12 C.F.R. Subpart B—Published Information and Records Available to Public; Procedures for Requests
Title 12 - Banks and Banking
Source: 62 FR 54359, 54361, Oct. 20, 1997, unless otherwise noted.
(a) (1) Descriptions of the Board's central and field organization; (2) Statements of the general course and method by which the Board's functions are channeled and determined, including the nature and requirements of procedures; (3) Rules of procedure, descriptions of forms available and the place where they may be obtained, and instructions on the scope and contents of all papers, reports, and examinations; (4) Substantive rules, interpretations of general applicability, and statements of general policy; (5) Every amendment, revision, or repeal of the foregoing in paragraphs (a)(1) through (a)(4) of this section; (6) Notices of proposed rulemaking; (7) Notices of applications received under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.) and the Change in Bank Control Act (12 U.S.C. 1817); (8) Notices of all Board meetings, pursuant to the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b); (9) Notices identifying the Board's systems of records, pursuant to the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a); and (10) Notices of agency data collection forms being reviewed under the Paperwork Reduction Act (5 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.). (b) Board's Reports to Congress. The Board's annual report to Congress pursuant to the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 247), which is made public upon its submission to Congress, contains a full account of the Board's operations during the year, the policy actions by the Federal Open Market Committee, an economic review of the year, and legislative recommendations to Congress. The Board also makes periodic reports to Congress under certain statutes, including but not limited to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552); the Government in the Sunshine Act (5 U.S.C. 552b); the Full Employment and Balanced Growth Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 225a); and the Privacy Act (5 U.S.C. 552a). (c) Federal Reserve Bulletin. This publication is issued monthly and contains economic and statistical information, articles relating to the economy or Board activities, and descriptions of recent actions by the Board. (d) Other published information. Among other things, the Board publishes the following information: (1) Weekly publications. The Board issues the following publications weekly: (i) A statement showing the condition of each Federal Reserve Bank and a consolidated statement of the condition of all Federal Reserve Banks, pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 248(a); (ii) An index of applications received and the actions taken on the applications, as well as other matters issued, adopted, or promulgated by the Board; and (iii) A statement showing changes in the structure of the banking industry resulting from mergers and the establishment of branches. (2) Press releases. The Board frequently issues statements to the press and public regarding monetary and credit actions, regulatory actions, actions taken on certain types of applications, and other matters. (3) Call Report and other data. Certain data from Reports of Condition and Income submitted to the Board are available through the National Technical Information Service and may be obtained by the procedure described in §261.11(c)(2). (4) Federal Reserve Regulatory Service. This is a multivolume looseleaf service published by the Board, containing statutes, regulations, interpretations, rulings, staff opinions, and procedural rules under which the Board operates. Portions of the service are also published as separate looseleaf handbooks relating to consumer and community affairs, monetary policy and reserve requirements, payments systems, and securities credit transactions. The service and each handbook contain subject and citation indexes, are updated monthly, and may be subscribed to on a yearly basis. (e) Index to Board actions. The Board's Freedom of Information Office maintains an index to Board actions, which is updated weekly and provides identifying information about any matters issued, adopted, and promulgated by the Board since July 4, 1967. Copies of the index may be obtained upon request to the Freedom of Information Office subject to the current schedule of fees in §261.17. (f) Obtaining Board publications. The Publications Services Section maintains a list of Board publications that are available to the public. In addition, a partial list of publications is published in the Federal Reserve Bulletin. All publications issued by the Board, including available back issues, may be obtained from Publications Services, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551 (pedestrian entrance is on C Street, N.W.). Subscription or other charges may apply to some publications. (a) Types of records made available. Unless they were published promptly and made available for sale or without charge, the following records shall be made available for inspection and copying at the Freedom of Information Office: (1) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as final orders and written agreements, made in the adjudication of cases; (2) Statements of policy and interpretations adopted by the Board that are not published in the (3) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect the public; (4) Copies of all records released to any person under §261.12 that, because of the nature of their subject matter, the Board has determined are likely to be requested again; (5) A general index of the records referred to in paragraph (a)(4) of this section; and (6) The public section of Community Reinvestment Act examination reports. (b) Reading room procedures. (1) Information available under this section is available for inspection and copying, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. weekdays, at