FDIC Annual Report on
the Freedom of Information Act
Fiscal Year 2003 (October 1, 2002 - September 30,
2003)
I. Basic Information Regarding
Report
A. Name, title,
address, and telephone number of person(s) to be contacted
with questions about the report:
Fredrick Lee Fisch
Supervisory Counsel (FOIA/Privacy Act Officer)
FDIC Legal Division
550 17th St. N.W., Room H-3039
Washington, D.C. 20429
(202) 736-0526
B. Electronic
address for report on the World Wide Web:
http://www.fdic.gov/about/freedom/reports.html
C. How to obtain
a copy of the report in paper form:
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
Public Information Center
801 17th St. N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20006
II. How to Make a
FOIA Request
The following is the link to the FDIC's FOIA Guide: http://www.fdic.gov/about/freedom/guide.html
Send requests via facsimile to (202) 736-0547, through the
Electronic FOIA Office on the FDIC web site, via direct
e-mail to efoia@fdic.gov,
or in writing to the address in Section 1(A) above.
A. Names,
addresses and telephone numbers of all individual agency
components and offices that receive FOIA
requests.
All requests are routed through and processed by the FDIC
Legal Division's FOIA/Privacy Act Group, located at the
address listed in Section 1(C) of this report.
B. Brief
description of the agency's response-time
ranges.
Response times are from 1 day up to greater than six months
in rare cases.
C. Brief
description of why some requests are not
granted.
Requests are denied or partially denied primarily under
FOIA exemptions (b)(4), (b)(5), (b)(6) and (b)(8). Because
the FDIC is a federal financial institution regulatory
agency as well as the appointed receiver of virtually all
failed depository institutions in the U.S., FDIC receives
much privileged or private financial information concerning
individuals, banking and business entities. Therefore,
exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(6) are used frequently to
withhold exempt material. FDIC is also the primary
regulator of most state-chartered financial institutions
and therefore prepares or receives bank examination reports
and related material. Such records are exempted from FOIA
disclosure in order to protect the integrity of the bank
regulatory process and to maintain stability in financial
institutions. Accordingly, the FDIC invokes FOIA exemption
(b)(8) for these purposes. Other exemptions are used less
frequently, and records sometimes cannot be located.
III. Definitions of Terms
and Acronyms Used in the Report (to be included in each
report)
A.
Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.
None.
B. Basic terms
expressed in common terminology.
1. FOIA/PA request -- Freedom of
Information Act/Privacy Act request. A FOIA request is
generally a request for access to records concerning a
third party, an organization, or a particular topic of
interest. A Privacy Act request is a request for records
concerning oneself; such requests are also treated as FOIA
requests. (All requests for access to records, regardless
of which law is cited by the requester, are included in
this report.)
2. Initial Request -- a request to a
federal agency for access to records under the Freedom of
Information Act.
3. Appeal -- a request to a federal
agency asking that it review at a higher administrative
level a full denial or partial denial of access to records
under the Freedom of Information Act, or any other FOIA
determination such as a matter pertaining to fees.
4. Processed Request or Appeal -- a
request or appeal for which an agency has taken a final
action on the request or the appeal in all respects.
5. Multi-track processing -- a system in
which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review
are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and
complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks.
Requests in each track are processed on a first-in/first
out basis. A requester who has an urgent need for records
may request expedited processing (see below).
6. Expedited processing -- an agency will
process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a
requester has shown an exceptional need or urgency for the
records which warrants prioritization of his or her request
over other requests that were made earlier.
7. Simple request -- a FOIA request that
an agency using multi-track processing places in its
fastest (non-expedited) track based on the volume and/or
simplicity of records requested.
8. Complex request -- a FOIA request that
an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower
track based on the volume and/or complexity of records
requested.
9. Grant -- an agency decision to
disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request.
10. Partial grant -- an agency decision
to disclose a record in part in response to a FOIA request,
deleting information determined to be exempt under one or
more of the FOIA's exemptions; or a decision to
disclose some records in their entireties, but to withhold
others in whole or in part.
