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Citizens Bank Family of Companies Privacy Disclosure

From this point forward, the following definitions apply:

  • We, us and our- Citizens Bank, Tri-Cities Finance Company, Citizens Investment Services, Inc.*, and/or Small Business Resources, Inc.
  • You, your and yours- any consumer with whom we have a customer relationship
  • Customer relationship- a continuing relationship between us and the consumer
  • Consumer- an individual that obtains a product or service primarily for personal, family, or household use, or that person’s legal representative
  • Nonpublic personal information- personally identifiable financial information or a list of customers derived from using personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available
  • Affiliate- any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company
  • Nonaffiliated third party- any person or company that is not an affiliate or employed jointly by us and another company
  • Opt out- the option of instructing us not to share additional information

Our Commitment To Protect Your Privacy

The Directors, management and staff of Citizens Bank and its affiliate companies are concerned about and respect the privacy of our customers’ personal financial information. Since our customers furnish sensitive information to us daily, they expect privacy and security for their personal and financial affairs and we are committed to the responsible handling of customer information. As we explore new technological innovations that will allow us to better serve our customers, we will continue to ensure that privacy and information security standards are upheld.

We believe that by understanding our customers, we are able to create more effective relationships by providing superior service, creating special offers, and designing relevant products based on our customer’s needs. In the process of understanding our customers, we will take the necessary steps to safeguard sensitive information entrusted to us. The following Privacy Disclosure for the Citizens Bank Family of Companies outlines our practice regarding personally identifiable financial information for consumers and customers.

Information We Collect

We collect and use “nonpublic personal information” from many sources. The term “nonpublic personal information” refers to any information that is not available publicly. Information we collect may include the following:

  • Information provided to us on applications or other forms such as your name, address, income, assets, debts and other information.
  • Information about your transactions and account experience with us and our family of companies. This includes information such as your account balance, payment history, and other information.
  • Information obtained in a consumer report, including information about your credit history or creditworthiness.
  • Information from other sources such as verifications of your employment, loan balances, insurance coverage or other such information.
  • Other general information including demographic information.

Accuracy of Information

We constantly strive to maintain complete and accurate information about you and your accounts. Should you ever believe that our records contain inaccurate or incomplete information, please notify us. We will investigate your concerns and correct any inaccuracies.

Information We Disclose

Limitations on Information Sharing

In order to protect the privacy of your personal information, we promise to carefully control the ways in which the information is shared. We do not disclose any nonpublic personal information about our customers or former customers to anyone, except as stated in this policy or as allowable or required by law.

Within the Citizens Bank Family of Companies

One of the ways we provide excellent customer service is by keeping customers informed of special offers and services provided by other companies with which we are affiliated. The Citizens Bank Family of Companies includes brokerage and finance companies.

We are permitted by law, under the Fair Credit Reporting Act, to share information concerning our customer’s account history and experiences within the corporate family. You cannot limit the sharing of this information.

We may from time to time disclose other information about our customers or former customers within the Citizens Bank Family of Companies, in order to provide you with the full benefit of available services. This information may include any of the information we collect such as:

  • Identification information including name, address, and telephone number
  • Information provided on an application such as income or employment history
  • Information obtained in a consumer report, including information about your credit history or credit worthiness
  • In formation from other sources

YOU HAVE THE OPTION OF INSTRUCTING US NOT TO SHARE THIS ADDITIONAL INFORMATION WITHIN OUR ORGANIZATION. YOU MAY DO SO BY SENDING A WRITTEN REQUEST INCLUDING YOUR NAME, ADDRESS, AND ACCOUNT NUMBERS TO: CITIZENS BANK CUSTOMER SERVICE; PO BOX 1900; ELIZABETHTON, TN 37644-1900, OR BY CALLING TOLL-FREE AT (866) 882-2265. AN OPT-OUT REQUEST FROM ONE OWNER OF A JOINT ACCOUNT WILL BE TREATED AS AN OPT-OUT FOR ALL OWNERS OF THE ACCOUNT. YOU MAY EXERCISE YOUR OPT-OUT RIGHT AT ANY TIME. IF YOU HAVE ALREADY OPTED-OUT, YOU DO NOT NEED TO TAKE FURTHER ACTION.

