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Annual Report on the Freedom of Information Act
for Fiscal Year 2009
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
The following information is submitted to the U.S. Department of Justice by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) in accordance with the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552(e)) (FOIA), as amended.

I.Basic Information Regarding Report
  1. The Board's contact person for questions about this report is Ms. Jeanne M. McLaughlin, Manager, Freedom of Information Office, Mail Stop 132, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20551; Tel: 202-452-3684; TDD only: 202-452-3544; FAX: 202-872-7565.
  2. A copy of this 2009 FOIA Annual Report is available on the Board's website.
  3. A paper copy of this report may be obtained by downloading it from the Board's website or requesting it from the Board's Freedom of Information Office (Tel: 202-452-3684).

II.How to Make a FOIA Request
  1. The Federal Reserve does not have individual agency components or offices that receive FOIA requests; all requests may be made to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary of the Board, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20551; Tel: 202-452-3259; FAX: 202-872-7565; or electronically.
  2. The exemptions most often applicable to information requested from the Board include (b)(4), (b)(5), and (b)(6). The Board receives a great deal of privileged and private financial information concerning individuals, business, and banking entities. Therefore, exemptions (b)(4) and (b)(6) are used to withhold confidential or privileged material. The Board uses exemption (b)(5) to withhold staff analyses and recommendations and inter-agency or intra-agency communications.

III.Acronyms, Definitions, and Exemptions
  1. Agency-specific acronyms or other terms.
    1. Board -- Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System
    2. FOIA -- Freedom of Information Act (5 U.S.C. § 552)
  2. Basic terms used in this Report:
    1. Administrative Appeal -- a request to a federal agency asking that it review at a higher administrative level a FOIA determination made by the agency at the initial request level.
    2. Average number -- the number obtained by dividing the sum of a group of numbers by the quantity of numbers in the group. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the average number is 8.
    3. Backlog -- the number of requests or administrative appeals that are pending at an agency at the end of the fiscal year that are beyond the statutory time period for a response.
    4. Component -- for agencies that process requests on a decentralized basis, a "component" is an entity, also sometimes referred to as an Office, Division, Bureau, Center, or Directorate, within the agency that processes FOIA requests. The FOIA now requires that agencies include in their Annual FOIA Report data for both the agency overall and for each principal component of the agency.
    5. Consultation -- the procedure whereby the agency responding to a FOIA request first forwards a record to another agency for its review because that other agency has an interest in the document. Once the agency in receipt of the consultation finishes its review of the record, it responds back to the agency that forwarded it. That agency, in turn, will then respond to the FOIA requester.
    6. Exemption 3 Statute -- a federal statute that exempts information from disclosure and which the agency relies on to withhold information under subsection (b)(3) of the FOIA.
    7. FOIA Request -- a FOIA request is generally a request to a federal agency for access to records concerning another person (i.e., a "third-party" request), or concerning an organization, or a particular topic of interest. FOIA requests also include requests made by requesters seeking records concerning themselves (i.e., "first-party" requests) when those requesters are not subject to the Privacy Act, such as non-U.S. citizens. Moreover, because all first-party requesters should be afforded the benefit of both the access provisions of the FOIA as well as those of the Privacy Act, FOIA requests also include any first-party requests where an agency determines that it must search beyond its Privacy Act "systems of records" or where a Privacy Act exemption applies, and the agency looks to FOIA to afford the greatest possible access. All requests which require the agency to utilize the FOIA in responding to the requester are included in this Report. Additionally, a FOIA request includes records referred to the agency for processing and direct response to the requester. It does not, however, include records for which the agency has received a consultation from another agency. (Consultations are reported separately in Section XII of this Report.)
    8. Full Grant -- an agency decision to disclose all records in full in response to a FOIA request
    9. Full Denial -- an agency decision not to release any records in response to a FOIA request because the records are exempt in their entireties under one or more of the FOIA exemptions, or because of a procedural reason, such as when no records could be located.
    10. Median Number -- the middle, not average, number. For example, of 3, 7, and 14, the median number is 7.
    11. Multi-track Processing -- a system in which simple requests requiring relatively minimal review are placed in one processing track and more voluminous and complex requests are placed in one or more other tracks. Requests granted expedited processing are placed in yet another track. Requests in each track are processed on a first in/first out basis.
      1. Expedited Processing -- an agency will process a FOIA request on an expedited basis when a requester satisfies the requirements for expedited processing as set forth in the statute and in agency regulations.
      2. Simple Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in its fastest (non-expedited) track based on the low volume and/or simplicity of the records requested.
      3. Complex Request -- a FOIA request that an agency using multi-track processing places in a slower track based on the high volume and/or complexity of the records requested.
    12. Partial Grant/Partial Denial -- in response to a FOIA request, an agency decision to disclose portions of the records and to withhold other portions that are exempt under the FOIA, or to otherwise deny a portion of the request for a procedural reason.
    13. Pending Request or Pending Administrative Appeal -- a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has not taken final action in all respects.
    14. Perfected Request -- a request for records which reasonably describes such records and is made in accordance with published rules stating the time, place, fees (if any) and procedures to be followed.
    15. Processed Request or Processed Administrative Appeal -- a request or administrative appeal for which an agency has taken final action in all respects.
    16. Range in Number of Days -- the lowest and highest number of days to process requests or administrative appeals.
    17. Time Limits -- the time period in the statute for an agency to respond to a FOIA request (ordinarily twenty working days from receipt of a perfected FOIA request).
  3. Nine FOIA Exemptions:
    1. Exemption 1: classified national defense and foreign relations information
    2. Exemption 2: internal agency rules and practices
    3. Exemption 3: information that is prohibited from disclosure by another federal law
    4. Exemption 4: trade secrets and other confidential business information
    5. Exemption 5: inter-agency or intra-agency communications that are protected by legal privileges
    6. Exemption 6: information involving matters of personal privacy
    7. Exemption 7: records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes, to the extent that the production of those records (A) could reasonably be expected to interfere with enforcement proceedings, (B) would deprive a person of a right to a fair trial or an impartial adjudication, (C) could reasonably be expected to constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy, (D) could reasonably be expected to disclose the identity of a confidential source, (E) would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or would disclose guidelines for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or (F) could reasonably be expected to endanger the life or physical safety of any individual
    8. Exemption 8: information relating to the supervision of financial institutions
    9. Exemption 9: geological information on wells

