[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 5, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8689-8691]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: X96-10305]



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NATIONAL CREDIT UNION ADMINISTRATION


Privacy Act of 1974; Amendment to an Existing System of Records

AGENCY: National Credit Union Administration.

ACTION: Amendment to an existing system of records.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Privacy Act of 1974 (Privacy Act), the 
National Credit Union Administration (NCUA or NCUA Board) is publishing 
amendments to the existing system of records entitled Investigative 
Reports Involving Any Crime or Suspected Crime against a Credit Union, 
NCUA (NCUA 15) and is amending appendix B to its System of Records. The 
changes to NCUA 15 reflect a new interagency suspicious activity 
reporting process, combining the criminal referral and suspicious 
financial transactions reporting requirements of the federal financial 
regulatory agencies and the U.S. Department of the Treasury (Treasury), 
and involving the use of a new computerized database maintained by the 
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), of the Treasury, on 
behalf of these agencies and Treasury. Additional changes are made to 
NCUA 15 to update the system. The changes to appendix B (which applies 
to all of NCUA Systems of Records) updates the listing of NCUA regional 
offices and the states covered by each region.

EFFECTIVE DATE: The revised system will become effective without 
further notice on April 1, 1996, unless comments postmarked, received 
or posted on NCUA's Electronic Bulletin Board on or before April 1 
cause a contrary decision. If based on NCUA's review of comments 
received, changes are made, NCUA will publish a new notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Hattie M. Ulan, Special Counsel to the 
General Counsel, NCUA, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3428.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Section (e)(4) of the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 
U.S.C. 552a(e)(4) (Privacy Act), requires each agency to publish a 
notice of the establishment of or revision to each system of records 
maintained by the agency. The NCUA Board is amending existing system 
NCUA 15 by changing its name from ``Investigative Reports Involving Any 
Crime or Suspected Crime Against a Credit Union, NCUA'' to 
``Investigative Reports Involving Any Crime, Suspected Crime or 
Suspicious Activity Against a Credit Union, NCUA.'' Other changes to 
the system are discussed below. Exemption rules promulgated pursuant to 
exemption (k)(2) of the Privacy Act, 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), continue to 
apply for the amended system.
    Certain of the changes to the system reflect an agreement between 
FinCEN and the NCUA Board, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
Currency (OCC), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the 
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS), and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) 
(the federal financial regulatory agencies) to store Suspicious 
Activity Reports (SAR) in electronic form in a database maintained by 
FinCEN and located in Detroit, Michigan. The SAR is being adopted by 
all federal financial regulatory agencies and by the Treasury as a 
replacement for the Criminal Referral Form, which has been in use by 
financial institutions to report suspected criminal activity by 
individuals to the federal financial regulatory agencies and the 
federal law enforcement authorities (see FRB, OCC and OTS proposed 
rulemakings at 60 FR 34481, July 3, 1995; 60 FR 34476, July 3, 1995; 
and 60 FR 36366, July 17, 1995; respectively). NCUA will be amending 
its criminal referral form regulation (12 CFR part 748) at a later 
date. Information from the Criminal Referral Form has always been 
included in the existing system and similar information will continue 
to be collected by the SAR. In addition to reports of suspected 
criminal activity, the SAR will also allow a credit union or other 
financial institution to report suspicious financial transactions under 
federal money laundering statutes, pursuant to Treasury regulations, 
(31 CFR part 103). Some of this information is currently reported on 
currency transaction reports required to be filed by financial 
institutions. Only the information collected by the SAR, and its status 
updates, will be located in the database maintained by FinCEN; all 
other information in the system will be located at the NCUA.
    Pursuant to the interagency agreement between FinCEN and the 
federal financial regulatory agencies, FinCEN will manage a 
computerized database containing the SAR and status updates, which is 
information currently collected and/or maintained separately by each of 
the federal financial regulatory agencies. With regard to this 
database, only those records that are generated under the jurisdiction 
of the NCUA Board are considered to be NCUA records for purposes of the 
Privacy Act. Access to and use of these NCUA records by other agencies 
will continue to be governed by the routine uses in NCUA's System 15.
    Accordingly, the ``Routine Uses'' element is being amended to 
reflect the sharing among federal financial regulatory agencies and law 
enforcement agencies of the information collected by the SAR and the 
status updates. Additionally, the ``Safeguards'' element is amended to 
add that on-line access to the computerized database maintained by 
FinCEN is limited to authorized individuals who have been specified by 
each federal financial regulatory agency and Treasury, and who have 
been issued a nontransferable identifier or password.
    Other amendments reflect an overall update to the system including 
the addition of ``persons participating in the affairs of a credit 
union'' as a category of individuals covered by the system; the 
addition of a paragraph explaining the purpose of the system; the 
addition of several routine uses and record source categories; and 
changes in the system manager and address. The exemption for this 
system of records continues to be (k)(2), because the information 
consists of investigatory material compiled for law enforcement 
purposes.
    The NCUA Board is also updating appendix B to its Systems of 
Records, to reflect correct addresses for the six NCUA regional offices 
and the states covered by each.

