§333. Disclosure of financial records; reimbursement of costs
A. As used in this Section:
(1) "Affiliate" means a bank's holding company, any subsidiary of a bank or its
holding company, any insurer of or surety for the bank, or any attorney, accountant, auditor,
or other agent for or of the bank or an affiliate. An affiliate shall include any person who
performs services for or functions on behalf of the bank pursuant to a contractual agreement
obligating such person to maintain the confidentiality of information received from the bank
in the performance of its contract.
(2) "Bank" means any state bank, national bank, or any entity organized to engage
in the business of banking pursuant to the laws of any other state or the District of Columbia
domiciled in, having its principal place of business in, or engaged in the business of banking
in this state. "Bank" shall also mean a savings bank, a savings and loan association, a
company issuing credit cards, or any other business offering credit.
(3) "Consumer" means an individual who obtains or has obtained a financial product
or service from a bank that is to be used primarily for personal, family, or household
purposes, or for that individual's legal representative.
(4) "Customer" means any person who has transacted, or is transacting, any business
with a bank or who has used, or is using, any service of a bank, including but not limited to
the following: any person who was or is indebted or otherwise obligated to the bank,
whether directly or indirectly; any person who has provided, or is providing, any collateral
security for any indebtedness or other obligation to the bank; any person who has had, or
currently has, any funds on deposit at the bank; or any person for whom the bank is acting
or has acted as a fiduciary.
(5) "Disclosure" or "disclose" means and includes producing, providing access to,
providing copies of, or giving testimony or making other oral or written statements pertaining
to financial records.
(6) "Disclosure demand" means a civil or criminal judicial, administrative,
legislative, military courts-martial, juvenile, grand jury, arbitration, or medical review panel
subpoena, summons, or order or notice of deposition, interrogatories, request for production
or inspection of documents, request for admissions, or other discovery request lawfully
directed or propounded to a bank or any affiliate.
(7) "Financial record" means an original, duplicate, or copy of any memorandum,
writing, datum, compilation, entry, print, analysis, review, committee minute, internal or
external audit report, or other document or record held by, or otherwise in the possession or
under the control of, a bank which pertains in any way to a past or current customer or to
such customer's past or current relationship with the bank and all information contained
therein or derived therefrom. Financial record shall not include "publicly available
information".
(8) "Government authority" means an agency, department, or commission of the
United States or of any state thereof, or any officer, employee, or agent thereof.
(9) "Person" means any individual, partnership, limited partnership, unincorporated
association, joint stock company, corporation, limited liability company, limited liability
partnership, state, city, county, municipality, or other governmental subdivision and their
respective employees, boards, agencies, and departments.
(10) "Publicly available information" means any information that a bank or any
affiliate has a reasonable basis to believe is lawfully made available to the general public
from any of the following:
(a) Federal, state, or local government records.
(b) Widely distributed media.
(c) Disclosures to the general public that are required to be made by federal, state,
or local law.
(11) "Return date" means the date on which financial records are to be produced or
disclosed, either as set forth in a disclosure demand or as such date may be extended by
appropriate order or by agreement between the bank and the person requesting such financial
records.
(12) "Supervisory agency" means any entity which has statutory authority to examine
the financial condition, business operations, records, or transactions of a bank, including but
not limited to the following:
(a) The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
(b) The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
(c) The Comptroller of the Currency.
(d) The Securities and Exchange Commission.
(e) The secretary of the United States Treasury with respect to the Bank Secrecy Act.
(f) The office of financial institutions.
(g) The federal Office of Thrift Supervision.
B. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, except R.S. 9:151 et
seq. and 3854(B)(2), R.S. 13:3921 et seq., Code of Civil Procedure Articles 2336, 2336.1,
and 2411 et seq., R.S. 46:236.1.4, and R.S. 47:1676(D)(2) and 1677, no bank or its affiliate
shall disclose any financial records to any person other than the customer to whom the
financial records pertain, unless such financial records are disclosed:
(1) In response to a disclosure demand in accordance with the provisions of
Subsection C of this Section.
