March 22, 2000
Andrew Kaminski
Re: FOIA Appeal, your letter dated March 1,
2000
Dear Mr. Kaminski:
On January 6, 2000 you filed a Freedom of Information
Act (FOIA) request for the following: a list of all conservatorships
in Region I over the past five years; all letters appointing advisory
board members in the conservatorship cases listed; and the last
Report of Officials for each of the credit unions before it was
conserved. On January 7, 2000, you sent a letter clarifying your
request and noted your request included a list of all board members
appointed in conservatorship cases. Dianne Salva, NCUA's FOIA
Officer, responded to your request on February 16, 2000. Ms.
Salva listed the six credit unions that have been placed into
conservatorship in Region I over the past five years. Enclosed
with her response were the most recent Report of Officials for
the credit unions listed and copies of letters appointing advisory
board members for Central Brooklyn FCU and Polish and Slavic FCU.
The Report of Officials for Central Brooklyn FCU was unintentionally
left out of the enclosures. It is now enclosed. The home addresses,
telephone numbers and account numbers for individuals on the Report
of Officials have be redacted pursuant to exemption 6 of the FOIA,
5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6). Although you only request letters appointing
advisory board members in your January 6 request, you specifically
mention board members in your January 7 letter. Lists of the
board members appointed for Central Brooklyn FCU and Polish and
Slavic FCU, upon return of the credit unions to their respective
memberships, are now enclosed.
We received your appeal on March 8, 2000.
Before addressing the specifics of your letter, some general information
about conservatorships may be helpful. Advisory board members
are not appointed in all conservatorship cases. A decision on
whether to appoint advisory board members is made on a case-by-case
basis by the NCUA. The advisory board members serve during the
pendency of the conservatorship and do not have the authority
to operate the credit union. They serve in an advisory capacity
only. When the NCUA Board makes a decision to take a credit union
out of conservatorship and return it to the members, it appoints
a new board of directors. NCUA may include members of
the advisory board in the new board. Again,
decisions are made on a case-by-case basis. Not all conserved
credit unions are returned to the members for operation. If a
conserved credit union is not returned to the members, it is either
liquidated (with the possibility of a purchase and assumption)
or merged into another credit union. In those cases, no new board
members are appointed.
Your appeal letter indicates that we provided
information on only one credit union that had been placed into
conservatorship, other than Polish and Slavic FCU, namely Central
Brooklyn FCU. Ms. Salva's letter named the four other credit
unions in Region I that have been placed into conservatorship
within the last 5 years. They are: Nationwide Tenants FCU; CEDC
FCU; Northeastern Conference FCU; and Brooklyn Postal CU. However,
there were no advisory board members appointed in any of these
conservatorship cases. In addition, none of these credit unions
was returned to the membership. These four credit unions were
either merged or liquidated; no new board members were appointed.
As noted above, enclosed is the last Report
of Officials (prior to conservatorship) for Central Brooklyn FCU.
The home addresses, telephone numbers and account numbers of
individuals named in the report have been redacted pursuant to
exemption 6 of the FOIA. Exemption 6 protects information about
an individual in "personnel and medical files and similar
files" where the disclosure of such information "would
constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
5 U.S.C. 552(b)(6). The courts have held that all information
that applies to a particular individual meets the threshold requirement
for exemption 6 protection. United States Department of State
v. Washington Post Co., 456 U.S. 595 (1982). Once a privacy
interest is established, application of exemption 6 requires a
balancing of the public's right to disclosure against the individual's
right to privacy. Department of the Air Force v. Rose,
425 U.S. 352, 372 (1976). The redacted personal information about
FCU officials meets the threshold requirement for exemption 6
protection. There is minimal, if any, public interest in disclosing
this personal information. The individuals' privacy interests
outweigh any public interest in disclosure.
Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(a)(4)(B), you may
seek judicial review of this determination by filing suit against
the NCUA. Such a suit may be filed in the United States District
Court in the district where your principle place of business
is located, the District of Columbia, or where
the documents are located (the Eastern District of Virginia).
Sincerely,
Robert M. Fenner
General Counsel
Enclosures
GC/HMU:bhs
00-0321
SSIC 3212
FOI 00-134