Evening star., 1939-05-08
urtLimitsS. f. e. :
Use Of Examiners
Reports on Bank
/. Confidential Except as
Needed for Inquiry,
. AppeoIs Bench Holds

ese Reports of bank examiners, made
to the controller of the currency
may be utilized by the Securities
and Exchange Commission to obtain
Necessary facts and information to
carry out the investigatory function
soi that body, but beyond this pur-
pose they must be held confiden-
aaial, the United States Court Of APP
speals ruled today.
s,@a4The tribunal, in the case of the
Bank of America National Trust &
Savings Association of San Fran
cisco, Calf, against the commits
sion. held that the case should be
remanded to District Court, with
instructions to revoke the decree dis
missing the complaint, and ordered
that the cause remain on the trial
docket of that court, with the right
to the bank to apply for furher re-
subsequent events contrary to the
view expressed in the opinion today.
= Injunctions Asked.
AS an outgrowth of the commits
- sion's inquiry into the affairs of the
- Trans-America Corp, which owns
- some AZ per cent of the stock of the
4. Bank of America, the bank went
:. into District Court here and alleged
: that the proposed investigation of
. its affairs constituted an unlawful
$ exercise of visitorial powers; that
6 the Secretary of the Treasury had
:. unlawfully given access to the bank
~ examiners reports and that their
!. publication as proposed by the COM
. mission would irreparably injure the
. bank. 1t asked for a declaratory
!. judgment and for an injunction, but
= the commission, answering, chal-
= lenged the jurisdiction of the court
: and averred that neither the action
y of the Secretary in furnishing the
I. information nor the action of the
$ commission In using it was illegal.
- Judgment was entered in District
!. Court dismissing the banks COM
. plant.
. Record Study Legal.
a - In its opinion today, the United
: States Court of Appeals held:
= 81. That the delivery to the COM
: mission by the Secretary of the
3 Treasury of the examiners reports
5 was authorized and legal.
: 80. That their use in proceed
" ings to obtain the necessary facts
) and information whereby to carry
out the investigatory function OF
4 the commission, is proper.
"3. That except to the extent
necessary to carry out the purpose
, just above mentioned, the reports
. should be treated as confidential.
: and
q. That the subpoenas in their
present form are unreasonable and
should not be enforced.
Remanded to Trial Court.
eve therefore remand to the trial
: court, with instructions to revoke
! the decree dismissing the complaint.
That the commission, by counsel,
having given assurances that the
. examiners reports will not be given
publicity except as authorized in
this opinion and the subpoenas,
having expired by limitation and
being now ineffective. no injunction
need issue. The cause will remain
on the trial docket of the District
Court, with the right to the bank to
apply for further relief if it should
become necessary by subsequent
! events contrary to the views ex-
: pressed herein" said the court.
: : Today's decision affirmed in part
: the finding of District Court, re-
versed it in part and remanded the
! case. The decision was written by
: Chief Justice D. Lawrence Groner,
Z who. with Associate Justices Henry
9 w. Edgerton and Fred M. Vinson
: heard the case. Representing the
: Bank of America were Attorneys
{ William Stanley, T. w. Dahlquist,
I Charles w. Collins and Donald R.
9 Richberg, all Washingtonians, while
/. the commission was represented by
Chester T. Lane