This subpart describes the procedures you must follow to obtain records from NCUA under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), (5 U.S.C. 552).

Except for records that are exempt from public disclosure under FOIA as amended (5 U.S.C. 552) or are promptly published and copies are available for purchase, NCUA routinely makes the following five types of records available for you to inspect and copy and in an electronic format:

(a) Final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, and orders made in the adjudication of cases;

(b) Statements of policy and interpretations which have been adopted by the agency but not published in the Federal Register;

(c) Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect a member of the public;

(d) Copies of all records, regardless of form or format, which have been released after March 31, 1997, in response to a FOIA request and which, because of the nature of their subject matter, NCUA determines have been or are likely to become the subject of subsequent requests; or records that have been requested three (3) or more times; and

(e) Indices of the documents referred to in this paragraph.

NCUA maintains current indices providing identifying information for the public for any matter referred to in § 792.02, issued, adopted, or promulgated after July 4, 1967. The listing of material in an index is for the convenience of possible users and does not constitute a determination that all of the items listed will be disclosed. NCUA has determined that publication of the indices is unnecessary and impractical. You may obtain copies of indices by making a request to the NCUA, Office of General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, VA 22314-2387, Attn: FOIA Officer or as indicated on the NCUA Web site at www.ncua.gov. The indices are available for public inspection and copying, provided at their duplication cost, and in an electronic format. The indices are:

(a) NCUA Publications List: Manuals relating to general and technical information, booklets published by NCUA, and the Credit Union Directory. The NCUA Publications list is available on the NCUA web site.

(b) Directives Control Index: A list of statements of policy, NCUA Instructions, Bulletins, Letters to Credit Unions, and certain internal manuals.

(c) Popular FOIA Index: Records released in response to a FOIA request, that NCUA determines are likely to be the subject of subsequent requests because of the nature of their subject matter, or records that have been requested three (3) or more times. The Popular FOIA Index is available on the NCUA Web site.

You may obtain these types of records or information in the following ways:

(a) You may obtain copies of the records referenced in § 792.02 by obtaining the index referred to in § 792.03 and following the ordering instructions it contains, or by making a written request to NCUA, Office of General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428, Attn: FOIA Officer or as indicated on the NCUA Web site.

(b) If they were created by NCUA on or after November 1, 1996, records referenced in § 792.02 are available on the NCUA web site, found at http://www.ncua.gov.

The records referred to in § 792.02 may be relied on, used, or cited as precedent by NCUA against a party, provided:

(a) The materials have been indexed and either made available or published; or

(b) The party has actual and timely notice of the materials' contents.

Except with respect to records routinely made available under § 792.02 or published in the Federal Register, or to the extent that records are exempt under the FOIA, if you make a request for records in accordance with this subpart, NCUA will make such records available to you, including records maintained in electronic format, as long as you agree to pay the actual, direct costs.

(a) You must send your written request to one of NCUA's Information Centers. The Central Office and Office of Inspector General are designated as Information Centers for the NCUA. The Freedom of Information Officer of the Office of General Counsel is responsible for the operation of the Information Center maintained at the Central Office. The Inspector General is responsible for the operation of the Inspector General Information Center.

(b) If you are seeking any NCUA record, other than those maintained by the Office of Inspector General, you should send your request to NCUA, Office of the General Counsel, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428, Attn: FOIA Officer or as indicated on the NCUA Web site at http://www.ncua.gov.

(c) If you are seeking a record you think may be maintained by the NCUA Office of Inspector General, then you should send your request to the Inspector General, NCUA, 1775 Duke Street, Alexandria, Virginia 22314-3428.

Until an Information Center receives your FOIA request, it is not obligated to search for responsive records, meet time deadlines, or release any records. A request will not be considered received if it does not include all of the items in paragraphs (a) through (c) of this section.

(a) Your request must be in writing and include the words “FOIA REQUEST” on both the envelope and request letter. The request letter must also include your name, address and a telephone number where you can be reached during normal business hours. If you would like us to respond to your FOIA request by electronic mail (e-mail), you should include your e-mail address.

(b) A reasonable description of the records you seek. A reasonable description is one that enables an NCUA employee, who is familiar with the subject area of the request, to locate the record with a reasonable amount of effort.

