[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: 12CFR261.20] [Page 709-711] TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM PART 261--RULES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION--Table of Contents Subpart C--Confidential Information Made Available to Supervised Institutions, Financial Institution Supervisory Agencies, Law Enforcement Agencies, and Others in Certain Circumstances Sec. 261.20 Confidential supervisory information made available to supervised financial institutions and financial institution supervisory agencies. (a) Disclosure of confidential supervisory information to supervised financial institutions. Confidential supervisory information concerning a supervised bank, bank holding company (including subsidiaries), U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, or other institution examined by the Federal Reserve System (``supervised financial institution'') may be made available by the Board or the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank to the supervised financial institution. (b) Disclosure of confidential supervisory information by supervised financial institution--(1) Parent bank holding company, directors, officers, and employees. Any supervised financial institution lawfully in possession of confidential supervisory information of the Board pursuant to this section may disclose such information, or portions thereof, to its directors, officers, and employees, and to its parent bank holding company and its directors, officers, and employees. (2) Certified public accountants and legal counsel. Any supervised financial [[Page 710]] institution lawfully in possession of confidential supervisory information of the Board pursuant to this section may disclose such information, or portions thereof, to any certified public accountant or legal counsel employed by the supervised financial institution, subject to the following conditions: (i) Certified public accountants or legal counsel shall review the confidential supervisory information only on the premises of the supervised financial institution, and shall not make or retain any copies of such information; (ii) The certified public accountants or legal counsel shall not disclose the confidential supervisory information for any purpose without the prior written approval of the Board's General Counsel except as necessary to provide advice to the supervised financial institution, its parent bank holding company, or the officers, directors, and employees of such supervised financial institution and parent bank holding company. (c) Disclosure upon request to Federal financial institution supervisory agencies. Upon requests, the Director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation or the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank, may make available to the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board and their regional offices and representatives, confidential supervisory information and other appropriate information (such as confidential operating and condition reports) relating to a bank, bank holding company (including subsidiaries), U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, or other supervised financial institution. (d) Disclosure upon request to state financial institution supervisory agencies. Upon requests, the Director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation or the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank may make available confidential supervisory information and other appropriate information (such as confidential operating and condition reports) relating to a bank, bank holding company (including subsidiaries), U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, or other supervised financial institution to: (1) A state financial institution supervisory agency having direct supervisory authority over such supervised financial institution; or (2) A state financial institution supervisory agency not having direct supervisory authority over such supervised financial institution if the requesting agency has entered into an information sharing agreement with the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank and the information to be provided concerns a supervised financial institution that has acquired or has applied to acquire a financial institution subject to that agency's direct supervisory authority. (e) Discretionary disclosures. The Board may determine, from time to time, to authorize other disclosures of confidential information as necessary. (f) Conditions and limitations. The Board may impose any conditions or limitations on disclosure under this section that it determines are necessary to effect the purposes of this regulation. (g) Other disclosure prohibited. All confidential supervisory information or other information made available under this section shall remain the property of the Board. No supervised financial institution, financial institution supervisory agency, person, or any other party to whom the information is made available, or any other officer, director, employee or agent thereof, may disclose such information without the prior written permission of the Board's General Counsel except in published statistical material that does not disclose, either directly or when used in conjunction with publicly available information, the affairs of any individual, corporation, or other entity. No person obtaining access to confidential supervisory information pursuant to this section may make a personal copy of any such information; and no person may remove confidential supervisory information from the premises of the institution or agency in possession of such information except as permitted by specific language in this regulation or by the Board. (h) Disclosure of Foreign Bank Confidential Report of Operations-- (1) Availability of Foreign Bank Confidential Report of Operations to Bank Supervisory [[Page 711]] Agencies. Notwithstanding any other provision of this regulation, any Confidential Report of Operations (Form F.R. 2068) of a foreign banking organization may, upon written request to and approval by the Director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation (or his delegee), and with the concurrence of the General Counsel (or his delegee), be made available for inspection to another bank supervisory authority having general supervision of any United States branch, agency, subsidiary bank or commercial lending company of the foreign banking organization, only for use where necessary in the performance of official duties. These reports shall be made available for inspection by authorized persons only on Federal Reserve premises under the same procedures as apply to personnel of the Federal Reserve System. All reports made available under this paragraph shall remain the property of the Board; and no person, agency or authority who obtains access to any such report, or any officer, director, or employee thereof, shall publish, publicize, or otherwise disclose any information contained in the report to any person. (2) Restrictions on disclosure by Federal Reserve System employees. It is the Board's policy that the confidentiality of a foreign banking organization's Confidential Report of Operations (Form F.R. 2068) should be maintained at all times. Except as provided by paragraph (h)(1) of this section, information submitted to the Board as part of any Confidential Report of Operations is not available for public inspection by any person other than an officer, employee, or agent of the Board or of a Federal Reserve Bank properly entitled to such information in the performance of such person's official duties. Any employee that violates this section by releasing such a report to any unauthorized person may be subject to disciplinary action under 12 CFR 264.735-5 (Rules of Employee Responsibilities and Conduct). [53 FR 20815, June 7, 1988. Redesignated at 62 FR 54359, Oct. 20, 1997]