### §3910. Audit authority of Government Accountability 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 Government Accountability 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 Government Accountability 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 I [title IX, §911], Nov. 30, 1983, 97 Stat. 1282; Pub. L. 108–271, §8(b), July 7, 2004, 118 Stat. 814.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Amendments

2004—Subsec. (b)(1)(A), (2). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted "Government Accountability Office" for "General Accounting Office".