Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no government authority may have access to a customer’s financial record held by a financial institution unless the financial record is described with reasonable specificity and access is sought pursuant to any of the following:

(1) Customer authorization that meets the requirements of the Right to Financial Privacy Act § 1104, 12 U.S.C. § 3404, provided, however, a customer authorization received by a State agency or a county department of social services for the purpose of determining eligibility for the programs of public assistance under Chapter 108A of the N.C. Gen. Stat., or for purposes of a government inquiry concerning these same programs of public assistance, cannot be revoked and shall remain valid for 12 months unless a shorter period is specified in the authorization, or a customer authorization that is given by a licensed attorney with respect to an account in which the attorney holds funds as a fiduciary.

Terms Used In North Carolina General Statutes 53B-4

  • Customer: means a person who has transacted business with a financial institution or has used the services offered by a financial institution. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
  • Financial institution: means a banking corporation, trust company, savings and loan association, credit union, or other entity principally engaged in the business of lending money or receiving or soliciting money on deposit. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • Financial record: means an original of, a copy of, or information derived from, a record held by a financial institution pertaining to a customer's relationship with the financial institution and identified with or identifiable with the customer. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • following: when used by way of reference to any section of a statute, shall be construed to mean the section next preceding or next following that in which such reference is made; unless when some other section is expressly designated in such reference. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Government authority: means an agency or department of the State or of any of its political subdivisions, including any officer, employee, or agent thereof. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • Government inquiry: means a lawful investigation by a government agency or official proceeding inquiring into a violation of, or failure to comply with, any criminal or civil statute, law, or rule. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • Grand jury: agreement providing that a lender will delay exercising its rights (in the case of a mortgage,
  • Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
  • state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories, so called; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the said district and territories and all dependencies. See North Carolina General Statutes 12-3
  • Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
  • Supervisory agency: means a State agency or department having the statutory authority to examine the financial condition or business operation of a financial institution. See North Carolina General Statutes 53B-2
  • Writ: A formal written command, issued from the court, requiring the performance of a specific act.

(2) Authorization under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-242 or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 105-258

(3) Search warrant as provided in Article 11 of Chapter 15A of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(4) Statutory authority of a supervisory agency to examine or have access to financial records in the exercise of its supervisory, regulatory, or monetary functions with respect to a financial institution.

(5) The authority granted under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116B-72 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116B-75

(6) Examination and review by the State Auditor or his authorized representative under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 147-64.6(c)(9) or N.C. Gen. Stat. § 147-64.7(a).

(7) Request by a government authority authorized to buy and sell student loan notes under Article 23 of Chapter 116 of the N.C. Gen. Stat. for financial records relating to insured student loans.

(8) Pending litigation to which the government authority and the customer are parties.

(9) Subpoena or court order in connection with a grand jury proceeding.

(10) A writ of execution under Article 28 of Chapter 1 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(11) Other court order or administrative or judicial subpoena authorized by law if the requirements of N.C. Gen. Stat. § 53B-5 are met.

(12) The authority granted to the Attorney General under Chapter 75 of the N.C. Gen. Stat..

(13) A subpoena delivered to the financial institution pursuant to N.C. Gen. Stat. § 108A-116 by (i) a county department of social services director investigating a credible report of financial exploitation of a disabled adult or (ii) a law enforcement agency investigating a credible report of financial exploitation of a disabled adult or older adult.

As used in this section, the term “reasonable specificity” means that degree of specificity reasonable under all the circumstances, and, with respect to requests under N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116B-72 and N.C. Gen. Stat. § 116B-75, may include designation by general type or class. (1985 (Reg. Sess., 1986), c. 1002, s. 1; 1999-460, s. 11; 2006-259, s. 14(b); 2007-527, s. 1; 2010-31, s. 31.8(j); 2013-337, s. 2(a).)

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