eTrade 2011 Annual Report Download - page 186

Tied Products and Services
“Tying” arrangements, in which clients are required to purchase one product or service as a condition to another product or service
being made available to them, are unlawful in certain instances. Consult the Legal Department for advice about tying restrictions.
Avoiding Improper and Corrupt Payments, Including the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
Various laws in the U.S. and other countries prohibit providing money or anything else of value to government officials (including
employees and agents of government-owned entities), political parties or candidates for public office for the purpose of improperly
influencing their actions in order to obtain or retain business. One such law is the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”),
which you should assume applies, regardless of where you are located. The FCPA prohibits any payment or gift, or any offer or
authorization of a payment or gift, to these entities or individuals in order to secure any improper business advantage, such as
inducing the entity or individual to act favorably upon, or influence others to act favorably upon, business proposals or regulatory
decisions.
The FCPA and laws like it apply to all E*TRADE-controlled or managed companies, as well as to all E*TRADE employees, officers,
directors and agents, regardless of citizenship or residency. These laws also prohibit payments made directly as well as those made
indirectly, for example, to agents or intermediaries who would use the funds for prohibited purposes. Therefore, E*TRADE must
select only reputable agents and must exercise due care in determining the amount of any compensation it will pay to such agents.
You must not hire an agent to act on behalf of E*TRADE before you have obtained approval from Legal.
Economic Sanctions
E*TRADE policy requires compliance with economic sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (“OFAC”) in every
country in which E*TRADE does business. OFAC-imposed economic sanctions and restrictions may be directed at the governments
of certain countries, designated individuals or entities, as well as certain activities. Employees are required to take appropriate steps to
comply with OFAC-imposed economic sanctions, including being familiar with the various sanctions programs, operating within
E*TRADE’s established communication channels regarding sanctions programs, and performing adequate due diligence on their
customers.
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• discuss price, product or service arrangements, or division of market share with competitors, unless that information has
p
reviousl
y
been made
p
ublicl
y
available;
• divulge the identity of E*TRADE’s actual or potential customers or any of the terms upon which E*TRADE may work with
those customers;
• enter into any agreement obligating any customer either to work exclusively with E*TRADE or not to purchase securities or
services from a com
p
etitor;
• enter into an
y
a
g
reement with a third
p
art
y
that involves
p
ricin
g
restrictions with res
p
ect to E*TRADE; or
• ille
g
all
y
or im
p
ro
p
erl
y
ac
q
uire market or com
p
etitive information with res
p
ect to E*TRADE.