Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements (cont'd)
A summary of the Fund's transactions in shares of the Liquidity Funds during the year ended December 31, 2013 is as follows:
Value
December 31,
2012
(000)
|
|
Purchases
at Cost
(000)
|
|
Sales
(000)
|
|
Dividend
Income
(000)
|
|
Value
December 31,
2013
(000)
|
|
|
$
|
8,427
|
|
|
$
|
45,794
|
|
|
$
|
45,080
|
|
|
$
|
4
|
|
|
$
|
9,141
|
|
|
During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Fund incurred approximately $10,000 in brokerage commissions with Morgan Stanley & Co., LLC, an affiliate of the Adviser, Sub-Advisers and Administrator, for portfolio transactions executed on behalf of the Fund.
From January 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013, the Fund incurred approximately $16,000 in brokerage commissions with Citigroup, Inc., and its affiliated broker-dealers, which may be deemed affiliates of the Adviser, Sub-Advisers and Administrator under Section 17 of the Act, for portfolio transactions executed on behalf of the Fund. Citigroup, Inc. and its affiliated broker-dealers ceased to be affiliates of the Fund pursuant to Section 17 of the Act as of July 1, 2013.
G. Other:
On July 30, 1998, the Fund commenced a share repurchase program for purposes of enhancing stockholder value and reducing the discount at which the Fund's shares trade from their net asset value per share ("NAV"). During the year ended December 31, 2013, the Fund repurchased 61,182 of its shares at an average discount of 9.89% from NAV. Since the inception of the program, the Fund has repurchased 5,688,877 of its shares at an average discount of 17.45% from NAV. The Directors regularly monitor the Fund's share repurchase program as part of their review and consideration of the Fund's premium/discount history. The Fund expects to continue to repurchase its outstanding shares at such time and in such amounts as it believes will further the accomplishment of the foregoing objectives, subject to review by the Directors.
On June 13, 2012 the Fund announced the commencement of a tender offer by the Fund to acquire in exchange for cash up
to 15% of the Fund's outstanding shares at a price equal to 98.5% of the Fund's NAV as of the close of regular trading on the NYSE on the business day immediately following the day the offer expires. On July 10, 2012, the Fund completed the tender offer. The Fund accepted 2,583,721 shares for payment which represented 15% of the Fund's then outstanding shares. Final payment was made on July 18, 2012 at $14.89 per share, representing 98.5% of the NAV on July 11, 2012.
H. Results of Annual Meeting of Stockholders (unaudited):
On June 24, 2013, an annual meeting of the Fund's stockholders was held for the purpose of voting on the following matter, the results of which were as follows:
Election of Directors by all stockholders:
|
|
|
For
|
|
Against
|
|
|
Frank L. Bowman
|
|
|
10,167,146
|
|
|
|
2,158,470
|
|
|
|
James F. Higgins
|
|
|
10,164,042
|
|
|
|
2,161,574
|
|
|
|
Manuel H. Johnson
|
|
|
10,178,684
|
|
|
|
2,146,932
|
|
|
I. Accounting Pronouncement:
In June 2013, FASB issued Accounting Standards Update 2013-08 Financial Services — Investment Companies (Topic 946) — Amendments to the Scope, Measurement, and Disclosure Requirements ("ASU 2013-08") which is effective for interim and annual reporting periods in fiscal years that begin after December 15, 2013. ASU 2013-08 sets forth a methodology for determining whether an entity should be characterized as an investment company and prescribes fair value accounting for an investment company's non-controlling ownership interest in another investment company. FASB has determined that a fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 automatically meets ASU 2013-08's criteria for an investment company. Although still evaluating the potential impacts of ASU 2013-08 to the Fund, management expects that the impact of the Fund's adoption will be limited to additional financial statement disclosures.
25
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements (cont'd)
Federal Tax Notice (unaudited)
For Federal income tax purposes, the following information is furnished with respect to the Fund's earnings for its taxable year ended December 31, 2013. When distributed, certain earnings may be subject to a maximum tax rate of 15% as provided for the Jobs and Growth Tax Relief Reconciliation Act of 2003. The Fund designated up to a maximum of approximately $1,336,000 as taxable at this lower rate.