[[Page 8690]]

    In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552(r), a report of this amended system 
of records is being filed with the President of the Senate, the Speaker 
of the House of Representatives, and the Director of the Office of 
Management and Budget (OMB). OMB has oversight authority over agency 
implementation of the Privacy Act. This amended system of records will 
become effective on April 1, 1996, without further notice, unless the 
Board publishes a notice to the contrary in the Federal Register.
    Accordingly, the Board has amended the system of records NCUA 15, 
newly entitled ``Investigative Reports Involving Any Crimes, Suspected 
Crime or Suspicious Activity Against a Credit Union, NCUA'', and 
appendix B to its Systems of Records as follows:
NCUA-15
System name:
    Investigative Reports Involving Any Crime, Suspected Crime or 
Suspicious Activity Against a Credit Union, NCUA.
System location:
    Office of General Counsel, National Credit Union Administration, 
1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3428. Computerized records of 
Suspicious Activity Reports (SAR), with status updates, are managed by 
the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN), Department of the 
Treasury, pursuant to a contractual agreement, and are stored in 
Detroit, Michigan. Authorized personnel at NCUA's Central Office and 
six regional offices have on-line access to the computerized database 
managed by FinCEN through individual work stations that are linked to 
the database central computer.
Categories of individuals covered by the system:
    Directors, officers, committee members, employees, agents, and 
persons participating in the conduct of the affairs of federally 
insured credit unions who are reported to be involved in suspected 
criminal activity or suspicious financial transactions and are referred 
to law enforcement officials; and other individuals who have been 
involved in irregularities, violations of law, or unsafe or unsound 
practices referenced in documents received by the NCUA in the course of 
exercising its supervisory functions.
Categories of records in the system:
    Inter- and intra-agency correspondence, memoranda and reports. The 
SAR contains information identifying the credit union involved, the 
suspected person, the type of suspicious activity involved, and any 
witnesses.
Authority for maintenance of the system:
    12 U.S.C. 1786 and 1789.
Purpose(s):
    The overall system serves as a NCUA repository for investigatory or 
enforcement information related to its responsibility to examine and 
supervise federally insured credit unions. The system maintained by 
FinCEN serves as the database for the cooperative storage, retrieval, 
analysis, and use of information relating to Suspicious Activity 
Reports made to or by the NCUA Board, the Federal Reserve Board, the 
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit 
Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, (collectively, 
the federal financial regulatory agencies), and FinCEN to various law 
enforcement agencies for possible criminal, civil, or administrative 
proceedings based on known or suspected violations affecting or 
involving persons, financial institutions, or other entities under the 
supervision or jurisdiction of such federal financial regulatory 
agencies.
Routine uses of records maintained in the system, including categories 
of users, and the purposes of such uses:
    Information in these records may be used to:
    (1) Determine if any further agency action should be taken.
    (2) Provide the federal financial regulatory agencies and FinCEN 
with information relevant to their operations;
    (3) Disclose information to third parties during the course of an 
investigation to the extent necessary to obtain information pertinent 
to the investigation;
    (4) With regard to formal or informal enforcement actions; release 
information pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 1786(s), which requires the NCUA 
Board to publish and make available to the public final orders and 
written agreements, and modifications thereto; and
    (5) Standard routine uses as set forth in appendix A.
Policies and practices for storing, retrieving, accessing, retaining, 
and disposing of records in the system:
Storage:
    The records will be maintained in electronic data processing 
systems and paper files.
Retrievability:
    Computer output and file folders are retrievable by indexes of data 
fields, including name of the credit union, NCUA Region, and 
individuals' names.
Safeguards:
    Paper records and word processing discs are stored at the NCUA in 
lockable metal file cabinets. The database maintained by FinCEN 
complies with applicable security requirements of the Department of the 
Treasury. On-line access to the information in the database is limited 
to authorized individuals who have been designated by each federal 
financial regulatory agency and FinCEN, and each such individual has 
been issued a nontransferable identifier or password.
Retention and disposal:
    Records are maintained indefinitely.
System manager(s) and address:
    General Counsel, NCUA, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-3428.
Notification procedures:
    Inquiries should be sent to the System Manager as noted above.
Record access procedures:
    Same as ``Notification procedure'' above.
Contesting records procedures:
    Same as ``Notification procedure'' above.
Record source categories:
    Information received by the NCUA Board from various sources, 
including, but not limited to law enforcement and other agency 
personnel involved in sending inquiries to the NCUA Board, NCUA 
examiners, credit union officials, employees, and members. The 
information maintained by FinCEN is compiled from SAR and related 
historical and updating forms compiled by financial institutions, the 
NCUA Board, and the other federal financial regulatory agencies for law 
enforcement purposes.
System exempted from certain provisions of the Privacy Act:
    This system is exempt from 5 U.S.C. 552a(c)(3), (d)(1), (d)(2), 
(d)(3), (d)(4), (e)(1), (e)(4) (G), (H) and (I), and (f) of the Privacy 
Act pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2).

