Privacy Policy

Benefit Street

Privacy Policy

Last Updated: March 22, 2023

Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. is committed to respecting your privacy. This Privacy Policy describes how we may collect, use, share and disclose Personal Information we collect on the websites and webpages owned, controlled and/or operated by Benefit Street, including webpages controlled by us on social media sites such as LinkedIn (together, “Sites”), as well as your rights, where applicable, in respect of such Personal Information.

When we use the term “Benefit Street” or “we,” “us,” or “our,” we mean to refer to Benefit Street Partners L.L.C. and its affiliates, including Franklin BSP Lending Corporation, Franklin BSP Capital Corporation, Benefit Street Partners Realty Trust, Inc., and Benefit Street Partners Multifamily, Inc.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to your use of Benefit Street’s financial services, including any investments. Please refer to the separate privacy policy or policies provided to you for further information about our collection and use of Personal Information for such services.

If you have any questions about this policy or whether it applies to you, please contact us at [email protected] or as described at the end of this Privacy Policy.

I. The Information We May Collect and Use
II. Investor Accounts and Links to External Websites
III. How We Collect Your Information
IV. How We Use Your Information, and Our Legal Bases for Processing
V. When We May Share Your Information with Others
VI. How We Protect Your Information
VII. How We Transfer Your Information
VIII. Retention of Your Information
IX. Children’s Privacy
X. Managing Your Information
XI. Notice to Residents of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland
XII. Notice to California Residents
XIII. Notice to Nevada Residents
XIV. Changes to this Privacy Policy
XV. How to Contact Us

I. The Information We May Collect and Use

When we use the term “Personal Information,” we mean information that can be used to identify you directly or indirectly as an individual person or your household, such as your name or contact details. We may collect and use the following categories of Personal Information through your use of our Sites:

  • Identifiers and contact information, such as your name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, other business or personal contact information, username and password (where necessary for investor accounts), and investment information;
  • Professional or employment information, such as your job title and place of work;
  • Internet or other electronic network activity information, such as your internet protocol (IP) address, login data, unique device identifiers, browser type and version, time zone setting and location, browser plug-in types and versions, operating system and platform, mobile device carrier and other technology on the devices you use to access our Sites; as well as usage information, such as information about how you use our Sites and our products and services, referring/exit web pages, date/time stamps, error logs, and the frequency of your use of our Sites;
  • Marketing and communications information, such as your preferences in receiving marketing communications from us; and
  • Any other Personal Information you choose to voluntarily provide to us or publish publicly on social media biographies or profiles, including when communicating or corresponding with us, or (where applicable) posting content on the Sites (“Additional Information”).

Some of this Personal Information is collected and used so we can perform or take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with you, some for the purpose of legal compliance and some for the purposes of our legitimate business interests (including to carry out and improve our business, analyze and improve the use of our Sites and services and support our staff and clients).

We also collect, use and share aggregated information such as statistical or demographic data for any purpose. This information could be derived from your Personal Information but will not directly or indirectly reveal your identity. For example, we may aggregate your usage information to calculate the percentage of users accessing a specific Site feature. However, if we combine or connect information with your Personal Information so that it can directly or indirectly identify you, we treat the combined information as Personal Information which will be used in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

II. Investor Accounts and Links to External Websites

If you access your investor account through the Sites, you leave our Sites and navigate to a third-party website that we do not own or control. In order to set up an investor account, we may have provided the third-party website operator with certain account details necessary to administer your account (for example, name, job title and company name, email and physical address, phone number, username, password, demographic or investment information) that you submitted to us separately from your use of the Sites. This Privacy Policy does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, the practices of the third-party that administers your investor account. Please refer to the privacy policy on the third-party website to understand what information they may collect and how it is used.

The Sites may also link to other third- party websites, products or services not owned or controlled by Benefit Street (“External Sites”). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those any of such External Sites, and Benefit Street is not responsible or liable for the data collection practices of any such third parties, including the practices of the third-party that administers your investor account.

III. How We Collect Your Information

We collect Personal Information from you in a number of ways, including via:

  1. Personal Information You Provide to Us
  • Forms you complete (or which are completed by your authorized representatives on your behalf) on our Sites or otherwise;
  • Content and posts you publish on the Sites (where such functionality is available) and via any associated biographies or profiles associated with such content and posts; and
  • Your correspondence and interactions with us, including by letter, email and telephone.

