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BANK PRIVACY POLICY
First Charter Privacy Policy Notice
Protecting your privacy is important to us. We want you to understand the kind of information we collect and the manner in which it is used. First Charter provides a broad range of banking, investment and insurance products and services that are designed to meet your needs. We collect and use information to help us service your accounts effectively and conveniently, save you time and money, and help us better understand your unique needs. The following Privacy Policy serves as a standard for all First Charter employees for the collection, use, retention, and security of nonpublic personal information. This Policy applies to customers who obtain financial products or services for personal, family or household purposes. The examples you find in this Policy are for purposes of illustration and are not a complete description of all our information practices. This Policy may change from time to time, and we will notify you in advance of any significant change.
We collect only information that is needed to serve you and administer our business with you.
In the process of serving you, we collect certain “nonpublic personal information” about you that is not generally available to the public. This information comes from a variety of sources:
<> Information we receive from you on applications or other
loan and account forms (such as your social security
number, annual income, financial assets, etc.).
<> Information about your transactions with First Charter,
our affiliates or others (such as your account balance
and payment history).
<> Information we receive from consumer credit reports
from credit bureaus or other third parties (such as
your credit history).
<> Information collected from our Internet websites (such
as information that you provide to us and information that
is needed to manage your online sessions with us).
We limit the collection and use of information about our customers to the information that is needed to administer our business, provide exceptional service and offer opportunities we believe may benefit them.
Sharing information within the First Charter family of companies.
We are permitted under law to share information about our experiences or transactions with you or your account (such as your account balance and your payment history) with companies related to us by common control or ownership (“affiliates”). Unless you tell us not to, we may also share the following information among the First Charter family of companies:
<> Information you have given us as part of an application
(such as annual income, financial assets, etc.).
<> Information we have obtained from non-affiliated third
parties (such as credit reports from consumer reporting
agencies).
We may occasionally receive medical or health information about you through an application for insurance, for example. We recognize that when you provide medical information to us for a specific purpose, you do not wish it to be used for other purposes such as marketing or in making a credit decision. We will use your personal medical information only for the purpose for which it was intended. Additional standards of confidentiality are applied to our trust and fiduciary services. If you have a question regarding this information, please contact your trust or wealth management officer.
The First Charter Corporation Family of Companies to which this notice applies:
<> First Charter Bank
<> First Charter Insurance Services
<> First Charter of Virginia Realty Investments, Inc.
You may direct us not to disclose to our affiliate companies information that does not relate solely to the experiences or transactions that we or our affiliates have with you or your account by following the steps outlined within this brochure. Please see the section, “Tell Us Your Preferences.”
If you jointly obtain a product or service from us (joint ownership) we will treat your non-disclosure request as applying only to you, unless you notify us that you are acting on behalf of the other joint owners on that account.
First Charter will provide notice of our privacy policy annually to customers who maintain a continuing relationship with us. The Notice applies to consumers who obtain financial products or services for personal, family or household purposes. If any changes occur that are not adequately described in this notice, a revised notice will be delivered to you and posted on our web site. For a current list of affiliates to which the notice applies or to view the current privacy policy, contact us or visit our web site at www.firstcharter.com.
Sharing information with companies that provide service for us.
We are also permitted under law to disclose nonpublic personal information about you to “nonaffiliated third parties” (i.e., third parties that are not members of our corporate family) that provide service for us. All companies that act on our behalf are contractually obligated to keep the information we provide to them confidential and to use the information we share only to provide the services we ask them to perform for you and us. These companies may include third parties that assist us in servicing your loan or deposit account with us, payment processing companies, nonfinancial companies such as check printing and data processing companies, and other companies with which we have joint marketing agreements to provide you a wider variety of financial products and services.
Sharing information in other situations.
We also may disclose information to credit bureaus and similar organizations when required or permitted by law. For example, information may be disclosed in connection with a subpoena or a similar legal process, a fraud investigation, the recording of deeds of trust and mortgages in the public records. Information also may be disclosed to companies that process your requests for products or services, or the sale of your account to another financial institution. We also may share information outside the First Charter family of companies if we have your consent.
