) Information that does not identify a consumer, such as 
aggregate information or blind data that does not contain personal 
identifiers such as account numbers, names, or addresses.
    (p)(1) Publicly available information means any information that 
you have a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to 
the general public from:
    (i) Federal, State, or local government records;
    (ii) Widely distributed media; or
    (iii) Disclosures to the general public that are required to be 
made by Federal, State, or local law.
    (2) Reasonable basis. You have a reasonable basis to believe that 
information is lawfully made available to the general public if you 
have taken steps to determine:
    (i) That the information is of the type that is available to the 
general public; and
    (ii) Whether an individual can direct that the information not be 
made available to the general public and, if so, that your consumer has 
not done so.
    (3) Examples--(i) Government records. Publicly available 
information in government records includes information in government 
real estate records and security interest filings.
    (ii) Widely distributed media. Publicly available information from 
widely distributed media includes information from a telephone book, a 
television or radio program, a newspaper, or a web site that is 
available to the general public on an unrestricted basis. A web site is 
not restricted merely because an Internet service provider or a site 
operator requires a fee or a password, so long as access is available 
to the general public.
    (iii) Reasonable basis--(A) You have a reasonable basis to believe 
that mortgage information is lawfully made available to the general 
public if you have determined that the information is of the type 
included on the public record in the jurisdiction where the mortgage 
would be recorded.
    (B) You have a reasonable basis to believe that an individual's 
telephone number is lawfully made available to the general public if 
you have located the telephone number in the telephone book or the 
consumer has informed you that the telephone number is not unlisted.
    (q) You includes each ``financial institution'' (but excludes any 
``other person'') over which the Commission has enforcement 
jurisdiction pursuant to section 505(a)(7) of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley 
Act.

Subpart A--Privacy and Opt Out Notices


Sec. 313.4  Initial privacy notice to consumers required.

    (a) Initial notice requirement. You must provide a clear and 
conspicuous notice that accurately reflects your privacy policies and 
practices to:
    (1) Customer. An individual who becomes your customer, not later 
than when you establish a customer relationship, except as provided in 
paragraph (e) of this section; and
    (2) Consumer. A consumer, before you disclose any nonpublic 
personal information about the consumer to any nonaffiliated third 
party, if you make such a disclosure other than as authorized by 
Secs. 313.14 and 313.15.
    (b) When initial notice to a consumer is not required. You are not 
required to provide an initial notice to a consumer under paragraph (a) 
of this section if:
    (1) You do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about 
the consumer to any nonaffiliated third party, other than as authorized 
by Secs. 313.14 and 313.15; and
    (2) You do not have a customer relationship with the consumer.
    (c) When you establish a customer relationship--(1) General rule. 
You establish a customer relationship when you and the consumer enter 
into a continuing relationship.
    (2) Special rule for loans. You establish a customer relationship 
with a consumer when you originate a loan to the consumer for personal, 
family, or household purposes. If you subsequently transfer the 
servicing rights to that loan to another financial institution, the 
customer relationship transfers with the servicing rights.
    (3)(i) Examples of establishing customer relationship. You 
establish a customer relationship when the consumer:
    (A) Opens a credit card account with you;
    (B) Executes the contract to obtain credit from you or purchase 
insurance from you;
    (C) Agrees to obtain financial, economic, or investment advisory 
services from you for a fee; or
    (D) Becomes your client for the purpose of your providing credit 
counseling or tax preparation services, or to obtain career counseling 
while seeking employment with a financial institution or the finance, 
accounting, or audit department of any company (or while employed by 
such a company or financial institution);
    (E) Provides any personally identifiable financial information to 
you in an effort to obtain a mortgage loan through you;
    (F) Executes the lease for personal property with you;
    (G) Is an obligor on an account that you purchased from another 
financial institution and whom you have located and begun attempting to 
collect amounts owed on the account; or
    (H) Provides you with the information necessary for you to compile 
and provide access to all of the consumer's on-line financial accounts 
at your Web site.
    (ii) Examples of loan rule. You establish a customer relationship 
with a consumer who obtains a loan for personal, family, or household 
purposes when you:
    (A) Originate the loan to the consumer and retain the servicing 
rights; or
    (B) Purchase the servicing rights to the consumer's loan.
    (d) Existing customers. When an existing customer obtains a new 
financial product or service from you that is to be used primarily for 
personal, family, or household purposes, you satisfy the initial notice 
requirements of paragraph (a) of this section as follows:
    (1) You may provide a revised privacy notice, under Sec. 313.8, 
that covers the customer's new financial product or service; or
    (2) If the initial, revised, or annual notice that you most 
recently provided to that customer was accurate with respect to the new 
financial product or service, you do not need to provide a new privacy 
notice under paragraph (a) of this section.
    (e) Exceptions to allow subsequent delivery of notice. (1) You may 
provide the initial notice required by paragraph (a)(1) of this section 
within a reasonable time after you establish a customer relationship 
if:
    (i) Establishing the customer relationship is not at the customer's 
election; or

[[Page 33682]]

    (ii) Providing notice not later than when you establish a customer 
relationship would substantially delay the customer's transaction and 
the customer agrees to receive the notice at a later time.
    (2) Examples of exceptions--(i) Not at customer's election. 
Establishing a customer relationship is not at the customer's election 
if you acquire a customer's loan, or the servicing rights, from another 
financial institution and the customer does not have a choice about 
your acquisition.
    (ii) Substantial delay of customer's transaction. Providing notice 
not later than when you establish a customer relationship would 
substantially delay the customer's transaction when:
    (A) You and the individual agree over the telephone to enter into a 
customer relationship involving prompt delivery of the financial 
product or service; or
    (B) You establish a customer relationship with an individual under 
a program authorized by Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965 
(20 U.S.C. 1070 et seq.) or similar student loan programs where loan 
proceeds are disbursed promptly without prior communication between you 
and the customer.
    (iii) No substantial delay of customer's transaction. Providing 
notice not later than when you establish a customer relationship would 
not substantially delay the customer's transaction when the 
relationship is initiated in person at your office or through other 
means by which the customer may view the notice, such as through a web 
site.
    (f) Delivery. When you are required to deliver an initial privacy 
notice by this section, you must deliver it according to Sec. 313.9. If 
you use a short-form initial notice for non-customers according to 
Sec. 313.6(d), you may deliver your privacy notice according to 
Sec. 313.6(d)(3).