(c) A statement agreeing to pay all applicable fees or to pay fees up to a certain maximum amount, or requesting a fee reduction or waiver in accordance with § 792.27. If the actual fees are expected to exceed the maximum amount you indicate in your request, NCUA will contact you to see if you are willing to pay the estimated fees. If you do not want to pay the estimated fees, your request will be closed and no bill will be sent.

(d) If other than paper copy, you must identify the form and format of responsive information you are requesting.

NCUA need not accept or process your request if it does not comply with the requirements of this subpart. NCUA may return such a request to you with an explanation of the deficiency. You may then submit a corrected request, which will be treated as a new request.

(a) On receipt of any request, the Information Center assigns it to the appropriate processing schedule, pursuant to paragraph (b) of this section. The date of receipt for any request, including one that is addressed incorrectly or is forwarded to NCUA by another agency, is the earlier of the date the appropriate Information Center actually receives the request or 10 working days after either of NCUA's Information Centers receives the request.

(b) NCUA has a multi-track processing system. Requests for records that are readily identifiable by the Information Center and have already been cleared for public release may qualify for fast track processing. Requests that meet the requirements of § 792.18 will be processed on the expedited track. All other requests will be handled under normal processing procedures in the order they were received.

(c) The Information Center will make the determination whether a request qualifies for fast track processing or expedited track processing. You may contact the Information Center to learn to which track your request has been assigned. If your request has not qualified for fast track processing, you will have an opportunity to limit the scope of material requested to qualify for fast track processing. Limitations of requests must be in writing. If your request for expedited processing is not granted, you will be advised of your right to appeal.

(d) The Information Center will normally process requests in the order they are received in the separate processing tracks. However, in NCUA's discretion, a particular request may be processed out of turn.

(e) Upon a determination by the appropriate Information Center to comply with your initial request for records, the records will be made promptly available to you. NCUA will also advise you of the right to seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison. If we notify you of a denial of your request, we will include the reason for the denial. NCUA will also advise you of the right to utilize dispute resolution services offered by the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information Services.

(f) The Information Center will search for records responsive to your request and will generally include all records in existence at the time the search begins. If we use a different search cut-off date, we will inform you of that date.

(a) All records of NCUA or any officer, employee, or agent thereof, are confidential, privileged and exempt from disclosure, except as otherwise provided in this subpart, if they are:

(1) Records specifically authorized under criteria established by an Executive Order to be kept secret in the interest of national defense or foreign policy and are in fact properly classified pursuant to an Executive Order.

(2) Records related solely to NCUA internal personnel rules and practices. This exemption applies to internal rules or instructions which must be kept confidential in order to assure effective performance of the functions and activities for which NCUA is responsible and which do not materially affect members of the public. This exemption also applies to manuals and instructions to the extent that release of the information would permit circumvention of laws or regulations.

(3) Specifically exempted from disclosure by statute, where the statute either makes nondisclosure mandatory or establishes particular criteria for withholding information.

(4) Records which contain trade secrets and commercial or financial information which relate to the business, personal or financial affairs of any person or organization, are furnished to NCUA, and are confidential or privileged. This exemption includes, but is not limited to, various types of confidential sales and cost statistics, trade secrets, and names of key customers and personnel. Assurances of confidentiality given by staff are not binding on NCUA.

(5) Inter-agency or intra-agency memoranda or letters which would not be available by law to a private party in litigation with NCUA. This exemption preserves the existing freedom of NCUA officials and employees to engage in full and frank written or taped communications with each other and with officials and employees of other agencies. It includes, but is not limited to, inter-agency and intra-agency reports, memoranda, letters, correspondence, work papers, and minutes of meetings, as well as staff papers prepared for use within NCUA or in concert with other governmental agencies. In applying this exemption, the NCUA will not withhold records based on the deliberative process privilege if the records were created 25 years or more before the date on which the records were requested.

(6) Personnel, medical, and similar files (including financial files) pertaining to another person, the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy without the subject person's written consent or proof of death. Written consent consists of a written statement by the subject person, authorizing the release of the information to you, and including either the subject person's notarized signature or a declaration made under penalty of perjury that the statement is true and correct. Proof of death consists of evidence that the subject of your request is deceased—such as a death certificate, a newspaper obituary, or some comparable proof of death. Files exempt from disclosure include, but are not limited to:

(i) The personnel records of the NCUA;

(ii) The personnel records voluntarily submitted by private parties in response to NCUA's requests for proposals; and

(iii) Files containing reports, records or other material pertaining to individual cases in which disciplinary or other administrative action has been or may be taken.

