17 C.F.R. § 160.3

Current through October 31, 2024

Section 160.3 - Definitions

For purposes of this part, unless the context requires otherwise:

(a)Affiliate of a futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with a futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer that is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission. In addition, a futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission will be deemed an affiliate of a company for purposes of this part if:

(1) That company is regulated under title V of the GLB Act by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection or by a Federal functional regulator other than the Commission; and

(2) Rules adopted by the Bureau of Consumer Financial Protection or another Federal functional regulator under title V of the GLB Act treat the futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer as an affiliate of that company.

(b)

(1)Clear and conspicuous means that a notice is reasonably understandable and designed to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in the notice.

(2)Examples -

(i)Reasonably understandable. Your notice will be reasonably understandable if you:

(A) Present the information in the notice in clear, concise sentences, paragraphs and sections;

(B) Use short explanatory sentences or bullet lists whenever possible;

(C) Use definite, concrete, everyday words and active voice whenever possible;

(D) Avoid multiple negatives;

(E) Avoid legal and highly technical business terminology whenever possible; and

(F) Avoid explanations that are imprecise and readily subject to different interpretations.

(ii)Designed to call attention. Your notice is designed to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if you:

(A) Use a plain-language heading to call attention to the notice;

(B) Use a typeface and type size that are easy to read;

(C) Provide wide margins and ample line spacing;

(D) Use boldface or italics for key words; and

(E) Use distinctive type size, style and graphic devices, such as shading or sidebars when you combine your notice with other information.

(iii)Notices on web sites. If you provide notice on a web page, you design your notice to call attention to the nature and significance of the information in it if you use text or visual cues to encourage scrolling down the page, if necessary to view the entire notice, and ensure that other elements on the web site, such as text, graphics, hyperlinks or sound, do not distract from the notice, and you either:

(A) Place the notice on a screen that consumers frequently access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted; or

(B) Place a link on a screen that consumers frequently access, such as a page on which transactions are conducted, that connects directly to the notice and is labeled appropriately to convey the importance, nature and relevance of the notice.

(c)Collect means to obtain information that you organize or can retrieve by the name of an individual or by identifying number, symbol or other identifying particular assigned to the individual, irrespective of the source of the underlying information.

(d)Commission means the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

(e)Commodity pool operator has the same meaning as in section 1a(5) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and includes anyone registered as such under the Act.

(f)Commodity trading advisor has the same meaning as in section 1a(6) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and includes anyone registered as such under the Act.

(g)Company means any corporation, limited liability company, business trust, general or limited partnership, association or similar organization.

(h)

(1)Consumer means an individual who obtains or has obtained a financial product or service from you that is to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes, or that individual's legal representative.

(2)Examples.

(i) An individual is your consumer if he or she provides nonpublic personal information to you in connection with obtaining or seeking to obtain brokerage or advisory services, whether or not you provide services to the individual or establish a continuing relationship with the individual.

(ii) An individual is not your consumer if he or she provides you only with his or her name, address and general areas of investment interest in connection with a request for a brochure or other information about financial products or services.

(iii) An individual is not your consumer if he or she has an account with another futures commission merchant (originating futures commission merchant) for which you provide clearing services for an account in the name of the originating futures commission merchant.

(iv) An individual who is a consumer of another financial institution is not your consumer solely because you act as agent for, or provide processing or other services to, that financial institution.

(v) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she has designated you as trustee for a trust.

(vi) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she is a beneficiary of a trust for which you are a trustee.

(vii) An individual is not your consumer solely because he or she is a participant or a beneficiary of an employee benefit plan that you sponsor or for which you act as a trustee or fiduciary.

(i)Consumer reporting agency has the same meaning as in section 603(f) of the Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. 1681a(f) ).

(j) Control of a company means the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of a company whether through ownership of securities, by contract, or otherwise. Any person who owns beneficially, either directly or through one or more controlled companies, more than 25 percent of the voting securities of any company is presumed to control the company. Any person who does not own more than 25 percent of the voting securities of a company will be presumed not to control the company.

(k)Customer means a consumer who has a customer relationship with you.

(l)

(1)Customer relationship means a continuing relationship between a consumer and you under which you provide one or more financial products or services to the consumer that are to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes.

