I. INTRODUCTION

The banking industry has for years protected the customer information in a responsible manner. Cheaha Bank recognizes that our customer relationships are based upon TRUST. Therefore, the Board of Directors and Senior Management are committed to protecting the privacy of our customers’ information.

We take this responsibility seriously and will strive to maintain privacy standards to ensure the information provided will be handled in a confidential manner. 

Cheaha Bank recognizes the privacy expectations of our customers. We intend to honor these expectations and at the same time comply with federal and state privacy laws and regulations. 

The “Right to Financial Privacy Act” outlines the procedures to be followed by federal government authorities that seek customers’ financial records and the limitation and duties on financial institutions prior to the release of information requested. The bank intends to comply with these requirements fully.

II. INFORMATION OBTAINED

We collect, use and retain non-public personal information about individual customers only where the institution reasonably believes it will be useful in administering the activities regarding the products and services offered or requested by the individuals. This non-public personal information will be collected about and from you on applications and other forms you provide when requesting service; information about your transactions with us, our affiliate or others; and information we receive from a consumer reporting agency.

III. INFORMATION MAINTAINED

The bank will maintain the customer information requested in a reasonably safe and secure commercial manner. The information obtained and retained by the bank will be accurate and current according to reasonable commercial standards. The bank will correct inaccurate information in a timely manner.

IV. INFORMATION ACCESS

1. Employee
   Cheaha Bank will limit employee access to customer information to those with a business reason for knowing such information according to the capabilities of our data processing system.

2. General Access
   The bank maintains a bank wide security plan that includes physical and electronic access controls, dual control, separation of duties, independent monitoring, encryption where appropriate and procedures for the handling of confidential material that is designed to prevent unauthorized access of all non-public personal information relating to our customers that comply with banking laws and regulations.

3. Non Affiliated Third Parties
   The bank will not reveal non-public personal information about customers and previous account holders or other personally identifiable data to unaffiliated third parties for their independent use unless the information is; provided to help complete a customer initiated transaction; at the customer’s request, or the disclosure is required or permitted by law or regulation; an exchange of information with a reputable consumer reporting agency; as permitted by law we may disclose all of the information we collect as described in section III of this policy to companies that perform marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with which we have joint marketing agreements. When we share information with non-affiliated third parties as a result of a service/marketing provider contract, we will include in our service agreement a statement that information is to be used only for purposes intended and service provider will apply the same privacy standards to customer information that the bank does. We will collect, retain, and use information about our customers only where the bank believes it would be useful to administer bank business and to provide information for proper identification, to prevent fraud, and to comply with other laws and regulations. 

V. ACCOUNT NUMBERS

Cheaha Bank will not provide customer account numbers to parties outside our company for marketing purposes except where permitted by law or with your authorization.

VI. MEDICAL INFORMATION

We recognize that when a customer provides us with medical information for a specific purpose, they do not expect it to be used for other purposes. Therefore, we will not share medical information unless authorized by customer.

VII. TRAINING

We recognize the importance of an educated staff when it comes to customers’ privacy issues. We will provide employee training to our staff so that they will understand the importance of confidentiality and privacy of customer information. The staff will understand there are disciplinary actions related to violation of this institution’s privacy policy, privacy regulation and confidential issues.

VIII. POLICY INFORMATION

We, at Cheaha Bank value our customer relationships. We want you to understand how we use the information you provide and our commitment to ensuring your personal privacy. If you have any questions about how Cheaha Bank protects your confidential information, please call us at (256) 835-8855.