The Fund intends to pass through foreign tax credits of approximately $570,000 and has derived net income from sources within foreign countries amounting to approximately $5,600,000.
In January, the Fund provides tax information to stockholders for the preceding calendar year.
For More Information About Portfolio Holdings (unaudited)
The Fund provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings in its semi-annual and annual reports within 60 days of the end of the Fund's second and fourth fiscal quarters. The semi-annual reports and the annual reports are filed electronically with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on Form N-CSRS and Form N-CSR, respectively. Morgan Stanley also delivers the semi-annual and annual reports to Fund stockholders and makes these reports available on its public website, www.morganstanley.com/im. Each Morgan Stanley fund also files a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC for the Fund's first and third fiscal quarters on Form N-Q. Morgan Stanley does not deliver the reports for the first and third fiscal quarters to stockholders, nor are the reports posted to the Morgan Stanley public website. You may, however, obtain the Form N-Q filings (as well as the Form N-CSR and N-CSRS filings) by accessing the SEC's website, www.sec.gov. You may also review and copy them at the SEC's Public Reference Room in Washington, DC. Information on the operation of the SEC's Public Reference Room may be obtained by calling the SEC toll free at 1(800) SEC-0330. You can also request copies of these materials, upon payment of a duplicating fee, by electronic request at the SEC's e-mail address (publicinfo@sec.gov) or by writing the public reference section of the SEC, Washington, DC 20549-0102.
In addition to filing a complete schedule of portfolio holdings with the SEC each fiscal quarter, the Fund makes portfolio holdings information available by periodically providing the information on its public website, www.morganstanley.com/im.
The Fund provides a complete schedule of portfolio holdings on the public website on a calendar-quarter basis approximately 31 calendar days after the close of the calendar quarter. The Fund also provides Top 10 holdings information on the public website approximately 15 business days following the end of each month. You may obtain copies of the Fund's monthly or calendar-quarter website postings, by calling toll free 1(800) 231-2608.
26
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Notes to Financial Statements (cont'd)
Proxy Voting Policy and Procedures and Proxy Voting Record (unaudited)
A copy of (1) the Fund's policies and procedures with respect to the voting of proxies relating to the Fund's portfolio securities; and (2) how the Fund voted proxies relating to portfolio securities during the most recent twelve-month period ended June 30, is available without charge, upon request, by calling toll free 1(800) 231-2608 or by visiting our website at www.morganstanley.com/im. This information is also available on the SEC's web site at www.sec.gov.
27
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm
To the Stockholders and Board of Directors of
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
We have audited the accompanying statement of assets and liabilities of Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. (the "Fund"), including the portfolio of investments, as of December 31, 2013, and the related statement of operations for the year then ended, the statements of changes in net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended. These financial statements and financial highlights are the responsibility of the Fund's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements and financial highlights based on our audits.
We conducted our audits in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States). Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements and financial highlights are free of material misstatement. We were not engaged to perform an audit of the Fund's internal control over financial reporting. Our audits included consideration of internal control over financial reporting as a basis for designing audit procedures that are appropriate in the circumstances, but not for the purpose of expressing an opinion on the effectiveness of the Fund's internal control over financial reporting. Accordingly, we express no such opinion. An audit also includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements and financial highlights, assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, and evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. Our procedures included confirmation of securities owned as of December 31, 2013, by correspondence with the custodian and others or by other appropriate auditing procedures where replies from others were not received. We believe that our audits provide a reasonable basis for our pinion.
In our opinion, the financial statements and financial highlights referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. at December 31, 2013, the results of its operations for the year then ended, the changes in its net assets for each of the two years in the period then ended, and the financial highlights for each of the five years in the period then ended, in conformity with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles.