If you decide to close your account(s) or become an inactive customer, we will continue to treat the information we have collected about you in accordance with the privacy policies and practices described in this notice.
Keeping information accurate.
Keeping customer information accurate is important to us.
If we become aware of inaccuracies in our records, we will take prompt action to make the appropriate corrections. If you find information in your account record that is inaccurate or incomplete, please call or write to us at the telephone number or address listed on your account statement.
Our Security Procedures
We safeguard nonpublic personal information about you in a variety of ways. First Charter does not sell customer information to any outside companies. We restrict access to personal and account information to those employees who need to know that information in order to provide products or services to you. We maintain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards that comply with federal standards to guard your nonpublic personal information.
Other Privacy Protections
You may have other privacy protections under state laws and we will comply with those state laws. For example, certain state laws may restrict the types of information we disclose about you or require us to provide you with an additional notice. You may obtain a copy of our Privacy Policy by writing to us and requesting it at:
First Charter Privacy Options
P.O. Box 37937, Charlotte, NC 28237-7937.
First Charter
Privacy Options
First Charter does not sell or share customer information with any independent marketing organizations. We do, however, periodically share this information, as permitted by law, with other First Charter financial services affiliates to determine how we might better serve you. If you would prefer that we not share private information obtained from applications, consumer reports or other outside sources with the First Charter family of companies, we will gladly honor your preference.
Your Choices as a Customer
If you are satisfied with the ways in which we currently contact you and share private information within the First Charter family of companies, there is no need for you to take any further action. If you wish to limit information sharing or direct marketing, you have the following options:
A. Information Sharing Option
You may request to limit the sharing of information between First Charter affiliates to only the information about our transactions or experience with you, and the publicly available information as outlined within the Privacy Policy. Your election will preclude an affiliate from sharing private information (such as personal income, credit score, and financial statements) gathered in the course of providing a specific service with another First Charter affiliate. Note that we may share other information about you within the First Charter family of companies as permitted by law.
B. Direct Marketing Options
We recognize that you may wish to limit the ways in which we contact you for marketing purposes and we offer the options listed below:
1. No contacts by telephone for marketing purposes.
2. No contacts by postal mail for marketing purposes.
3. No contacts by email for marketing purposes.
Please note that these options do not apply to service, support and maintenance issues.
Tell Us Your Preferences
You may tell us your preferences by:
• Calling us at 1-800-601-8471, or by
• Notifying us in writing at:
First Charter Privacy Options
P.O. Box 37937
Charlotte, NC 28237-7937
If you contact us, we will assume your preferences apply to you only...unless you tell us that they apply to other individuals listed on your account. You may not, however, assert preferences for individuals listed on separate accounts. Please note that it may take four to six weeks to make your request fully effective.
How to Limit Direct Marketing from Other Companies
You have the right to prohibit information contained in your credit file from being used in connection with any credit transaction not initiated by you. To limit the instances in which credit reporting agencies share your information with companies wishing to offer you preapproved credit solicitations, you may call 888-567-8688 (the credit reporting industry’s shared Opt Out Number) or notify by mail any of the following consumer reporting agencies: Equifax Options, P.O. Box 740123, Atlanta, GA 30374-0123; Experian, Consumer Opt-Out, 702 Experian Parkway, Allen, Tx 75013; or Trans Union Marketing Opt Out, P.O. Box 97328, Jackson MS 39288-7328.
To limit the marketing solicitations you receive by mail and by e-mail from companies outside of First Charter, you may contact the Direct Marketing Association (DMA) at the addresses below and request that your information be placed on its Do Not Contact lists. You must include your name, address, telephone number and signature with your request.
DMA Mail Preference Service
PO Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
DMA E-Mail Preference Service:
dmaconsumers.org/optoutform_emps.shtml
To limit telemarketing calls from companies outside of First Charter, you may add your telephone number to the National Do Not Call list through the following Web Site: donotcall.gov
Registration with the National Do Not Call list will not affect the preference you may have provided to First Charter regarding telephone calls. To direct First Charter not to contact you by telephone, please review the section “Your Choices as a Customer.”
Thank you for allowing First Charter to serve your financial needs. As always, we appreciate your business.
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