Federal Reserve Board Proposes Revisions to Clarify and Modernize the Rules Governing Confidential Supervisory Information and FOIA Requests
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Key takeaways:
- On June 14, 2019 the Federal Reserve Board (“FRB”) invited public comment on proposed amendments to its regulations regarding confidential supervisory information (“CSI”)—the first time in 30 years the agency has meaningfully revisited its framework for the treatment, use and disclosure of information and records it collects in the course of supervisory and enforcement activities. The FRB also proposed technical amendments to its Freedom of Information Act (“FOIA”) procedures.
- If adopted, the revised CSI rules would bring helpful clarity to FRB-supervised institutions and would remove outdated and vexing restrictions on certain types of CSI disclosure, including to employees of affiliated entities as well as outside counsel and auditors. As drafted, the revised rules would impose new compliance challenges; financial institutions should consider whether existing CSI policies, procedures, as well as contracts with vendors and service providers, need to be updated.
- The FRB’s proposal would not, however, harmonize its rules regarding the use and disclosure of CSI with those applied by other federal banking agencies. Financial institutions will continue to face challenges navigating these issues absent an interagency effort to propound consistent standards.