Effective Date: November 2009
Gateway Bank’s Privacy Policy and Notice
Gateway Bank is committed to protecting your privacy and maintaining the safety of your non-public personal information. The purpose of this brochure is to inform you how Gateway Bank collects and uses your non-public personal information in a secure and confidential manner, protecting the security of your account, and how Gateway Bank conducts business in a manner that is compliant with federal and state banking laws and regulatory requirements. You will also find information addressing the manner in which Gateway Bank provides you with information concerning products and services that may meet your particular needs.
How Gateway Bank Obtains Personal Customer Information
Gateway Bank’s Privacy Policy governs the Bank’s use of each customer’s non-public personal information. This includes information about both former and current customers. Non-public personal information generally means financial information about you that is not obtainable from public sources. For example, an account balance for a depository account is non-public information. However, if you have a mortgage loan, with Gateway Bank, the original balance of your loan is public information because the recorded deed of trust or mortgage is available from government public records.
We primarily obtain non-public personal information from you (for example, when you open an account with us or submit a loan application). We may also obtain personal financial information from other sources. For example, if you apply for a mortgage loan, we will obtain a credit report verifying payment histories and ask you to authorize Gateway Bank to verify your personal financial information through the use of Verification of Income and Deposit Forms. If we are unable to obtain information from you, we may be prevented from providing you with a service and be compelled to terminate an account or decline to make a requested loan. Gateway Bank also maintains personal information resulting from your individual account transactions or from other business related experiences you have with us.
In the conduct of its business Gateway Bank collects and maintains various types of information about its customers including:
- identification information such as account numbers, social security numbers, home and business addresses, and PIN codes;
- information regarding creditworthiness and credit capacity. This information may include customer assets, liabilities, place of employment, income or monthly expenses you provided to us when filing a mortgage loan application; and
- account activity information, that may include loan or deposit balances and transaction histories.
How We Use Your Personal Information
We use both current and former customer personal information for legitimate business purposes whether within the Bank or with unaffiliated third parties. This information is always handled in compliance with banking regulatory requirements as well as with applicable state and federal laws. Gateway Bank may use your personal information in the following ways:
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Within Gateway
- To protect the security of your account. For example, we will use your personal information for identification purposes, preventing unauthorized personnel from accessing your accounts with us.
- To provide you with products and services you have requested of us such as new depository accounts or safe deposit services.
- To conduct our business in a safe and sound manner. We use information provided in loan applications to ensure mortgage loans are underwritten in a prudent manner, in compliance with the requirements of federal banking and lending regulations.
- To satisfy legal requirements. For example, we use your Social Security number for federal income tax reporting purposes.
- To service your existing accounts.
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Sharing Customer Information Outside of Gateway Bank (Unaffiliated Third Parties)
Gateway Bank does not provide non-public personal customer information to outside companies except as outlined below (you do not need to request this confidentiality as it is our standard practice):
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To Third Party Service Providers
This includes companies performing business operations, such as check printers or data processing service providers, for the Bank. All such providers acting on our behalf and receiving non-public personal information from us are contractually obligated to keep this information confidential and can only use this information to provide services we have requested.
For Legal Requirements
We are sometimes required to disclose your personal information when complying with subpoenas, court orders, or complying with other legal reporting requirements (such as reporting your annual interest earned on an account to the Internal Revenue Service).
Credit Reporting Agencies
We may disclose information relating to our experience with you to credit reporting agencies and similar organizations such as ChexSystems.
With Written Consent
We may disclose your personal information after you have provided your written consent, including when you give someone power of attorney or other authorization to act on your behalf.
Business Transfers
We may disclose your personal information in connection with a proposed or actual transfer of accounts or a line of business to another company.
We may also disclose your non-public personal information to protect your accounts against fraud and unauthorized transactions, to resolve customer disputes, and, if necessary, to Gateway Bank’s regulators, attorneys, accountants, or auditors.
Gateway Bank does not share non-public personal account information with any unaffiliated third party without your prior authorization.