(2)Examples -

(i)Continuing relationship. A consumer has a continuing relationship with you if:

(A) You are a futures commission merchant through whom a consumer has opened an account, or that carries the consumer's account on a fully-disclosed basis, or that effects or engages in commodity interest transactions with or for a consumer, even if you do not hold any assets of the consumer.

(B) You are a retail foreign exchange dealer with whom a consumer has opened an account, or that effects or engages in retail forex transactions with or for a consumer, even if you do not hold any assets of the consumer;

(C) You are an introducing broker that solicits or accepts specific orders for trades;

(D) You are a commodity trading advisor with whom a consumer has a contract or subscription, either written or oral, regardless of whether the advice is standardized, or is based on, or tailored to, the commodity interest or cash market positions or other circumstances or characteristics of the particular consumer;

(E) You are a commodity pool operator, and you accept or receive from the consumer, funds, securities, or property for the purpose of purchasing an interest in a commodity pool;

(F) You hold securities or other assets as collateral for a loan made to the consumer, even if you did not make the loan or do not effect any transactions on behalf of the consumer; or

(G) You regularly effect or engage in commodity interest transactions with or for a consumer even if you do not hold any assets of the consumer.

(ii)No continuing relationship. A consumer does not have a continuing relationship with you if:

(A) You have acted solely as a "finder" for a futures commission merchant, and you do not solicit or accept specific orders for trades; or

(B) You have solicited the consumer to participate in a pool or to direct his or her account and he or she has not provided you with funds to participate in a pool or entered into any agreement for you to direct his or her account.

(m)Federal functional regulator means:

(1) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System;

(2) The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency;

(3) The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;

(4) The Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision;

(5) The National Credit Union Administration Board;

(6) The Securities and Exchange Commission; and

(7) The Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

(n)

(1)Financial institution means:

(i) Any futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer that is registered with the Commission as such or is otherwise subject to the Commission's jurisdiction; and

(2)Financial institution does not include:

(i) Any person or entity, other than a futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer that, with respect to any financial activity, is subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission under the Act.

(ii) The Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation or any entity chartered and operating under the Farm Credit Act of 1971 (12 U.S.C. 2001 et seq.); or

(iii) Institutions chartered by Congress specifically to engage in securitizations, secondary market sales (including sales of servicing rights) or similar transactions related to a transaction of a consumer, as long as such institutions do not sell or transfer nonpublic personal information to a nonaffiliated third party.

(o)

(1)Financial product or service means:

(i) Any product or service that a futures commission merchant, retail foreign exchange dealer, commodity trading advisor, commodity pool operator, introducing broker, major swap participant, or swap dealer could offer that is subject to the Commission's jurisdiction; and

(ii) Any product or service that any other financial institution could offer by engaging in an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to such a financial activity under section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843(k) .

(2)Financial service includes your evaluation or brokerage of information that you collect in connection with a request or an application from a consumer for a financial product or service.

(p)Futures commission merchant has the same meaning as in section 1a(20) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and includes any person registered as such under the Act.

(q)GLB Act means the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Pub. L. No. 106-102 , 113 Stat. 1338 (1999)).

(r)Introducing broker has the same meaning as in section 1a(23) of the Commodity Exchange Act, as amended, and includes any person registered as such under the Act.

(s)Major swap participant. The term "major swap participant" has the same meaning as in section 1a(33) of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., as may be further defined by this title, and includes any person registered as such thereunder.

(t)

(1)Nonaffiliated third party means any person except:

(i) Your affiliate; or

(ii) A person employed jointly by you and any company that is not your affiliate, but nonaffiliated third party includes the other company that jointly employs the person.

(2)Nonaffiliated third party includes any company that is an affiliate solely by virtue of your or your affiliate's direct or indirect ownership or control of the company in conducting merchant banking or investment banking activities of the type described in section 4(k)(4)(H) or insurance company investment activities of the type described in section 4(k)(4)(I) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U.S.C. 1843(k)(4)(H) and (I) .

(u)

(1)Nonpublic personal information means:

(i) Personally identifiable financial information; and

(ii) Any list, description or other grouping of consumers, and publicly available information pertaining to them, that is derived using any personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available information.