(7) Records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, but only to the extent that the production of such law enforcement records or information:

(i) Could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings;

(ii) Would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication;

(iii) Could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy;

(iv) Could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, including a state, local, or foreign agency or authority or any private institution which furnished information on a confidential basis, and, in the case of a record or information compiled by a criminal law enforcement authority in the course of a criminal investigation on or by an agency conducting a lawful national security intelligence investigation, information furnished by the confidential source;

(v) Would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigation or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions if such disclosure could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law; or

(vi) Could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual. This includes, but is not limited to, information relating to enforcement proceedings upon which NCUA has acted or will act in the future.

(8) Contained in or related to examination, operating or condition reports prepared by, or on behalf of, or for the use of NCUA or any agency responsible for the regulation or supervision of financial institutions. This includes all information, whether in formal or informal report form, the disclosure of which would harm the financial security of credit unions or would interfere with the relationship between NCUA and credit unions.

(b) We will provide any reasonably segregable portion of a requested record after deleting those portions that are exempt from disclosure under this section.

As long as it is technically feasible and does not threaten an interest protected by the FOIA, we will:

(a) Mark the place where we redacted information from documents released to you and note the exemption that protects the information from public disclosure; or

(b) Make reasonable efforts to include with our response to you an estimate of the volume of information withheld.

NCUA will provide a copy of the record in any form or format requested, such as computer disk, if the record is readily reproducible by us in that form or format, but we will not provide more than one copy of any record.

The Freedom of Information Officer or designee is responsible for making the initial determination whether to grant or deny a request for information submitted to the Central Office Information Center. The Inspector General or designee is responsible for making the initial determination whether to grant or deny a request for information submitted to the Inspector General Information Center. This official may refer a request to an NCUA employee who is familiar with the subject area of the request. Other NCUA staff members may aid the official by providing information, advice, recommending a decision, or implementing a decision, but no NCUA employee other than an authorized official may make the initial determination. Referral of a request by the official to an employee will not affect the time limitation imposed in § 792.15 unless the request involves an unusual circumstance as provided in § 792.16.

NCUA will respond to requests within 20 working days, except:

(a)(1) Where the running of such time is suspended while:

(i) The Information Center awaits additional information from the requester. A suspension of time for this purpose may occur only once during the processing period; and

(ii) The Information Center clarifies with the requester issues regarding the payment of fees pursuant to § 792.26.

(2) The Information Center's receipt of the requester's response to the request for additional information or clarification ends the tolling period;

(b) In unusual circumstances, as defined in 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(6)(B) and § 792.16, the time limit may be extended for:

(1) An additional 10 working days as provided by written notice to you, stating the reasons for the extension and the date on which a determination will be sent; or

(2) Such alternative time period as mutually agreed by you and the Information Office, when NCUA notifies you that the request cannot be processed in the specified time limit. In such cases, NCUA will make available its FOIA Public Liaison and notify you of the right to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services.

(a) In unusual circumstances, the time limits for responding to your request (or your appeal) may be extended by NCUA. If NCUA extends the time, it will provide you with written notice setting forth the reasons for such extension and the date on which a determination is expected to be dispatched. Our notice will not specify a date that would result in an extension for more than 10 working days, except as set forth in paragraph (c) of this section. The unusual circumstances that can delay NCUA's response to your request are:

(1) The need to search for, and collect the requested records from field facilities or other establishments that are separate from the office processing the request;

(2) The need to search for, collect, and appropriately examine a voluminous amount of separate and distinct records which are demanded in a single request; or

(3) The need for consultation, which will be conducted with all practicable speed, with another agency having substantial interest in the determination of the request or among two or more components of NCUA having a substantial interest in the subject matter.

(b) If you, or you and a group of others acting in concert, submit multiple requests that NCUA believes actually constitute a single request, which would otherwise satisfy the unusual circumstances criteria specified in this section, and the requests involve related matters, then NCUA may aggregate those requests and the provisions of § 792.15(b) will apply.

(c) If NCUA sends you an extension notice, it will also advise you that you can either limit the scope of your request so that it can be processed within the statutory time limit or agree to an alternative time frame for processing your request. In such cases, NCUA will make available its FOIA Public Liaison and notify you of the right to seek dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services.

