Terms and conditions of use and legal notice

Terms and conditions of use and legal notices for the websites of the Central Mortgage Bond Institution of the Swiss Cantonal Banks (Pfandbriefzentrale)

Declaration of consent

By accessing the websites of Pfandbriefzentrale (hereinafter referred to as the "PBZ websites") and the services, products, information, opinions, documents, functions etc. contained or described therein (hereinafter referred to as "information"), you declare that you have understood and accepted the terms and conditions of use.

Right of amendment

The terms and conditions of use, the legal information as well as all information on the PBZ websites may be amended at any time without prior notice. You should therefore check these terms and conditions of use regularly. If you do not understand or do not agree with a provision in the terms and conditions of use, please leave the PBZ websites.

Access and restrictions

The PBZ websites are intended solely for persons that are resident in or have their registered office in Switzerland. Persons subject to a jurisdiction that prohibits access to the PBZ websites due to their nationality, place of residence or domicile or for other reasons are not permitted to access the PBZ websites. Furthermore, some services and products described on the PBZ websites are subject to restrictions on the basis of place of residence, domicile, nationality or client segment. It cannot therefore be ruled out that certain services and products described on the websites may not be permissible or suitable for you.

Not advice and not an offer

The information published on the PBZ websites is for information and marketing purposes only. It does not constitute advice (from a legal, tax, financial or other point of view) or a recommendation or offer to purchase or sell products or to conduct or conclude any other kind of transaction.

No orders

Pfandbriefzentrale explicitly states that the electronic communication channels offered on the PBZ websites may only be used in connection with specific services (such as order forms) on the PBZ websites.

Exclusion of liability

Pfandbriefzentrale exercises customary due care in publishing information on the PBZ websites. Nonetheless, it offers no warranty regarding, in particular, the currentness, correctness, accuracy or completeness of any of the information on the PBZ websites. Pfandbriefzentrale reserves the right to amend or delete the information on the PBZ websites at any time without notice. The opinions and assessments expressed on the PBZ websites reflect the view of Pfandbriefzentrale at the time of publication and do not constitute a legal, tax or other recommendation of either a general or specific nature.

The information on the PBZ websites is offered "as is" and "as available". Pfandbriefzentrale offers no guarantees whatsoever that access to the PBZ websites or individual functions on the PBZ websites will be free of malfunctions or interruptions, that any errors will be rectified, or that viruses or other dangerous components will not be transmitted during the use of the PBZ websites.

Pfandbriefzentrale does not accept any liability for the accuracy or completeness of the information on the PBZ websites. To the extent permitted by law, Pfandbriefzentrale accepts no liability whatsoever for direct and/or indirect losses or damage or lost profits arising as a result of using or accessing the information on the PBZ websites or clicking on links to third-party websites or because it is impossible to use or access such information. This exclusion of liability also applies to any loss or damage arising from third parties manipulating the PBZ websites. Additionally, Pfandbriefzentrale does not accept any liability for third parties manipulating your IT system.

Reservation of all intellectual property rights

All information on the PBZ websites is protected by intellectual property law and belongs to Pfandbriefzentrale or third parties. The information may be freely used for private purposes only. No element or information on the PBZ websites is intended to confer a licence or right to use any registered trademark, logo, image or other content protected by intellectual property law. Without the written consent of Pfandbriefzentrale, systematically calling up content on the PBZ websites in order to compile a collection, database or directory, either directly or indirectly, is prohibited.

Pfandbriefzentrale reserves all intellectual property rights in respect of all information on the PBZ websites, and will take all measures necessary to enforce its rights.

Links to other websites

The PBZ websites may contain third-party content or links to third-party websites. Links are provided on PBZ websites to third-party websites for information purposes and for the purpose of user-friendliness. Pfandbriefzentrale has no influence whatsoever on these third-party websites, and therefore does not accept liability for the accuracy, quality, completeness or legality of the content or the availability of such websites or for any offers or services they contain. The liable party is the operator of the websites consulted via the links. Pfandbriefzentrale cannot be held liable for these websites. You follow links to such websites at your own risk.

Information on data protection in connection with the use of our websites

General information

When you visit the Pfandbriefzentrale websites our web server automatically records certain details of your visit (e.g. your IP address, the website you are visiting us from and the Pfandbriefzentrale website you are visiting, including the date and duration of your visit). Tracking data is used to optimise the offering on the Pfandbriefzentrale websites and provide information on how you find out about our products and services and how you use them. However, it does not allow you to be identified; no personal data is processed in this respect.

