R-49
Jan. 30, 1947
Hon. L. S. Johnson, Commissioner
State Department of Banking
Austin, Texas Opinion No. V-49
Re: Author.ity of the State Bonk-
ing Department to supply
certain information to an :
attorney representing a cli-
ent who has a judgment
against a Savisl~lB crad Loan
Association in hhe Stat,e of
Texas.
Dear Sir:
We are in rec,eipt of your request for an opinion upon the
above subject matter as follows:
“We are in receipt of a letter from an attorney, the
substance of which is as follows:
* ‘I represent a client who ha6 a j&g-
ment ag+v@ .,,.,.,.,., of .i,,.t,!.?, Texas,
who is presidents of the ,~,,,...,. Sa~&~gs and
Loan Association. I ran a writ of garnish-
ment against the loan company who answers
“That the defendant .,..A..... owns in the gar-
nishee company, to )Hit: .,,. . . .,.. Association,
. . ..*lr.*.. ahaz+ft$gf tie value of ,...,:...: dollars
described as special fully paid stack and evi-
denced by stock certificate #, . ,. . . . . . , which has
been deposited with the Department of Banking,
State of Texas, to cover an existing deficit and
pledged by .,.baL.l,. ta guaraclty leas from said
deficit to the shareholders.”
” ‘This may be true and Z doubt it.
* ‘Please let me know if there is such defi-
cit, and ff c&id stock owned by said ..+.+..... is
pledged with your department.
a ‘Thanking ycu for your prompt attention
Hon. L. S. Johnson - Page 2
and reply, I am,
” ‘Cordially yours,
. ..*................’
“For your information, the statement of the gar-
nishee company, as hereinabove quoted, is substantially
true, except for the number of shares which is stated
therein and the amount of the value thereof,
“We seek advice from your Department as to whet.h-
er or not there is a legal prohibition against our furnish-
ing the information requested of us in the above letter.
“In this connection, you are advised that none of the
information that we have on the subject incorporated in
the garniehes company’s answer was obtained by us
through an examination of the association, but resulted
out of a transaction between this department and the Board
of Directors of the Association in the process of a reor-
ganization of said Association. *
Senate Bill No. 9, Chapter 18, of the Acts of the 42nd Legis-
,lature, 3rd Called Session, Article 1136a-9 of the Penal Code, Vcr-
non’s Codification, is as follows:
“The Banking Commissioner and my examiner, in-
spector, deputy, assistant or clerk, appointed or acting
under the previsions of this Act, failing to keep secret
any facts oe iaformatian regarding an association ob-
tain&d h the cowlc sf wa examination or by reason of
his official penitiox, except When the public duty of such
officer req’uircrl him to repart upon or take official ac-
tion regarding the affairs of the asseciation so examined,
er who wilfully makes a false official repert as to the
condition of such lssoeiatien, shall be removed from his
position op dficr and shall be fined not more than five
hundred dollar&, or imprisoned in the county jail for not
more than. one year, or both. Reports of examinations
made to the Banking Comissioner of Texas shall be re-
garded as confidential and not for ptrblic record or in-
spection, except that for good reason same may be made
by the Commissioner, but copies thereof may, upon re-
quest of the Association, be furnished to the Federal
Home Loan Bank Board and/or to the Federal Home
Loan Bank far the purpose of meeting the requirements
of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act. Nothing herein
shall prevent the proper exchange of information relat-
ing to building and loan asseciations and the business
Hon. L. S. Johnson - Page 3
thereof with the representatives of building and loan
departments of other states, but in no case shell the
privatebusiness or affairs of any individual associa-
tion or company be disclosed. Any official violating
any provision of this Ssction, in addition to the penal-
ties herein provided, shall be liable, with his bonds-
men, to the person or corporation injured by the dis-
closure of such secrets,.”
The language of this Article precludes your giving the
information requested, and moreover, it would appear to be suf-
ficiently broad to preclude your permitting anyone to make an ex-
amination of your files which would disclose such information.
The language “or by reason of his official position” makes the
prohibition broader than the examiners report as such. You and
the members of the Depeltment are authorized to make use of
such facts or information only when the publfc duty imposed upon
you requires a report covering such matters or imposes upon you
the duty to take official action regarding such association as by
reporting its condition to the Attorney General for action.
SUMMARY
,
Penal Code, Article 11364-9, (Vernon’s Cod.)
nukes privileged all in9truanente or infr,rmation in
the possession of the Banking Department regarding
a Building and Loan Association, when obtained in the
course of an examination or by reeson of official
position, This information must be kept secret and
not be divulged to the public.
Very truly yours,
ATTQRNEYGENERALOFTEXAS
BY c,Q$--?
Ocie Speer
0S:am Assistant
APPROVED APPROVED JAN 30 1947
OPINION COMMITTEE
BY FD,
CHAIRMAN j3?&Qt);u*c;--p
ATTORNEYGEiW’tALOFTEXAS