(a) Board policy.
(1) It is the Board’s policy regarding
confidential supervisory information that such information is confidential
and privileged. Accordingly, the Board does not normally disclose
confidential supervisory information to the public or authorize third
parties in possession of confidential supervisory information to further
use or disclose the information. When considering a request to access,
use, or to disclose confidential supervisory information under this
section, the Board will not authorize access, use, or disclosure unless
the requesting person is able to show a substantial need to access,
use, or disclose such information that outweighs the need to maintain
confidentiality.
(2)
Notwithstanding any other provision of this part, the Board will not
authorize access to or disclosure of any suspicious activity report
(SAR), or any information that would reveal the existence of a SAR,
except as necessary to fulfill official duties consistent with Title
II of the Bank Secrecy Act. For purposes of this part, “official duties”
shall not include the disclosure of a SAR, or any information that
would reveal the existence of a SAR, in response to a request for
disclosure of nonpublic information or a request for use in a private
legal proceeding, including a request pursuant to this section.
8-213.1
(b) Requests in connection
with litigation. Except as provided in sections 261.21 and 261.22:
(1) In connection with any proposed use
of confidential supervisory information in litigation before a court,
board, commission, agency, or arbitration, any person who—
(i) Seeks access to confidential supervisory
information from the Board or a Reserve Bank (including the testimony
of present or former Board or Reserve Bank employees on matters involving
confidential supervisory information, whether by deposition or otherwise),
(ii) Seeks to use confidential
supervisory information in its possession or to disclose such information
to another party, or
(iii) Seeks to require a person to disclose confidential supervisory
information to a party, shall file a written request with the General
Counsel.
(2) The request shall include:
(i) The judicial or administrative
action, including the case number and court or adjudicative body and
a copy of the complaint or other pleading setting forth the assertions
in the case;
(ii)
A description of any prior judicial or other decisions or pending
motions in the case that may bear on the asserted relevance of the
requested information;
(iii) A narrow and specific description of the confidential supervisory
information the requester seeks to access or to disclose for use in
the litigation including, whenever possible, the specific documents the
requester seeks to access or disclose;
(iv) The relevance of the confidential
supervisory information to the issues or matters raised by the litigation;
(v) The reason why
the information sought, or equivalent information adequate to the
needs of the case, cannot be obtained from any other source; and
(vi) A commitment
to obtain a protective order acceptable to the Board from the judicial
or administrative tribunal hearing the action preserving the confidentiality
of any information that is provided.
(3) In the case of requests covered by
paragraph (b)(1)(ii) of this section, the Board may require the party
to whom disclosure would ultimately be made to substantiate its need
for the information prior to acting on any request.
(c) All other requests. Any other person seeking to access, use, or disclose confidential
supervisory information for any other purpose shall file a written
request with the General Counsel. A request under this paragraph (c)
shall describe the purpose for which access, use, or disclosure is
sought and the requester shall provide other information as requested
by the General Counsel.
(d) Action on request.
(1) Determination
of approval. The General Counsel may approve a request made under
this section provided that he or she determines that:
(i) The person
seeking access, or the person to whom access would be provided, has
shown a substantial need to access confidential supervisory information
that outweighs the need to maintain confidentiality; and
(ii) Approval is consistent
with the supervisory and regulatory responsibilities and policies
of the Board.
(2) Conditions
or limitations. The General Counsel may, in approving a request,
impose such conditions or limitations on use of any information disclosed
as is deemed necessary to protect the confidentiality of the Board’s
information.
8-213.2
(e) Exhaustion of administrative remedies for discovery
purposes in civil, criminal, or administrative action. Action
on a request under this section by the General Counsel is necessary
in order to exhaust administrative remedies for discovery purposes
in any civil, criminal, or administrative proceeding. A request made
pursuant to section 261.11 of this regulation does not exhaust administrative
remedies for discovery purposes. Therefore, it is not necessary to
file a request pursuant to section 261.11 to exhaust administrative
remedies under this section.