Appendix B--List of Regional Offices (Addresses and States Covered by 
Each Region)

    I. NCUA Region I Office: 9 Washington Square, Washington Avenue 
Extension, Albany, NY 12205, Phone: 518-464-4180, FAX: 518-464-4195. 
States covered: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, 
New York, Rhode Island, Vermont.
    II. NCUA Region II Office: 1775 Duke Street, Suite 4206, 
Alexandria, VA 22314-3437, Phone: 703-838-0401, FAX: 703-838-0571. 
States covered: Delaware, District of 

[[Page 8691]]
Columbia, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia, West Virginia.
    III. NCUA Region III Office: 7000 Central Parkway, Suite 1600, 
Atlanta, GA 30328, Phone: 404-396-4042, FAX: 404-698-8211. States 
covered: Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, 
Mississippi, North Carolina, Puerto Rico, South Carolina Tennessee, 
Virgin Islands.
    IV. NCUA Region IV Office: 4225 Naperville Road, Suite 125, 
Lisle, IL 60532, Phone: 708-245-1000, FAX: 708-245-1016. States 
covered: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri, Ohio, Wisconsin.
    V. NCUA Region V Office: 4807 Spicewood Springs Road, Suite 
5200, Austin, TX 78759-8490, Phone 512-482-4500, FAX: 512-482-4511. 
States covered: Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, 
Nebraska, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, 
Utah, Wyoming.
    VI. NCUA Region VI Office: 2300 Clayton Road, Suite 1350, 
Concord, CA 94520, Phone: 510-825-6125, FAX: 510-486-3729. States 
covered: Alaska, American Samoa, California, Guam, Hawaii, Idaho, 
Montana, Nevada, Oregon, Washington.

    By the National Credit Union Administration Board on this 29th 
day of February, 1996.
Becky Baker,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 96- 5111 Filed 3-4-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 7535-01-U