IV.Exemption 3 Statutes
Statute Type of Information
Withheld
Case Citation Total Number of
Times Relied upon
By Agency
None N/A N/A N/A

 

V.FOIA Requests
  1. Received, Processed and Pending FOIA Requests
Number of
Requests Pending
as of Start of
Fiscal Year
Number of
Requests Received
in Fiscal Year
Number of
Requests
Processed in
Fiscal Year
Number of
Requests
Pending as of
End of Fiscal
Year
5 1015 848 172

 

  1. (1) Disposition of initial requests
Number of Full Grants Number of Partial Grants/
Partial Denials
Number of Full Denials Based on Exemptions Number of Full Denials Based on Reasons Other Than Exemptions Total
No Records All Records Referred to Another Component or Agency Request Withdrawn Fee-Related Reason Records Not Reasonably Described Improper FOIA Request For Other Reason Not Agency Record Duplicate Request Other
496 100 48 77 40 79 0 3 0 0 5 0 848

 

  1. (2) Disposition of FOIA Requests
Description of "Other" Reasons
For Denials from Chart B (1)
& Number of Times Those
Reasons Were Relied Upon
TOTAL
None 0

 

  1. (3) Disposition of FOIA Requests--Number of Times Exemptions Applied
Ex.
1
Ex
2
Ex
3
Ex
4
Ex
5
Ex.
6
Ex.
7(A)
Ex.
7(B)
Ex.
7(C)
Ex.
7(D)
Ex.
7(E)
Ex.
8
Ex.
9
0 10 0 111 68 35 1 0 1 0 0 35 0