Boston, Massachusetts
February 26, 2014
28
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Portfolio Management (unaudited)
The Fund is managed within the Emerging Markets Equity team. The team consists of portfolio managers and analysts. Current members of the team jointly and primarily responsible for the day-to-day management of the Fund's portfolio are Munib Madni, a Managing Director of MSIM Company, Samuel Rhee, a Managing Director of MSIM Company, Ana Cristina Piedrahita, an Executive Director of MSIM Limited, and Eric Carlson, Paul C. Psaila, Ruchir Sharma and Gaite Ali, each a Managing Director of the Adviser.
Mr. Madni has been associated with MSIM Company in an investment management capacity since February 2005 and began managing the Fund in May 2012. Mr. Rhee has been associated with MSIM Company in an investment management capacity since July 2005 and began managing the Fund in May 2012. Mr. Carlson has been associated with MSIM in an investment management capacity since September 1997 and began managing the Fund in February 2011. Ms. Piedrahita had been associated with MSIM Limited in an investment management capacity and began managing the Fund in January 2002. Mr. Psaila has been associated with the Adviser in an investment management capacity since 1994 and began managing the Fund in February 1994. Mr. Sharma has been associated with the Adviser in an investment management capacity since 1996 and began managing the Fund in February 2002. Ms. Ali has been associated with the Adviser in an investment management capacity since 2007 and began managing the Fund in April 2013.
29
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Investment Policy (unaudited)
Derivatives
The Fund may, but is not required to, use derivative instruments for a variety of purposes, including hedging, risk management, portfolio management or to earn income. Derivatives are financial instruments whose value is based, in part, on the value of an underlying asset, interest rate, index or financial instrument. Prevailing interest rates and volatility levels, among other things, also affect the value of derivative instruments. A derivative instrument often has risks similar to its underlying asset and may have additional risks, including imperfect correlation between the value of the derivative and the underlying asset, risks of default by the counterparty to certain transactions, magnification of losses incurred due to changes in the market value of the securities, instruments, indices or interest rates to which the derivative instrument relates, risks that the transactions may not be liquid and risks arising from margin requirements. The use of derivatives involves risks that are different from, and possibly greater than, the risks associated with other portfolio investments. Derivatives may involve the use of highly specialized instruments that require investment techniques and risk analyses different from those associated with other portfolio investments. Certain derivative transactions may give rise to a form of leverage. Leverage magnifies the potential for gain and the risk of loss. Leverage associated with derivative transactions may cause the Fund to liquidate portfolio positions when it may not be advantageous to do so to satisfy its obligations or to meet earmarking or segregation requirements, pursuant to applicable SEC rules and regulations, or may cause the Fund to be more volatile than if the Fund had not been leveraged. Although the Adviser seeks to use derivatives to further the Fund's investment objectives, there is no assurance that the use of derivatives will achieve this result.
Following is a description of the derivative instruments and techniques that the Fund may use and their associated risks:
Foreign Currency Forward Exchange Contracts.
In connection with its investments in foreign securities, the Fund also may enter into contracts with banks, brokers or dealers to purchase or sell securities or foreign currencies at a future date. A foreign currency forward exchange contract ("currency contract") is a negotiated agreement between the contracting parties to exchange a specified amount of currency at a specified future time at a specified rate. The rate can be higher or lower than the spot rate between the currencies that are the subject of the contract. Currency contracts may be used to protect against uncertainty in the level of future foreign currency exchange rates or to gain or modify exposure to a particular currency. In addition, the Fund may use cross currency hedging or proxy hedging with respect to currencies in which the Fund has or expects to have portfolio or currency exposure. Cross currency hedges involve the sale of one currency against the positive exposure to a different currency and may be used for hedging purposes or to establish an active exposure to the exchange rate between any two currencies. To the extent hedged by use of currency contracts, the precise matching of currency contract amounts and the value of the securities involved will not generally be possible because the future value of such securities in foreign currencies will change as a consequence of market movements in the value of those securities between the date on which the contract is entered into and the date it matures. There is additional risk that such transactions reduce or preclude the opportunity for gain if the value of the currency should move in the direction opposite to the position taken and that currency contracts create exposure to currencies in which the Fund's securities are not denominated. Unanticipated changes in currency prices may result in poorer overall performance for the Fund than if it had not entered into such contracts. The use of currency contracts involves the risk of loss from the insolvency or bankruptcy of the counterparty to the contract or the failure of the counterparty to make payments or otherwise comply with the terms of the contract.
