§ 3910. — Audit authority of General Accounting Office.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 12USC3910]
TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
CHAPTER 40--INTERNATIONAL LENDING SUPERVISION
Sec. 3910. Audit authority of General Accounting Office
(a) Scope of audit
(1) Under regulations of the Comptroller General, the Comptroller
General shall audit the appropriate Federal banking agencies (as defined
in section 3902 of this title), but may carry out an onsite examination
of an open insured bank or bank holding company only if the appropriate
Federal banking agency has consented in writing.
(2) An audit under this subsection may include a review or
evaluation of the international regulation, supervision, and examination
activities of the appropriate Federal banking agency, including the
coordination of such activities with similar activities of regulatory
authorities of a foreign government or international organization.
(3) Audits of the Federal Reserve Board and Federal Reserve banks
may not include--
(A) transactions for, or with, a foreign central bank,
government of a foreign country, or nonprivate international
financing organization;
(B) deliberations, decisions, or actions on monetary policy
matters, including discount window operations, reserves of member
banks, securities credit, interest on deposits, or open market
operations;
(C) transactions made under the direction of the Federal Open
Market Committee; or
(D) a part of a discussion or communication among or between
members of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and
officers and employees of the Federal Reserve System related to
subparagraphs (A) through (C) of this paragraph.
(b) Limits on disclosure
(1)(A) Except as provided in this subsection, an officer or employee
of the General Accounting Office may not disclose information
identifying an open bank, an open bank holding company, or a customer of
an open or closed bank or bank holding company.
(B) The Comptroller General may disclose information related to the
affairs of a closed bank or closed bank holding company identifying a
customer of the closed bank or closed bank holding company only if the
Comptroller General believes the customer had a controlling influence in
the management of the closed bank or closed bank holding company or was
related to or affiliated with a person or group having a controlling
influence.
(2) An officer or employee of the General Accounting Office may
discuss a customer, bank, or bank holding company with an official of an
appropriate Federal banking agency and may report an apparent criminal
violation to an appropriate law enforcement authority of the United
States Government or a State.
(3) This subsection does not authorize an officer or employee of an
appropriate Federal banking agency to withhold information from a
committee of the Congress authorized to have the information.
(c) Records, property, workpapers, correspondence, and documents;
accessibility
(1)(A) To carry out this section, all records and property of or
used by an appropriate Federal banking agency, including samples of
reports of examinations of a bank or bank holding company the
Comptroller General considers statistically meaningful and workpapers
and correspondence related to the reports shall be made available to the
Comptroller General, including such records and property pertaining to
the coordination of international regulation, supervisor and examination
activities of an appropriate Federal banking agency.
(B) The Comptroller General shall give each appropriate Federal
banking agency a current list of officers and employees to whom, with
proper identification, records and property may be made available, and
who may make notes or copies necessary to carry out an audit.
(C) Each appropriate Federal banking agency shall give the
Comptroller General suitable and lockable offices and furniture,
telephones, and access to copying facilities.
(2) Except for the temporary removal of workpapers of the
Comptroller General that do not identify a customer of an open or closed
bank or bank holding company, an open bank, or an open bank holding
company, all workpapers of the Comptroller General and records and
property of or used by an appropriate Federal banking agency that the
Comptroller General possesses during an audit, shall remain in such
agency. The Comptroller General shall prevent unauthorized access to
records or property.
(Pub. L. 98-181, title IX, Sec. 911, Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1282.)
