"Affiliate"
means any person or entity that, directly or indirectly,
controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another
person or entity. A franchisor, including any affiliate thereof, shall
be deemed an affiliate of the franchisee for purposes of this chapter.
"Clearly and conspicuously"
means displayed in a manner that is readily noticeable, readable,
and understandable to consumers. Factors to be considered in determining
whether a notice or disclosure is clear and conspicuous include prominence,
proximity, absence of distracting elements, and clarity and understanding
of the text disclosure.
"Confidential consumer information"
means information: (1) that a consumer provides to a financial
institution to obtain a product or service from the financial institution,
(2) about a consumer resulting from any transaction involving a product
or service between the financial institution and a consumer, or (3)
that the financial institution otherwise obtains about a consumer
in connection with providing a product or service to that consumer.
Any personally identifiable information is financial if it was obtained
by a financial institution in connection with providing a financial
product or service to a consumer, including the fact that a consumer
is a customer of a financial institution or has obtained a financial
product or service from a financial institution. Confidential consumer
information does not include publicly available information that the
financial institution has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully
made available to the general public from (1) federal, state, or local
government records, (2) widely distributed media, or (3) disclosures
to the general public that are required to be made by federal, state,
or local law. Confidential consumer information shall include 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, but
shall not include any list, description, or other grouping of consumers,
and publicly available information pertaining to them that is derived
without using any confidential consumer information. Confidential
consumer information includes, but is not limited to, all of the following:
1.
Information a consumer provides to a financial institution on
an application to obtain a loan, credit card, or other financial product
or service.
2.
Account balance information, payment history, overdraft history
and credit or debit card purchase information.
3.
The fact that an individual is or has been a customer of a financial
institution or has obtained a financial product or service from a
financial institution.
4.
Any information about a financial institution's consumer if
it is disclosed in a manner that indicates that the individual is
or has been the financial institution's consumer.
5.
Any information that a consumer provides to a financial institution
or that a financial institution or its agent otherwise obtains in
connection with collecting on a loan or servicing a loan.
6.
Any information collected through an Internet cookie or an information
collecting device from a Web server.
7.
Information from a consumer report.
"Consumer"
means an individual or business that obtains or has obtained,
from a financial institution as defined in subsection (c) above, a
financial product or service that is to be used primarily for personal,
family, or household purposes, or that individual's legal representative.
For purposes of this chapter, an individual is not a consumer of a
financial institution solely because he or she is: (1) a participant
or beneficiary of an employee benefit plan that a financial institution
administers or sponsors, or for which the financial institution acts
as a trustee, insurer, or fiduciary, (2) covered under a group or
blanket insurance policy or group annuity contract issue by the financial
institution, or (3) a beneficiary in a workers' compensation plan
provided that (A) the financial institution provides all required
notices and rights required by this chapter to the plan sponsor, group
or blanket insurance policyholder, or group annuity contract holder
and (B) the financial institution does not disclose to any affiliate
or any nonaffiliated third-party confidential consumer information
about the individual except as authorized in Section 5.140.050. A
consumer does not include an individual who obtains products or services
for business, commercial, or agricultural purposes.
"Control"
means the direct or indirect possession of the power to direct
or cause the direction of the management and policies of another entity.
Control includes any of the following: (1) ownership or power to vote
twenty-five percent or more of the outstanding shares of any class
of voting security of a company, acting through one or more persons,
(2) power in any manner over the election of a majority of the directors,
or of individuals exercising similar functions, or (3) the power to
exercise a directing influence over the management of policies of
a company.
"Financial institution"
generally means any institution located in the City of West
Hollywood that engages in financial activities as described in Section
1843 (k) of Title 12 of the United States Code and doing business
in the City of West Hollywood. An institution that is significantly
engaged in financial activities is a financial institution. The term
"financial institution" does not include the Federal Agricultural
Mortgage Corporation or any entity chartered and operating under the
Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. Sec. 2001
et seq.), provided that the entity does not sell or transfer confidential consumer information to a nonaffiliated third party. The term "financial institution" does not include institutions chartered by Congress specifically to engage in a proposed or actual securitization, secondary market sale, including sales of servicing rights, or similar transactions related to a transaction of the consumer, as long as those institutions do not sell or transfer confidential consumer information to a nonaffiliated third party. The term financial institution does not include any person licensed as a dealer under Article
1 (commencing with Section 11700) of Chapter 4 of Division 5 of the
Vehicle Code that enters into contracts for the installment sale or lease of motor vehicles pursuant to the requirements of Chapter 2b (commencing with Section 2981) or 2d (commencing with Section 2985.7) of Title
14 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the
Civil Code and assigns substantially all of those contracts to financial institutions within thirty days. The term "financial institution" does not include any provider of professional services, or any wholly owned affiliate thereof, that is prohibited by rules of professional ethics or applicable law from voluntarily disclosing confidential client information without the consent of the client.
"Financial product or service"
means any product or service that a financial holding company
could offer by engaging in any activity that is financial in nature
or incidental to financial activity under subsection (k) of Section
1843 of Title 12 of the United States Code (the United States Bank
Holding Company Act of 1956). Financial service includes a financial
institution's evaluation or brokerage of information that the financial
institution collects in connection with a request or an application
from a consumer for financial product or service.
"Necessary to effect, administer, or enforce"
means the following:
1.
The disclosure is required, or is a usual, appropriate, or acceptable
method to carry out the transaction or the product or service business
of which the transaction is a part, and record or service or maintain
the consumer's account in the ordinary course of providing the financial
service or financial product, or to administer or service benefits
or claims relating to the transaction or the product or service business
of which it is a part, and includes the following:
(a)
Providing the consumer or the consumer's agent or broker with
a confirmation, statement, or other record of the transaction, or
information on the status or value of the financial service or financial
product.
(b)
The accrual or recognition of incentives or bonuses associated
with the transaction that are provided by the financial institution
or another party involved in providing the financial service or product.
2.
The disclosure is required or is a lawful method to enforce
the rights of the financial institution or of other persons engaged
in carrying out the financial transaction or providing the product
or service.
3.
The disclosure is required, or is a usual, appropriate, or acceptable
method for insurance underwriting at the consumer's request, for reinsurance
purposes, or for any of the following purposes as they relate to a
consumer's insurance:
(b)
Reporting, investigating, or preventing fraud or material misrepresentation.
(c)
Processing premium payments.
(d)
Processing insurance claims.
(e)
Administering insurance benefits, including utilization review
activities.
(f)
For internal research purposes.
(g)
As otherwise required or specifically permitted by federal or
state law.
4.
The disclosure is required, or is a usual, appropriate or acceptable
method, in connection with the following:
(a)
The authorization, settlement, billing processing, clearing,
transferring, reconciling, or collection of amounts charged, debited,
or otherwise paid using debit, credit or other payment card, check
or account number, or by other payment means.
(b)
The transfer of receivables, accounts, or interest therein.
(c)
The audit of debit, credit, or other payment information.
"Nonaffiliated third party"
means any entity that is not an affiliate of, or related
by common ownership or affiliated by corporate control, with the financial
institution.
"Widely distributed media"
means publicly available information from a telephone book,
a television or radio program, a newspaper or a website that is available
to the general public on an unrestricted basis.
(Ord. 03-651 § 1, 2003)
This chapter shall not be construed in a manner that is inconsistent
with the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Sec. 1681 et seq.).
(Ord. 03-651 § 1, 2003)