|
U.S. Code as of:
01/19/04
Section 3403. Confidentiality of financial records
(a) Release of records by financial institutions prohibited
No financial institution, or officer, employees, or agent of a
financial institution, may provide to any Government authority
access to or copies of, or the information contained in, the
financial records of any customer except in accordance with the
provisions of this chapter.
(b) Release of records upon certification of compliance with
chapter
A financial institution shall not release the financial records
of a customer until the Government authority seeking such records
certifies in writing to the financial institution that it has
complied with the applicable provisions of this chapter.
(c) Notification to Government authority of existence of relevant
information in records
Nothing in this chapter shall preclude any financial institution,
or any officer, employee, or agent of a financial institution, from
notifying a Government authority that such institution, or officer,
employee, or agent has information which may be relevant to a
possible violation of any statute or regulation. Such information
may include only the name or other identifying information
concerning any individual, corporation, or account involved in and
the nature of any suspected illegal activity. Such information may
be disclosed notwithstanding any constitution, law, or regulation
of any State or political subdivision thereof to the contrary. Any
financial institution, or officer, employee, or agent thereof,
making a disclosure of information pursuant to this subsection,
shall not be liable to the customer under any law or regulation of
the United States or any constitution, law, or regulation of any
State or political subdivision thereof, for such disclosure or for
any failure to notify the customer of such disclosure.
(d) Release of records as incident to perfection of security
interest, proving a claim in bankruptcy, collecting a debt, or
processing an application with regard to a Government loan, loan
guarantee, etc.
(1) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a financial
institution, as an incident to perfecting a security interest,
proving a claim in bankruptcy, or otherwise collecting on a debt
owing either to the financial institution itself or in its role as
a fiduciary, from providing copies of any financial record to any
court or Government authority.
(2) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude a financial
institution, as an incident to processing an application for
assistance to a customer in the form of a Government loan, loan
guaranty, or loan insurance agreement, or as an incident to
processing a default on, or administering, a Government guaranteed
or insured loan, from initiating contact with an appropriate
Government authority for the purpose of providing any financial
record necessary to permit such authority to carry out its
responsibilities under a loan, loan guaranty, or loan insurance
agreement.
|
|