Title 12
SECTION 261.17
261.17 Request for confidential treatment.
§ 261.17 Request for confidential treatment.(a) Submission of request. Any submitter of information to the Board who desires that such information be withheld pursuant to § 261.15(a)(4) or (6) shall file a request for confidential treatment with the Board (or in the case of documents filed with a Reserve Bank, with that Reserve Bank) at the time the information is submitted or within 10 working days thereafter.
(b) Form of request. Each request for confidential treatment shall state in reasonable detail the facts supporting the request, provide the legal justification, use good faith efforts to designate by appropriate markings any portion of the submission for which confidential treatment is requested, and include an affirmative statement that such information is not available publicly. A submitter's request for confidentiality in reliance upon § 261.15(a)(4) generally expires 10 years after the date of the submission unless the submitter requests and provides justification for a longer designation period.
(c) Designation and separation of confidential material. All information considered confidential by a submitter shall be clearly designated CONFIDENTIAL in the submission and separated from information for which confidential treatment is not requested. Failure to segregate confidential information from other material may result in release of the unsegregated material to the public without notice to the submitter.
(d) Exceptions. This section does not apply to:
(1) Data items collected on forms that are approved pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and deemed confidential by the Board. Any such data items deemed confidential by the Board shall so indicate on the face of the form or in its instructions. The data may, however, be disclosed in aggregate form in such a manner that individual company data is not disclosed or derivable.
(2) Any comments submitted by a member of the public on applications and regulatory proposals being considered by the Board, unless the Board determines that confidential treatment is warranted.
(3) A determination by the Board to comment upon information submitted to the Board in any opinion or statement issued to the public as described in § 261.15(b)(1).
(e) Special procedures. The Board may establish special procedures for particular documents, filings, or types of information by express provisions in this part or by instructions on particular forms that are approved by the Board. These special procedures shall take precedence over this section.