30
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Investment Policy (unaudited) (cont'd)
Futures.
A futures contract is a standardized, exchange-traded agreement to buy or sell a specific quantity of an underlying asset, reference rate or index at a specific price at a specific future time. The value of a futures contract tends to increase and decrease in tandem with the value of the underlying instrument. Depending on the terms of the particular contract, futures contracts are settled through either physical delivery of the underlying instrument on the settlement date or by payment of a cash settlement amount on the settlement date. A decision as to whether, when and how to use futures contracts involves the exercise of skill and judgment and even a well-conceived futures transaction may be unsuccessful because of market behavior or unexpected events. In addition to the derivatives risks discussed above, the prices of futures contracts can be highly volatile, using futures contracts can lower total return, and the potential loss from futures can exceed the Fund's initial investment in such contracts. No assurance can be given that a liquid market will exist for any particular futures contract at any particular time. There is also the risk of loss by the Fund of margin deposits in the event of bankruptcy of a broker with whom the Fund has open positions in the futures contract.
31
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
Dividend Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plan (unaudited)
Pursuant to the Dividend Reinvestment and Cash Purchase Plan (the "Plan"), each stockholder will be deemed to have elected, unless Computershare Trust Company, N.A. (the "Plan Agent") is otherwise instructed by the stockholder in writing, to have all distributions automatically reinvested in Fund shares. Participants in the Plan have the option of making additional voluntary cash payments to the Plan Agent, annually, in any amount from $100 to $3,000, for investment in Fund shares.
Dividend and capital gain distributions (Distributions) will be reinvested on the reinvestment date in full and fractional shares. If the market price per share equals or exceeds net asset value per share on the reinvestment date, the Fund will issue shares to participants at net asset value or, if net asset value is less than 95% of the market price on the reinvestment date, shares will be issued at 95% of the market price. If net asset value exceeds the market price on the reinvestment date, participants will receive shares valued at market price. The Fund may purchase shares of its Common Stock in the open market in connection with dividend reinvestment requirements at the discretion of the Board of Directors. Should the Fund declare a Distribution payable only in cash, the Plan Agent will purchase Fund shares for participants in the open market as agent for the participants.
The Plan Agent's fees for the reinvestment of a Distribution will be paid by the Fund. However, each participant's account will be charged a pro rata share of brokerage commissions incurred on any open market purchases effected on such participant's behalf. A participant will also pay brokerage commissions incurred on purchases made by voluntary cash payments. Although stockholders in the Plan may receive no cash distributions, participation in the Plan will not relieve participants of any income tax which may be payable on such dividends or distributions.
In the case of stockholders, such as banks, brokers or nominees, that hold shares for others who are the beneficial owners, the Plan Agent will administer the Plan on the basis of the number of shares certified from time to time by the stockholder as representing the total amount registered in the stockholder's name and held for the account of beneficial owners who are participating in the Plan.
Stockholders who do not wish to have distributions automatically reinvested should notify the Plan Agent in writing. There is no penalty for non-participation or withdrawal from the Plan, and stockholders who have previously withdrawn from the Plan may rejoin at any time. Requests for additional information or any correspondence concerning the Plan should be directed to the Plan Agent at:
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
P.O. Box 30170
College Station, Texas 77842
1(800) 231-2608
32
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited)
An Important Notice Concerning Our U.S. Privacy Policy
This privacy notice describes the U.S. privacy policy of Morgan Stanley Distribution, Inc., and the Morgan Stanley family of mutual funds ("us", "our", "we").
We are required by federal law to provide you with notice of our U.S. privacy policy ("Policy"). This Policy applies to both our current and former clients unless we state otherwise and is intended for individual clients who purchase products or receive services from us for personal, family or household purposes. This Policy is not applicable to partnerships, corporations, trusts or other non-individual clients or account holders, nor is this Policy applicable to individuals who are either beneficiaries of a trust for which we serve as trustee or participants in an employee benefit plan administered or advised by us. This Policy is, however, applicable to individuals who select us to be a custodian of securities or assets in individual retirement accounts, 401(k) accounts, or accounts subject to the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act.
