Privacy and Security Policy

We recognize the importance of protecting the privacy of personally-identifying information that may be submitted to us when you visit our website.

The information we receive depends on what you do when you visit our site. This is how we handle the information we learn about you from your visit to our website.

If you visit our site to read or download information on our web pages such as press releases and checking and savings account information:

• We collect and store only the following information about you: name of the domain from which you access the Internet (for example, aol.com, if you are connecting from an America Online account, or a similar domain corresponding to your Internet Service Provider "ISP"); date and time you access our website; pages you may have visited on our site; and Internet address of the website from where you came to visit our website.
  
  
• We use the information we collect to measure the number of visitors to the different pages and sections of our site, and to help us make our site more useful to visitors.

If you visit our website to use interactive banking tools such as financial calculators and self-tests:

• You may be asked for personal information in order to complete the requested analysis or evaluation. This information is NOT retained.
  
  

• You may be asked for personally-identifying information in order to process your e-mail, form or application. This information may be retained by us and our business partners for processing and to facilitate decisions. Information you submit to us is treated no differently than any information you might provide in a written format such as a brochure application, reorder slip to order checks, or a letter.

We will NEVER ask you for personal financial information via any e-mail that we send. If you receive an e-mail supposedly sent by Atwater State Bank requesting such personal financial information - DO NOT RESPOND TO THE REQUEST. Please contact the bank immediately via telephone and retain the e-mail, we may request that you forward it to us for further investigation.

We protect and safeguard the privacy of users of our on-line services, just as we do throughout the rest of our business. We will use personal information to identify you, to communicate with you, and to help us answer your questions.

We will NOT sell personally-identifying information to a third party for the purpose of solicitation or provide personal information to a third party for its own use.

Sometimes we send our customers information about our products and services. If you do not wish to receive this information, or if you believe that your personal information is incorrect please contact us. We will investigate the situation and, if appropriate, update our records.

If you have any questions that are not answered in this section please contact us.

Our website brings together a combination of industry-approved security technologies to protect data for the bank and for you, our customer. It features a VeriSign-issued Digital ID for the bank's Internet Service Provider hosting our website, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol for data encryption, and a router and firewall to regulate the inflow and outflow of server traffic.

Secure Data Transfer

Once a server session is established on an https secure page, the user and the server are in a secured environment. Because the server has been certified as a 128-bit secure server by VeriSign, data traveling between the user and the server is encrypted with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol. With SSL, data that travels between the bank and customer is encrypted and can only be decrypted with the public and private key pair. In short, the bank's server issues a public key to the end user's browser and creates a temporary private key. These two keys are the only combination possible for that session. When the session is complete, the keys expire and the whole process starts over when a new end user makes a server session.

Router and Firewall

Secure forms must filter through a router and firewall before they are permitted to reach the server. A router, a piece of hardware, works in conjunction with the firewall, a piece of software, to block and direct traffic coming to the server. The configuration begins by disallowing ALL traffic and then opens holes only when necessary to process acceptable data requests, such as retrieving web pages or sending customer requests to the bank.

Using the above technologies, your secure e-mail and check reorder transactions are secure.

At the Atwater State Bank, the basis of each customer relationship, many of which span generations, is trust. You have chosen to do business with Atwater State Bank, and we are obligated to honor that relationship with great care, beginning with the information you have chosen to share with us. We believe that your privacy should not be compromised. At the same time, we want to offer you the array of financial products and services you need to accomplish your financial goals. We believe we can do both through the privacy policy outlined below.

Recognition of a Customer's Expectation of Privacy

We recognize your right to privacy at the Atwater State Bank. We recognize that you have a right to expect your personal financial information to remain private and secure. We will maintain standards to ensure that your information is private and secure at all times.

Customer Benefits of the Atwater State Bank's Information Management Practices

Information about consumers is accumulated from a variety of sources. Some information is provided to the Atwater State Bank directly by customers themselves. Other data is developed by Atwater State Bank as a function of providing products or services to a customer. Still other information is obtained from outside sources. We will limit the use and collection of information about our customers to that which is necessary to administer our business, provide superior service, and offer opportunities that we think will be of interest to customers. This means that we will use information to help identify additional products or services which we believe customers might want to know about. We will use this information only in accordance with the principles set out in this policy.

Maintenance of Accurate Information

The Atwater State Bank has established procedures to ensure that your financial information is accurate, current and complete, in keeping with reasonable commercial standards. We also pledge to respond to requests to correct inaccurate information in a timely manner.

Limitations on Employee Access to Information

Confidentiality Statement

Except in performing job duties for Atwater State Bank, our employees will never use or disclose to anyone, at any time, any Atwater State Bank confidential information. Confidential information includes, but is not limited to, information relative to employee/customer information or lists data; manuals, procedures or written materials; management, accounting or service practices; or other compilations of data.

Protection of Information via Established Security Procedures

The Atwater State Bank is committed to the security of your financial and personal information. All of our operational and data processing systems are in a secure environment that protects account information from being accessed by third parties. We maintain and grant access to customer information only in accordance with our internal security standards - exceptions include bank regulators and outside auditors (as required by regulation).

Restrictions on the Disclosure of Account Information

When it comes to sharing customer information with unaffiliated companies, the Atwater State Bank places strict limits on who receives specific information about customer accounts or other personally identifiable data. The Atwater State Bank may share information with such companies if they provide a product or service that may benefit our customers, but only if the customer has agreed in advance. Whenever we do this, we carefully review the company and the product or service to make sure that it provides value to our customers. We share the minimum amount of information necessary for that company to offer its product or service.

We may also share information with unaffiliated companies when: they assist us in providing our products and services to our customer; in the normal course of our business (for example, with consumer reporting agencies and government agencies); it is legally required or permitted in connection with fraud investigations and litigation; in connection with acquisitions and sales; and at the request or with the permission of a customer.

Maintaining Customer Privacy in Business Relationships With Third Parties

When the bank conducts business with third parties, it requires its vendors and suppliers to maintain standards of conduct regarding the privacy of personally identifiable customer information provided to them.

Providing Privacy Information to Customers and Responding to Inquiries

At the Atwater State Bank, we 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 Atwater State Bank protects your confidential information, please call us.