Sec. 313.5  Annual privacy notice to customers required.

    (a)(1) General rule. You must provide a clear and conspicuous 
notice to customers that accurately reflects your privacy policies and 
practices not less than annually during the continuation of the 
customer relationship. Annually means at least once in any period of 12 
consecutive months during which that relationship exists. You may 
define the 12-consecutive-month period, but you must apply it to the 
customer on a consistent basis.
    (2) Example. You provide a notice annually if you define the 12-
consecutive-month period as a calendar year and provide the annual 
notice to the customer once in each calendar year following the 
calendar year in which you provided the initial notice. For example, if 
a customer opens an account on any day of year 1, you must provide an 
annual notice to that customer by December 31 of year 2.
    (b)(1) Termination of customer relationship. You are not required 
to provide an annual notice to a former customer.
    (2) Examples. Your customer becomes a former customer when:
    (i) In the case of a closed-end loan, the customer pays the loan in 
full, you charge off the loan, or you sell the loan without retaining 
servicing rights;
    (ii) In the case of a credit card relationship or other open-end 
credit relationship, you sell the receivables without retaining 
servicing rights;
    (iii) In the case of credit counseling services, the customer has 
failed to make required payments under a debt management plan, has been 
notified that the plan is terminated, and you no longer provide any 
statements or notices to the customer concerning that relationship;
    (iv) In the case of mortgage or vehicle loan brokering services, 
your customer has obtained a loan through you (and you no longer 
provide any statements or notices to the customer concerning that 
relationship), or has ceased using your services for such purposes;
    (v) In the case of tax preparation services, you have provided and 
received payment for the service and no longer provide any statements 
or notices to the customer concerning that relationship;
    (vi) In the case of providing real estate settlement services, at 
the time the customer completes execution of all documents related to 
the real estate closing, you have received payment, or you have 
completed all of your responsibilities with respect to the settlement, 
including filing documents on the public record, whichever is later.
    (vii) In cases where there is no definitive time at which the 
customer relationship has terminated, you have not communicated with 
the customer about the relationship for a period of 12 consecutive 
months, other than to provide annual privacy notices or promotional 
material.
    (c) Special rule for loans. If you do not have a customer 
relationship with a consumer under the special rule for loans in 
Sec. 313.4(c)(2), then you need not provide an annual notice to that 
consumer under this section.
    (d) Delivery. When you are required to deliver an annual privacy 
notice by this section, you must deliver it according to Sec. 313.9.


Sec. 313.6  Information to be included in privacy notices.

    (a) General rule. The initial, annual, and revised privacy notices 
that you provide under Secs. 313.4, 313.5, and 313.8 must include each 
of the following items of information that applies to you or to the 
consumers to whom you send your privacy notice, in addition to any 
other information you wish to provide:
    (1) The categories of nonpublic personal information that you 
collect;
    (2) The categories of nonpublic personal information that you 
disclose;
    (3) The categories of affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties to 
whom you disclose nonpublic personal information, other than those 
parties to whom you disclose information under Secs. 313.14 and 313.15;
    (4) The categories of nonpublic personal information about your 
former customers that you disclose and the categories of affiliates and 
nonaffiliated third parties to whom you disclose nonpublic personal 
information about your former customers, other than those parties to 
whom you disclose information under Secs. 313.14 and 313.15;
    (5) If you disclose nonpublic personal information to a 
nonaffiliated third party under Sec. 313.13 (and no exception under 
Secs. 313.14 or 313.15 applies to that disclosure), a separate 
statement of the categories of information you disclose and the 
categories of third parties with whom you have contracted;
    (6) An explanation of the consumer's right under Sec. 313.10(a) to 
opt out of the disclosure of nonpublic personal information to 
nonaffiliated third parties, including the method(s) by which the 
consumer may exercise that right at that time;
    (7) Any disclosures that you make under section 603(d)(2)(A)(iii) 
of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(d)(2)(A)(iii)) (that 
is, notices regarding the ability to opt out of disclosures of 
information among affiliates);
    (8) Your policies and practices with respect to protecting the 
confidentiality and security of nonpublic personal information; and
    (9) Any disclosure that you make under paragraph (b) of this 
section.
    (b) Description of nonaffiliated third parties subject to 
exceptions. If you disclose nonpublic personal information to third 
parties as authorized under Secs. 313.14 and 313.15, you are not 
required to list those exceptions in the initial or annual privacy 
notices required by Secs. 313.4 and 313.5. When describing the 
categories with respect to those parties, you are required to state 
only that you make disclosures to other

[[Page 33683]]

nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law.
    (c) Examples--(1) Categories of nonpublic personal information that 
you collect. You satisfy the requirement to categorize the nonpublic 
personal information that you collect if you list the following 
categories, as applicable:
    (i) Information from the consumer;
    (ii) Information about the consumer's transactions with you or your 
affiliates;
    (iii) Information about the consumer's transactions with 
nonaffiliated third parties; and
    (iv) Information from a consumer reporting agency.
    (2) Categories of nonpublic personal information you disclose--(i) 
You satisfy the requirement to categorize the nonpublic personal 
information that you disclose if you list the categories described in 
paragraph (e)(1) of this section, as applicable, and a few examples to 
illustrate the types of information in each category.
    (ii) If you reserve the right to disclose all of the nonpublic 
personal information about consumers that you collect, you may simply 
state that fact without describing the categories or examples of the 
nonpublic personal information you disclose.
    (3) Categories of affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties to 
whom you disclose. You satisfy the requirement to categorize the 
affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties to whom you disclose 
nonpublic personal information if you list them using the following 
categories, as applicable, and a few applicable examples to illustrate 
the significant types of third parties covered in each category.
    (i) Financial service providers, followed by illustrative examples 
such as mortgage bankers, securities broker-dealers, and insurance 
agents.
    (ii) Non-financial companies, followed by illustrative examples 
such as retailers, magazine publishers, airlines, and direct marketers; 
and
    (iii) Others, followed by examples such as nonprofit organizations.
    (4) Disclosures under exception for service providers and joint 
marketers. If you disclose nonpublic personal information under the 
exception in Sec. 313.13 to a nonaffiliated third party to market 
products or services that you offer alone or jointly with another 
financial institution, you satisfy the disclosure requirement of 
paragraph (a)(5) of this section if you:
    (i) List the categories of nonpublic personal information you 
disclose, using the same categories and examples you used to meet the 
requirements of paragraph (a)(2) of this section, as applicable; and
    (ii) State whether the third party is:
    (A) A service provider that performs marketing services on your 
behalf or on behalf of you and another financial institution; or
    (B) A financial institution with whom you have a joint marketing 
agreement.
    (5) Simplified notices. If you do not disclose, and do not wish to 
reserve the right to disclose, nonpublic personal information about 
customers or former customers to affiliates or nonaffiliated third 
parties except as authorized under Secs. 313.14 and 313.15, you may 
simply state that fact, in addition to the information you must provide 
under paragraphs (a)(1), (a)(8), (a)(9), and (b) of this section.
    (6) Confidentiality and security. You describe your policies and 
practices with respect to protecting the confidentiality and security 
of nonpublic personal information if you do both of the following:
    (i) Describe in general terms who is authorized to have access to 
the information; and
    (ii) State whether you have security practices and procedures in 
place to ensure the confidentiality of the information in accordance 
with your policy. You are not required to describe technical 
information about the safeguards you use.
    (d) Short-form initial notice with opt out notice for non-
customers--(1) You may satisfy the initial notice requirements in 
Secs. 313.4(a)(2), 313.7(b), and 313.7(c) for a consumer who is not a 
customer by providing a short-form initial notice at the same time as 
you deliver an opt out notice as required in Sec. 313.7.
    (2) A short-form initial notice must:
    (i) Be clear and conspicuous;
    (ii) State that your privacy notice is available upon request; and
    (iii) Explain a reasonable means by which the consumer may obtain 
that notice.
    (3) You must deliver your short-form initial notice according to 
Sec. 313.9. You are not required to deliver your privacy notice with 
your short-form initial notice. You instead may simply provide the 
consumer a reasonable means to obtain your privacy notice. If a 
consumer who receives your short-form notice requests your privacy 
notice, you must deliver your privacy notice according to Sec. 313.9.
    (4) Examples of obtaining privacy notice. You provide a reasonable 
means by which a consumer may obtain a copy of your privacy notice if 
you:
    (i) Provide a toll-free telephone number that the consumer may call 
to request the notice; or
    (ii) For a consumer who conducts business in person at your office, 
maintain copies of the notice on hand that you provide to the consumer 
immediately upon request.
    (e) Future disclosures. Your notice may include:
    (1) Categories of nonpublic personal information that you reserve 
the right to disclose in the future, but do not currently disclose; and
    (2) Categories of affiliates or nonaffiliated third parties to whom 
you reserve the right in the future to disclose, but to whom you do not 
currently disclose, nonpublic personal information.
    (f) Sample clauses. Sample clauses illustrating some of the notice 
content required by this section are included in Appendix A of this 
part.


Sec. 313.7  Form of opt out notice to consumers; opt out methods.

    (a) (1) Form of opt out notice. If you are required to provide an 
opt out notice under Sec. 313.10(a), you must provide a clear and 
conspicuous notice to each of your consumers that accurately explains 
the right to opt out under that section. The notice must state:
    (i) That you disclose or reserve the right to disclose nonpublic 
personal information about your consumer to a nonaffiliated third 
party;
    (ii) That the consumer has the right to opt out of that disclosure; 
and
    (iii) A reasonable means by which the consumer may exercise the opt 
out right.
    (2) Examples--(i) Adequate opt out notice. You provide adequate 
notice that the consumer can opt out of the disclosure of nonpublic 
personal information to a nonaffiliated third party if you:
    (A) Identify all of the categories of nonpublic personal 
information that you disclose or reserve the right to disclose, and all 
of the categories of nonaffiliated third parties to which you disclose 
the information, as described in Sec. 313.6(a) (2) and (3) and state 
that the consumer can opt out of the disclosure of that information; 
and
    (B) Identify the financial products or services that the consumer 
obtains from you, either singly or jointly, to which the opt out 
direction would apply.
    (ii) Reasonable opt out means. You provide a reasonable means to 
exercise an opt out right if you:
    (A) Designate check-off boxes in a prominent position on the 
relevant forms with the opt out notice;
    (B) Include a reply form that includes the address to which the 
form should be mailed; or
    (C) Provide an electronic means to opt out, such as a form that can 
be sent via