the Freedom of Information Office of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551 (the pedestrian entrance is on C Street, N.W.). (2) The Board may determine that certain classes of publicly available filings shall be made available for inspection and copying only at the Federal Reserve Bank where those records are filed. (c) Electronic records. (1) Except as set forth in paragraph (c)(2) of this section, information available under this section that was created by the Board on or after November 1, 1996, shall also be available on the Board's internet site (which can be found at http://www.bog.frb.fed.us). (2) NTIS. The publicly available portions of Reports of Condition and Income of individual banks and certain other data files produced by the Board are distributed by the National Technical Information Service. Requests for these public reports should be addressed to: Sales Office, National Technical Information Service, U.S. Department of Commerce, 5285 Port Royal Road, Springfield, Virginia 22161, (703) 487–4650. (3) Privacy protection. The Board may delete identifying details from any record to prevent a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. (a) Types of records made available. All records of the Board that are not available under §§261.10 and 261.11 shall be made available upon request, pursuant to the procedures and exceptions in this Subpart B. (b) Procedures for requesting records. (1) A request for identifiable records shall reasonably describe the records in a way that enables the Board's staff to identify and produce the records with reasonable effort and without unduly burdening or significantly interfering with any of the Board's operations. (2) The request shall be submitted in writing to the Freedom of Information Office, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th & C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551; or sent by facsimile to the Freedom of Information Office, (202) 872–7562 or 7565. The request shall be clearly marked FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT REQUEST. (3) A request may not be combined with any other request to the Board except for a request under 12 CFR 261a.3(a) (Rules Regarding Access to and Review of Personal Information under the Privacy Act of 1974) and a request made under §261.22(b). (c) Contents of request. The request shall contain the following information: (1) The name and address of the requester, and the telephone number at which the requester can be reached during normal business hours; (2) Whether the requested information is intended for commercial use, and whether the requester is an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, or news media representative; (3) A statement agreeing to pay the applicable fees, or a statement identifying any desired fee limitation, or a request for a waiver or reduction of fees that satisfies §261.17(f); and (4) If the request is being made in connection with on-going litigation, a statement indicating whether the requester will seek discretionary release of exempt information from the General Counsel upon denial of the request by the Secretary. A requester who intends to make such a request to the General Counsel may also address the factors set forth in §261.22(b). (d) Defective requests. The Board need not accept or process a request that does not reasonably describe the records requested or that does not otherwise comply with the requirements of this section. The Board may return a defective request, specifying the deficiency. The requester may submit a corrected request, which will be treated as a new request. (e) Oral requests. The Freedom of Information Office may honor an oral request for records, but if the requester is dissatisfied with the Board's response and wishes to seek review, the requester must submit a written request, which shall be treated as an initial request. [62 FR 54362, Oct. 20, 1997; 62 FR 62508, Nov. 24, 1997] (a) Receipt of requests. Upon receipt of any request that satisfies §261.12(b), the Freedom of Information Office shall assign the request to the appropriate processing schedule, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section. The date of receipt for any request, including one that is addressed incorrectly or that is referred to the Board by another agency or by a Federal Reserve Bank, is the date the Freedom of Information Office actually receives the request. (b) Multitrack processing. (1) The Board provides different levels of processing for categories of requests under this section. Requests for records that are readily identifiable by the Freedom of Information Office and that have already been cleared for public release may qualify for fast-track processing. All other requests shall be handled under normal processing procedures, unless expedited processing has been granted pursuant to paragraph (c)(2) of this section. (2) The Freedom of Information Office will make the determination whether a request qualifies for fast-track processing. A requester may contact the Freedom of Information Office to learn whether a particular request has been assigned to fast-track processing. If the request has not qualified for fast-track processing, the requester will be given an opportunity to limit the request in order to qualify for fast-track processing. Limitations of requests must be in writing. (c) Expedited processing. When a person requesting expedited access to records has demonstrated a compelling need for the records, or when the Board has determined to expedite the response, the Board shall process the request as soon as practicable. (1) To demonstrate a compelling need for expedited processing, the requester shall provide a certified statement, a sample of which may be obtained from the Freedom of Information Office. The statement, which must be certified to be true and correct to the best of the requester's knowledge