(1) All
examination reports and all information obtained by the director
and the director's staff in conducting examinations of mutual
savings banks, and information obtained by the director and the
director's staff from other state or federal bank regulatory
authorities with whom the director has entered into agreements
pursuant to RCW 32.04.211, and information obtained by the
director and the director's staff relating to examination and
supervision of holding companies owning a savings bank in this
state or subsidiaries of such holding companies, is confidential
and privileged information and shall not be made public or
otherwise disclosed to any person, firm, corporation, agency,
association, governmental body, or other entity.
(2) Subsection (1) of this section notwithstanding, the
director may furnish all or any part of examination reports
prepared by the director's office to:
(a) Federal agencies empowered to examine mutual savings
banks;
(b) Bank regulatory authorities with whom the director has
entered into agreements pursuant to RCW 32.04.211, and other bank
regulatory authorities who are the primary regulatory authority
or insurer of accounts for a holding company owning a savings
bank the principal operations of which are conducted in this
state or a subsidiary of such holding company; provided that the
director shall first find that the reports of examination to be
furnished shall receive protection from disclosure comparable to
that accorded by this section;
(c) Officials empowered to investigate criminal charges
subject to legal process, valid search warrant, or subpoena. If
the director furnishes any examination report to officials
empowered to investigate criminal charges, the director may only
furnish that part of the report which is necessary and pertinent
to the investigation, and the director may do this only after
notifying the affected mutual savings bank and any customer of
the mutual savings bank who is named in that part of the report
of the order to furnish the part of the examination report unless
the officials requesting the report first obtain a waiver of the
notice requirement from a court of competent jurisdiction for
good cause;
(d) The examined savings bank or holding company thereof;
(e) The attorney general in his or her role as legal advisor
to the director;
(f) Liquidating agents of a distressed savings bank;
(g) A person or organization officially connected with the
savings bank as officer, director, attorney, auditor, or
independent attorney or independent auditor;
(h) The Washington public deposit protection commission as
provided by RCW 39.58.105.
(3) All examination reports furnished under subsections (2)
and (4) of this section shall remain the property of the
department of financial institutions, and be confidential, and no
person, agency, or authority to whom reports are furnished or any
officer, director, or employee thereof shall disclose or make
public any of the reports or any information contained therein
except in published statistical material that does not disclose
the affairs of any individual or corporation: PROVIDED, That
nothing herein shall prevent the use in a criminal prosecution of
reports furnished under subsection (2) of this section.
(4) The examination report made by the department of
financial institutions is designed for use in the supervision of
the mutual savings bank, and the director may furnish a copy of
the report to the mutual savings bank examined. The report shall
remain the property of the director and will be furnished to the
mutual savings bank solely for its confidential use. Under no
circumstances shall the mutual savings bank or any of its
trustees, officers, or employees disclose or make public in any
manner the report or any portion thereof, to any person or
organization not connected with the savings bank as officer,
director, employee, attorney, auditor, or candidate for executive
office with the bank. The savings bank may also, after execution
of an agreement not to disclose information in the report,
disclose the report or relevant portions thereof to a party
proposing to acquire or merge with the savings bank.
(5) Examination reports and information obtained by the
director and the director's staff in conducting examinations, or
from other state and federal bank regulatory authorities with
whom the director has entered into agreements pursuant to RCW 32.04.211, or relating to examination and supervision of holding
companies owning a savings bank the principal operations of which
are conducted in this state or a subsidiary of such holding
company, shall not be subject to public disclosure under chapter 42.56 RCW.
(6) In any civil action in which the reports are sought to
be discovered or used as evidence, any party may, upon notice to
the director, petition the court for an in camera review of the
report. The court may permit discovery and introduction of only
those portions of the report which are relevant and otherwise
unobtainable by the requesting party. This subsection shall not
apply to an action brought or defended by the director.
(7) This section shall not apply to investigation reports
prepared by the director and the director's staff concerning an
application for a new mutual savings bank or an application for a
branch of a mutual savings bank: PROVIDED, That the director may
adopt rules making confidential portions of the reports if in the
director's opinion the public disclosure of the portions of the
report would impair the ability to obtain the information which
the director considers necessary to fully evaluate the
application.
(8) Every person who violates any provision of this section
shall forfeit the person's office or employment and be guilty of
a gross misdemeanor.
[2005 c 274 § 258; 1994 c 92 § 301; 1989 c 180 § 5; 1977 ex.s. c 245 § 2.]
NOTES:
Part headings not law -- Effective date--2005 c 274: See RCW 42.56.901 and 42.56.902.
Severability -- 1977 ex.s. c 245: See note following RCW 30.04.075.
Examination reports and information from financial institutions exempt: RCW 42.56.400.