Protecting Current And Former Customer Information From Unauthorized Access
Gateway Bank maintains systems, policies and procedures designed to protect your non-public personal information from being accessed by unauthorized persons. We limit access to personal customer information to those employees having legitimate business reasons to access your account. Gateway Bank retains your personal information only as long as is necessary to service your account, as may be required to conform to sound banking practices, or to satisfy any existing applicable legal requirements. Gateway Bank trains its employees to ensure they understand this privacy policy and procedures involved. All employees are held accountable for adhering to this Right to Financial Privacy Policy.
Accuracy Of Current And Former Customer Information
Gateway Bank believes it is important that personal and account information it retains is as accurate as possible. Therefore, we maintain internal controls to ensure the accuracy of this information. If you believe any information we have in our records, concerning your personal information, is inaccurate or incomplete please contact us and we will take appropriate action to correct or amend our records.
If you wish to review information regarding your accounts please visit one of the Bank’s local branches or call the Bank using the toll free number listed in this brochure. Depending on the research required to compile requested information Gateway Bank may charge a fee for those services described in the Bank’s current Account and Service Fees Schedule. At the time of your request we will provide you with an estimate of any required a fee. We will explain any reason that prohibits us from complying with your request for information. For example, we may not be able to satisfy your request because information may no longer be retained or is impractical to retrieve.
How to Protect Your Personal Confidential Information (Protecting Yourself)
Gateway Bank is committed to customer protection, including advising you as to how you can protect yourself and your personal confidential information. It is recommended that you use the following measures to help prevent misuse of your personal information:
- Review all monthly account statements and immediately report any suspicious activity to us;
- Properly destroy and discard your account records in an appropriate manner (such as using a document shredder);
- Do not respond to emails requesting personal information such as account or PIN numbers. If you receive such requests call the institution to ascertain the validity of the request.
- Memorize PIN codes. Do not write any account number, pass code, PIN code, social security number, or debit or credit card numbers where this information can be accessed by unauthorized persons.
- Confirm any website you are going to use to transfer any personal confidential information is a secure website. The website address should begin with "https."
- Review on a periodic basis your personal credit report to verify that all reported information is correct and accurate. For a free copy of your credit report you can contact www.annualcreditreport.com or by calling 1-877-322-8228.
If you believe You Have Been a Victim of Fraud or Identity Theft
Immediately contact us at the toll free numbers listed in this brochure. When calling be sure you provide us with all of the account numbers you believe have been the subject of unauthorized activity. Gateway Bank will assist you by providing recommended action and will investigate your claim. Gateway Bank may place a “hold” on any account where suspicious activity is suspected.
You may also contact the Federal Trade Commission (“FTC”) to report any incidents involving fraud or identity theft to receive additional guidance and steps you can take to further protect yourself. Contact the FTC at or call 1-877-438-4338.
Information Reported to Credit Reporting Agencies
If you believe Gateway Bank has reported inaccurate information concerning your account(s) to any credit reporting agency please contact us in writing. When contacting us include your complete name, address, social security number, telephone number, account number(s) and the specific reason you believe the information reported to the credit reporting agencies is suspicious or erroneous. Send your correspondence to: Gateway Bank, F.S.B., Compliance Department, 2336 Merced Street, San Leandro, CA 94577.
Other applicable Laws:
Vermont Residents
Vermont state laws require financial institutions to obtain your consent prior to sharing information about you with others. Except as permitted by law Gateway Bank will not share any information we collect about you with non-affiliated third parties unless you call us at 510-667-0475 or 888-881-5544 and specifically authorize us to do so.
California Residents
California state law requires financial institutions to obtain your consent prior to sharing information about you with non-affiliated parties. Except as permitted by law we will not share information we collect about you with non-affiliated third parties while you are a resident of California.
Nevada Residents
Nevada state law requires that financial institutions provide you with the following contact information: Bureau of Consumer Protection, Office of the Nevada Attorney General, 555 East Washington Street, Suite 3900, Las Vegas, NV 89101; phone number: 702-486-3132; email: BCPINFO@ag.state.nv.us.
To enable us to better serve you, please use the toll free telephone numbers listed below should you need to contact us:
Gateway Bank, FSB
2336 Merced Street
San Leandro, California 94577
510-667-0475 Telephone
1-800-734-3883 Checking/Savings
1-888-881-5544 Estate Loans
510-352-9108 Fax
Download our privacy policy in PDF form.
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