This notice sets out our business practices to protect your privacy; how we collect and share personal information about you; and how you can limit our sharing or certain uses by others of this information. We may amend this Policy at any time, and will inform you of any changes to our Policy as required by law.
We Respect Your Privacy
We appreciate that you have provided us with your personal financial information and understand your concerns about your information. We strive to safeguard the information our clients entrust to us. Protecting the confidentiality and security of client information is an important part of how we conduct our business.
This notice describes what personal information we collect about you, how we collect it, when we may share it with others, and how certain others may use it. It discusses the steps you may take to limit our sharing of certain information about you with our affiliated companies, including, but not limited to our affiliated banking businesses, brokerage firms and credit service affiliates. It also discloses how you may limit our affiliates' use of shared information for marketing purposes.
Throughout this Policy, we refer to the nonpublic information that personally identifies you as "personal information." We also use the term "affiliated company" in this notice. An affiliated company is a company in our family of companies and includes companies with the Morgan Stanley name. These affiliated companies are financial institutions such as broker-dealers, banks, investment advisers and credit card issuers. We refer to any company that is not an affiliated company as a nonaffiliated third party. For purposes of Section 5 of this notice, and your ability to limit certain uses of personal information by our affiliates, this notice applies to the use of personal information by our affiliated companies.
1. What Personal Information Do We Collect From You?
We may collect the following types of information about you: (i) information provided by you, including information from applications and other forms we receive from you, (ii) information about your transactions with us or our affiliates, (iii) information
33
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) (cont'd)
about your transactions with nonaffiliated third parties, (iv) information from consumer reporting agencies, (v) information obtained from our websites, and (vi) information obtained from other sources. For example:
• We collect information such as your name, address, e-mail address, telephone/fax numbers, assets, income and investment objectives through applications and other forms you submit to us.
• We may obtain information about account balances, your use of account(s) and the types of products and services you prefer to receive from us through your dealings and transactions with us and other sources.
• We may obtain information about your creditworthiness and credit history from consumer reporting agencies.
• We may collect background information from and through third-party vendors to verify representations you have made and to comply with various regulatory requirements.
2. When Do We Disclose Personal Information We Collect About You?
We may disclose personal information we collect about you in each of the categories listed above to affiliated and nonaffiliated third parties.
a. Information We Disclose to Affiliated Companies.
We may disclose personal information that we collect about you to our affiliated companies to manage your account(s) effectively, to service and process your transactions, and to let you know about products and services offered by us and affiliated companies, to manage our business, and as otherwise required or permitted by law. Offers for products and services from affiliated companies are developed under conditions designed to safeguard your personal information.
b. Information We Disclose to Third Parties.
We may disclose personal information that we collect about you to nonaffiliated third parties to provide marketing services on our behalf or to other financial institutions with whom we have joint marketing agreements. We may also disclose all of the information we collect to other nonaffiliated third parties for our everyday business purposes, such as to process transactions, maintain account(s), respond to court orders and legal investigations, report to credit bureaus, offer our own products and services, protect against fraud, for institutional risk control, to perform services on our behalf, and as otherwise required or permitted by law.
When we share personal information about you with a nonaffiliated third party, they are required to limit their use of personal information about you to the particular purpose for which it was shared and they are not allowed to share personal information about you with others except to fulfill that limited purpose or as may be permitted or required by law.
3. How Do We Protect the Security and Confidentiality of Personal Information We Collect About You?
We maintain physical, electronic and procedural security measures that comply with applicable law and regulations to help safeguard the personal information we collect about you. We have internal policies governing the proper handling of client information by
34
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) (cont'd)
employees. Third parties that provide support or marketing services on our behalf may also receive personal information about you, and we require them to adhere to appropriate security standards with respect to such information.
4. How Can You Limit Our Sharing Certain Personal Information About You With Our Affiliated Companies for Eligibility Determination?
