FDIC Lets Banks Swap Secrets With Less Paperwork
Published Date: 6/30/2026
Proposed Rule
Summary
The FDIC wants to make it easier and clearer for banks to share confidential info with their affiliates without asking for permission first. They’re also simplifying rules about when and how they share info under the Freedom of Information Act and during legal cases. If you’re a bank or work with one, you’ve got until August 31, 2026, to share your thoughts on these changes—no extra costs, just smoother info sharing!
Analyzed Economic Effects
6 provisions identified: 4 benefits, 1 costs, 1 mixed.
Banks can share FDIC confidential info
Insured depository institutions would be allowed to share FDIC confidential information with certain third parties without asking the FDIC first, provided they have a qualifying confidentiality agreement. Examples named in the proposal include a bank's legal counsel, majority shareholder, qualifying service providers, and certain potential merger counterparties.
Fintechs qualify as service providers
The rule would define a "qualifying service provider" to include entities that provide products, advisory/consulting services, or technological infrastructure—explicitly including third-party "fintech" companies—so banks can share confidential FDIC information with these providers under the qualifying confidentiality agreement framework.
New terms for confidentiality agreements
To use the no-prior-approval sharing, recipients must sign a written "qualifying confidentiality agreement" that is governed by U.S. or state law, limits use and further disclosure, restricts access to people with a business need, and makes the FDIC an intended third-party beneficiary enforceable in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
Changes to FDIC FOIA request rules
The FDIC would revise how it processes FOIA requests: requesters must describe records with enough detail (very general or undated requests may be treated as defective), individuals requesting their own records must meet identity verification per 12 CFR 310.4(c), requests about third parties may need written authorization or proof if the subject is deceased, and the FDIC may close a request if a requester does not respond to an estimated fee within 30 calendar days. The rule also expands criteria for expedited processing and clarifies fee waiver factors.
Submitters get notice and can object
For confidential commercial information submitted to the FDIC, the proposal would require that submitters may designate material at submission as likely to cause substantial competitive harm if disclosed. The FDIC would notify submitters if a FOIA request seeks such information, allow the submitter to object, and would tell the requester that notice was provided.
FDIC's 'good cause' disclosure standard
The FDIC would codify "good cause" as the standard for discretionary disclosure of confidential information and list factors an authorized director may consider, including regulatory purpose, availability of other sources, scope of the information, recipient's intended use, legality, and safety-and-soundness or financial stability risks.
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