Customer Relationship Law and Legal Definition
According to 17 CFR 160.3 [Title 17 -- Commodity and Securities Exchanges; Chapter I -- Commodity Futures Trading Commission; Part 160 -- Privacy of Consumer Financial Information], customer relationship means “a continuing relationship between a consumer and you under which you provide one or more financial products or services to the consumer that are to be used primarily for personal, family or household purposes.
(2) Examples -- (i) Continuing relationship. A consumer has a continuing relationship with you if:
(A) You are a futures commission merchant through whom a consumer has opened an account, or that carries the consumer's account on a fully-disclosed basis, or that effects or engages in commodity interest transactions with or for a consumer, even if you do not hold any assets of the consumer.
(B) You are an introducing broker that solicits or accepts specific orders for trades;
(C) You are a commodity trading advisor with whom a consumer has a contract or subscription, either written or oral, regardless of whether the advice is standardized, or is based on, or tailored to, the commodity interest or cash market positions or other circumstances or characteristics of the particular consumer;
(D) You are a commodity pool operator, and you accept or receive from the consumer, funds, securities, or property for the purpose of purchasing an interest in a commodity pool;
(E) You hold securities or other assets as collateral for a loan made to the consumer, even if you did not make the loan or do not effect any transactions on behalf of the consumer; or
(F) You regularly effect or engage in commodity interest transactions with or for a consumer even if you do not hold any assets of the consumer.
(ii) No continuing relationship. A consumer does not have a continuing relationship with you if:
(A) You have acted solely as a "finder" for a futures commission merchant, and you do not solicit or accept specific orders for trades; or
(B) You have solicited the consumer to participate in a pool or to direct his or her account and he or she has not provided you with funds to participate in a pool or entered into any agreement for you to direct his or her account.”