[[Page 33684]]

electronic mail or a process at your web site, if the consumer agrees 
to the electronic delivery of information; or
    (D) Provide a toll-free telephone number that consumers may call to 
opt out.
    (iii) Unreasonable opt out means. You do not provide a reasonable 
means of opting out if:
    (A) The only means of opting out is for the consumer to write his 
or her own letter to exercise that opt out right; or
    (B) The only means of opting out as described in any notice 
subsequent to the initial notice is to use a check-off box that you 
provided with the initial notice but did not include with the 
subsequent notice.
    (iv) Specific opt out means. You may require each consumer to opt 
out through a specific means, as long as that means is reasonable for 
that consumer.
    (b) Same form as initial notice permitted. You may provide the opt 
out notice together with or on the same written or electronic form as 
the initial notice you provide in accordance with Sec. 313.4.
    (c) Initial notice required when opt out notice delivered 
subsequent to initial notice. If you provide the opt out notice later 
than required for the initial notice in accordance with Sec. 313.4, you 
must also include a copy of the initial notice with the opt out notice 
in writing or, if the consumer agrees, electronically.
    (d) Joint relationships--(1) If two or more consumers jointly 
obtain a financial product or service from you, you may provide a 
single opt out notice, unless one or more of those consumers requests a 
separate opt out notice. Your opt out notice must explain how you will 
treat an opt out direction by a joint consumer (as explained in 
paragraph (d)(5)(ii)of this section).
    (2) Any of the joint consumers may exercise the right to opt out. 
You may either:
    (i) Treat an opt out direction by a joint consumer as applying to 
all of the associated joint consumers; or
    (ii) Permit each joint consumer to opt out separately.
    (3) If you permit each joint consumer to opt out separately, you 
must permit one of the joint consumers to opt out on behalf of all of 
the joint consumers.
    (4) You may not require all joint consumers to opt out before you 
implement any opt out direction.
    (5) Example. If John and Mary have a joint credit card account with 
you and arrange for you to send statements to John's address, you may 
do any of the following, but you must explain in your opt out notice 
which opt out policy you will follow:
    (i) Send a single opt out notice to John's address, but you must 
accept an opt out direction from either John or Mary.
    (ii) Treat an opt out direction by either John or Mary as applying 
to the entire account. If you do so, and John opts out, you may not 
require Mary to opt out as well before implementing John's opt out 
direction.
    (iii) Permit John and Mary to make different opt out directions. If 
you do so,
    (A) You must permit John and Mary to opt out for each other;
    (B) If both opt out, you must permit both to notify you in a single 
response (such as on a form or through a telephone call); and
    (C) If John opts out and Mary does not, you may only disclose 
nonpublic personal information about Mary, but not about John and not 
about John and Mary jointly.
    (e) Time to comply with opt out. You must comply with a consumer's 
opt out direction as soon as reasonably practicable after you receive 
it.
    (f) Continuing right to opt out. A consumer may exercise the right 
to opt out at any time.
    (g) Duration of consumer's opt out direction--(1) A consumer's 
direction to opt out under this section is effective until the consumer 
revokes it in writing or, if the consumer agrees, electronically.
    (2) When a customer relationship terminates, the customer's opt out 
direction continues to apply to the nonpublic personal information that 
you collected during or related to that relationship. If the individual 
subsequently establishes a new customer relationship with you, the opt 
out direction that applied to the former relationship does not apply to 
the new relationship.
    (h) Delivery. When you are required to deliver an opt out notice by 
this section, you must deliver it according to Sec. 313.9.


Sec. 313.8  Revised privacy notices.

    (a) General rule. Except as otherwise authorized in this part, you 
must not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose any nonpublic 
personal information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated third party 
other than as described in the initial notice that you provided to that 
consumer under Sec. 313.4, unless:
    (1) You have provided to the consumer a clear and conspicuous 
revised notice that accurately describes your policies and practices;
    (2) You have provided to the consumer a new opt out notice;
    (3) You have given the consumer a reasonable opportunity, before 
you disclose the information to the nonaffiliated third party, to opt 
out of the disclosure; and
    (4) the consumer does not opt out.
    (b) Examples--(1) Except as otherwise permitted by Secs. 313.13, 
313.14, and 313.15, you must provide a revised notice before you:
    (i) Disclose a new category of nonpublic personal information to 
any nonaffiliated third party;
    (ii) Disclose nonpublic personal information to a new category of 
nonaffiliated third party; or
    (iii) Disclose nonpublic personal information about a former 
customer to a nonaffiliated third party if that former customer has not 
had the opportunity to exercise an opt out right regarding that 
disclosure.
    (2) A revised notice is not required if you disclose nonpublic 
personal information to a new nonaffiliated third party that you 
adequately described in your prior notice.
    (c) Delivery. When you are required to deliver a revised privacy 
notice by this section, you must deliver it according to Sec. 313.9.


Sec. 313.9  Delivering privacy and opt out notices.

    (a) How to provide notices. You must provide any privacy notices 
and opt out notices, including short-form initial notices, that this 
part requires so that each consumer can reasonably be expected to 
receive actual notice in writing or, if the consumer agrees, 
electronically.
    (b)(1) Examples of reasonable expectation of actual notice. You may 
reasonably expect that a consumer will receive actual notice if you:
    (i) Hand-deliver a printed copy of the notice to the consumer;
    (ii) Mail a printed copy of the notice to the last known address of 
the consumer;
    (iii) For the consumer who conducts transactions electronically, 
clearly and conspicuously post the notice on the electronic site and 
require the consumer to acknowledge receipt of the notice as a 
necessary step to obtaining a particular financial product or service;
    (iv) For an isolated transaction with the consumer, such as an ATM 
transaction, post the notice on the ATM screen and require the consumer 
to acknowledge receipt of the notice as a necessary step to obtaining 
the particular financial product or service.
    (2) Examples of unreasonable expectation of actual notice. You may 
not, however, reasonably expect that a consumer will receive actual 
notice of your privacy policies and practices if you:
    (i) Only post a sign in your branch or office or generally publish

