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Notice to Customers relating to the Personal Data (Privacy) Ordinance (the Ordinance)
- From time to time, it is necessary for customers and other individuals (collectively, “data subjects? to supply the Bank (including Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited, any of its branch, subsidiary, holding company, associated company or affiliate, or such other entities which are connected to it directly or indirectly by way of shareholding, management or otherwise) with data in connection with the opening or continuation of accounts and the establishment or continuation of banking facilities or provision of banking or other services.
- Failure to supply such data may result in the Bank being unable to open or continue accounts or establish or continue banking facilities or provide banking or other services.
- It is also the case that data are collected from data subjects in the ordinary course of the continuation of the relationship between the Bank and data subjects, for example, when data subjects write cheques, deposit money, effect transactions through credit cards issued or serviced by the Bank or generally communicate verbally or in writing with the Bank.
- The purposes for which data relating to data subjects may be used are as follows: -
- the daily operation of the services and credit facilities provided to data subjects;
- conducting credit checks whenever appropriate (including without limitation upon an application for consumer credit and upon periodic review of the credit) and carrying out matching procedures (as defined in the Ordinance);
- creating and maintaining the Bank’s credit scoring models;
- assisting other financial institutions to conduct credit checks and collect debts;
- ensuring ongoing credit worthiness of data subjects;
- designing financial services or related products for data subjects' use;
- marketing financial services or related products;
- determining amount of indebtedness owed to or by data subjects;
- enforcement of data subjects?obligations including without limitation the collection of amounts outstanding from data subjects and those providing guarantee or security for data subjects' obligations;
- meeting the requirements to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on the Bank;
- enabling an actual or proposed assignee of the Bank, or participant or sub-participant of the Bank's rights in respect of the data subjects to evaluate the transaction intended to be the subject of the assignment, participation or sub-participation;
- comparing data of data subjects or other persons for credit checking, data verification or otherwise producing or verifying data, whether or not for the purpose of taking adverse action against the data subjects;
- maintaining a credit history of data subjects (whether or not there exists any relationship between data subjects and the Bank) for present and future reference ; and
- purposes relating thereto.
- Data held by the Bank relating to data subjects will be kept confidential but the Bank may provide such data to the following parties for the purposes set out in the previous paragraph : -
- any agent, contractor or third party service provider who provides administrative, telecommunications, computer, payment or securities clearing or other services to the Bank in connection with the operation of its business;
- any other person under a duty of confidentiality to the Bank or who has undertaken to keep such data confidential;
- the drawee bank providing a copy of a paid cheque (which may contain information about the payee) to the drawer;
- credit reference agencies, and, in the event of default, to debt collection agencies;
- any financial institution and charge or credit card issuing companies with which the data subjects have or propose to have dealings;
- any other person who has established or proposes to establish any business relationship with the Bank or recipient of the data;
- any person to whom the Bank is under an obligation to make disclosure under the requirements of any law binding on the Bank; and
- any actual or proposed assignee of the Bank or participant or sub-participant or transferee of the Bank's rights in respect of data subjects.
- Under and in accordance with the terms of the Ordinance and the Code of Practice on Consumer Credit Data approved and issued under the Ordinance, any individual has the right:
- to check whether the Bank holds data about him and of access to such data;
- to require the Bank to correct any data relating to him which is inaccurate;
- to ascertain the Bank’s policies and practices in relation to data and to be informed of the kind of personal data held by the Bank;
- in relation to consumer credit, to request to be informed which items of data are routinely disclosed to credit reference agencies or debt collection agencies, and be provided with further information to enable the making of an access and correction request to the relevant credit reference agency or debt collection agency; and
- in relation to consumer credit data which has been provided by the Bank to a credit reference agency (except where the consumer credit applied for involves a residential mortgage loan), to instruct the Bank upon termination of an account by full repayment to make a request to the credit reference agency to delete such data from its database, as long as the instruction is given within 5 years of termination and at no time did the account have a default of payment lasting in excess of 60 days within 5 years immediately before account termination. In the event the account has had a default of payment lasting in excess of 60 days, the data may be retained by the credit reference agency until the expiry of 5 years from the date of final settlement of the amount in default or 5 years from the date of discharge of the individual’s bankruptcy as notified to the credit reference agency whichever is earlier.
- Data of data subjects may be processed, stored and transferred or disclosed in and to another jurisdiction outside Hong Kong as the Bank or recipient of the data referred to in the 5th paragraph considers appropriate. Such data may also be released or disclosed in accordance with the local practices and laws, rules and regulations (including any governmental, acts and orders) in such jurisdiction.
- In accordance with the terms of the Ordinance, the Bank has the right to charge a reasonable fee for the processing of any data access request.
- The person to whom requests for access to data or correction of data or for information regarding policies and practices and kinds of data held are to be addressed is as follows:
The Data Protection Officer
Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited
2A Des Voeux Road Central, Hong Kong
Facsimile: 2810 1349
- Nothing in this Notice shall limit the rights of data subjects under the Ordinance.
June 2005
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