and belief, shall demonstrate that: (i) The failure to obtain the records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or (ii) The requester is a representative of the news media, as defined in §261.2, and there is urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged Board activity. (2) In response to a request for expedited processing, the Secretary shall notify a requester of the determination within ten calendar days of receipt of the request. If the Secretary denies a request for expedited processing, the requester may file an appeal pursuant to the procedures set forth in paragraph (i) of this section, and the Board shall respond to the appeal within ten working days after the appeal was received by the Board. (d) Priority of responses. The Secretary will assign responsible staff to process particular requests. The Freedom of Information Office will normally process requests in the order they are received in the separate processing tracks, except when expedited processing is granted. However, in the Secretary's discretion, or upon a court order in a matter to which the Board is a party, a particular request may be processed out of turn. (e) Time limits. The time for response to requests shall be 20 working days, except: (1) In the case of expedited treatment under paragraph (c) of this section; (2) Where the running of such time is suspended for payment of fees pursuant to §261.17(b)(2); (3) In unusual circumstances, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B). In such circumstances, the time limit may be extended for a period of time not to exceed: (i) 10 working days as provided by written notice to the requester, setting forth the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched; or (ii) Such alternative time period as mutually agreed to by the Freedom of Information Office and the requester when the Freedom of Information Office notifies the requester that the request cannot be processed in the specified time limit. (f) Response to request. In response to a request that satisfies §261.12(b), an appropriate search shall be conducted of records of the Board in existence on the date of receipt of the request, and a review made of any responsive information located. The Secretary shall notify the requester of: (1) The Board's determination of the request; (2) The reasons for the determination; (3) The amount of information withheld; (4) The right of the requester to appeal to the Board any denial or partial denial, as specified in paragraph (i) of this section; and (5) In the case of a denial of a request, the name and title or position of the person responsible for the denial. (g) Referral to another agency. To the extent a request covers documents that were created by, obtained from, or classified by another agency, the Board may refer the request to that agency for a response and inform the requester promptly of the referral. (h) Providing responsive records. (1) Copies of requested records shall be sent to the requester by regular U.S. mail to the address indicated in the request, unless the requester elects to take delivery of the documents at the Freedom of Information Office or makes other acceptable arrangements, or the Board deems it appropriate to send the documents by another means. (2) The Board shall provide a copy of the record in any form or format requested if the record is readily reproducible by the Board in that form or format, but the Board need not provide more than one copy of any record to a requester. (i) Appeal of denial of request. Any person denied access to Board records requested under §261.12 may file a written appeal with the Board, as follows: (1) The appeal shall prominently display the phrase FREEDOM OF INFORMATION ACT APPEAL on the first page, and shall be addressed to the Freedom of Information Office, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th & C Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. 20551; or sent by facsimile to the Freedom of Information Office, (202) 872–7562 or 7565. (2) An initial request for records may not be combined in the same letter with an appeal. (3) The appeal shall be filed within 10 working days of the date on which the denial was issued, or the date on which documents in partial response to the request were transmitted to the requester, whichever is later. The Board may consider an untimely appeal if: (i) It is accompanied by a written request for leave to file an untimely appeal; and (ii) The Board determines, in its discretion and for good and substantial cause shown, that the appeal should be considered. (4) The Board shall make a determination regarding any appeal within 20 working days of actual receipt of the appeal by the Freedom of Information Office, and the determination letter shall notify the appealing party of the right to seek judicial review. (5) The Secretary may reconsider a denial being appealed if intervening circumstances or additional facts not known at the time of the denial come to the attention of the Secretary while an appeal is pending. (a) Types of records exempt from disclosure. Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b), the following records of the Board are exempt from disclosure under this part: (1) National defense. Any information that is specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and is in fact properly classified pursuant to the Executive Order. (2) Internal personnel rules and practices. Any information related solely to the internal personnel rules and practices of the Board. (3) Statutory exemption. Any information specifically exempted from disclosure by statute (other than 5 U.S.C. 552b), if the statute: (i) Requires that the matters be withheld from the public in such a manner as to leave no discretion on the issue; or (ii) Establishes particular criteria for withholding or refers to particular types of matters to be withheld. (4) Trade secrets; commercial or financial information. Any matter that is a trade secret or that constitutes commercial or financial information obtained from a person and that is privileged or confidential. (5) Inter- or intra-agency memorandums. Information contained in inter- or intra-agency memorandums or letters that would not be available by law to a party (other than an agency) in litigation with an agency, including, but not limited to: (i) Memorandums; (ii) Reports; (iii) Other documents prepared by the staffs of the Board or Federal Reserve Banks; and (iv) Records of deliberations of the Board and of discussions at meetings of the Board, any Board committee, or Board staff, that are not subject to 5 U.S.C. 552b (the Government in the Sunshine Act). (6) Personnel and medical files. Any information contained in personnel and medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. (7) Information compiled for law enforcement purposes. Any records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent permitted under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(7); including information relating to administrative enforcement proceedings of the Board. (8) Examination, inspection, operating, or condition reports, and confidential supervisory information. Any matter that is contained in or related to examination, operating, or condition reports prepared by, on behalf of, or for the use of an agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions, including a state financial institution supervisory agency. (b) Segregation of nonexempt information. The Board shall provide any reasonably segregable portion of a record that is requested after deleting those portions that are exempt under this section. (c) Discretionary release. (1) Except where disclosure is expressly prohibited by statute, regulation, or order, the Board may release records that are exempt from mandatory disclosure whenever the Board or designated Board members, the Secretary of the Board, the General Counsel of the Board, the Director of the Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, or the appropriate Federal Reserve Bank, acting pursuant to this part or 12 CFR part 265, determines that such disclosure would be in the public interest. (2) The Board may make any exempt information furnished in connection with an application for Board approval of a transaction available to the public in accordance with §261.12, and without prior notice and to the extent it deems necessary, may comment on such information in any opinion or statement issued to the public in connection with a Board action to which such information pertains. (d) Delayed release. Publication in the (1) Interfere with accomplishing the objectives of the Board in the discharge of its statutory functions; (2) Interfere with the orderly conduct of the foreign affairs of the United States; (3) Permit speculators or others to gain unfair profits or other unfair advantages by speculative trading in securities or otherwise; (4) Result in unnecessary or unwarranted disturbances in the securities markets; (5) Interfere with the orderly execution of the objectives or policies of other government agencies; or (6) Impair the ability to negotiate any contract or otherwise harm the commercial or financial interest of the United States, the Board, any Federal Reserve Bank, or any department or agency of the United States. (e) Prohibition against disclosure. Except as provided in this part, no officer, employee, or agent of the Board or any Federal Reserve Bank shall disclose or permit the disclosure of any unpublished information of the Board to any person (other than Board or Reserve Bank officers, employees, or agents properly entitled to such information for the performance of official duties). (a) Submission of request. Any submitter of information to the Board who desires confidential treatment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and §261.14 (a)(4) shall file a request for confidential treatment with the Board (or in the case of documents filed with a Federal Reserve Bank, with that Federal Reserve Bank) at the time the information is submitted or a reasonable time after submission. (b) Form of request. Each request for confidential treatment shall state in reasonable detail the facts supporting the request and its legal justification. Conclusory statements that release of the information would cause competitive harm generally will not be considered sufficient to justify confidential treatment. (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 nonsegregated material to the public without notice to the submitter. (d) Exceptions. This section does not apply to: (1) Data collected on forms that are approved pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and are deemed confidential by the Board. Any such form 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 or the Secretary 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 §261.14(c). (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. (a) Request for confidential information. A request by a submitter for confidential treatment of any information shall be considered in connection with a request for access to that information. At their discretion, appropriate Board or staff members (including Federal Reserve Bank staff) may act on the request for confidentiality prior to any request for access to the documents. (b) Notice to the submitter. When a request for access is received pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. 