(a) If NCUA does not comply with the time limits under § 792.15, or as extended under § 792.16, you do not have to pay search fees; requesters qualifying for free search fees will not have to pay duplication fees. However, if NCUA has extended the time limits under § 792.16 and must review more than 5,000 pages to respond to the request, NCUA may charge you search fees (or for requesters qualifying for free search fees, duplication fees), if NCUA has discussed with you via written mail, electronic mail, or telephone (or made not less than 3 good-faith attempts to do so) how you could effectively limit the scope of the request.

(b) You can seek assistance from the FOIA Public Liaison or dispute resolution services from the Office of Government Information Services. You also can file suit against NCUA because you will be deemed to have exhausted your administrative remedies if NCUA fails to comply with the time limit provisions of this subpart. If NCUA can show that exceptional circumstances exist and that it is exercising due diligence in responding to your request, the court may retain jurisdiction and allow NCUA to complete its review of the records. You may have to pay search or duplication fees if a court has determined that exceptional circumstances exist and has extended the time limits for NCUA's response by a court order. In determining whether exceptional circumstances exist, the court may consider your refusal to modify the scope of your request or arrange an alternative time frame for processing after being given the opportunity to do so by NCUA, when it notifies you of the existence of unusual circumstances as set forth in § 792.16.

You may request expedited processing of your request if you can show a compelling need for the records. In cases where your request for expedited processing is granted or if NCUA has determined to expedite the response, it will be processed as soon as practicable.

(a) To demonstrate a compelling need for expedited processing, you must provide a certified statement. The statement, certified by you to be true and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief, must demonstrate that:

(1) The failure to obtain the records on an expedited basis could reasonably be expected to pose an imminent threat to the life or physical safety of an individual; or

(2) The requester is a representative of the news media, as defined in § 792.20, and there is urgency to inform the public concerning actual or alleged NCUA activity.

(b) In response to a request for expedited processing, the Information Center will notify you of the determination within ten working days of receipt of the request. If the Information Center denies your request for expedited processing, you may file an appeal pursuant to the procedures set forth in § 792.28, and NCUA will expeditiously respond to the appeal.

(c) The Information Center will normally process requests in the order they are received in the separate processing tracks. However, in NCUA's discretion, a particular request may be processed out of turn.

We will charge you our allowable direct costs, unless they are less than the cost of billing you. Direct costs means those expenditures that NCUA actually incurs in searching for, duplicating and reviewing documents to respond to a FOIA request. Search means all time spent looking for material that is responsive to a request, including page-by-page or line-by-line identification of material within documents. Searches may be done manually or by computer. Search does not include modification of an existing program or system that would significantly interfere with the operation of an automated information system. Review means examining documents to determine whether any portion should be withheld and preparing documents for disclosure. Fees are subject to change as costs increase. The current rate schedule is available on our web site at http://www.ncua.gov. We may contract with the private sector to locate, reproduce or disseminate records. NCUA will not contract out responsibilities that FOIA requires it to discharge, such as determining the applicability of an exemption, or determining whether to waive or reduce fees. The following labor and duplication rate calculations apply:

(a) NCUA will charge fees at the following rates for manual searches for and review of records:

(1) If search/review is done by clerical staff, the hourly rate for CU-5, plus 16% of that rate to cover benefits;

(2) If search/review is done by professional staff, the hourly rate for CU-13, plus 16% of that rate to cover benefits.

(b) NCUA will charge fees at the hourly rate for CU-13, plus 16% of that rate to cover benefits, plus the hourly cost of operating the computer for computer searches for records.

(c) NCUA will charge the following duplication fees:

(1) The per-page fee for paper copy reproduction of a document is $.10;

(2) The fee for documents generated by computer is the hourly fee for the computer operator, plus the cost of materials (computer paper, tapes, labels, etc.);

(3) If any other method of duplication is used, NCUA will charge the actual direct cost of duplication.

The fee category definitions are:

(a) Commercial use request means a request from or on behalf of one who seeks information for a use or purpose that furthers the commercial, trade, or profit interests of the requester or the person on whose behalf the request is made.

(b) Educational institution means a preschool, an elementary or secondary school, an institution of undergraduate higher education, an institution of graduate higher education, an institution of professional education, and an institution of vocational education operating a program or programs of scholarly research.