(2) Pursuant to a written request or authorization for disclosure or waiver which
meets the requirements of Subsection E of this Section.
(3) As otherwise permitted or allowed by this Section.
C. A bank may disclose financial records pursuant to a disclosure demand if each of
the following conditions are met:
(1) The disclosure demand is served on the bank's president, one of the bank's
registered agents for service of process, or, if applicable, on the bank's counsel of record
unless such service on such individuals is expressly waived by the bank.
(2) Prior to the return date, the person requesting the issuance of the disclosure
demand furnishes the bank with an affidavit certifying both of the following:
(a) That such disclosure demand, or a certified copy thereof, has also been personally
served upon each customer named in the disclosure demand to whom the financial records
being sought pertain or upon such customer's counsel of record in accordance with
Subsection D of this Section.
(b) That such service was made at least thirty calendar days prior to the return date.
(3) The bank has not received written notice that a customer to whom the financial
records pertain has taken legal action to enjoin or otherwise restrain the release of the
financial records.
D. Service of a disclosure demand, or certified copy thereof, on any customer shall
be made by utilizing any applicable method for service of citation on said customer
authorized by the Code of Civil Procedure, including Articles 1231 through 1265. However,
any such service may be made by an individual who is not a party and who is at least
eighteen years of age, rather than by the sheriff. Service on any customer's counsel of record
shall be made by personal service in the office of such counsel of record on either his
secretary, as defined in Code of Civil Procedure Article 1235(C), or any partner or office
associate of such counsel of record. Service on a customer or on his counsel of record may
be made within or without the state of Louisiana.
E. A customer, or an attorney at law representing such customer, may authorize
disclosure of the customer's financial records by providing the bank with a signed and dated
statement which authorizes such disclosure, specifies the person to whom such financial
records may be disclosed, and reasonably identifies the financial records which are
authorized to be disclosed. Any such statement signed by an attorney at law stating or
certifying that he represents a customer may, at the bank's discretion, be relied upon and shall
constitute proper authority for disclosure pursuant to this Section.
F. The following disclosures by a bank or any affiliate are hereby specifically
authorized and, except as otherwise provided in this Subsection, nothing in this Section shall
prohibit, restrict, or otherwise apply to:
(1) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of any financial record to any person as
an incident necessary to: obtaining or perfecting a guaranty, mortgage, lien, security interest,
or other encumbrance; proving a claim in bankruptcy, otherwise collecting on, or enforcing
its rights with respect to a debt owing either to the bank itself or to it in its role as a fiduciary;
or procuring, making a claim on, or otherwise enforcing or exercising its rights with respect
to any insurance pertaining or related to a debt owing either to the bank itself or to it in its
role as a fiduciary, including single interest insurance.
(2) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of any financial record to a supervisory
agency in connection with the exercise of the supervisory agency's supervisory, regulatory,
or monetary functions with respect to the bank or any affiliate of the bank.
(3) The disclosure by a bank of any financial record to any affiliate of the bank.
(4) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records to any person to
whom the bank has sold or participated, or may sell or may participate, in all or any part of
one or more customer loans or other indebtedness or deposits to which such financial records
pertain or to any person to whom the bank has granted, or may grant, one or more
assignments, liens, security interests, or other encumbrances in or affecting one or more
customer loans or other indebtedness to which such financial records pertain.
(5) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate, after the execution of a confidentiality
agreement between the bank or its affiliate and the person to whom the financial records are
to be disclosed, of financial records to any of the following:
(a) Potential investors in the bank or any affiliate and their agents, in the case of a
nonpublic offering, or investment banking firms and their agents, in the case of a public
offering, in connection with an offering of debt or equity securities of the bank or any
affiliate.
(b) Holders of debt or equity securities issued by the bank or by any affiliate, and the
agents of such holders, to the extent that such disclosure is required by law or by the terms
of one or more agreements or instruments pertaining to such securities.
(c) Any person and its agents in connection with the consideration or completion of
mergers, consolidations, acquisitions, or sales of all or substantially all of the assets of the
bank or of any affiliate.
