(a) Submission of request. Any submitter of information to the Board who desires confidential treatment pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 552(b)(4) and Sec. 261.14 (a)(4) shall file a request for confidential treatment with the Board (or in the case of documents filed with a Federal Reserve Bank, with that Federal Reserve Bank) at the time the information is submitted or a reasonable time after submission.
(b) Form of request. Each request for confidential treatment shall state in reasonable detail the facts supporting the request and its legal justification. Conclusory statements that release of the information would cause competitive harm generally will not be considered sufficient to justify confidential treatment.
(c) Designation and separation of confidential material. All information considered confidential by a submitter shall be clearly designated CONFIDENTIAL in the submission and separated from information for which confidential treatment is not requested. Failure to segregate confidential information from other material may result in release of the nonsegregated material to the public without notice to the submitter.
(d) Exceptions. This section does not apply to:
(1) Data collected on forms that are approved pursuant to the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) and are deemed confidential by the Board. Any such form deemed confidential by the Board shall so indicate on the face of the form or in its instructions. The data may, however, be disclosed in aggregate form in such a manner that individual company data is not disclosed or derivable.
(2) Any comments submitted by a member of the public on applications and regulatory proposals being considered by the Board, unless the Board or the Secretary determines that confidential treatment is warranted.
(3) A determination by the Board to comment upon information submitted to the Board in any opinion or statement issued to the public as described in Sec. 261.14(c).
(e) Special procedures. The Board may establish special procedures for particular documents, filings, or types of information by express provisions in this part or by instructions on particular forms that are approved by the Board. These special procedures shall take precedence over this section.