From GLB Act: _and_quot;Consumers_and_quot; and _and_quot;Customers_and_quot 896

[lekatis]

Two very interesting definitions I want to share with you my friends.
Consumer:
An individual who receives a financial product/service.
An individual who applies for, but does not receive, a loan (denied or withdrawn).
Customer:
Consumer who establishes continuing relationship with financial institution.
Only when a consumer has a continuing relationship with a financial institution is he or she a ‘customer’ for privacy rule purposes for example.
Customer relationship with a financial institution is terminated:
If the customer has a deposit account, he becomes a former customer when the account is inactive under the institution’s policies;

If the individual had obtained closed-end credit, he becomes a former customer when he pays the loan in full, when the institution charges off the loan, or the institution sells the loan without retaining servicing rights;

If the financial institution has not communicated with the customer about the relationship for a period of 12 consecutive months, other than to provide annual privacy notices or promotional material, the individual will be considered a former customer.

That is what the lawyers say…
In economics consumers are individuals or households that ‘consume’ goods and services generated within the economy. This includes just about everyone.
In microeconomic theory a consumer is assumed to have a budget which can be spent on a range of goods and services available on the market.
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Financial Services Modernization Act was signed into law on November 12, 1999 by President Clinton.
The focus: Title I (Facilitating Affiliations Among Banks, Securities Firms and Insurance Companies), Title III (Insurance) and Title V (Privacy).
What do I try to tell with this example?
If it is so difficult to mean the same thing speaking about consumers and customers… what about the definitions of security, crime and computer crime, real time etc.