 

VI.ADMINISTRATIVE APPEALS OF INITIAL DETERMINATIONS OF FOIA REQUESTS
  1. Received, Processed and Pending Administrative Appeals
Number of
Appeals Pending
as of Start of
Fiscal Year
Number of
Appeals Received
in Fiscal Year
Number of
Appeals
Processed in
Fiscal Year
Number of
Appeals Pending
as of End of
Fiscal Year
0 22 21 1

 

  1. Disposition of Administrative Appeals--All Processed Appeals
Number Affirmed
on Appeal
Number Partially
Affirmed & Partially
Reversed/Remanded
on Appeal
Number Completely
Reversed/Remanded
on Appeal
Number of
Appeals Closed
for other Reasons
TOTAL
13 4 0 4 21

 

  1. (1) Reasons for Denial on Appeal--Number of Times Exemptions Applied
Ex.
1
Ex
2
Ex
3
Ex
4
Ex
5
Ex.
6
Ex.
7(A)
Ex.
7(B)
Ex.
7(C)
Ex.
7(D)
Ex.
7(E)
Ex.
7(F)
Ex.
8
Ex.
9
0 1 0 7 7 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0

 

  1. (2) Reason for Denial on Appeal--Reasons Other than Exemptions
No
Records
Records
Referred
at Initial
Request
Level
Request
Withdrawn
Fee-
Related
Reason
Records
Not
Reasonably
Described
Improper
Request
for
Other
Reasons
Not
Agency
Record
Duplicate
Request
Or
Appeal
Request
In
Litigation
Appeal
Based
Solely
on
Denial
of
Request
For
Expedited
Processing
Other
*Explain
in chart
below
0 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0 2

 

  1. (3) Reasons for Denial on Appeal--"Other" Reasons from Section VI, C (2)
    Chart
Description of "Other" Reasons
for Denial On Appeal from Chart C (2)
& Number of Times Those
Reasons Were Relied upon
TOTAL
Untimely appeal 1
Records referred on appeal 1

 

  1. (4) Response Time for Administrative Appeals
Median Number
of Days
Average Number
of Days
Lowest Number
of Days
Highest Number
of Days
19 19 3 33

 

  1. (5) Ten Oldest Pending Administrative Appeals
10th Oldest Appeal 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Appeal
Date of Receipt of Ten Oldest Appeals                   9/29/2009
Number of Days Pending   0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1

 

VII.FOIA REQUESTS: RESPONSE TIME FOR PROCESSED AND PENDING REQUESTS
  1. Processed Requests--Response Time for All Processed Perfected Requests
SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED
Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days
2 4 <1 39 29 33 <1 344 30 28 2 87

 

  1. Processed requests--Response Time for Perfected Requests in Which
    Information Was Granted
SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED
Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Lowest Number of Days Highest Number of Days
2 3 <1 22 20 35 <1 239 21 30 2 87

 

  1. Processed Requests--Response Time in Day Increments
Simple Request
1-20
Days
21-40
Days
41-60
Days
61-80
Days
81-100
Days
101-120
Days
121-140
Days
141-160
Days
161-180
Days
181-200
Days
201-300
Days
301-400
Days
401+
Days
TOTAL
*280 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 283

 

  1. *Eighty-four of these requests were processed in less than one day.
Complex Request
1-20
Days
21-40
Days
41-60
Days
61-80
Days
81-100
Days
101-120
Days
121-140
Days
141-160
Days
161-180
Days
181-200
Days
201-300
Days
301-400
Days
401+
Days
TOTAL
295* 122 69 31 10 9 7 5 3 9 4 1 0 565

 

  1. *Four of these requests were processed in less than one day.
Requests Granted Expedited Processing
1-20
Days
21-40
Days
41-60
Days
61-80
Days
81-100
Days
101-120
Days
121-140
Days
141-160
Days
161-180
Days
181-200
Days
201-300
Days
301-400
Days
401+
Days
TOTAL
7 7 2 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 17

