The full text on this page is automatically extracted from the file linked above and may contain errors and inconsistencies.
STATE OF NEW YORK
BANKING DEPARTMENT
ONE STATE STREET
NEW YORK, NY 10004-1417
March 5, 2010
Mr. Thomas Greene
Executive Director
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission
1717 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Ste 800
Washington, D.C. 20006
Re: Request to Disclose New York State Banking Department
Confidential Examination Material to the FCIC
Dear Mr. Greene:
This letter is in response to the February 2, 2010 letter to
Superintendent Neiman (see enclosed) in which the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation ("FDIC") requested authorization to disclose
confidential New York State Banking Department ("Banking Department")
material to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission ("FCIC"). According to
the letter, the FCIC made an information request upon the FDIC for
examination reports and workpapers for Citibank (New York State), Pittsford,
NY from the year 2000 to present. Certain Banking Department documents
and documents referring to Banking Department documents are included in
the FDIC's response to this information request, namely; the examination
report as of December 31, 2000, completed by the Banking Department; the
transmittal letter and examination report as of December 31, 2002,
completed by the Banking Department; an FDIC internal memo dated April
20, 2001; and an FDIC pre-examination planning memo from March 2000
("Confidential Materials"),
Disclosure of the Confidential Materials is governed by New York
Banking Law ("NYBL") Section 36.1 0. That section provides that "all reports
of examinations and investigations, correspondence and memoranda
concerning or arising out of such examinations and investigations ... shall be
confidential communications, shall not be subject to subpoena and shall not
be made public unless, in the judgment of the superintendent, the ends of
justice and the public advantage will be subserved by the publication
thereof .... " Since the purpose of your disclosure request is to assist the FCIC
STATE OF NEW YORK BANKING DEPARTMENT
Page 2
with its investigation into the financial crisis, disclosure in this instance
would be appropriate. Accordingly, the Superintendent has made the
determination that disclosure of the Confidential Materials for the purpose
requested would serve the public interest and the ends of justice, and has
made the determination to grant the request.
We understand that the FCIC has entered into a confidentiality
agreement with the FDIC in order to protect the highly confidential nature of
the supervisory bank information, and the Department has reviewed the
terms of that confidentiality agreement (the "FCIC/FDIC Agreement"). The
Superintendent's decision to permit disclosure of the Confidential Materials is
conditioned on obtaining the FCIC's agreement that the FCIC will accord the
Banking Department and the Confidential Materials the same protections as if
the Banking Department and the Confidential Materials were the "Providing
Party" and "non-public information", respectively, under the FCIC/FDIC
Agreement.
By authorizing the release of the Confidential Materials, the Banking
Department does not waive any privileges, including but not limited to the
bank examination privilege, that protect supervisory information and/or the
Banking Department's deliberative processes.
Should you have any additional questions regarding this letter, please
contact Megan Prendergast of our Legal Division at (212) 709-1663.
Sincerely,
Marjorie E. Gross
Deputy Superintendent and Counsel
Cc: Hugo Zia
Enforcement Division
FDIC
Serena L. Owens
Acting Deputy Regional Director
FDIC
@FedFRASER