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TGB Information : Privacy Policy
Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. recognizes that our customers and others visiting our web site have an expectation of privacy in their dealings with us. We have the highest regard for the privacy of our customers and, as a result, we safeguard the privacy of users of our web site, just as we do throughout the rest of our business. The following covers the circumstances in which we will collect, maintain, and use any information you may provide to us online.
This includes information you provide to us when you apply or enroll in any of our accounts or services, when you use Texas Gulf Connection-Internet Banking (bill payment or account access), when you use any of our online planners or financial tools, or when you send us e-mail.
Use, Collection, and Retention of Customer Information
Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. will use information collected through its web site to provide you with the products and services you request. We also will use information we collect to identify you in an attempt to know our customers, to communicate with you and to help us respond to your questions.
Restrictions on the Disclosure of Account Information
We may disclose information about your accounts as well as personal information provided to the Bank through its web site to credit bureaus or agencies who have a legitimate purpose for obtaining the information. We also may disclose information about your accounts to third parties:
When it is necessary for completing transactions and transfers.
To verify the existence and condition of your account for a third party, such as a credit bureau or merchant.
To comply with a government agency or court order or with the request of a federal regulator.
If you give us permission.
Employee Access and Use of Customer Information
We have procedures and security levels that limit employee access to personally identifiable information to those employees with a business reason to know such information about you. We educate our employees about the importance of confidentiality and customer privacy through standard operating procedures, special training programs, and the Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. Code of Ethics. We take appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce employee privacy responsibilities.
Maintaining Customer Privacy in Our Business Relationships
We will not sell personal information to a third party for the purpose of solicitation or provide personal information to a third party for its own independent use. However, from time to time, Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. contracts with outside vendors and other business partners to perform specific services for the Bank. When doing so, Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. selects business partners and vendors that adhere to similar privacy standards as that of the Bank. We expect that our business partners and vendors will honor and safeguard any information regarding a Texas Gulf Bank, N.A. customer.
If you have any reason to believe that your personal information retained at Texas Gulf Bank is incorrect, please call us at (979) 297-7211 or (979) 849-2372 or e-mail us at info@texasgulfbank.com. We will investigate the problem and, if appropriate, update the Bank's records. We reserve the right to change this policy at any time by posting a new privacy policy.
Security
Internet Banking Security
The security of Texas Gulf Bank Connection is addressed at three levels. First, security measures are in place to prevent unauthorized users from attempting to login to the online banking section of the bank's Web site (Individual Security). The second area is the security of the customer information as it is sent from the customer's PC to the Web server (Browser Security). Finally, security measures are in place to prevent intrusion into the environment in which the Internet Banking server and customer information database reside (Provider Security).
Individual Security
For the customer's protection, and so the bank can research a request for an account and validate confidential account information, an individual login ID will be utilized. A temporary computer-generated password will be delivered via the United States Postal Service after the initial account set-up has been completed. The customer will be prompted during the initial login process to enter their own customized password. The customer's user password will be authenticated during the login process. They may change their password as often as they would like and will be prompted to make such a change periodically. Also, for their protection, their on-line account will be disabled should they exceed the allowed number of logon attempts. In addition, the customer's PC banking session will be terminated should there be an extended time of inactivity.
Browser Security
Data security between the customer browser and the Web server is handled through a security protocol called Secure Sockets Layer (SSL). SSL provides data encryption, server authentication, and message integrity for an Internet connection. Netscape Communications developed SSL to ensure private and authenticated communications. The customer's Internet Banking session will utilize the SSL to secure the transaction from their browser to the Web server. Once a secure session is established, the data cannot be monitored by other users on the Internet. The SSL Protocol can negotiate an encryption and session key as well as authenticate a server before the application protocol transmits or receives its first byte of data. All of the application protocol is transmitted encrypted, ensuring privacy.
Encryption
Encryption is the actual turning of words and numbers into a coded language that can only be read by the customer and the bank. If the key in the lower left corner of the PC monitor appears filled or "enclosed" in Netscape Navigator and the lock appears solid in Microsoft Explorer, then the information is being encrypted. When not in a secure session, Netscape's key appears broken and Microsoft's lock does not appear at all.
Cookie
A cookie is way for a secured server to establish a logon or session ID each time a customer authenticates connectivity. A cookie is placed with the customer's browser each time they sign on. The cookie allows us to maintain continuity in a series of requests and responses. This additional precaution prevents a customer's session from being "taken over" if the SSL or encryption failed; either of which is extremely unlikely.
Provider Security
Requests for online banking information are passed from the Web server to the Internet Banking server. The computer system does not connect directly to the Internet. It is isolated from the Internet network via routers, filters, and a "firewall". A "firewall" is a device that controls the access that computers on the Internet have to the bank's computer. Use of the "firewall" allows only valid traffic to reach the Web server. Further protection is provided by yet another set of "firewalls" that sit between the Web server and the Application server.
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