(2)Nonpublic personal information does not include:

(i) Publicly available information, except as included on a list described in paragraph (t)(1)(ii) of this section or when the publicly available information is disclosed in a manner that indicates the individual is or has been your consumer; or

(ii) Any list, description or other grouping of consumers, and publicly available information pertaining to them, that is derived without using any personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available information.

(3)Examples of lists.

(i) Nonpublic personal information includes any list of individuals' names and street addresses that is derived in whole or in part using personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available information, such as account numbers.

(ii) Nonpublic personal information does not include any list of individuals' names and addresses that contains only publicly available information, is not derived in whole or in part using personally identifiable financial information that is not publicly available information, and is not disclosed in a manner that indicates that any of the individuals on the list is a consumer of a financial institution.

(v)

(1)Personally identifiable financial information means any information:

(i) A consumer provides to you to obtain a financial product or service from you;

(ii) About a consumer resulting from any transaction involving a financial product or service between you and a consumer; or

(iii) You otherwise obtain about a consumer in connection with providing a financial product or service to that consumer.

(2)Examples -

(i)Information included. Personally identifiable financial information includes:

(A) Information a consumer provides to you on an application to open a commodity interest trading account, to invest in a commodity pool, or to obtain another financial product or service;

(B) Account balance information, payment history, overdraft history, margin call history, trading history, and credit or debit card purchase information;

(C) The fact that an individual is or has been one of your customers or has obtained a financial product or service from you;

(D) Any information about your consumer if it is disclosed in a manner that indicates that the individual is or has been your consumer;

(E) Any information you collect through an Internet "cookie" (an information-collecting device from a web server); and

(F) Information from a consumer report.

(ii)Information not included. Personally identifiable financial information does not include:

(A) A list of names and addresses of customers of an entity that is not a financial institution; or

(B) Information that does not identify a consumer, such as aggregate information or blind data that does not contain personal identifiers such as account numbers, names or addresses.

(w)

(1)Publicly available information means any information that you reasonably believe is lawfully made available to the general public from:

(i) Federal, state or local government records;

(ii) Widely distributed media; or

(iii) Disclosures to the general public that are required to be made by federal, state or local law.

(2)Examples -

(i)Reasonable belief.

(A) You have a reasonable belief that information about your consumer is made available to the general public if you have confirmed, or your consumer has represented to you, that the information is publicly available from a source described in paragraphs (v)(1)(i)-(iii) of this section.

(B) You have a reasonable belief that information about your consumer is made available to the general public if you have taken steps to submit the information, in accordance with your internal procedures and policies and with applicable law, to a keeper of federal, state or local government records that is required by law to make the information publicly available.

(C) You have a reasonable belief that an individual's telephone number is lawfully made available to the general public if you have located the telephone number in the telephone book or on an internet listing service, or the consumer has informed you that the telephone number is not unlisted.

(D) You do not have a reasonable belief that information about a consumer is publicly available solely because that information would normally be recorded with a keeper of federal, state or local government records that is required by law to make the information publicly available, if the consumer has the ability in accordance with applicable law to keep that information nonpublic, such as where a consumer may record a deed in the name of a blind trust.

(ii)Government records. Publicly available information in government records includes information in government real estate records and security interest filings.

(iii)Widely distributed media. Publicly available information from widely distributed media includes information from a telephone book, a television or radio program, a newspaper, or a web site that is available to the general public on an unrestricted basis. A web site is not restricted merely because an Internet service provider or a site operator requires a fee or password, so long as access is available to the general public.

(x)Swap dealer. The term "swap dealer" has the same meaning as in section 1a(49) of the Commodity Exchange Act, 7 U.S.C. 1 et seq., as may be further defined by this title, and includes any person registered as such thereunder.

(y)You means:

(1) Any futures commission merchant;

(2) Any retail foreign exchange dealer;

(3) Any commodity trading advisor;

(4) Any commodity pool operator;

(5) Any introducing broker;

(6) Any major swap participant; and

(7) Any swap dealer.

(z)Retail foreign exchange dealer has the same meaning as in § 5.3(i)(1) of this chapter.

17 C.F.R. §160.3

66 FR 21252 , Apr. 27, 2001, as amended at 75 FR 55450 , Sept. 10, 2010; 76 FR 43878 , July 22, 2011