With whom is the information shared . Where a bank has numerous affiliates, a generally stated description of the types of businesses they conduct is used instead. Other banks provide their customers with an expressly stated representative sample of the names or lines of business of their affiliates. 11 Purpose for the sharing . Bank notices may also contain basic data about the reasons why the bank shares personal data.
Some banks describe specific ways that information sharing benefits customers.
For example, certain banks explain that by knowing that a particular individual owns a home, the bank can direct the customer to a home equity loan, which has favorable tax consequences, rather than to an unsecured installment loan. Other purposes may be to reduce the burden on customers by avoiding the need to submit the same information repeatedly for different products. In some cases, information sharing may identify customers for better pricing on products or services. The letter also discusses approaches that banks have taken to present the notice to customers. Some banks present the notice in a standalone document.