We collect Personal Information when you choose to share that information with us. For example, if you submit identifiable comments or other content to us, we collect whatever information you supply and use this information to communicate with you if requested, and otherwise fulfill the purpose of the content submission.

Where you provide Personal Information on behalf of other individuals, you are responsible for notifying those individuals that you have provided their Personal Information to us and directing them to this Privacy Policy so they understand how we will process their Personal Information.

  1. Information Collected from Third Parties and Service Providers

We may collect Personal Information about you from third parties and service providers, such as business partners, vendors, or from publicly available information. The conditions under which we may obtain such information are governed by the third-party source.

  1. Information Collected Automatically

We use various technologies to collect other types of data that generally do not directly reveal your identity (“Other Information”), including with your consent where required by applicable law. If we associate Other Information with Personal Information, or if Other Information otherwise constitutes Personal Information under applicable data protection law(s), we will treat the combined information as Personal Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

  • Logging Functionality: We may gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information may include IP addresses, browser type, internet service provider, referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp and/or clickstream data. We generally only use this data for purposes such as security, fraud detection, and protecting our rights.
  • Cookies and Other Data Collection Technologies: We and our service providers may use cookies, scripts, and similar technologies to manage our websites and to collect information about you and your use of our Sites. These technologies help us to recognize you, customize or personalize your experience and analyze the use of our Sites to make them more useful to you. These technologies may also allow us to aggregate demographic and statistical data and provide this information to our service providers to facilitate their provision of services. Most Internet browsers allow you to remove or manage cookie functions and adjust your privacy and security preferences. For information on how to do this, access the “help” menu on your Internet browser, or visit http://www.aboutcookies.org/how-to-control-cookies. Please note, however, that disabling our cookies may result in your inability to take full advantage of all of the features of our Sites. Please also note that both we and our third-party partners, including web analytics companies, collect information about your online activities over time and across the Sites, and we currently do not change our tracking practices in response to “do not track” (“DNT”) settings in your browser.
  • Analytics: We may use analytics providers such as Google Analytics to help us evaluate the Sites. To opt out of the aggregation and analysis of data collected about you on our website by Google Analytics, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout and download and install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

IV. How We Use Your Information, and Our Legal Bases for Processing

We will only use or otherwise process your Personal Information when and how the law allows us to. In addition to the uses described above, any of the Personal Information we collect about you may be processed in one of the following ways, and pursuant to the following legal bases:

  1. Your Consent

In some cases, we process Personal Information based on the consent you expressly grant to us at the time we collect such data. When we process Personal Information based on your consent, it will be expressly indicated to you at the point and time of collection. You can withdraw your consent at any time. You can do this by contacting us via email at [email protected] or via the other ways described at the end of this Privacy Policy.

  1. We Have a Contractual Obligation

We process certain categories of Personal Information as a matter of “contractual necessity,” meaning that we need to process the data in order to provide you with the Services you requested. When we process data due to contractual necessity, failure to provide such Personal Information will result in your inability to use some or all portions of the Services that require such data. These categories of Personal Information are or may be: identifiers and contact information; professional or employment information; internet or other electronic network activity information; marketing and communications information; and Additional Information.

  1. We Have a Legitimate Interest

We process the following categories of Personal Information when we believe it furthers the legitimate interest of us or third parties: identifiers and contact information; professional or employment information; internet or other electronic network activity information; marketing and communications information; and Additional Information.

Our legitimate interests are:

  • Information Security: We process identifiers and contact information and internet or other electronic network activity information when you use the Services in order to maintain an audit log of activities performed. We use this information pursuant to our legitimate interests in tracking usage, combating cybersecurity attacks, and removing or defending against malicious individuals or programs.
  • Operation and Improvement of our Services: We process internet or other electronic network activity information pursuant to our legitimate interest in operating and improving our Services.
  • Audience Measurement and Marketing: Pursuant to a user’s consent, we use analytics and targeting cookies, and collect identifiers through such cookies, for purposes of audience measurement, analytics, audience reaction to the Services, and creating relevant user experiences.
  • General Business Development and Management: We process identifiers and contact information, professional or employment information, internet or other electronic network activity information, marketing and communications information, and Additional Information pursuant to our legitimate interest in creating and managing our business relationships with existing and prospective clients and other individuals interested in our business, including without limitation:
    • To respond to inquiries;
    • To provide information about our products and services; and
    • To assist our clients with any issues while using the Services.
  • Direct Marketing: Generally, we may send email marketing pursuant to your consent. When you use the Sites, email marketing may be sent to you pursuant to our legitimate interest in sending marketing communications to you in the context of such engagement.
  • Protection of Rights: We may disclose any categories of Personal Information to respond to claims of violation of third-party rights or to enforce and protect our rights.
  1. We Have a Legal Obligation