Personal data

If you provide us with your personal data (such as your name, gender, address, e-mail, telephone or fax number) via the Pfandbriefzentrale websites using a form or other method, we may use this data for the following purposes in particular:

• user administration;
• to provide you with information you have explicitly requested;
• technical management and development of the Pfandbriefzentrale websites.

By providing your personal data you declare your agreement to it being used for the above purposes.

We will process and store your personal data in accordance with applicable data protection law for as long as it is necessary for the purposes described above. The data will be deleted as soon as it is no longer required for achieving the purpose for which it was collected. 

Pfandbriefzentrale is responsible for the processing of personal data.

You can address any questions you may have in connection with data protection to the following office:

Pfandbriefzentrale der schweizerischen Kantonalbanken AG
Postfach
CH-8010 Zurich
Switzerland 

E-mail address: pfandbriefzentrale@zkb.ch 

If you are not satisfied with the response of Pfandbriefzentrale, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority in the jurisdiction where you live or work, or in the place where you believe a problem has arisen in relation to the personal data.

Security of data transmission

When you visit the Pfandbriefzentrale websites your data is transmitted over the Internet, an open network that is accessible to everyone. Data that you transmit to us via electronic media (such as e-mail) or have transmitted to you by us is generally not encrypted. This involves the following specific risks:

• Even if the sender and recipient are in Switzerland, data may be transmitted abroad on an uncontrolled basis via countries whose data protection laws are not comparable with those of Switzerland.
• The identity of the sender (e.g. e-mail address) and the content of the message may be simulated or otherwise manipulated by unauthorised persons.
• Electronic messages may contain malware that is executed when the message is read and may cause substantial damage. To prevent viruses, we recommend using the latest versions of browsers and installing continually updated anti-virus software.
• The exchange of information may be delayed or interrupted by transmission errors, technical faults, interruptions, malfunctions, illegal interference, network overload, malicious blocking of the network by third parties or other deficiencies.

Edition: April 2023

Information on the use of cookies on Pfandbriefzentrale websites.

What do we mean by cookies?

Cookies are small text files that are stored on your device. These enable the website to remember specific entries and settings (e.g. language, usage, preferences and statistics) over a specific period of time to optimise user experience, security and analysis in particular.

What types of cookies do we use and why?

We use the following types of cookies on the Pfandbriefzentrale websites:

• Cookies that are required for the website to operate and to provide the website services (for example continued surfing on sub-pages);
• Statistical cookies, and
• Tracking cookies, specifically to gather information about users' behaviour on the website (for example, how frequently the website or sub-pages are visited, the security of the services, error messages, website loading times and the website display using different browsers) and to continuously improve the user experience and user-friendliness of the website.

In addition to our own cookies, we also use cookies from third parties.

The following overview shows the third-party cookies we use:

Provider	Google Inc.	Google LCC
Purpose	To measure the number and type of visits (including browser) as well as user interaction with the website, in order to continuously improve functionality and thus ensure that the overall experience is as tailored to the user and secure as possible.	To automatically recognise whether entries (for example in a contact form) are made by a human or an automatic programme. The user's behaviour on the website is analysed for this reason.
Tool	Google Analytics	Google reCAPTCHA
Duration	26 months	Unlimited
Data protection	Google Analytics Help Safeguarding your data - Google Analytics Help	Google reCAPTCHA Google Privacy and Terms

How can you prevent the use of cookies or delete them?

You may decide to stop the use of cookies at any time by deleting the cookies created by the Pfandbriefzentrale website. The technical information on browser settings includes information on how to delete cookies in your browser. Alternatively, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+Delete keyboard shortcut to open the relevant settings window in most browsers.

You can use the following link to view the activation status of cookies from different providers and opt out of the collection or analysis of your data by their cookies: set preferences (source EDAA). This does not include required cookies; the website cannot function without technical cookies.

This data protection declaration provides information on how Pfandbriefzentrale der schweizerischen Kantonalbanken AG (Central Mortgage Bond Institution of the Swiss Cantonal Banks, “Pfandbriefzentrale”) handles personal data.

1. General information

Pfandbriefzentrale has an open, transparent, client-friendly approach, and this also applies to data protection.

According to Art. 5 of the Federal Act on Data Protection (FADP), personal data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable natural person. Pfandbriefzentrale considers “processing” to refer to all ways of dealing with personal data, irrespective of the means and procedures used, in particular procuring, storing, using, disclosing, archiving and destroying of personal data.

The management of Pfandbriefzentrale is delegated to Zürcher Kantonalbank (ZKB). Pfandbriefzentrale therefore also uses the infrastructure of ZKB, among other things. Pfandbriefzentrale and Zürcher Kantonalbank use equivalent technical and organisational measures to ensure that privacy is protected when processing personal data.

