ABA book offers overview of bank examination privilege and its role in bank supervision

To help lawyers navigate the complex area of banking law, the American Bar Association Business Law Section has published “The Bank Examination Privilege: When Litigants Demand Confidentiality Reports,” which offers a comprehensive overview of the bank examination privilege and its essential role in bank supervision.

The bank examination privilege applies to confidential communications between financial institutions and their federal and state regulators, such as formal bank audits. Recently, a number of significant cases involving regulated financial institutions have centered around the bank examination privilege. This guide provides key concepts and serves as a practical, user-friendly resource to understand the intricacies of this privilege. A comprehensive treatment on the subject, this resource includes:

• An overview of the bank examination privilege, including the definition, scope and limitations

• Statutes and regulations at both the federal and state levels

• The principles of sovereign immunity

• The nuts and bolts of bank examinations: what they are and who examines banks

• Practice tips that can help you successfully defend the bank examination privilege and litigate issues related to the privilege

• An appendix that serves as a legal research guide setting forth citations to legal authorities that touch on different aspects of the privilege, including at the federal and

“The Bank Examination Privilege” is co-written by Eric Epstein, David A. Scheffel and Nicholas A.J. Vlietstra.  Epstein is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s Securities & Financial Services Litigation & Enforcement Group and is also a lecturer in law at Columbia Law School. Scheffel is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he co-chairs the firm’s Securities & Financial Services Litigation & Enforcement Group.  Vlietstra is a partner at Dorsey & Whitney LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s Finance & Restructuring Group and co-chairs the firm’s Financial Services Regulatory Group.