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Chief FOIA Officer Report for Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation 

March 2010 

I. Steps Taken to Apply the Presumption of Openness 

1. Description 

The FDIC has increased the amount of information posted on the Corporation’s Web 

pages. 

FDIC personnel who are responsible for processing FOIA requests have been briefed on 

the Obama FOIA Memorandum and the FOIA Guidelines, and copies of both documents 

have been distributed along with a memorandum prepared by the FDIC’s FOIA/Privacy 

Group (“FOIA Group”) summarizing the requirements of the Obama FOIA 

Memorandum. 

The discretionary disclosure of exempt records by the FDIC is governed by 12 C.F.R. 

§309.6. Under appropriate circumstances, discretionary disclosures may be authorized 

by the Director of the FDIC division having primary authority over the exempt records 

or by the General Counsel, or their designees. The Chairman of the FDIC may also 

authorize such disclosure. 

2. Disclosure Comparisons 

As indicated below, the percentage of requests fully or partially granted by the FDIC 

increased in Fiscal Year 2009 over the previous year: 

Fiscal Year 2008: 

Number of Requests Processed: 780 

Number of Requests Processed - Full Grant: 531 

Number of Requests Processed - Partial Grant: 44 

Number of Requests Processed - Full Grant + Partial Grant: 575 

Percentage of Requests Fully or Partially Granted: 74% 

Fiscal Year 2009: 

Number of Requests Processed: 2045 

Number of Requests Processed - Full Grant: 1507 

Number of Requests Processed - Partial Grant: 153 

Number of Requests Processed - Full Grant + Partial Grant: 1660 

Percentage of Requests Fully or Partially Granted: 82% 
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II. Steps Taken to Ensure that Your Agency has an Effective System for 

Responding to Requests 

All FOIA requests and appeals are handled by staff whose primary duties are to handle 

FOIA matters. Each FOIA requester receives a unique FOIA tracking number. Using 

this tracking number allows the FDIC to efficiently manage the tracking, processing, and 

prioritizing of each request. The FOIA staff works closely with designated points of 

contact in each division and office of the FDIC to ensure an appropriate search is 

conducted and responsive information is located. The FOIA Group also coordinates 

with those points of contact to help identify which information should be posted on the 

FDIC’s FOIA website. The FDIC designated the General Counsel as its Chief FOIA 

Officer in part to ensure the FOIA program receives necessary resources. 

IT support is provided to the FOIA Group by the FDIC’s Division of Information 

Technology (“DIT”) as needed. The FDIC is currently working on a high priority basis 

to upgrade its automation of the FOIA processing to improve efficiency and accuracy. 

III. Steps Taken To Increase Proactive Disclosures 

The FDIC’s public Web site is at www.fdic.gov. The FDIC regularly updates and adds 

new information to the Web site. Many of the latest updates and additions to the Web 

site are also catalogued monthly at http://www.fdic.gov/whatsnew/. 

The FDIC has also increased proactive disclosure by posting the following documents 

on its Web pages: 

1. Lists of legal counsel approved to represent the FDIC. 

2. In consultation with the Office of Information Policy, U.S. Department of Justice, the 

FDIC developed new procedures for disclosing information concerning failed financial 

institution bids, bidders and the general methodology for determining that the winning 

bid in certain transactions was the least costly bid to the FDIC. 

In addition, in consultation with the Office of Information Policy, U.S. Department of 

Justice, the FDIC developed new procedures for disclosing information concerning 

failed financial institution bids, bidders and the general methodology for determining 

that the winning bid in certain transactions was the least costly bid to the FDIC. 

IV. Steps Taken To Greater Utilize Technology

1. Does your agency currently receive requests electronically. 

Yes. Electronic FOIA requests have been received by the FDIC since the mid1990s. 
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2. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency establishing a mechanism to 

receive requests electronically. 

Not applicable. 

3. Does your agency track requests electronically. 

Yes. The FDIC’s FOIA/Privacy Act Group utilizes an electronic database (the 

Cuadra STAR database) to track FOIA requests. 

4. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing a system to track 

requests electronically. 

Not applicable. 

5. Does your agency use technology to process requests. 

Yes. The responses to many FOIA requests are now provided by email with copies 

of responsive documents provided in electronic form. The use of a high-speed 

scanner to scan documents and Adobe Acrobat to redact exempt information has 

increased. 

Requesters do not presently have the capability to check the status of their requests 

electronically. The FDIC is in the process of acquiring FOIA management software 

that will provide that capability and improve the efficiency of the program. 

6. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing technology to 

process requests. 

Not applicable. 

7. Does your agency utilize technology to prepare your agency Annual FOIA Report. 

Yes. The electronic database currently used to track FOIA requests provides most of 

the information needed to complete the Annual FOIA Report 

8. If not, what are the current impediments to your agency utilizing technology in 

preparing your Annual FOIA Report. 

Not applicable. 

 
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V. Steps Taken to Reduce Backlogs and Improve Timeliness in 

Responding to Requests 

1. Backlog Status 

Backlog of Requests: 

Number of Requests Backlogged Fiscal Year 2008: 10 

Date of Oldest Pending Backlogged Request Fiscal Year 2008: July 29, 2008 

Number of Requests Backlogged Fiscal Year 2009: 170*

Date of Oldest Pending Backlogged Request Fiscal Year 2009: November 10, 2008 

Backlog of Requests as of January 31, 2010: 183*

Backlog of Appeals: 

Number of Appeals Backlogged Fiscal Year 2008: 0 

Date of Oldest Pending Backlogged Appeal Fiscal Year 2008: Not Applicable 

Number of Appeals Backlogged Fiscal Year 2009: 2 

Date of Oldest Pending Backlogged Appeal Fiscal Year 2009: July 31, 2009 

Backlog of Appeals as of January 31, 2010: 3 

2. Backlog Reduction Steps 

Due to the financial crisis, the number of FOIA requests received by the FDIC in Fiscal 

Year 2009 was nearly triple the number received in Fiscal Year 2008 without a 

corresponding staffing increase. Efforts are underway to increase staff to help reduce 

the backlog and to update the automated procedures. Meanwhile, staff in other areas 

have been made available to assist in processing FOIA requests. 

3. Steps to Improve Timeliness 

As indicated above, the FDIC is increasing the size of its FOIA staff as well as providing 

staff from other areas to expedite the processing of requests. 

The FOIA staff routinely contacts requesters to clarify and refine requests. This 

communication contributed to a significant reduction in response time. In Fiscal Year 

2008, the average response time for simple requests was 9 days; in Fiscal Year 2009 the 

average response time for such requests was reduced to 2 days. Average response time 

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 As of the date of the filing of this report, the backlog of requests has been significantly reduced. 
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for complex requests dropped from 15 days in Fiscal Year 2008 to 4 days in Fiscal Year 

2009. 

The use of email and electronic documents over regular mail and hardcopies to respond 

to FOIA requests has increased.