 

  1. Pending Requests--All Pending Perfected Requests
SIMPLE COMPLEX EXPEDITED PROCESSING
Number Pending Median Number of Days Average Number Pending Median Number of Days Average Number of Days Number Pending Median Number of Days Average Number of Days
0 0 0 164 65 82 8 118 125

 

  1. Pending Requests--Ten oldest Pending Perfected Requests
  10th Oldest Request and Number of Days Pending 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Request and Number of Days Pending
Date 12/3/2008 12/2/2008 12/1/2008 11/26/2008 11/17/2008 11/14/2008 11/13/2008 10/28/2008 10/10/2008 8/25/2008
Number of Days 208 209 210 211 218 219 220 231 242 275

 

VIII.REQUESTS FOR EXPEDITED PROCESSING AND REQUESTS FOR FEE WAIVER
  1. Requests for Expedited Processing
Number
Granted
Number
Denied
Median
Number of
Days to Adjudicate
Average
Number of
Days to
Adjudicate
Number
Adjudicated
Within Ten
Calendar Days
25 1 11 11 12

 

  1. Requests for Fee Waiver
Number
Granted
Number
Denied
Median
Number of
Days to
Adjudicate
Average
Number of
Days to
Adjudicate
36 0 3 10

 

IX.FOIA PERSONNEL AND COSTS

PERSONNEL COSTS
Number of "Full-Time FOIA Employees" Number of "Equivalent Full-Time FOIA Employees" Total Number of "Full-Time FOIA Staff" *Processing Costs Litigation-Related Costs Total Costs
5 8 13 $2,079,095.00 $444,453.00 $2,531,198.00

X.FEES COLLECTED FOR PROCESSING REQUESTS
Total Amount of Fees
Collected
Percentage of Total Costs
$6,492.00 Less than one percent

 

XI.FOIA REGULATIONS

FRB: FOIA Regulations Regarding Availability of Information

 

XII.BACKLOGS, CONSULTATIONS, AND COMPARISONS
  1. Backlogs of FOIA Requests and Administrative Appeals
Number of Backlogged
Requests as of End of
Fiscal Year
Number of Backlogged
Appeals as of End of
Fiscal Year
129 0

 

  1. Consultations on FOIA Requests--Received, Processed, and Pending
    Consultations
Number of
Consultations Received
from Other Agencies
that Were Pending at
Your Agency as of
Start of the Fiscal Year
Number of
Consultations
Received from Other Agencies During the
Fiscal Year
Number of
Consultations Received
from Other Agencies
that Were Processed by
Your Agency During
the Fiscal Year
Number of
Consultations Received
from Other Agencies
that Were Pending at
Your Agency as of
End of Fiscal Year
0 1 1 0

 

  1. Consultations on FOIA Requests--Ten Oldest Consultations Received from
    Other Agencies and Pending at Your Agency
10th Oldest Consultation and Number of Days Pending 9th 8th 7th 6th 5th 4th 3rd 2nd Oldest Consultation and Number of Days Pending
Date N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
Number of Days 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

 

  1. Comparison of Numbers of Requests from Previous and Current Annual
    Reports--Requests Received, Processed and Backlogged
NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED
Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
836 1015 836 848

 

Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of Fiscal Year from
Previous Annual Report
Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of Fiscal Year from
Current Annual Report
5 129

 

  1. Comparison of numbers of Administrative Appeals from Previous and Current Annual Report--Appeals Received, Processed, and Backlogged
NUMBER OF REQUESTS RECEIVED NUMBER OF REQUESTS PROCESSED
Number Received During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report Number Received During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Last Year's Annual Report Number Processed During Fiscal Year from Current Annual Report
11 22 11 21

 

Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of Fiscal Year from
Previous Annual Report
Number of Backlogged Requests
as of End of Fiscal Year from
Current Annual Report
0 0