(6) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records to a government
authority or law enforcement agency or department in connection with a known or suspected
criminal act against the bank or involving a bank officer or employee.
(7) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of general credit information relating to
the existence of accounts, promptness of payments, limits of credit, or other general
information normally furnished to a credit reporting or rating agency or to another financial
institution, including but not limited to another bank or savings and loan association, or to
any other person who has made a request for the information and who has a legitimate
business need for it in connection with a transaction or proposed transaction between the
customer and such person. Unless the request is prompted by the customer, notice of the
written request shall be given to the customer.
(8) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records to any person in
connection with any authorization or approval of a specific extension of credit directly or
indirectly by a credit card company or other person offering or extending credit or the
exchange of information between the bank and such person as to the bank's experience with
the customer.
(9) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records to any person having
any ownership or joint interest in an account to which the financial records pertain, any
person directly or indirectly obligated to the bank on an extension of credit to which the
financial records pertain, or any person who has granted a mortgage, lien, security interest,
or other encumbrance in favor of the bank or has otherwise provided security to the bank to
secure an extension of credit to which the financial records pertain.
(10) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records to any legal
representative, surviving spouse, heir, or legatee of a customer or to an attorney at law
representing the same upon the bank's receiving written notice of the customer's death,
interdiction, or other incapacity and upon the bank's receiving evidence satisfactory to it of
proper authority which, in the case of a surviving spouse, heir, or legatee of a decedent, may
be by affidavit executed by such person attesting to such relationship with the decedent.
(11) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records in situations
governed by, pursuant to, and in accordance with the provisions of 12 U.S.C. 3401 et seq.,
15 U.S.C. 6801 et seq., or pursuant to a search warrant issued in accordance with Title IV
of the Code of Criminal Procedure.
(12) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records in situations
governed by, pursuant to, and in accordance with the provisions of Title 31 of the United
States Code.
(13) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of financial records pursuant to a
subpoena or court order issued in connection with proceedings before a federal or state grand
jury in accordance with applicable federal or state law, rule, or regulation; subpoena or court
order issued in connection with a state criminal investigation pursuant to Code of Criminal
Procedure Article 66; or subpoena issued by the state inspector general or any member of his
staff designated by him pursuant to R.S. 49:220.24.
NOTE: Subparagraph (F)(14) eff. until Oct. 1, 2027. See Acts 2025, No. 477.
(14) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of data match information on an
individual to the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services, or his
designee in the office of children and family services, child support enforcement section, for
use in attempting to establish, modify, or enforce a child support obligation of such
individual. Such disclosure to the department shall be limited to the name, record address,
social security or taxpayer identification number, and an average daily account balance for
the most recent thirty-day period, of a noncustodial parent who maintains an account at such
institution and who owes past-due support as identified by the state by name and social
security or taxpayer identification number. The disclosure authorization provided for in this
Paragraph shall apply to all co-owners listed on the applicable account.
NOTE: Subparagraph (F)(14) as enacted by Acts 2025, No. 477, eff. Oct. 1, 2027.
(14) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of data match information on an
individual to the secretary of the Department of Children and Family Services or his
designee in the office of child support for use in attempting to establish, modify, or enforce
a child support obligation of such individual. Such disclosure to the department shall be
limited to the name, record address, social security or taxpayer identification number, and
an average daily account balance for the most recent thirty-day period, of a noncustodial
parent who maintains an account at such institution and who owes past-due support as
identified by the state by name and social security or taxpayer identification number. The
disclosure authorization provided for in this Paragraph shall apply to all co-owners listed
on the applicable account.
(15) The disclosure by a bank or any affiliate of publicly available information.
(16) The disclosure by a federally insured financial institution or any of its affiliates
of financial records pursuant to R.S. 6:332.
(17) A bank that makes agriculture loans that communicates information, either
orally or in writing, in accordance with R.S. 3:3419.1.