552): (1) The Secretary shall notify a submitter of the request, if: (i) The submitter requested confidential treatment of the information pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4); and (ii) The request by the submitter for confidential treatment was made within 10 years preceding the date of the request for access. (2) Absent a request for confidential treatment, the Secretary may notify a submitter of a request for access to information provided by the submitter if the Secretary reasonably believes that disclosure of the information may cause substantial competitive harm to the submitter. (3) The notice given to the submitter shall: (i) Be given as soon as practicable after receipt of the request for access; (ii) Describe the request; and (iii) Give the submitter a reasonable opportunity, not to exceed ten working days from the date of notice, to submit written objections to disclosure of the information. (c) Exceptions to notice to submitter. Notice to the submitter need not be given if: (1) The Secretary determines that the request for access should be denied; (2) The requested information lawfully has been made available to the public; (3) Disclosure of the information is required by law (other than 5 U.S.C. 552); or (4) The submitter's claim of confidentiality under 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) appears obviously frivolous or has already been denied by the Secretary, except that in this last instance the Secretary shall give the submitter written notice of the determination to disclose the information at least five working days prior to disclosure. (d) Notice to requester. At the same time the Secretary notifies the submitter, the Secretary also shall notify the requester that the request is subject to the provisions of this section. (e) Written objections by submitter. Upon receipt of notice of a request for access to its information, the submitter may provide written objections to release of the information. Such objections shall state whether the information was provided voluntarily or involuntarily to the Board. (1) If the information was voluntarily provided to the Board, the submitter shall provide detailed facts showing that the information is customarily withheld from the public. (2) If the information was not provided voluntarily to the Board, the submitter shall provide detailed facts and arguments showing: (i) The likelihood of substantial harm that would be caused to the submitter's competitive position; or (ii) That release of the information would impair the Board's ability to obtain necessary information in the future. (f) Determination by Secretary. The Secretary's determination whether or not to disclose any information for which confidential treatment has been requested pursuant to this section shall be communicated to the submitter and the requester immediately. If the Secretary determines to disclose the information and the submitter has objected to such disclosure pursuant to paragraph (e) of this section, the Secretary shall provide the submitter with the reasons for disclosure, and shall delay disclosure for ten working days from the date of the determination. (g) Notice of lawsuit. (1) The Secretary shall promptly notify any submitter of information covered by this section of the filing of any suit against the Board to compel disclosure of such information. (2) The Secretary shall promptly notify the requester of any suit filed against the Board to enjoin the disclosure of any documents requested by the requester. (a) Fee schedules. The fees applicable to a request for records pursuant to §§261.11 and 261.12 are set forth in Appendix A to this section. These fees cover only the full allowable direct costs of search, duplication, and review. No fees will be charged where the average cost of collecting the fee (calculated at $5.00) exceeds the amount of the fee. (b) Payment procedures. The Secretary may assume that a person requesting records pursuant to §261.12 will pay the applicable fees, unless the request includes a limitation on fees to be paid or seeks a waiver or reduction of fees pursuant to paragraph (f) of this section. (1) Advance notification of fees. If the estimated charges are likely to exceed $100, the Freedom of Information Office shall notify the requester of the estimated amount, unless the requester has indicated a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. Upon receipt of such notice, the requester may confer with the Freedom of Information Office to reformulate the request to lower the costs. The time period for responding to requests under §261.13(e), and the processing of the request will be suspended until the requester agrees to pay the applicable fees. (2) Advance payment. The Secretary may require advance payment of any fee estimated to exceed $250. The Secretary may also require full payment in advance where a requester has previously failed to pay a fee in a timely fashion. The time period for responding to requests under §261.13(e), and the processing of the request will be suspended until the Freedom of Information Office receives the required payment. (3) Late charges. The Secretary may assess interest charges when fee payment is not made within 30 days of the date on which the billing was sent. Interest is at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717 and accrues from the date of the billing. (c) Categories of uses. The fees assessed depend upon the intended use for the records requested. In determining which category is appropriate, the Secretary shall look to the intended use set forth in the request for records. Where a requester's description of the use is insufficient to make a determination, the Secretary may seek additional clarification before categorizing the request. (1) Commercial use. The fees for search, duplication, and review apply when records are requested for commercial use. (2) Educational, research, or media use. The fees for duplication apply when records are not sought for commercial use, and the requester is a representative of the news media or an educational or noncommercial scientific institution, whose purpose is scholarly or scientific research. The first 100 pages of duplication, however, will be provided free. (3) All other uses. For all other requests, the fees for document search and duplication apply. The first two hours of search time and the first 100 pages of