2. Data security

Pfandbriefzentrale undertakes in particular to protect your privacy in accordance with the applicable laws, especially business confidentiality and data protection law. To this end, Pfandbriefzentrale takes a number of precautions, such as implementing technical and organisational security measures (e.g. firewalls; personal passwords such as encryption and authentication technologies; access restrictions; staff awareness-raising and staff training). 

3. Processing framework

3.1 Categories of personal data

Pfandbriefzentrale may process different categories of personal data depending on the products and services it provides to you. Pfandbriefzentrale limits its processing of personal data to a necessary minimum.

3.1.1 Contract partners

Pfandbriefzentrale processes the data of former, current and potential contract partners. This is understood as referring to the following:

• Master data and data on holdings, such as name, address, information about accounts, concluded transactions or third parties such as authorised signatories/representatives who are also affected by the data processing;
• Personal data generated in the course of the business relationship through personal, telephone or written contact, e.g. information on the communication channel, date, reason and outcome, or (electronic) copies of correspondence;
• Transaction and order and risk management data;
• Technical data such as internal and external identifiers, business numbers, IP addresses, records of access or changes.

3.1.2 Data of visitors

Pfandbriefzentrale processes the data of visitors (i.e. website visitors). This is understood as referring to the following in particular:

• Master data and data on holdings such as name and e-mail address;
• Technical data such as internal and external identifiers, IP addresses and records of access or changes
• Data that is transmitted to us as a result of your visit to our website or that you make known to us (e.g. via a form).

3.1.3 Supplier employees

Pfandbriefzentrale processes personal data of supplier employees. This is understood as referring to the following in particular:

• Master data and data on holdings such as name, address, contract number and duration, information on concluded transactions;
• Technical data such as internal and external identifiers, IP addresses and records of access or changes.

3.2 Origin

For the purposes of section 3.4, Pfandbriefzentrale may collect personal data from the following sources:

• Personal data that is given to Pfandbriefzentrale, for example for products and services, risk management purposes, to meet regulatory disclosure requirements or on the Pfandbriefzentrale website;
• Personal data that is necessary for the use of products or services and that is transmitted to Pfandbriefzentrale via the technical infrastructure, e.g. via websites or when working with other financial or IT service providers.

3.3 Duration of storage

The duration of storage for personal data depends on statutory storage provisions and the purpose of the data processing.

As a rule, Pfandbriefzentrale stores personal data for the duration of the business relationship or contract period and a subsequent period of five, ten or more years (depending on the applicable legal basis). Ongoing or anticipated legal or regulatory proceedings may result in data being stored beyond this period.

3.4 Purposes

Pfandbriefzentrale may process the personal data described in section 3.1 in the provision of its own services or for its own or legally specified purposes. This is understood as referring to the following in particular:

• Executing, processing and managing business relationships and products and services;
• Statistics, planning or business decisions (e.g. establishing key figures in relation to risk management, transaction analyses; developing ideas for new or assessing or improving and reviewing existing products, services, procedures, technologies and systems);
• Monitoring and managing risks, business-related checks, processing business in good time (e.g. limits, market, credit and operational risks and system training);
• Legal or regulatory disclosure, notification or reporting obligations to courts, authorities, fulfilment of official orders (e.g. FINMA orders);
• Protecting the interests and rights of Pfandbriefzentrale in the case of claims against Pfandbriefzentrale or its contract partners;
• Website operation (e.g. for technical management and further development of the Pfandbriefzentrale websites);
• Any other purposes which Pfandbriefzentrale will notify you of, e.g. to comply with national or international transparency requirements.

3.5 Basis for the processing of personal data

Depending on the products and services provided to you by Pfandbriefzentrale or the purpose for which the personal data is processed, data processing is carried out on the following basis:

• To enter into, conclude or execute a contract or business relationship with you or to perform the obligations of Pfandbriefzentrale under such a contract or business relationship;
• If necessary to protect the legitimate interests of Pfandbriefzentrale, e.g. statistics, planning or product development, business decisions; monitoring and management of risks, business auditing; comprehensive information about the range of services, preparation and provision of tailor-made services unless there is an objection; protection of the interests and safeguarding of the claims of Pfandbriefzentrale, contractual partners and employees;
• Where appropriate, to comply with legal or regulatory obligations of Pfandbriefzentrale or the performance of duties in the public interest;
• Subject to your consent where applicable¹.

¹ Consent obtained for other reasons is not affected by the provisions of this section.