[[Page 33685]]

advertisements of your privacy policies and practices;
    (ii) Send the notice via electronic mail to a consumer who does not 
obtain a financial product or service from you electronically.
    (c) Annual notices only. You may reasonably expect that a customer 
will receive actual notice of your annual privacy notice if:
    (1) The customer uses your web site to access financial products 
and services electronically and agrees to receive notices at the web 
site and you post your current privacy notice continuously in a clear 
and conspicuous manner on the web site; or
    (2) The customer has requested that you refrain from sending any 
information regarding the customer relationship, and your current 
privacy notice remains available to the customer upon request.
    (d) Oral description of notice insufficient. You may not provide 
any notice required by this part solely by orally explaining the 
notice, either in person or over the telephone.
    (e) Retention or accessibility of notices for customers--(1) For 
customers only, you must provide the initial notice required by 
Sec. 313.4(a)(1), the annual notice required by Sec. 313.5(a), and the 
revised notice required by Sec. 313.8 so that the customer can retain 
them or obtain them later in writing or, if the customer agrees, 
electronically.
    (2) Examples of retention or accessibility. You provide a privacy 
notice to the customer so that the customer can retain it or obtain it 
later if you:
    (i) Hand-deliver a printed copy of the notice to the customer;
    (ii) Mail a printed copy of the notice to the last known address of 
the customer; or
    (iii) Make your current privacy notice available on a web site (or 
a link to another web site) for the customer who obtains a financial 
product or service electronically and agrees to receive the notice at 
the web site.
    (f) Joint notice with other financial institutions. You may provide 
a joint notice from you and one or more of your affiliates or other 
financial institutions, as identified in the notice, as long as the 
notice is accurate with respect to you and the other institutions.
    (g) Joint relationships. If two or more consumers jointly obtain a 
financial product or service from you, you may satisfy the initial, 
annual, and revised notice requirements of Secs. 313.4(a), 313.5(a), 
and 313.8(a) by providing one notice to those consumers jointly, unless 
one or more of those consumers requests separate notices.

Subpart B--Limits on Disclosures


Sec. 313.10  Limits on disclosure of non-public personal information to 
nonaffiliated third parties.

    (a)(1) Conditions for disclosure. Except as otherwise authorized in 
this part, you may not, directly or through any affiliate, disclose any 
nonpublic personal information about a consumer to a nonaffiliated 
third party unless:
    (i) You have provided to the consumer an initial notice as required 
under Sec. 313.4;
    (ii) You have provided to the consumer an opt out notice as 
required in Sec. 313.7;
    (iii) You have given the consumer a reasonable opportunity, before 
you disclose the information to the nonaffiliated third party, to opt 
out of the disclosure; and
    (iv) The consumer does not opt out.
    (2) Opt out definition. Opt out means a direction by the consumer 
that you not disclose nonpublic personal information about that 
consumer to a nonaffiliated third party, other than as permitted by 
Secs. 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15.
    (3) Examples of reasonable opportunity to opt out. You provide a 
consumer with a reasonable opportunity to opt out if:
    (i) By mail. You mail the notices required in paragraph (a)(1) of 
this section to the consumer and allow the consumer to opt out by 
mailing a form, calling a toll-free telephone number, or any other 
reasonable means within 30 days from the date you mailed the notices.
    (ii) By electronic means. A customer opens an on-line account with 
you and agrees to receive the notices required in paragraph (a)(1) of 
this section electronically, and you allow the customer to opt out by 
any reasonable means within 30 days after the date that the customer 
acknowledges receipt of the notices in conjunction with opening the 
account.
    (iii) Isolated transaction with consumer. For an isolated 
transaction, such as the purchase of a money order by a consumer, you 
provide the consumer with a reasonable opportunity to opt out if you 
provide the notices required in paragraph (a)(1) of this section at the 
time of the transaction and request that the consumer decide, as a 
necessary part of the transaction, whether to opt out before completing 
the transaction.
    (b) Application of opt out to all consumers and all nonpublic 
personal information--(1) You must comply with this section, regardless 
of whether you and the consumer have established a customer 
relationship
    (2) Unless you comply with this section, you may not, directly or 
through any affiliate, disclose any nonpublic personal information 
about a consumer that you have collected, regardless of whether you 
collected it before or after receiving the direction to opt out from 
the consumer.
    (c) Partial opt out. You may allow a consumer to select certain 
nonpublic personal information or certain nonaffiliated third parties 
with respect to which the consumer wishes to opt out.


Sec. 313.11  Limits on redisclosure and reuse of information.

    (a)(1) Information you receive under an exception. If you receive 
nonpublic personal information from a nonaffiliated financial 
institution under an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 of this part, 
your disclosure and use of that information is limited as follows:
    (i) You may disclose the information to the affiliates of the 
financial institution from which you received the information;
    (ii) You may disclose the information to your affiliates, but your 
affiliates may, in turn, disclose and use the information only to the 
extent that you may disclose and use the information; and
    (iii) You may disclose and use the information pursuant to an 
exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 in the ordinary course of business 
to carry out the activity covered by the exception under which you 
received the information.
    (2) Example. If you receive a customer list from a nonaffiliated 
financial institution in order to provide account processing services 
under the exception in Sec. 313.14(a), you may disclose that 
information under any exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 in the 
ordinary course of business in order to provide those services. You 
could also disclose that information in response to a properly 
authorized subpoena. You could not disclose that information to a third 
party for marketing purposes or use that information for your own 
marketing purposes.
    (b)(1) Information you receive outside of an exception. If you 
receive nonpublic personal information from a nonaffiliated financial 
institution other than under an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 of 
this part, you may disclose the information only:
    (i) To the affiliates of the financial institution from which you 
received the information;
    (ii) To your affiliates, but your affiliates may, in turn, disclose 
the information only to the extent that you can disclose the 
information; and

[[Page 33686]]

    (iii) To any other person, if the disclosure would be lawful if 
made directly to that person by the financial institution from which 
you received the information.
    (2) Example. If you obtain a customer list from a nonaffiliated 
financial institution outside of the exceptions in Sec. 313.14 and 
313.15:
    (i) You may use that list for your own purposes; and
    (ii) You may disclose that list to another nonaffiliated third 
party only if the financial institution from which you purchased the 
list could have lawfully disclosed the list to that third party. That 
is, you may disclose the list in accordance with the privacy policy of 
the financial institution from which you received the list, as limited 
by the opt out direction of each consumer whose nonpublic personal 
information you intend to disclose, and you may disclose the list in 
accordance with an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15, such as to your 
attorneys or accountants.
    (c) Information you disclose under an exception. If you disclose 
nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party under an 
exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 of this part, the third party may 
disclose and use that information only as follows:
    (1) The third party may disclose the information to your 
affiliates;
    (2) The third party may disclose the information to its affiliates, 
but its affiliates may, in turn, disclose and use the information only 
to the extent that the third party may disclose and use the 
information; and
    (3) The third party may disclose and use the information pursuant 
to an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 in the ordinary course of 
business to carry out the activity covered by the exception under which 
it received the information.
    (d) Information you disclose outside of an exception. If you 
disclose nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party 
other than under an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 of this part, 
the third party may disclose the information only:
    (1) To your affiliates;
    (2) To its affiliates, but its affiliates, in turn, may disclose 
the information only to the extent the third party can disclose the 
information; and
    (3) To any other person, if the disclosure would be lawful if you 
made it directly to that person.