By following the opt-out procedures in Section 6 below, you may limit the extent to which we share with our affiliated companies, personal information that was collected to determine your eligibility for products and services such as your credit reports and other information that you have provided to us or that we may obtain from third parties ("eligibility information"). Eligibility information does not include your identification information or personal information pertaining to our transactions or experiences with you. Please note that, even if you direct us not to share eligibility information with our affiliated companies, we may still share your personal information, including eligibility information, with our affiliated companies under circumstances that are permitted under applicable law, such as to process transactions or to service your account.
5. How Can You Limit the Use of Certain Personal Information About You by Our Affiliated Companies for Marketing?
By following the opt-out instructions in Section 6 below, you may limit our affiliated companies from marketing their products or services to you based on personal information we disclose to them. This information may include, for example, your income and account history with us. Please note that, even if you choose to limit our affiliated companies from using personal information about you that we may share with them for marketing their products and services to you, our affiliated companies may use your personal information that they obtain from us to market to you in circumstances permitted by law, such as if the affiliated party has its own relationship with you.
6. How Can You Send Us an Opt-Out Instruction?
If you wish to limit our sharing of eligibility information about you with our affiliated companies, or our affiliated companies' use of personal information for marketing purposes, as described in this notice, you may do so by:
• Calling us at (800) 231-2608
Monday–Friday between 8a.m. and 5p.m. (EST)
• Writing to us at the following address:
Computershare Trust Company, N.A.
c/o Privacy Coordinator
P.O. Box 30170
College Station, Texas 77842
If you choose to write to us, your request should include: your name, address, telephone number and account number(s) to which the opt-out applies and whether you are opting out with respect to sharing of eligibility information (Section 4 above), or information used for marketing (Section 5 above), or both. Written opt-out requests should not be sent with any other correspondence. In order to
35
Morgan Stanley Emerging Markets Fund, Inc.
December 31, 2013
U.S. Privacy Policy (unaudited) (cont'd)
process your request, we require that the request be provided by you directly and not through a third party. Once you have informed us about your privacy preferences, your opt-out preference will remain in effect with respect to this Policy (as it may be amended) until you notify us otherwise. If you are a joint account owner, we will accept instructions from any one of you and apply those instructions to the entire account.
Please understand that if you limit our sharing or our affiliated companies' use of personal information, you and any joint account holder(s) may not receive information about our affiliated companies' products and services, including products or services that could help you manage your financial resources and achieve your investment objectives.
If you have more than one account or relationship with us, please specify the accounts to which you would like us to apply your privacy choices. If you have accounts or relationships with our affiliates, you may receive multiple privacy policies from them, and will need to separately notify those companies of your privacy choices for those accounts or relationships.
7. What if an Affiliated Company Becomes a Nonaffiliated Third Party?
If, at any time in the future, an affiliated company becomes a nonaffiliated third party, further disclosures of personal information made to the former affiliated company will be limited to those described in Section 2(b) above relating to nonaffiliated third parties. If you elected under Section 6 to limit disclosures we make to affiliated companies, or use of personal information by affiliated companies, your election will not apply to use by any former affiliated company of your personal information in their possession once it becomes a nonaffiliated third party.
SPECIAL NOTICE TO RESIDENTS OF VERMONT
The following section supplements our Policy with respect to our individual clients who have a Vermont address and supersedes anything to the contrary in the above Policy with respect to those clients only.
The State of Vermont requires financial institutions to obtain your consent prior to sharing personal information that they collect about you with nonaffiliated third parties, or eligibility information with affiliated companies, other than in certain limited circumstances. Except as permitted by law, we will not share personal information we collect about you with nonaffiliated third parties or eligibility information with affiliated companies, unless you provide us with your written consent to share such information.
SPECIAL NOTICE TO RESIDENTS OF CALIFORNIA
The following section supplements our Policy with respect to our individual clients who have a California address and supersedes anything to the contrary in the above Policy with respect to those clients only.
In response to a California law, if your account has a California home address, your personal information will not be disclosed to nonaffiliated third parties except as permitted by applicable California law, and we will limit sharing such personal information with our affiliates to comply with California privacy laws that apply to us.
36