OCC 2004-24
OCC Bulletin

Subject:      Suspicious Activity Reporting	
Description:  Interagency Advisory: Federal Court Reaffirms Protections 
              for Financial Institutions Filing Suspicious Activity 
              Reports

Date:         May 26, 2004

TO:  Chief Executive Officers of All National Banks, Department and 
     Division Heads, and All Examining Personnel

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), the Board of 
Governors of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Deposit Insurance 
Corporation, and the Office of Thrift Supervision are jointly issuing the 
attached Interagency Advisory titled “Federal Court Reaffirms Protections 
for Financial Institutions Filing Suspicious Activity Reports” on May 26, 
2004.  The purpose of the advisory is to inform financial institutions 
about a recent federal court case, Whitney Nat’l Bank v. Karam, 306 F. 
Supp.2d 678 (S.D. Tex. 2004), that reaffirms the statutory protection 
from civil liability arising out of the filing of Suspicious Activity 
Reports (SARs) by financial institutions and their employees.  This 
protection is generally referred to as a “safe harbor” and is contained 
in 12 USC 5318(g)(3) and the OCC’s SAR regulation, 12 CFR 21.11.  

The Whitney court sided with the majority of courts in ruling that a bank 
may not be subject to a civil suit regarding communications it may have 
made to law enforcement about suspected violations of law or suspicious 
activities.  Further, the court ruled that a bank may not be required to 
produce documents in discovery relating to such communications or to the 
contents or existence of a SAR.  In light of the Whitney decision, the 
agencies remain confident that financial institutions and their employees 
who follow the prescribed agency regulations and SAR filing instructions 
should be fully protected by the safe harbor provisions of the law.  

For further information, please contact the OCC’s Enforcement & Compliance 
Division at (202) 874-4800.


__________________________
Daniel P. Stipano
Deputy Chief Counsel


Attachment:  Interagency Advisory
             [http://www.occ.treas.gov/ftp/bulletin/2004-24a.pdf]