Naming Prize Winner in Customer Newsletter

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Question:

We do a monthly newsletter and in the month of December, we raffle off a tray of cookies to a customer. Is it compliant for us to announce the name of our cookie winners in our newsletter, or is this a breach of privacy? The newsletter goes out to all customers.

Answer:

Any mention of a customer name in a bank publication distributed to the public should only be done after receiving a signed release from the customer. Also, if your raffle is for customers only, I would also be concerned that you have a lottery and that presents other compliance issues.

First published on BankersOnline.com 1/22/07