§3109 Cooperation with Foreign Supervisors

Summary

Federal bank supervisors (the Board, the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, and the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision) may share information they get while supervising banks with foreign bank regulators when it is appropriate and will not harm U.S. interests. Before sharing, they must get the foreign authority to agree, as far as that country’s law allows, to keep the information confidential. If a federal agency receives information from a foreign supervisor, it generally cannot be forced to disclose it when the foreign supervisor says in writing that disclosure would break its laws and the information was given under the agency’s procedures or a memorandum of understanding or similar agreement. For purposes of section 552 of title 5, this rule is treated as the statute named in subsection (b)(3)(B) of that section. This does not let agencies withhold information from congressional committees or avoid complying with a U.S. court order. "Federal banking agency" means the Board, the Comptroller, the FDIC, and the Director of the Office of Thrift Supervision.