The FDIC's web site is a storehouse of information and it is all available at your fingertips! The site contains consumer guides, research papers, statistics and data concerning the banking industry and economic trends, documents, and other information created or compiled by the FDIC. You can review the information on-line or download it for future use. You can use the Quick Links and Search the Site features at the top of each page, or do a full text search to locate the information you need.

Another place to begin is on the FDIC's Publications & Documents web page, where you can see a list of those documents available by mail or available for inspection and copying at our Washington, D.C. headquarters. Also available is the FDIC Public Information Center website.

FOIA is a federal statute ( 5 USC 552) which affords any person the right to obtain federal agency records unless the records (or a part of the records) are protected from disclosure by any of the nine exemptions contained in the law or by one of three special law enforcement record exclusions. The FDIC has issued Regulation 309.5 implementing the Freedom of Information Act.

On October 2, 1996, the Electronic Freedom of Information Act Amendments of 1996 (E-FOIA, for short) were enacted. Under E-FOIA the FDIC makes it possible for you to have electronic access to much important information without filing a FOIA Request:

• FDIC Enforcement Decisions and Orders: final opinions, including concurring and dissenting opinions, as well as final orders and written agreements, made in the adjudication of cases;
• Statements of policy and interpretations adopted by the Board of Directors that are not published in the Federal Register;
• Administrative staff manuals and instructions to staff that affect the public, such as the Manual of Examination Policies, the Compliance Examination Manual, and FDIC Acquisition Policy Manual - PDF 1,893k (PDF Help) (other Manuals can be found by entering the word "manual" in the Search the Site box at the top of the page;
• Copies of all records released to any person under § 309.5 that, because of the nature of their subject matter, the FDIC has determined are likely to be the subject of subsequent requests (See Popular FOIAs);
• Decisions on Bank Applications

If you have reviewed the public information available on the FDIC's web site and checked the information available through the Publications & Documents section of the FDIC web site, but you still can't find what you are looking for, then you can consider filing a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request.

The FDIC's FOIA Guide: Gaining Access to FDIC Information and this web page will help you understand how the FOIA can be used to obtain records which are not otherwise readily available.

U.S. Department of Justice FOIA Reference Guide is another excellent reference for FOIA information.