11. Denial -- an agency decision not to
release any part of a record or records in response to a
FOIA request because all the information in the requested
records is determined by the agency to be exempt under one
or more of the FOIA's exemptions, or for some
procedural reason (such as because no record is located in
response to a FOIA request).
12. Time limits -- the time period in the
Freedom of Information Act for an agency to respond to a
FOIA request (ordinarily 20 working days from proper
receipt of a "perfected" FOIA request).
13. "Perfected" request -- a
FOIA request for records which adequately describes the
records sought, which has been received by the FOIA office
of the agency or agency component in possession of the
records, and for which there is no remaining question about
the payment of applicable fees.
14. Exemption 3 statute -- a separate
federal statute prohibiting the disclosure of a certain
type of information and authorizing its withholding under
FOIA subsection (b)(3).
15. Median number -- the middle, not
average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median
number is 7.
16. Average number -- the number obtained
by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity
of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the
average number is 8.
IV. Exemption 3
Statutes
A. List of
Exemption 3 statutes relied on by agency during current
fiscal year.
Exemption 3 was not used during this fiscal year by the
FDIC.
V. Initial FOIA/PA Access
Requests
A. Numbers of
initial requests (The total of the numbers in Lines 1 and
2, minus the number in Line 3, should equal the number in
Line 4).
1. Number of requests pending as of end of preceding
fiscal year: 97
2. Number of requests received during current fiscal year:
789
3. Number of requests processed during current fiscal year:
823
4. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal
year: 63
B. Disposition of
initial requests.
1. Number of total grants: 406
2. Number of partial grants: 105
3. Number of denials: 22
(a) the number of times each FOIA exemption used
(counting each exemption once per request).
(1) Exemption 1: 0
(2) Exemption 2: 3
(3) Exemption 3: 0
(4) Exemption 4: 63
(5) Exemption 5: 40
(6) Exemption 6: 98
(7) Exemption 7(A): 1
(8) Exemption 7(B): 0
(9) Exemption 7(C): 10
(10) Exemption 7(D): 0
(11) Exemption 7(E): 3
(12) Exemption 7(F): 0
(13) Exemption 8: 35
(14) Exemption 9: 0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 290
(a) no records: 47
(b) referrals: 7
(c) request withdrawn: 66
(d) fee-related reason: 21
(e) records not reasonably described: 136
(f) not a proper FOIA request for some other reason: 0
(g) not an agency record: 10
(h) duplicate request: 3
(i) other (specify): 0
VI. Appeals of Initial
Denials of FOIA/PA Requests
A. Numbers of
appeals.
1. Number of appeals received during fiscal year: 18
2. Number of appeals processed during fiscal year: 20
B. Disposition of
appeals.
1. Number completely upheld: 10
2. Number partially upheld: 6
3. Number completely reversed: 4
(a) number of times each FOIA exemption was used
(counting each exemption once per appeal)
(1) Exemption 1: 0
(2) Exemption 2: 0
(3) Exemption 3: 0
(4) Exemption 4: 3
(5) Exemption 5: 7
(6) Exemption 6: 5
(7) Exemption 7(A): 0
(8) Exemption 7(B): 0
(9) Exemption 7(C): 0
(10) Exemption 7(D): 0
(11) Exemption 7(E): 0
(12) Exemption 7(F): 0
(13) Exemption 8: 0
(14) Exemption 9: 0
4. Other reasons for nondisclosure (total): 0
(a) no records: 0
(b) referrals: 0
(c) request withdrawn: 0
(d) fee related reason: 0
(e) records not reasonably described: 0
(f) not a proper FOIA request for some other reason: 0
(g) not an agency record: 0
(h) duplicate request: 0
(i) other (specify): 0
VII Compliance with
Time Limits/Status of Pending Requests
A. Median
processing time for requests processed during the
year.
