81-5-7 - Preservation of old records.
§ 81-5-7. Preservation of old records.
(1) (a) Each bank shall retain permanently the minute books of meetings of its stockholders and directors, its capital stock ledger and capital stock certificate ledger or stubs, its general ledger, its daily statements of condition, its general journal, its investment ledger, its copies of bank examination reports, and all ledger sheets showing unpaid balances in favor of depositors.
(b) The Commissioner of Banking and Consumer Finance shall from time to time prescribe by order and so notify each bank, a classified list of such other records which shall be preserved and the length of time therefor.
Prior to issuing any such regulation, the commissioner shall consider:
(i) Actions at law and administrative proceedings in which the production of bank records might be necessary or desirable.
(ii) State and federal statutes of limitation applicable to such actions or proceedings.
(iii) The availability of information contained in bank records from other sources.
(iv) Such other matters as the commissioner shall deem pertinent in order that his regulations will require banks to retain their records for as short a period as is commensurate with the interests of bank customers and shareholders and of the people of this state in having bank records available.
(c) Any state bank may dispose of any record which has been retained for the period prescribed by or in accordance with the terms of this section for retention of records of its class, and shall thereafter be under no duty to produce such record in any action or proceeding.
(d) Any state bank may cause any or all records at any time in its custody to be reproduced in a format of storage commonly used, whether electronic, imaged, magnetic, microphotographic, or otherwise, and any reproduction so made shall have the same force and effect as the original thereof and be admitted in evidence equally with the original.
(e) To the extent that they are not in contravention of any law of the United States, the provisions of this section shall apply to all banks doing business in this state.
(2) No liability shall accrue against any bank destroying any records held for the period of time as provided in subsection (1) of this section, and in any cause or proceeding in which any such records or files may be called in question or be demanded of the bank or any officer or employee thereof, a showing that such records or files have been destroyed in accordance with the terms of this section shall be sufficient reason for the failure to produce them.
Sources: Codes, 1942, § 5278-01; Laws, 1944, ch. 258, §§ 1, 2; Laws, 1952, ch. 184, §§ 1, 2; Laws, 2000, ch. 335, § 1, eff from and after passage (approved Apr. 16, 2000.)