3.6 Duty to provide personal data

Pfandbriefzentrale may not be able to provide products or services to you or enter into, conclude or execute a contract or business relationship with you if it cannot process personal data that must be processed in order to comply with legal or regulatory obligations. In such cases, we will inform you accordingly.

3.7 Categories of intended recipients, guarantees and disclosure abroad

3.7.1 Recipients

Within Pfandbriefzentrale, access to your personal data is only granted to such parties that require it in order to execute a contractual relationship or perform a service, or on the basis of legal or regulatory obligations, or for the performance of duties in the public interest.

Depending on the type of products and services purchased, Pfandbriefzentrale only discloses the personal data it gathers to third parties in the following cases:

• For the execution of orders, i.e. the use of products or services, e.g. to payees, beneficiaries, account representatives, intermediaries as well as correspondent banks, clearing houses, other parties involved in a transaction, service providers, stock exchanges or marketplaces;
• In view of legal obligations, legal justifications or official orders, for example to courts law enforcement or supervisory authorities in the area of financial market law or, where necessary, to protect Pfandbriefzentrale’s legitimate interests in Switzerland and abroad. The latter applies in particular with respect to any legal action or public statements threatened or initiated against Pfandbriefzentrale by the client, the safeguarding of any claims Pfandbriefzentrale has against contractual partners or third parties, and the collection of claims Pfandbriefzentrale has against contractual partners.

Contractors are third parties that process personal data on behalf of and for the purposes of Pfandbriefzentrale, e.g. IT, sales or communication service providers or consulting companies. If personal data is disclosed to contractors of this kind, they are only permitted to process the data disclosed to the extent that Pfandbriefzentrale itself does. Pfandbriefzentrale carefully selects its contractors and contractually obliges them to guarantee the confidentiality and security of personal data.

3.7.2 Guarantees

Depending on the type of product or service used, personal data may also be required to be disclosed to third parties (including contractors) based in countries without an appropriate level of data protection. There is no appropriate level of data protection in, for example, the United States. If data is transferred to such a country, Pfandbriefzentrale requires that the recipient take appropriate measures to protect personal data (e.g. by agreeing to “EU standard clauses”, other precautions or on the basis of justifying grounds; a copy of the EU standard clauses can be obtained from us free of charge).

4 Rights

You have the right to information, rectification, erasure, restriction, objection, as well as – where applicable – the right to data portability. In addition, you have the right to lodge a complaint with a competent data protection supervisory authority.

Pfandbriefzentrale accepts information requests made in writing together with a clearly legible copy of a valid official identity document (e.g. a passport, identity card or driving licence) to the address below.

The right to erasure and the right to object are not unlimited rights. Depending on the individual case, overriding interests may make further processing necessary. Pfandbriefzentrale will examine each individual case and notify you of the outcome.

You may revoke any consent you may have given Pfandbriefzentrale to process personal data at any time. Please note that such a withdrawal of consent only has effect for the future. Processing which took place prior to the withdrawal of consent is not affected.

If Pfandbriefzentrale fails to meet your expectations with respect to the processing of personal data, if you wish to complain about Pfandbriefzentrale’s data protection practices, or if you wish to exercise your rights, please notify Pfandbriefzentrale (see section 6). Among other things, this will give Pfandbriefzentrale the opportunity to review your request and make any necessary improvements. Please provide the relevant details in your notification to help Pfandbriefzentrale respond to your request. Pfandbriefzentrale will look into your concerns and reply within an appropriate period.

5 Changes to personal data

Pfandbriefzentrale is obliged to process the personal data accurately and keep it up to date. Please notify Pfandbriefzentrale of any changes to your personal data by your usual means of communication.

6 Contact details and exercising your rights

Pfandbriefzentrale is responsible for the processing of personal data.

If you have any questions about data protection, please contact the following office:

Pfandbriefzentrale der schweizerischen Kantonalbanken AG
P.O. Box
CH-8010 Zürich
Switzerland

E-mail: pfandbriefzentrale@zkb.ch

If you are not satisfied with Pfandbriefzentrale’s response, you have the right to lodge a complaint with the data protection authority in the jurisdiction in which you live or work or in the place where you believe a problem has arisen in relation to your personal data.

7 Status of the data protection declaration

This data protection declaration provides a general explanation of how Pfandbriefzentrale processes personal data. This data protection declaration does not constitute a part of any contract between you and Pfandbriefzentrale. Pfandbriefzentrale reserves the right to amend this data protection declaration from time to time, for example to adapt it to changes in legal circumstances or in the event of changes to the services or data processing. In the event of such amendments, you will be informed in an appropriate manner according to how we usually communicate with you, for example via the websites of Pfandbriefzentrale.

Edition: September 2023