(c) Noncommercial scientific institution means an institution that is not operated for a “commercial” purpose as that term is used in paragraph (a) of this section and is operated solely for the purpose of conducting scientific research, the results of which are not intended to promote any particular product or industry.

(d) Representative of the news media means any person actively gathering news for an entity that is organized and operated to publish or broadcast news to the public. Included within the meaning of public is the credit union community. The term news means information that is about current events or that would be of current interest to the public. You may consult the following chart to find the fees applicable to your request:

NCUA will notify you of the estimated amount if fees are likely to exceed $25, unless you have indicated in advance a willingness to pay fees as high as those anticipated. You will then have the opportunity to confer with NCUA personnel to reformulate the request to meet your needs at a lower cost.

Complying with requests for special services is entirely at the discretion of NCUA. NCUA will recover the full costs of providing such services to the extent it elects to provide them.

You may not file multiple requests, each seeking portions of a document or similar documents, solely to avoid payment of fees. If this is done, NCUA may aggregate any such requests and charge you accordingly.

NCUA can assess interest charges on an unpaid bill starting on the 31st day following the date of the bill. If you fail to pay your bill within 30 days, interest will be at the rate prescribed in 31 U.S.C. 3717, and will accrue from the date of the billing.

NCUA may assess fees for time spent searching and reviewing, even if it fails to locate the records or if records located are determined to be exempt from disclosure.

NCUA will require you to give an assurance of payment or an advance payment only when:

(a) NCUA estimates or determines that allowable charges that you may be required to pay are likely to exceed $250. NCUA will notify you of the likely cost and obtain satisfactory assurance of full payment where you have a history of prompt payment of FOIA fees, or require an advance payment of an amount up to the full estimated charges in the case where you have no history of payment; or

(b) You have previously failed to pay a fee charged in a timely fashion. NCUA may require you to pay the full amount owed, plus any applicable interest, or demonstrate that you have, in fact, paid the fee, and to make an advance payment of the full amount of the estimated fee before we begin to process a new request or a pending request from you.

(c) If you are required to make an advance payment of fees, then the administrative time limits prescribed in § 792.16 will begin only after NCUA has received the fee payments described.

You may request that NCUA waive or reduce fees if disclosure of the information you request is in the public interest because it is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of the operations or activities of the government, and is not primarily in your commercial interest.

(a) NCUA will make a determination of whether the public interest requirement above is met based on the following factors:

(1) Whether the subject of the requested records concerns identifiable operations or activities of the government, with a connection that is direct and clear;

(2) Whether the disclosable portions of the requested records are meaningfully informative about government operations and activities in order to be likely to contribute to an understanding of government operations or activities. Information already in the public domain, either in a duplicate or substantially identical form where nothing new would be added to the public's understanding, would not be meaningfully informative;

(3) Whether disclosure of the requested information will contribute to public understanding, meaning a reasonably broad audience of persons interested in the subject, as opposed to the individual understanding of the requester. A requester's expertise in the subject area and ability and intention to effectively convey information to the public will be considered. Representatives of the news media are presumed to satisfy this consideration; and

(4) Whether the disclosure is likely to contribute significantly to public understanding of government operations or activities. The level of public understanding before disclosure must be enhanced by the disclosure to a significant extent.

(b) If the public interest requirement is met, NCUA will make a determination on the commercial interest requirement based upon the following factors:

(1) Whether you have a commercial interest that would be furthered by the requested disclosure; and if so

(2) Whether the magnitude of your commercial interest is sufficiently large in comparison with the public interest in disclosure, that disclosure is primarily in your commercial interest.

(c) If the required public interest exists and your commercial interest is not primary in comparison, NCUA will waive or reduce fees.

(d) If you are not satisfied with our determination on your fee waiver or reduction request, you may submit an appeal to the General Counsel in accordance with § 792.28.

If you are not satisfied with NCUA's response to your request, you can seek dispute resolution services from the FOIA Public Liaison and the Office of Government Information Services, and you can file an administrative appeal. Your appeal must be in writing and must be filed within 90 days from receipt of the initial determination (in cases of denials of the entire request or denials of a fee waiver or reduction), or from receipt of any records being made available pursuant to the initial determination (in cases of partial denials). In the response to your initial request, the Freedom of Information Act Officer or the Inspector General (or designee), will notify you that you may appeal any adverse determination to the Office of General Counsel. The General Counsel, or designee, as set forth in this paragraph, will:

(a) Make a determination with respect to any appeal within 20 working days after the receipt of such appeal. If, on appeal, the denial of the request for records is, in whole or in part, upheld, the Office of General Counsel will notify you of the provisions for judicial review of that determination under FOIA. Where you do not address your appeal to the General Counsel, the time limitations stated above will be computed from the date of receipt of the appeal by the General Counsel.