1. Simple Requests (if multiple tracks used).
(a) total number of requests processed: 380
(b) median number of days to process: 12 business days
2. Complex requests (specify for any and all tracks used).
(a) total number of requests processed: 440
(b) median number of days to process: 19 business days
Mail-handling procedures initiated after September 11,
2001 continue to cause some minor disruptions to the
FDIC's receipt of FOIA requests sent through that
medium. The FDIC's FOIA/Privacy Act Group processed
823 cases to conclusion with a very low overall median
processing time. The FDIC fulfilled more FOIA requests in
a shorter time span than in the previous reporting year.
This illustrates the significant resources and emphasis
that the FDIC places on serving the public through the
FOIA. In order to better promote interagency uniformity
with respect to FOIA Annual Reports, the FDIC is now
reporting all processing times in business rather than
calendar days.
3. Requests accorded expedited processing.
(a) number of requests accorded expedited processing: 3
(0 denials)
(b) median number of days to process: 15 business days
Expedited processing is generally granted to news media
requesters, a party whose health or physical safety is in
danger, or occasionally in the exercise of FDIC's
discretion. Most of the requests accorded expedited
processing were complex matters requiring great attention
to detail, the tasking of multiple Offices and Divisions
of the FDIC, the retrieval of records from remote
locations, and extensive redaction and review time. All
of the requests designated for expedited processing were
in the educational, scientific and news media fee
category. The significant decrease in response time from
last year's report (from 72 days to 21 days) is a
result of increased communication with news media
requesters, negotiating to search only for the records
they actually needed, and limiting burdensome and time
consuming searches and review periods that may have
produced little or no responsive material.
B. Status of
pending requests.
1. Number of requests pending as of end of current fiscal
year: 63
2. Median number of days that such requests were pending
as of that date: 15 business days.
VIII. Comparisons
with Previous Year
A. Comparison of
number of requests received.
Prior Reporting Period: 856
Current Reporting Period: 789
B. Comparison of
number of requests processed.
Prior Reporting Period: 801
Current Reporting Period: 823
C. Comparison of
median number of days open requests had been pending as of
the end of the fiscal year.
Prior Reporting Period: 33 business days
Current Reporting Period: 15 business days
D. Other
statistics significant to agency:
The FDIC has continued to work on decreasing fulfillment
response times to the public under the FOIA. Continued
training of the professional and support staff, an effort
at increased communications with requesters, and improved
use of technology have all contributed to the FDIC's
short FOIA response times. We also attribute the shorter
pending times of requests open at the end of the fiscal
year to the same efforts. The FDIC only received 20 FOIA
appeals during this fiscal year. This continues the trend
of steady decline in the number of FOIA appeals filed in
recent years, with 36 filed in 2000, 27 filed in 2001 and
26 filed in 2002. The low number of appeals illustrates
both the high quality of the initial FOIA responses and
increased requester satisfaction with the quality of those
responses.
The FDIC was not named as a party in any FOIA litigation
during this reporting year. The litigation costs reported
below were the result of FDIC's assistance to various
U.S. Attorney's Offices in defending FOIA litigation
brought against the Justice Department regarding law
enforcement records, some of which had originated with the
FDIC.
The FDIC granted expedited processing of a FOIA request
all three times it was formally requested. The FDIC denied
expedited processing to no one during this reporting
year.
E. Other
narrative statements describing agency efforts to improve
timeliness of FOIA performance and to make records
available to the public (e.g., backlog-reduction efforts;
specification of average number of hours per processed
request; training activities; public availability of new
categories of records):
The FDIC undertakes detailed periodic analyses of
outstanding and closed FOIA requests. The results of these
analyses are disseminated among top management of the FDIC
in order for them to track the progress of pending FOIA
requests within the various FDIC Divisions and Offices. The
FDIC also uses these analyses as a means of evaluating and
continuously improving the efficiency of FOIA
operations.
The number of requests received on the FDIC's web
site has increased steadily, and the FDIC has posted a
great deal of information directly on the web site, such as
records concerning regulatory proposals, member financial
institution data, FDIC enforcement actions, public
comments, and final orders issued from FDIC's Board of
Directors. The online agency FOIA Guide also helps
requesters to better target their requests and includes
links to the FDIC's FOIA regulation, the Justice
Department's Guide to the FOIA, and popular FOIA
records.