Sec. 313.12  Limits on sharing account number information for marketing 
purposes.

    (a) General prohibition on disclosure of account numbers. You must 
not, directly or through an affiliate, disclose, other than to a 
consumer reporting agency, an account number or similar form of access 
number or access code for a consumer's credit card account, deposit 
account, or transaction account to any nonaffiliated third party for 
use in telemarketing, direct mail marketing, or other marketing through 
electronic mail to the consumer.
    (b) Exceptions. Paragraph (a) of this section does not apply if you 
disclose an account number or similar form of access number or access 
code:
    (1) To your agent or service provider solely in order to perform 
marketing for your own products or services, as long as the agent or 
service provider is not authorized to directly initiate charges to the 
account; or
    (2) To a participant in a private label credit card program or an 
affinity or similar program where the participants in the program are 
identified to the customer when the customer enters into the program.
    (c) Examples--(1) Account number. An account number, or similar 
form of access number or access code, does not include a number or code 
in an encrypted form, as long as you do not provide the recipient with 
a means to decode the number or code.
    (2) Transaction account. A transaction account is an account other 
than a deposit account or a credit card account. A transaction account 
does not include an account to which third parties cannot initiate 
charges.

Subpart C--Exceptions


Sec. 313.13  Exception to opt out requirements for service providers 
and joint marketing.

    (a) General rule. (1) The opt out requirements in Secs. 313.7 and 
313.10 do not apply when you provide nonpublic personal information to 
a nonaffiliated third party to perform services for you or functions on 
your behalf, if you:
    (i) Provide the initial notice in accordance with Sec. 313.4; and
    (ii) Enter into a contractual agreement with the third party that 
prohibits the third party from disclosing or using the information 
other than to carry out the purposes for which you disclosed the 
information, including use under an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 
in the ordinary course of business to carry out those purposes.
    (2) Example. If you disclose nonpublic personal information under 
this section to a financial institution with which you perform joint 
marketing, your contractual agreement with that institution meets the 
requirements of paragraph (a)(1)(ii) of this section if it prohibits 
the institution from disclosing or using the nonpublic personal 
information except as necessary to carry out the joint marketing or 
under an exception in Sec. 313.14 or 313.15 in the ordinary course of 
business to carry out that joint marketing.
    (b) Service may include joint marketing. The services a 
nonaffiliated third party performs for you under paragraph (a) of this 
section may include marketing of your own products or services or 
marketing of financial products or services offered pursuant to joint 
agreements between you and one or more financial institutions.
    (c) Definition of joint agreement. For purposes of this section, 
joint agreement means a written contract pursuant to which you and one 
or more financial institutions jointly offer, endorse, or sponsor a 
financial product or service.


Sec. 313.14  Exceptions to notice and opt out requirements for 
processing and servicing transactions.

    (a) Exceptions for processing transactions at consumer's request. 
The requirements for initial notice in Sec. 313.4(a)(2), for the opt 
out in Secs. 313.7 and 313.10, and for service providers and joint 
marketing in Sec. 313.13 do not apply if you disclose nonpublic 
personal information as necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a 
transaction that a consumer requests or authorizes, or in connection 
with:
    (1) Servicing or processing a financial product or service that a 
consumer requests or authorizes;
    (2) Maintaining or servicing the consumer's account with you, or 
with another entity as part of a private label credit card program or 
other extension of credit on behalf of such entity; or
    (3) A proposed or actual securitization, secondary market sale 
(including sales of servicing rights), or similar transaction related 
to a transaction of the consumer.
    (b) Necessary to effect, administer, or enforce a transaction means 
that the disclosure is:
    (1) Required, or is one of the lawful or appropriate methods, to 
enforce your rights or the rights of other persons engaged in carrying 
out the financial transaction or providing the product or service; or
    (2) Required, or is a usual, appropriate or acceptable method:
    (i) To carry out the transaction or the product or service business 
of which the transaction is a part, and record, service, or maintain 
the consumer's account in the ordinary course of providing the 
financial service or financial product;

[[Page 33687]]

    (ii) To administer or service benefits or claims relating to the 
transaction or the product or service business of which it is a part;
    (iii) To provide a confirmation, statement, or other record of the 
transaction, or information on the status or value of the financial 
service or financial product to the consumer or the consumer's agent or 
broker;
    (iv) To accrue or recognize incentives or bonuses associated with 
the transaction that are provided by you or any other party;
    (v) To underwrite insurance at the consumer's request or for 
reinsurance purposes, or for any of the following purposes as they 
relate to a consumer's insurance: account administration, reporting, 
investigating, or preventing fraud or material misrepresentation, 
processing premium payments, processing insurance claims, administering 
insurance benefits (including utilization review activities), 
participating in research projects, or as otherwise required or 
specifically permitted by Federal or State law;
    (vi) In connection with:
    (A) The authorization, settlement, billing, processing, clearing, 
transferring, reconciling or collection of amounts charged, debited, or 
otherwise paid using a debit, credit, or other payment card, check, or 
account number, or by other payment means;
    (B) The transfer of receivables, accounts, or interests therein; or
    (C) The audit of debit, credit, or other payment information.


Sec. 313.15  Other exceptions to notice and opt out requirements.