(b) The General Counsel is the official responsible for determining all appeals from initial determinations. In case of this person's absence, the appropriate officer acting in the General Counsel's stead will make the appellate determination, unless such officer was responsible for the initial determination, in which case the Vice-Chairman of the NCUA Board will make the appellate determination.

(c) All appeals should be addressed to the General Counsel in the Central Office and should be clearly identified as such on the envelope and in the letter of appeal by using the indicator “FOIA-APPEAL.” Failure to address an appeal properly may delay commencement of the time limitation stated in paragraph (a)(1) of this section, to take account of the time reasonably required to forward the appeal to the Office of General Counsel.

(a) If you submit confidential commercial information to NCUA, it may be disclosed in response to a FOIA request in accordance with this section.

(b) For purposes of this section:

(1) Confidential commercial information means commercial or financial information provided to NCUA by a submitter that arguably is protected from disclosure under § 792.11(a)(4) because disclosure could reasonably be expected to cause substantial competitive harm.

(2) Submitter means any person or entity who provides business information, directly or indirectly, to NCUA.

(c) Submitters of business information must use good faith efforts to designate, by appropriate markings, either at the time of submission or at a reasonable time thereafter, those portions of their submissions deemed to be protected from disclosure under § 792.11(a)(4). Such a designation shall expire ten years after the date of submission.

(d) We will provide a submitter with written notice of a FOIA request or administrative appeal encompassing designated business information when:

(1) The information has been designated in good faith by the submitter as confidential commercial information deemed protected from disclosure under § 792.11(a)(4); or

(2) NCUA has reason to believe that the information may be protected from disclosure under § 792.11(a)(4).

(e) A copy of the notice to the submitter will also be provided to the FOIA requester.

(f) Through the notice described in paragraph (d) of this section, NCUA will afford the submitter a reasonable period of time within which to provide a detailed written statement of any objection to disclosure. The statement must describe why the information is confidential commercial information and why it should not be disclosed.

(g) Whenever we decide that we must disclose confidential commercial information over the objection of the submitter, we will send both the submitter and the FOIA requester, within a reasonable number of days prior to the specified disclosure date, a written notice which will include:

(1) A statement of the reasons for which the submitter's disclosure objection was not sustained; and

(2) A description of the information to be disclosed; and

(3) A specified disclosure date.

(h) If a requester brings suit to compel disclosure of confidential commercial information, we will promptly notify the submitter.

(i) The notice requirements of paragraph (d) of this section do not apply if:

(1) We determine that the information should not be disclosed;

(2) The information has been lawfully published or has been officially made available to the public;

(3) Disclosure of the information is required by law; or

(4) The designation made by the submitter in accordance with paragraph (c) of this section appears obviously frivolous; except that in such case, NCUA will provide the submitter with written notice of any final administrative decision to disclose the information within a reasonable number of days prior to the specified disclosure date.

Except those authorized officials listed in § 792.14, or as provided in §§ 792.31-792.32, and subpart C of this part, no officer, employee, or agent of NCUA or of any federally insured credit union shall disclose or permit the disclosure of any exempt records of NCUA to any person other than those NCUA or credit union officers, employees, or agents properly entitled to such information for the performance of their official duties.

The NCUA Board, in its sole discretion, or any person designated by it in writing, may make available to certain governmental agencies and insured financial institutions copies of reports of examination and other documents, papers or information for their use, when necessary, in the performance of their official duties or functions. All reports, documents and papers made available pursuant to this paragraph shall remain the property of NCUA. No person, agency or employee shall disclose the reports or exempt records without NCUA's express written authorization.

The NCUA Board, or any person designated by it in writing, in its discretion and in appropriate circumstances, may disclose to proper federal or state authorities copies of exempt records pertaining to irregularities discovered in credit unions which may constitute either unsafe or unsound practices or violations of federal or state, civil or criminal law.