Office of Thrift Supervision

Security and Privacy Notice

Security Notification

PLEASE READ THIS NOTICE BEFORE PROCEEDING

This is a protected U.S. government website. To intentionally cause damage to it or to any Office of Thrift Supervision electronic facility or data through the knowing transmission of any program, information, code, or command is unlawful. For site security purposes and to ensure that this service remains available to all users, this government computer system employs software programs to monitor network traffic to identify unauthorized attempts to upload or change information, or otherwise cause damage. Except for authorized law enforcement investigations, no other attempts are made to identify individual users or their usage habits. Access to or use of this website constitutes consent to these terms.

Privacy Policy for OTS Website

The OTS respects your privacy. We do not collect or store information about members of the public who call or write the agency or visit our website, unless you identify yourself so that we can respond to an inquiry or request from you, or you knowingly and voluntarily provide information, such as when you complete a Web form.

We do, however, collect and store information about your Internet connection when you visit our website to read or download information, such as our bulletins, alerts, or press releases. We use this information to help stay abreast of technical upgrades that can make our site more accessible to visitors and to record the date and time of your visit to our site.

If you identify yourself when you contact us, various people may see your information. We adhere to the following principles in handling information you provide:

• We use your personally identifying information only for the purpose for which it is originally collected.
• We maintain your personally identifying information in secure computer systems and we limit employee access to those with a business reason to see it.
• We do not disclose your information to anyone outside the OTS, except when compelled by law or in connection with a criminal investigation (as explained below).

To understand in greater detail how we handle your Internet connection and personal identification information, read the sections below.

When visiting the OTS website: If you visit our site to read or download information, we do not collect information about you, but we do collect and store information about your Internet connection. Specifically, we record:

• The name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account, or princeton.edu, if you are connecting from Princeton University's domain).
• The IP (Internet Protocol) address from which you access our site. An IP address is a number automatically assigned to your computer whenever you are connected to the World Wide Web.
• The Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site, if any (for example, www.fdic.gov, if you are following a link from the FDIC website, or www.yahoo.com, if you find us using the Yahoo search engine).
• The type and version of Web browsing software and operating system you are using to view our site.
• The date and time you access our site.
• The pages or application and documents you visit on our site.

When calling or sending postal or electronic mail or when using our Web forms: You may choose to tell us your name and address or other identifying information when, for example, you submit a complaint, an inquiry, or comment that requires further correspondence or you complete a Web form.

• If you make an inquiry or request to be added to a mailing list, we enter your information into one of our electronic databases that are used for mailing lists and for tracking correspondence.
• If you respond to a request for public comments on proposed rulemakings, policy statements or other regulatory actions, a copy of your comment letter is placed in the public file and is available to the general public.
• If you complete a Web form, OTS maintains the information you supply for the stated purpose for which the form was intended.

If you are sending electronic mail to the OTS, we want to remind you that e-mail is not necessarily secure against interception. If your information is very sensitive, or includes personal or confidential information - such as your bank account, charge card, or social security number - you may want to send it by postal mail to one of the addresses listed below.

When making an inquiry, request, or complaint that requires follow-up: If you are making an inquiry or request or filing a complaint that warrants supervisory or other attention, we may need to share your information with others.

• We may need to bring your correspondence to the attention of our attorneys, examiners, or other appropriate staff.
• If necessary to address the issue, we may need to share your correspondence with other federal, state, or local agencies responsible for administrating or enforcing laws, rules, or regulations or for investigating known or suspected violations of laws, rules, or regulations, such as the Justice Department.
• Under limited circumstances, such as a request from Congress or a private individual acting with appropriate legal authority, we may be required by law to disclose information you submit.
• If you file a complaint about a savings association or its affiliate, we typically provide your customer identification information along with the complaint to the affected savings association. This information is usually necessary for the savings association to be able to investigate and correct a problem. In turn, a savings association sometimes provides the OTS additional information about you when it responds to our inquiry. All of this information is securely retained in OTS records.

If you do not want your identity disclosed to the savings association, it may be difficult to resolve your problem, but we will make every effort to assist you. Please state this clearly in your complaint, and submit your complaint to us in writing.

To report a problem with a thrift or to contact our Consumer Response Center:

If your information is very sensitive, or includes personal or confidential information - such as your savings account, charge card, or social security number - you may want to send it by postal mail to:

Office of Thrift Supervision
Consumer Complaints
1700 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20552

To request publicly available information from the OTS, including instructions for filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests:

If your request is very sensitive, or includes personal or confidential information - such as your savings account, charge card, or social security number - you may want to send it by postal mail to:

Office of Thrift Supervision
Dissemination Branch
1700 G Street NW
Washington, DC 20552

Disclaimer of Endorsement

The Office of Thrift Supervision does not endorse any commercial product, service, process, or enterprise. Links to other websites and references to any commercial product or enterprise are provided solely for the convenience of the user and do not constitute an endorsement or recommendation. The Office of Thrift Supervision assumes no responsibility for the content or operation of other websites.

Disclaimer of Liability

The United States Government (including the Office of Thrift Supervision) makes no warranty, express or implied, including the warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose, and assumes no legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of any information, apparatus, product, or process described or depicted on this website and does not represent that its use would not infringe privately owned rights.

Copyright Status

No copyright may be claimed for any work on this website that was created or maintained by federal employees in the course of their duties. Images and text appearing on this website may be freely copied. Credit is requested. If copyrighted material appears on the site, or is reached through a link on this site, the copyright holder must be consulted before the material may be reproduced.