During this fiscal year, the FDIC's Supervisory
Attorney in charge of the agency's FOIA program
conducted two formal training sessions on the FOIA and the
Privacy Act for FDIC employees. The supervisory attorney
held one session on November 15, 2002 at the National
Consumer Affairs Conference of the FDIC Division of
Supervision and Consumer Protection. The supervisory
attorney conducted a second training session on September
10, 2003, also for employees of the Division of Supervision
and Consumer Protection. A delegate from the Republic of
Japan's banking agency was present at the September 10,
2003 presentation. The focus of each of these sessions was
on FOIA issues concerning the Division of Supervision and
Consumer Protection, especially the proper application of
FOIA exemption (b)(8). The Supervisory Attorney and senior
staff also issued multiple written memoranda and oral
guidance to many Offices and Divisions of the FDIC,
coordinated and tracked the FOIA appeals for the General
Counsel, and updated the Electronic FOIA web page.
IX. Costs/FOIA
Staffing
A. Staffing
levels.
1. Number of full-time FOIA personnel: 9
2. Number of personnel with part-time or occasional FOIA
duties (in total work-years): 10
3. Total number of personnel (in work-years):
191
B. Total costs
(including staff and all resources).
1. FOIA processing (including appeals): $1,680,999
2. Litigation-related activities: $64,800
3. Total costs: $1,745,799
C. Statement of
additional resources needed for FOIA compliance
(optional):
None noted
X. Fees
This includes charges for search, review, document
duplication, and any other direct costs permitted under
agency regulations.
As required by the FOIA, FDIC's published regulations
afford two hours of free search time and 100 pages of free
duplication per request to noncommercial requesters. The FDIC
therefore fulfills many FOIA requests at no charge to the
requester, while accruing substantial cumulative costs.
A. Total amount
of fees collected by agency for processing
requests:
$28,3482
B. Percentage of
total costs:
1.62%
1 This does not include staff at the FDIC's
Reading Room/Public Information Center.
2 This does not include fees collected from the
Reading Room/Public Information Center, since those fees are
not generated pursuant to requests for records under section
(a)(3) of the FOIA. The Public Information Center collected
fees of $39,974 during the same period.
XI. FOIA
Regulations (Including Fee Schedule):
The FDIC's FOIA regulations are available to the public
in electronic version at: http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/2000-3800.html#2000part309.
Paper copies of this report contain the full text of
FDIC's FOIA regulations as Attachment 1.
The following is the FDIC's FOIA fee schedule, with
the electronic version available to the public at: http://www.fdic.gov/about/freedom/fees.html.
Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation Records Fees
Fee Schedule
Interim Notice of
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Records Fees
Fee Schedule
Date of Issuance: May 1, 2003
In accordance with 12 C.F.R. § 309.5(f), the
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation hereby sets forth the
fees to be charged for the production of agency records.
These fees will be effective for requests submitted no less
than thirty days from the above date of issuance. Persons
requesting records from the FDIC shall be charged for the
direct costs of search, review and duplication as set forth
at 12 C.F.R. § 309.5(f), unless such costs are less
than $10.00.
The following hourly labor rates shall apply:
Executive level staff -- $92.00
Professional level staff -- $58.00
Clerical level staff -- $25.00
Personal computer rate -- $1.84 per hour of use (in
addition to hourly labor rates)
The charge for duplication of documents shall be $0.10
per page
Computer charges:
Floppy disks -- $.50 each (plus data/labor costs)
CD -- $1.00 (plus data/labor costs)
Magnetic tape reel/cartridge -- $10.00 each (plus
data/labor costs)
Large tape reel/cartridge -- $100.00 each (plus
data/labor costs)
Mainframe computer data costs: (plus hourly labor rates,
if applicable)
CPU processing -- $0.18 per second
Disk I/O -- $0.35 per 1000 transactions
Tape I/O -- $0.20 per 1000 transactions
Printing -- $0.88 per 1000 lines
Special products:
Certain reports, manuals and other products are offered
at set prices by agency components which produce them.
Prices may be obtained upon request.
The above rates shall be in effect until further
notice.
