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Our Commitment. Sterling Savings Bank is committed to providing the highest level of security and privacy regarding the collection and use of our online banking customers' personal information, as well as that of all visitors to our web site. Personal information may be collected through the submission of account applications, online banking transactions, or through the use of online financial tools such as interactive calculators. A detailed description of Sterling Savings Bank's Privacy Policy is provided below. If you have additional questions regarding the privacy of your personal information, contact us.
Guarding your privacy is our obligation. At Sterling Savings Bank and its family of affiliated companies, we understand that the protection of Customer Information is of the utmost importance. To help you better understand how we protect Customer Information, we are providing you with our Privacy Policy.
Important terms used in this policy.
- "Customer Information" means nonpublic personal information about a consumer or a consumer's current or former relationship with Sterling Savings Bank and/or its family of affiliated companies, except publicly available information.
- "Sterling," "we," "us," and "our" mean Sterling Savings Bank and its affiliated companies: Harbor Financial Services, Inc., Action Mortgage Company, and INTERVEST-Mortgage Investment Company.
- "Affiliates" means Harbor Financial Services, Inc., Action Mortgage Company, INTERVEST-Mortgage Investment Company, Golf Savings Bank and Golf Escrow.
Collecting Customer Information. We collect, retain, and use Customer Information in order to provide products and services to you. We collect Customer Information from the following sources:
- Information we receive from you on applications or other forms, such as assets, income and identifying information, including but not limited to name, address and social security number;
- Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or others, such as information about balances, payment history and parties to the transactions; and
- Information we receive from a consumer reporting agency, such as creditworthiness and credit history.
Limiting the Customer Information we share. We do not share any Customer Information about our customers or former customers with anyone, except as permitted by law. We do not sell or otherwise share any Customer Information with outside companies for purposes of selling their products or services to you.
Sharing Customer Information with companies that work for us. We may share Customer Information (such as your name and address) with our affiliates and certain nonaffiliated third parties in order to provide you products and services that you've requested or already have with us. These companies may include financial service providers such as insurance companies and mortgage brokers, and non-financial companies such as check printing and data processing companies. These companies might assist us, for example, in fulfilling your service request or processing your transaction. In addition, we may share the information we receive from you on applications or other forms (such as your name, address, and social security number) with other financial service providers, such as insurance agents and the issuer of Sterling's credit card, with which we have joint marketing agreements.
All of these companies act on our behalf, are contractually obligated to keep the Customer Information that we provide to them confidential, and use the information that we provide them only to provide the services we've asked them to perform for you and us.
Disclosing Customer Information in other situations. We may also disclose Customer Information to credit bureaus and similar organizations, and otherwise when permitted by law. For example, this may include a disclosure in connection with a subpoena or similar legal process, a fraud investigation, recording deeds of trust and mortgages in public records, an audit or examination, or the sale of your account to another financial institution.
Protecting Customer Information. Keeping Customer Information secure is one of our most important responsibilities. We restrict access to Customer Information to 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 standards to guard Customer Information. We educate our employees about the importance of confidentiality and customer privacy.
For Harbor Financial Services, Inc. insurance product customers in Montana: We will safeguard your Customer Information in accordance with the most protective applicable law, whether state or federal.
Maintaining accurate Customer Information. Keeping Customer Information accurate and up to date is very important. We provide you with access to your account information through various means such as account statements, telephone banking and online banking. If you ever find that your account information is incomplete, inaccurate or not current, please call or write to us at the telephone number or address listed on your account statement, bank records, or other documentation. We will promptly update or correct any erroneous information.
For Harbor Financial Services, Inc. insurance product customers: Pursuant to certain state privacy laws, you may have the right to learn the substance of Customer Information collected about you and to learn whether the Customer Information has been disclosed to our affiliates and nonaffiliated third parties within the last two years. If you would like this information, please send your request in writing to: Harbor Financial Services, Inc., 111 N. Wall St., Spokane, WA 99201.
Reducing direct marketing from other companies. If you would like to reduce the amount of advertising you receive from other companies, you can notify the Direct Marketing Association (DMA). The Direct Marketing Association has no relation to Sterling, but we have included the following addresses as a service to you so that you may request to be excluded from mailing lists.
For advertising received by mail:
DMA Mail Preference Service
Box 643
Carmel, NY 10512
Be sure to include complete information about each name, address and telephone number you would like excluded from these lists. If you have moved within the past year, remember to include your old address and phone number. The same is true for name changes and the addresses and phone numbers associated with each name. For more complete information, please go to www.dmaconsumers.org or contact DMA at 1-212-768-7277.
To Register with the National Do Not Call Registry. To reduce the number of telemarketing calls you receive you may also register for the National Do Not Call Registry, managed by the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). For more information regarding this registry or to register for this service contact 1-888-382-1222 (from the number you wish to register) or visit the National Do Not Call Registry website at www.donotcall.gov.
To Remove Your Name from all Pre-approved Credit Solicitations. If you would like to have your name taken off all pre-approved credit solicitations (not just Sterling's solicitations), you can write to the following credit reporting bureaus or call 1-888-5OPTOUT (1-888-567-8688). Be sure to include your full name, current address, social security number and telephone number.
- Experian
Attn: Consumer Services Department
901 West Bond Street
Lincoln, NE 68521
- EQUIFAX CREDIT INFORMATION SERVICES, INC
PO Box 740241
Atlanta, GA 30374
- TransUnion
Name Removal Option
P.O. Box 97328
Jackson, MS 39288
Protecting the privacy and confidentiality of Customer Information is just another part of Sterling's Hometown Helpful®service. We hope this notice has helped you to better understand how Customer Information is protected here at Sterling. If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please contact your local branch or call 1-800-772-7791. We look forward to continuing to be your Perfect Fit Bank®.
For information regarding identity theft and how to protect yourself, please go to www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/microsites/idtheft/.
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