We may be required to disclose Personal Information in response to lawful requests by public authorities, including for the purpose of meeting national security or law enforcement requirements. We may also disclose Personal Information to other third parties when compelled to do so by government authorities or required by law or regulation including, but not limited to, in response to court orders and subpoenas.

Should we wish to use Personal Information for other specific purposes (including, if applicable, any purpose that requires your consent), we will contact you. We will not use Personal Information for any purposes inconsistent with this Policy (and the other privacy notices or policies provided to you or otherwise made available by us from time to time) without your permission.

 V. When We May Share Your Information with Others

We do not sell Personal Information obtained about you to any third parties and have not done so in the twelve (12) months preceding the effective date of this Privacy Policy, nor do we share Personal Information obtained about you with third parties for the purpose of cross-context behavioral advertising.

We do not disclose your Personal Information to anyone other than as described in this Privacy Policy, as required by applicable law or regulation or unless we have your consent to do so. This means we may share your Personal Information in the following ways:

  • Service Providers: We share your Personal Information with third-party service providers (including financial, technical, and professional service providers and consultants) who perform services on our behalf or for your benefit, such as web hosting or verifying user data, and financial institutions that provide services to Benefit Street.
  • Affiliates: We may share your information with affiliated legal entities within our family of companies for purposes and uses that are consistent with this Privacy Policy.
  • Legal Process, Safety and Terms Enforcement: We may disclose your Personal Information to legal or government regulatory authorities in response to their requests for such information or to assist in investigations. We may also disclose your Personal Information to third parties in connection with claims, disputes or litigation, when otherwise required by law, or if we determine its disclosure is necessary to protect the health and safety of you or us, or to enforce our legal rights or contractual commitments that you have made.
  • Business Transfers: Your Personal Information may be disclosed as part of a corporate business transaction, such as a merger, acquisition, joint venture, or financing or sale of company assets, including bankruptcy proceedings, and could be transferred to a third-party as one of the business assets in such a transaction. It may also be disclosed in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership.

 VI. How We Protect Your Information

We are committed to maintaining the confidentiality, integrity and security of your Personal Information and take precautions to protect such information. These precautions include the adoption of certain physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards and procedures designed to maintain and secure your Personal Information from inappropriate disclosure in accordance with applicable laws and regulations.

Our policies require that access to Personal Information be restricted to those employees and agents of Benefit Street who need to know that information in order to provide Benefit Street’s services. We may disclose such information to our service providers and financial institutions. We require such third-party service providers and financial institutions to protect the confidentiality of your Personal Information and to use the information only for purposes for which it is disclosed to them.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure and, although we will take steps to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee the security of your Personal Information transmitted via the Sites; any transmission is therefore at your own risk.

Where you have chosen a password, which allows you to access certain parts of the Sites, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We advise you not to share your password with anyone.

VII. How We Transfer Your Information

The Personal Information that we collect or that you submit may be transferred to, processed in, and held by Benefit Street or its third-party service providers in countries (including the United States) other than the one in which you reside. The European Union and United Kingdom do not consider the United States and many other countries to provide essentially equivalent privacy protections. Such transfers are a necessary part of the services that we provide.

When we transfer Personal Information internationally, and to the extent required by applicable data protection laws, we rely on appropriate or suitable safeguards, including:

  • Where the relevant country or recipient has been deemed to provide an adequate level of protection for your Personal Information by relevant authorities;
  • Using standard contractual clauses approved by relevant authorities as ensuring adequate safeguards;
  • Obtaining your consent to transfer Personal Information after first informing you about the possible risks of such a transfer;
  • Transferring the Personal Information because it is necessary for the performance of (or to enter into) a contract between you and Benefit Street, or because the transfer is necessary for the performance of a contract between Benefit Street and a third-party, and the contract was entered into in your interest; or
  • Transferring the Personal Information because it is necessary to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.

By submitting your Personal Information to us, you acknowledge this may involve the transfer, storing or processing of your Personal Information in countries (including the United States) other than the one in which you reside.

