(c) Exceptions. Confidential Information shall not include, and this Agreement imposes no obligations with respect to, information that:
(i) was, at the time of disclosure to the Receiving Party, in the public domain or, after disclosure to the Receiving Party, has become part of the public domain through no act or omission of the Receiving Party;
(ii) was in the possession of the Receiving Party, with confidentiality restrictions, at the time of disclosure to the Receiving Party hereunder;
(iii) was or hereafter is independently developed by a party outside of this Agreement and without use of, reference to, access to or reliance on any Confidential Information of the other party; or
(iv) was lawfully and independently obtained by the Receiving Party from a third party who, to the knowledge of the Receiving Party after reasonable inquiry, is not subject to an obligation of confidentiality or otherwise prohibited from disclosing or transmitting the information to the Receiving Party.
The foregoing exceptions shall not apply to any Personally Identifiable Information, which shall remain confidential in all circumstances, except as required or permitted to be disclosed by applicable law, statute, or regulation.
(d) Disclosure by Operation of Law. If any party or any of its Representatives is requested or required (orally or in writing, by law, regulation or interrogatory, request for information or documents, court order, subpoena, deposition, administrative proceedings, inspection, audit, civil investigative demand or other legal, governmental or regulatory process) to disclose all or any part of any Confidential Information, such party shall (i) to the extent permitted by law, rule and regulation, promptly notify the other party of the existence, terms and circumstances surrounding such request; (ii) consult with the other party on the advisability of taking legally available steps to resist or narrow such request and cooperate with such party on any steps it considers advisable; and (iii) if disclosure of the Confidential Information is required or deemed advisable, exercise commercially reasonable efforts to obtain an order, stipulation or other reliable assurance that confidential treatment shall be accorded to such portion of the Confidential Information to be disclosed. Each party shall reimburse the other party for reasonable legal fees and expenses incurred in connection with such party’s efforts to comply with this section. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary contained herein, the Servicer and its Affiliates may disclose Confidential Information, without notice to the Asset Representations Reviewer, to any governmental agency, regulatory authority or self-regulatory authority (including, without limitation, bank and securities examiners) having or claiming to have authority to regulate or oversee any aspect of the Servicer’s business or that of its Affiliates in connection with the exercise of such authority or claimed authority.
(e) Return of Confidential Information. Upon the written request of the Disclosing Party, the Receiving Party shall return or destroy all Confidential Information to the Disclosing Party provided to it pursuant to this Agreement; provided, however, (i) the Receiving Party shall be permitted to retain copies of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information solely for archival, audit, disaster recovery, legal, and/or regulatory purposes or, if longer, for the period of time set forth in Section 3.14, and (ii) the Receiving Party shall be permitted to retain copies of the Disclosing Party’s Confidential Information to the extent it would be unreasonably burdensome to return or destroy such Confidential Information; provided further, that (x) any Confidential Information so retained will remain subject to the obligations and restrictions contained in this Agreement, notwithstanding any termination hereof, and (y) the Receiving Party will not use the retained Confidential Information for any other purpose.
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