5.1 Separate legal entity. FBC is and shall remain a Wyoming limited liability company with its own employer identification number, its own articles of organization, and its own operating agreement, and shall not be merged into, consolidated with, or have its assets commingled with, any Affiliated Sponsor or other affiliated entity except as expressly disclosed in this Agreement and within the company independence disclosures published by FBC.
5.2 Independent signing authority. At all times during the Term, at least one (1) person with authority to bind FBC under this Agreement (a "Permitted Independent Signer") shall not also be a signer, officer, manager, or partner of any Affiliated Sponsor. The identity of the then-current Permitted Independent Signer shall be disclosed to Sponsor in writing on request and refreshed in connection with each annual policy of insurance carried by FBC.
5.3 Separate banking and accounting. FBC shall maintain (i) one or more bank accounts in the name of FBC, separate from any account of any Affiliated Sponsor; (ii) a ledger of FBC's receipts and disbursements that is maintained separately from any Affiliated Sponsor's ledger; and (iii) annual financial statements prepared on a stand-alone basis. Shared services, if any, between FBC and any Affiliated Sponsor shall be invoiced and paid on arm's-length terms.
5.7 Annual confirmation. FBC shall include, as a procedure within the scope of the annual Agreed-Upon Procedures engagement referenced in § 6, a confirmation that the operational independence representations contained in this § 5 remained accurate throughout the period covered by the engagement. The CPA firm's findings on this procedure shall be set forth in the published AUP Report and reflected within the legal and compliance disclosures.