VIII. Retention of Your Information

We will retain your Personal Information only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy, or as long as we are legally required or permitted to do so. Under certain circumstances, you may have the right to have your Personal Information erased.

When deciding how long to retain your Personal Information, we take into account our legal and regulatory obligations, the amount, nature, and sensitivity of the Personal Information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your Personal Information, the purposes for which we process your Personal Information described above and whether we can achieve those purposes through other means. We may also retain your Personal Information to investigate or defend against potential legal claims in accordance with the limitation periods of countries where legal action may be brought.

IX. Children’s Privacy

The Sites are not directed toward children under the age of 16. We do not promote our products or services online to minors, and we do not intentionally collect any Personal Information from any person under 16. If we become aware of having collected Personal Information from children under the age of 16 without valid consent from their respective parents or guardians, we will delete it as soon as practical.

X. Managing Your Information

  • Updating Your Information: We will make reasonable efforts to ensure that all Personal Information that we hold about you is accurate, complete and up to date. You can help in this regard by promptly notifying us if there are any significant changes to your Personal Information (such as a change of name, address or contact details).
  • Deleting Your Information: We will comply with deletion requests within a reasonable time to the extent permissible or required by law. However, we will not delete data that we are legally required to maintain (such as information regulators require for audit or substantiation purposes), or data still needed for a business purpose (such as data on archived back-up tapes).
  • Opt-Out of Direct Marketing: You may opt-out at any time from the use of your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes by clicking on the “Unsubscribe” link located on the bottom of any marketing email and following the instructions found on the page to which the link takes you. Please allow us a reasonable time to process your request. You cannot opt-out of receiving transactional emails.

XI. Notice to Residents of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland

  1. Your Data Protection Rights

Pursuant to the General Data Protection Regulation (2016/679), individuals located in the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom or Switzerland have additional rights with respect to your Personal Data under the General Data Protection Regulation (“EU GDPR”), and/or the EU GDPR as saved into United Kingdom law by the United Kingdom’s European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018 (“UK GDPR”) (collectively with the EU GDPR, the “GDPR”). For more information about these rights, or to submit a request, please email us at [email protected] with the subject line “GDPR Request.”

Please note that in some circumstances, we may not be able to fully comply with your request, such as if it is frivolous or extremely impractical, if it jeopardizes the rights of others, or if it is not required by law, but in those circumstances, we will still respond to notify you of such a decision. In some cases, we may also need you to provide us with additional information, which may include Personal Information, if necessary to verify your identity and the nature of your request.

  • Right of access: You can request more information about the Personal Information we hold about you and request a copy of such Personal Information.
  • Right to rectification: If you believe that any Personal Information we are holding about you is incorrect or incomplete, you can request that we correct or supplement such data.
  • Right to erasure: You can request that we erase some or all of your Personal Information from our systems.
  • Right to restriction of processing: You have the right to ask us to restrict the processing of your Personal Information.
  • Right to object to processing: You have the the right to object to the processing of your Personal Information in certain circumstances.
  • Right to data portability: You can ask for a copy of your Personal Information in a machine-readable format. You can also request that we transmit the data to another controller where technically feasible.
  • Right to withdraw consent: If we are processing your Personal Information based on your consent (as indicated at the time of collection of such data), you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. Please note, however, that if you exercise this right, you may have to then provide express consent on a case-by-case basis for the use or disclosure of certain of your Personal Information, if such use or disclosure is necessary to enable you to utilize some or all of our Services.
  • Objecting to Legitimate Interest/Direct Marketing: You may object to Personal Information processed pursuant to our legitimate interest. In such case, we will no longer process your Personal Information unless we can demonstrate appropriate, overriding legitimate grounds for the processing or if needed for the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims. You may also object at any time to processing of your Personal Information for direct marketing purposes by clicking “Unsubscribe” within an automated marketing email.” In such case, your Personal Information will no longer be used for that purpose.
  1. How to Complain

If you have any concerns about our use of your Personal Information, you can contact us as explained under “How to Contact Us” below with the subject line “GDPR Request,” or you can contact our EU/UK Representatives.

You also have the right to lodge a complaint about the processing of your Personal Information with a supervisory authority of the European state where you work or live or where any alleged infringement of data protection laws occurred.