    (a) Exceptions to opt out requirements. The requirements for 
initial notice in Sec. 313.4(a)(2), for the opt out in Secs. 313.7 and 
313.10, and for service providers and joint marketing in Sec. 313.13 do 
not apply when you disclose nonpublic personal information:
    (1) With the consent or at the direction of the consumer, provided 
that the consumer has not revoked the consent or direction;
    (2)(i) To protect the confidentiality or security of your records 
pertaining to the consumer, service, product, or transaction;
    (ii) To protect against or prevent actual or potential fraud, 
unauthorized transactions, claims, or other liability;
    (iii) For required institutional risk control or for resolving 
consumer disputes or inquiries;
    (iv) To persons holding a legal or beneficial interest relating to 
the consumer; or
    (v) To persons acting in a fiduciary or representative capacity on 
behalf of the consumer;
    (3) To provide information to insurance rate advisory 
organizations, guaranty funds or agencies, agencies that are rating 
you, persons that are assessing your compliance with industry 
standards, and your attorneys, accountants, and auditors;
    (4) To the extent specifically permitted or required under other 
provisions of law and in accordance with the Right to Financial Privacy 
Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.), to law enforcement agencies 
(including a federal functional regulator, the Secretary of the 
Treasury, with respect to 31 U.S.C. Chapter 53, Subchapter II (Records 
and Reports on Monetary Instruments and Transactions) and 12 U.S.C. 
Chapter 21 (Financial Recordkeeping), a State insurance authority, with 
respect to any person domiciled in that insurance authority's State 
that is engaged in providing insurance, and the Federal Trade 
Commission), self-regulatory organizations, or for an investigation on 
a matter related to public safety;
    (5)(i) To a consumer reporting agency in accordance with the Fair 
Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681 et seq.), or
    (ii) From a consumer report reported by a consumer reporting 
agency;
    (6) In connection with a proposed or actual sale, merger, transfer, 
or exchange of all or a portion of a business or operating unit if the 
disclosure of nonpublic personal information concerns solely consumers 
of such business or unit; or
    (7)(i) To comply with Federal, State, or local laws, rules and 
other applicable legal requirements;
    (ii) To comply with a properly authorized civil, criminal, or 
regulatory investigation, or subpoena or summons by Federal, State, or 
local authorities; or
    (iii) To respond to judicial process or government regulatory 
authorities having jurisdiction over you for examination, compliance, 
or other purposes as authorized by law.
    (b) Examples of consent and revocation of consent. (1) A consumer 
may specifically consent to your disclosure to a nonaffiliated 
insurance company of the fact that the consumer has applied to you for 
a mortgage so that the insurance company can offer homeowner's 
insurance to the consumer.
    (2) A consumer may revoke consent by subsequently exercising the 
right to opt out of future disclosures of nonpublic personal 
information as permitted under Sec. 313.7(f).

Subpart D--Relation to Other Laws; Effective Date


Sec. 313.16  Protection of Fair Credit Reporting Act.

    Nothing in this part shall be construed to modify, limit, or 
supersede the operation of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 
1681 et seq.), and no inference shall be drawn on the basis of the 
provisions of this part regarding whether information is transaction or 
experience information under section 603 of that Act.


Sec. 313.17  Relation to State laws.

    (a) In general. This part shall not be construed as superseding, 
altering, or affecting any statute, regulation, order, or 
interpretation in effect in any State, except to the extent that such 
State statute, regulation, order, or interpretation is inconsistent 
with the provisions of this part, and then only to the extent of the 
inconsistency.
    (b) Greater protection under State law. For purposes of this 
section, a State statute, regulation, order, or interpretation is not 
inconsistent with the provisions of this part if the protection such 
statute, regulation, order, or interpretation affords any consumer is 
greater than the protection provided under this part, as determined by 
the Commission on its own motion or upon the petition of any interested 
party, after consultation with the applicable federal functional 
regulator or other authority.


Sec. 313.18  Effective date; transition rule.

    (a) Effective date. (1) General rule. This part is effective 
November 13, 2000. In order to provide sufficient time for you to 
establish policies and systems to comply with the requirements of this 
part, the Commission has extended the time for compliance with this 
part until July 1, 2001.
    (2) Exception. This part is not effective as to any institution 
that is significantly engaged in activities that the Federal Reserve 
Board determines, after November 12, 1999, (pursuant to its authority 
in Section 4(k)(1-3) of the Bank Holding Company Act), are activities 
that a financial holding company may engage in, until the Commission so 
determines.
    (b)(1) Notice requirement for consumers who are your customers on 
the compliance date. By July 1, 2001, you must have provided an initial 
notice, as required by Sec. 313.4, to consumers who are your customers 
on July 1, 2001.
    (2) Example. You provide an initial notice to consumers who are 
your customers on July 1, 2001, if, by that

[[Page 33688]]

date, you have established a system for providing an initial notice to 
all new customers and have mailed the initial notice to all your 
existing customers.
    (c) Two-year grandfathering of service agreements. Until July 1, 
2002, a contract that you have entered into with a nonaffiliated third 
party to perform services for you or functions on your behalf satisfies 
the provisions of Sec. 313.13(a)(1) of this part, even if the contract 
does not include a requirement that the third party maintain the 
confidentiality of nonpublic personal information, as long as you 
entered into the contract on or before July 1, 2000.

Appendix A to Part 313--Sample Clauses

    Financial institutions, including a group of financial holding 
company affiliates that use a common privacy notice, may use the 
following sample clauses, if the clause is accurate for each 
institution that uses the notice. (Note that disclosure of certain 
information, such as assets and income, and information from a 
consumer reporting agency, may give rise to obligations under the 
Fair Credit Reporting Act, such as a requirement to permit a 
consumer to opt out of disclosures to affiliates or designation as a 
consumer reporting agency if disclosures are made to nonaffiliated 
third parties.)