(18) The disclosure by a bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of data match
information on an account owner to the secretary of the Department of Revenue, and his
designee in the office of debt recovery, for use in attempting to enforce a final tax or non-tax
assessment or judgment against such individual or entity. Such disclosure to the department
or office shall be limited to the name, record address, social security or taxpayer
identification number, other identifying information, and an average daily account balance
for the most recent thirty-day period, of a state tax or state non-tax debtor who maintains an
account or is a customer at such institution and who purportedly owes a final state tax or state
non-tax assessment or judgment. The disclosure authorization provided for in this Paragraph
shall apply to all co-owners listed on the applicable account.
(19) The disclosure by a bank or any of its subsidiaries or affiliates of financial
records pursuant to a written request from the office of elderly affairs within the office of the
governor certifying that receipt of the records is necessary to the performance of the office's
duties under the Adult Protective Services Act.
G. A bank shall be given a reasonable period of time prior to the return date, and in
no event less than thirty calendar days prior thereto, in which to complete the action
necessary to disclose financial records which are the subject of a request. Whether the bank
is a party to litigation or not, prior to making any disclosure and notwithstanding any contrary
provisions of this Section, R.S. 13:4521, Code of Civil Procedure Article 2411, or of any
other law, the bank shall be reimbursed by the requesting person for the reasonable fees and
costs incurred or to be incurred by the bank in the course of compliance with the request,
including but not limited to document reproduction costs, research and processing costs,
personnel costs, and travel expenses, whether any or all such costs are internal costs or are
costs incurred by the bank in favor of a person acting on behalf of or performing services for
the bank. If the bank and the requesting party disagree as to the amount of the fees and costs
to be reimbursed to the bank under this Section, the bank need not produce the financial
records until the court or other appropriate body issuing the disclosure demand has fixed the
amount to be paid to the bank upon a motion of any party or the bank. The court or other
appropriate body, in its discretion, may order a contradictory hearing to fix the fees and costs
to be reimbursed.
H.(1) Unless the disclosure demand specifically provides otherwise, it shall be
sufficient compliance therewith if the bank, on or before the return date or the first business
day thereafter if the return date is not a business day for the bank, either deposits with an
overnight courier service or sends by U.S. registered or certified mail copies of the financial
records to be disclosed. When the financial records are disclosed in accordance with the
provisions of this Subsection, the copies of said financial records shall be accompanied by
a written certificate executed by a representative of the bank in substantially the following
form:
"Date:_______________
I, ______________________, a representative of ___________________________ (Bank)
do hereby certify that the document(s) attached to or accompanying this certificate, consisting
of ______ page(s) is (are each) a true and correct copy of the original records represented
thereby.
____________________________
Name
____________________________
Title
____________________________
Address
____________________________
Telephone Number"
(2) When financial records are disclosed in accordance with the provisions of this
Subsection, disclosure occurs when the financial records are deposited with the overnight
courier service or in the U.S. mail, as applicable.
I.(1) No bank or its affiliates, including any of its directors, officers, employees,
attorneys, accountants, or other agents, shall be civilly or criminally liable to any person,
including any customer, for any disclosure of publicly available information or for any
disclosure of financial records made in compliance with or as authorized by the provisions
of this Section. However, if the bank actually receives written notice that the customer has
taken legal action to enjoin or otherwise restrain the disclosure of financial records, and the
bank receives such written notice sufficiently in advance of disclosure so as to allow the bank
a reasonable time to act on said notice, then the bank shall postpone disclosure of such
financial records until such time as it is provided with satisfactory evidence that the
disclosure of the financial records by it is permitted.
(2) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, all financial records prepared by or for
the bank in connection with the bank's evaluation, analysis, or review of any loan or other
extension of credit or of any collateral security therefor or reserve therefor shall be
confidential and shall not be discoverable or admissible in evidence in any civil action
pertaining to or arising out of any such loan, other extension of credit, or the collateral
security therefor.
NOTE: Section 2 of Acts 2005, No. 249, provides that the Act shall become
effective six months following adoption of a final rule by the Louisiana
Supreme Court requiring attorneys to utilize, in whole or in part, the overdraft
notification services provided in R.S. 6:332 as enacted by the Act. (Act 249
enacted Paragraph (F)(16))