 XIII. Notice to California Residents

  1. Your Privacy Rights

Pursuant to the California Privacy Rights Act (“CPRA”), residents and households located in the state of California have the following rights regarding the processing of their Personal Information:

 a. Right to Know About Your Personal Information

You have the right to request that we disclose information to you about our collection, disclosure, sale and use of your Personal Information. If you would like to know the specific pieces of Personal Information we have collected about you, please contact us as described below under “How to Contact Us,” and we will provide you with the information collected on or after January 1, 2022. You may exercise this right up to two times in any 12-month period.

b. Right to Request Deletion

You have the right to request deletion of your Personal Information. We will honor such request if we can, but might not be able to fulfill your request if we (or our service providers) are required to retain your Personal Information.

c. Right to Request Correction

You have the right to request that we correct inaccurate Personal Information that we maintain about you.

d. Right to Opt-Out of the Sale or Sharing of Personal Information

You have the right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of Personal Information. Please note, however, that we do not sell or share for the purpose of cross-context behavioral advertising any Personal Information obtained about you, nor have we done so in the past.

e. Right to Limit the Use and Disclosure of Sensitive Personal Information

You have the right to limit the use and disclosure of sensitive Personal Information. Please note, however, that we only collect the information mentioned in this CPRA Notice, and do not use or disclose it for any purposes that are covered by this right (nor have we done so in the past).

f. Right to Non-Discrimination

We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your CPRA rights. We will not (i) deny you products or services, (ii) charge you different prices or rates for products or services, including through granting discounts or other benefits, or imposing penalties (except for financial incentives permitted by the CPRA, see below), (iii) provide you a different level or quality of products or services, and (iv) suggest that you may receive a different price or rate for products or services or a different level or quality of products or services.

g. Right to Designate an Authorized Agent

If you submit a request to know or delete your Personal Information through the use of an authorized agent, we may require that you (i) provide the authorized agent written permission to act on your behalf, and (ii) verify their identity directly with us.

2. Exercising Your Privacy Rights

To exercise the rights described above, please submit a request to us by using the methods outlined under “How to Contact Us” below with the subject line “CPRA Request”.

a. What We Need to Know to Fulfill Your Request

The request must: (i) provide sufficient information that allows us to reasonably verify you are the person about whom we collected Personal Information or an authorized representative; and (ii) describe your request with sufficient detail that allows us to properly understand, evaluate, and respond to it. We cannot respond to your request or provide you with Personal Information if we cannot verify your identity or authority to make the request and confirm the Personal Information related to you. Making a request does not require you to create an account with us.

b. How You Will Hear Back from Us

We will confirm receipt of a request within ten (10) business days of its receipt and endeavor to respond within forty-five (45) calendar days of its receipt. If we require more time, we will notify you of the extension and provide an explanation of the reason for the extension in writing, and we will provide you with a response no later than ninety (90) calendar days of receipt of the request. The response we provide will also explain the reasons we cannot comply with a request, if applicable.

We may charge a reasonable fee to process or respond to your requests if they are excessive, repetitive, or manifestly unfounded. If we determine that the request warrants a fee, we will inform you of the reasons for this decision and provide you with a cost estimate before completing your request.

3. Other California Privacy Rights

Pursuant to Section 1798.83 of the California Civil Code, residents of California have the right to obtain certain information about the types of Personal Information that companies with whom they have an established business relationship (and that are not otherwise exempt) have shared with third parties for direct marketing purposes during the preceding calendar year, including the names and addresses of those third parties, and examples of the types of services or products marketed by those third parties. In order to submit such a request, please contact us at [email protected]. Please note, however, that we do not disclose Personal Information to third parties for such third parties’ direct marketing purposes.

XIII. Notice to Nevada Residents

If you are a Nevada resident, you have the right to submit a request directing us not to sell your Personal Information. Please note, however, that we do not sell consumers’ covered information for monetary consideration (as defined in Chapter 603A of the Nevada Revised Statutes).

XIV. Changes to this Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy is subject to occasional revision, without prior notice, so please review it frequently. If we make any material changes in the way we use your Personal Information, we will notify you by prominently posting notice of the changes on the Sites and updating the effective date above, or as otherwise required by law.

 XV. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy or other privacy-related matters, you may contact us in the following ways:

Mailing Address:
Attn: BSP Data Privacy Team

9 West 57th Street
Suite 4920
New York, NY 10019

Email Address: [email protected]

Phone Number: 212-588-6770

EU/UK Representatives: [email protected]