[Code of Federal Regulations]
[Title 12, Volume 3]
[Revised as of January 1, 2003]
From the U.S. Government Printing Office via GPO Access
[CITE: 12CFR261.15]

[Page 706]
 
                       TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
 
                   CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 
PART 261--RULES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents
 
   Subpart B--Published Information and Records Available to Public; 
                         Procedures for Requests
 
Sec. 261.15  Request for confidential treatment.

    (a) Submission of request. Any submitter of information to the Board 
who desires confidential treatment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and 
Sec. 261.14 (a)(4) shall file a request for confidential treatment with 
the Board (or in the case of documents filed with a Federal Reserve 
Bank, with that Federal Reserve Bank) at the time the information is 
submitted or a reasonable time after submission.
    (b) Form of request. Each request for confidential treatment shall 
state in reasonable detail the facts supporting the request and its 
legal justification. Conclusory statements that release of the 
information would cause competitive harm generally will not be 
considered sufficient to justify confidential treatment.
    (c) Designation and separation of confidential material. All 
information considered confidential by a submitter shall be clearly 
designated CONFIDENTIAL in the submission and separated from information 
for which confidential treatment is not requested. Failure to segregate 
confidential information from other material may result in release of 
the nonsegregated material to the public without notice to the 
submitter.
    (d) Exceptions. This section does not apply to:
    (1) Data collected on forms that are approved pursuant to the 
Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and are deemed 
confidential by the Board. Any such form deemed confidential by the 
Board shall so indicate on the face of the form or in its instructions. 
The data may, however, be disclosed in aggregate form in such a manner 
that individual company data is not disclosed or derivable.
    (2) Any comments submitted by a member of the public on applications 
and regulatory proposals being considered by the Board, unless the Board 
or the Secretary determines that confidential treatment is warranted.
    (3) A determination by the Board to comment upon information 
submitted to the Board in any opinion or statement issued to the public 
as described in Sec. 261.14(c).
    (e) Special procedures. The Board may establish special procedures 
for particular documents, filings, or types of information by express 
provisions in this part or by instructions on particular forms that are 
approved by the Board. These special procedures shall take precedence 
over this section.