Any medical or health information we receive about a customer (for instance, if a customer applies for insurance as part of a loan or deposit account transaction) will not be disclosed among our family of companies, unless necessary to process transactions, to provide services requested by the customer, or to maintain the accounts.

Service Providers and Joint Marketers

We will not provide your personal information to anyone for the purpose of their independent telemarketing or direct mail marketing of any nonfinancial products or services.

We generally do not share information about our customers with nonaffiliated third parties, other than to conduct our business. However, we may disclose the following information to companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with which we have joint marketing agreements:

  • Information we receive from you on applications or other forms such as name, address, assets and income
  • Information about your transactions with us, our affiliates, or other such as account balances and payment history
  • Information we receive from a consumer reporting agency, such as your creditworthiness and credit history

Although, you will not have the option to opt out of this sharing agreement, anytime we disclose information to a third party marketing firm to tell you about our new products or services, or to a service provider, we will enter into a written agreement with the third party. The agreement will require the third party to maintain the confidentiality of the information in the same manner our bank would and restrict its use.

Safeguarding Customer Information

Employee Information Access and Security Standards

We protect consumer privacy by ensuring that every employee realizes that all customer information is considered private and privileged and is to be used solely for the purpose of providing you with the finest service available. We maintain internal procedures to ensure that we protect our customer’s comply with federal regulations to protect your nonpublic personal information from unauthorized access, including through the Internet.

Policy Changes

If we change our policy or practice – for example, adding a category of information we will disclose to a third party – we will notify existing customers and give them an appropriate time period to opt out of the disclosure. In any case, we will provide our customers with an annual notice stating our privacy policies and giving them an opportunity to opt out of eligible sharing agreements.

Permissable Information Sharing

We are permitted to share your personal information in certain circumstances including:

  • With companies providing a service for us, such as imprinting checks or data processing
  • With companies who perform transaction processing for us:
    • If the transaction, service, or product is requested or authorized by you. For example, if you participate in an online bill payment service we offer and we have entered into an agreement to have another party provide the service.
    • To maintain or service your account as part of a private label credit card or other loan extension program.
    • In connection with the sale of a particular business function, such as mortgage servicing rights, or similar transaction related to a consumer
  • For disclosures that are necessary to enforce our legal or contractual rights or any other person’s rights who is engaged in the financial transaction.
  • For disclosures required in the ordinary course of business, such as settlement of claims or benefits, providing confirmation of information to the consumer or his agent, and to bill, process or clear items in the normal course of business.
  • To provide information to insurance rate advisory organizations, guaranty funds, or agencies, agencies that are rating us, persons that are assessing our compliance with industry standards, and our attorneys, accountants and auditors.
  • To the extent permissible under the Right to Financial Privacy Act.
  • To a consumer reporting agency under the Fair Credit Reporting Act and Fair and Accurate Credit Transactions Act.
  • To comply with federal, state, or local laws, rules and other applicable legal requirements.
  • In order to provide a service expressly requested or authorized by the customer.

The Citizens Bank Family of Companies

This notice is provided with respect to the following affiliated companies:

  • Citizens Bank
  • Tri-Cities Finance Company
  • Citizens Investment Services, Inc.*
  • Small Business Resources, Inc.

* SECURITIES ARE OFFERED EXCLUSIVELY THROUGH RAYMOND JAMES FINANCIAL SERVICES, INC., MEMBER NASD/SIPC, AN INDEPENDENT BROKER DEALER.

SECURITIES ARE:

  • NOT FDIC INSURED
  • NOT GUARANTEED BY THE BANK, AND
  • MAY LOSE VALUE.

If you have any questions regarding the confidentiality of your information, call one of the telephone numbers listed below and speak with a Customer Service Representative:

  • Elizabethton (423) 543-2265
  • Kingsport (423) 245-2265
  • Bristol (423) 989-4400
  • Johnson City (423) 952-2265
  • Toll Free (866) 882-2265