A-1--Categories of Information You Collect (All Institutions)

    You may use this clause, as applicable, to meet the requirement 
of Sec. 313.6(a)(1) to describe the categories of nonpublic personal 
information you collect.

Sample Clause A-1

    We collect nonpublic personal information about you from the 
following sources:
    <bullet> Information we receive from you on applications or 
other forms;
    <bullet> Information about your transactions with us, our 
affiliates, or others; and
    <bullet> Information we receive from a consumer reporting 
agency.

A-2--Categories of Information You Disclose (Institutions That 
Disclose Outside of the Exceptions)

    You may use one of these clauses, as applicable, to meet the 
requirement of Sec. 313.6(a)(2) to describe the categories of 
nonpublic personal information you disclose. You may use these 
clauses if you disclose nonpublic personal information other than as 
permitted by the exceptions in Secs. 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15.

Sample Clause A-2, Alternative 1

    We may disclose the following kinds of nonpublic personal 
information about you:
    <bullet> Information we receive from you on applications or 
other forms, such as [provide illustrative examples, such as ``your 
name, address, social security number, assets, and income''];
    <bullet> Information about your transactions with us, our 
affiliates, or others, such as [provide illustrative examples, such 
as ``your account balance, payment history, parties to transactions, 
and credit card usage'']; and
    <bullet> Information we receive from a consumer reporting 
agency, such as [provide illustrative examples, such as ``your 
creditworthiness and credit history''].

Sample Clause A-2, Alternative 2

    We may disclose all of the information that we collect, as 
described [describe location in the notice, such as ``above'' or 
``below''].

A-3--Categories of Information You Disclose and Parties to Whom You 
Disclose (Institutions That Do Not Disclose Outside of the 
Exceptions)

    You may use this clause, as applicable, to meet the requirements 
of Secs. 313.6(a)(2), (3), and (4) to describe the categories of 
nonpublic personal information about customers and former customers 
that you disclose and the categories of affiliates and nonaffiliated 
third parties to whom you disclose. You may use this clause if you 
do not disclose nonpublic personal information to any party, other 
than as permitted by the exceptions in Secs. 313.14, and 313.15.

Sample Clause A-3

    We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our 
customers or former customers to anyone, except as permitted by law.

A-4--Categories of Parties to Whom You Disclose (Institutions That 
Disclose Outside of the Exceptions)

    You may use this clause, as applicable, to meet the requirement 
of Sec. 313.6(a)(3) to describe the categories of affiliates and 
nonaffiliated third parties to whom you disclose nonpublic personal 
information. You may use this clause if you disclose nonpublic 
personal information other than as permitted by the exceptions in 
Secs. 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15, as well as when permitted by the 
exceptions in Secs. 313.14, and 313.15.

Sample Clause A-4

    We may disclose nonpublic personal information about you to the 
following types of third parties:
    <bullet> Financial service providers, such as [provide 
illustrative examples, such as ``mortgage bankers, securities 
broker-dealers, and insurance agents''];
    <bullet> Non-financial companies, such as [provide illustrative 
examples, such as ``retailers, direct marketers, airlines, and 
publishers'']; and
    <bullet> Others, such as [provide illustrative examples, such as 
``non-profit organizations''].
    We may also disclose nonpublic personal information about you to 
nonaffiliated third parties as permitted by law.

A-5--Service Provider/Joint Marketing Exception

    You may use one of these clauses, as applicable, to meet the 
requirements of Sec. 313.6(a)(5) related to the exception for 
service providers and joint marketers in Sec. 313.13. If you 
disclose nonpublic personal information under this exception, you 
must describe the categories of nonpublic personal information you 
disclose and the categories of third parties with whom you have 
contracted.

Sample Clause A-5, Alternative 1

    We may disclose the following information to companies that 
perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial 
institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements:
    <bullet> Information we receive from you on applications or 
other forms, such as [provide illustrative examples, such as ``your 
name, address, social security number, assets, and income''];
    <bullet> Information about your transactions with us, our 
affiliates, or others, such as [provide illustrative examples, such 
as ``your account balance, payment history, parties to transactions, 
and credit card usage'']; and
    <bullet> Information we receive from a consumer reporting 
agency, such as [provide illustrative examples, such as ``your 
creditworthiness and credit history''].

Sample Clause A-5, Alternative 2

    We may disclose all of the information we collect, as described 
[describe location in the notice, such as ``above'' or ``below''] to 
companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other 
financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements.

A-6--Explanation of Opt Out Right (Institutions that Disclose 
Outside of the Exceptions)

    You may use this clause, as applicable, to meet the requirement 
of Sec. 313.6(a)(6) to provide an explanation of the consumer's 
right to opt out of the disclosure of nonpublic personal information 
to nonaffiliated third parties, including the method(s) by which the 
consumer may exercise that right. You may use this clause if you 
disclose nonpublic personal information other than as permitted by 
the exceptions in Secs. 313.13, 313.14, and 313.15.

Sample Clause A-6

    If you prefer that we not disclose nonpublic personal 
information about you to nonaffiliated third parties, you may opt 
out of those disclosures, that is, you may direct us not to make 
those disclosures (other than disclosures permitted by law). If you 
wish to opt out of disclosures to nonaffiliated third parties, you 
may [describe a reasonable means of opting out, such as ``call the 
following toll-free number: (insert number)''].

A-7--Confidentiality and Security (All Institutions)

    You may use this clause, as applicable, to meet the requirement 
of Sec. 313.6(a)(8) to describe your policies and practices with 
respect to protecting the confidentiality and security of nonpublic 
personal information.

[[Page 33689]]

Sample Clause A-7

    We restrict access to nonpublic personal information about you 
to [provide an appropriate description, such as ``those employees 
who need to know that information to provide products or services to 
you'']. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards 
that comply with federal regulations to guard your nonpublic 
personal information.

    By direction of the Commission.

    Approved by the Commission on May 12, 2000.
Donald S. Clark,
Secretary.
[FR Doc. 00-12755 Filed 5-23-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6750-01-P