duplication, however, will be provided free. (d) Nonproductive search. Fees for search and review may be charged even if no responsive documents are located or if the request is denied. (e) Aggregated requests. A requester may not file multiple requests at the same time, solely in order to avoid payment of fees. If the Secretary reasonably believes that a requester is separating a request into a series of requests for the purpose of evading the assessment of fees, the Secretary may aggregate any such requests and charge accordingly. It is considered reasonable for the Secretary to presume that multiple requests of this type made within a 30-day period have been made to avoid fees. (f) Waiver or reduction of fees. A request for a waiver or reduction of the fees, and the justification for the waiver, shall be included with the request for records to which it pertains. If a waiver is requested and the requester has not indicated in writing an agreement to pay the applicable fees if the waiver request is denied, the time for response to the request for documents, as set forth in §261.13(e), shall not begin until a waiver has been granted; or if the waiver is denied, until the requester has agreed to pay the applicable fees. (1) Standards for determining waiver or reduction. The Secretary shall grant a waiver or reduction of fees where it is determined both that disclosure of the information is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operation or activities of the government, and that the disclosure of information is not primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. In making this determination, the following factors shall be considered: (i) Whether the subject of the records concerns the operations or activities of the government; (ii) Whether disclosure of the information is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations or activities; (iii) Whether the requester has the intention and ability to disseminate the information to the public; (iv) Whether the information is already in the public domain; (v) Whether the requester has a commercial interest that would be furthered by the disclosure; and, if so, (vi) Whether the magnitude of the identified commercial interest of the requester is sufficiently large, in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in the commercial interest of the requester. (2) Contents of request for waiver. A request for a waiver or reduction of fees shall include: (i) A clear statement of the requester's interest in the documents; (ii) The use proposed for the documents and whether the requester will derive income or other benefit for such use; (iii) A statement of how the public will benefit from such use and from the Board's release of the documents; (iv) A description of the method by which the information will be disseminated to the public; and (v) If specialized use of the information is contemplated, a statement of the requester's qualifications that are relevant to that use. (3) Burden of proof. The burden shall be on the requester to present evidence or information in support of a request for a waiver or reduction of fees. (4) Determination by Secretary. The Secretary shall make a determination on the request for a waiver or reduction of fees and shall notify the requester accordingly. A denial may be appealed to the Board in accordance with §261.13(i). (g) Employee requests. In connection with any request by an employee, former employee, or applicant for employment, for records for use in prosecuting a grievance or complaint of discrimination against the Board, fees shall be waived where the total charges (including charges for information provided under the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a) are $50 or less; but the Secretary may waive fees in excess of that amount. (h) Special services. The Secretary may agree to provide, and set fees to recover the costs of, special services not covered by the Freedom of Information Act, such as certifying records or information and sending records by special methods such as express mail or overnight delivery. [62 FR 54365, Oct. 20, 1997; 62 FR 62508, Nov. 24, 1997]
Title 12: Banks and Banking
PART 261—RULES REGARDING AVAILABILITY OF INFORMATION
Subpart B—Published Information and Records Available to Public; Procedures for Requests
§ 261.10 Published information.
§ 261.11 Records available for public inspection and copying.
§ 261.12 Records available to public upon request.
§ 261.13 Processing requests.
§ 261.14 Exemptions from disclosure.
§ 261.15 Request for confidential treatment.
§ 261.16 Request for access to confidential commercial or financial information.
§ 261.17 Fee schedules; waiver of fees.
Appendix A to § 261.17_Freedom of Information Fee Schedule------------------------------------------------------------------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------Duplication: Photocopy, per standard page................................ $0.10 Paper copies of microfiche, per frame....................... .10 Duplicate microfiche, per microfiche........................ .35Search and review: Clerical/Technical, hourly rate............................. 20.00 Professional/Supervisory, hourly rate....................... 38.00 Manager/Senior Professional, hourly rate.................... 65.00Computer search and production: Computer operator search, hourly rate....................... 32.00 Tapes (cassette) per tape................................... 6.00 Tapes (cartridge), per tape................................. 9.00 Tapes (reel), per tape...................................... 18.00 Diskettes (3\1/2\[inch]), per diskette...................... 4.00 Diskettes (5\1/4\[inch]), per diskette...................... 5.00 Computer Output (PC), per minute............................ .10 Computer Output (mainframe)................................. (\1\)------------------------------------------------------------------------\1\ Actual cost.
