45-2-616 - Preservation of bank records.
45-2-616. Preservation of bank records.
(a) Every bank shall retain its business records for the periods that are or may be prescribed by or in accordance with the terms of this section.
(b) Each bank shall retain permanently the minute books of meetings of its stockholders and directors, its capital stock ledger and capital stock certificates 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 records that the commissioner shall, in accordance with the terms of this section, require to be retained permanently.
(c) All other bank records shall be retained for the periods that the commissioner shall, in accordance with the terms of this section, prescribe.
(d) The commissioner shall, from time to time, issue regulations classifying all records kept by state banks and prescribing the period for which records of each class shall be retained. The periods may be permanent or for a lesser term of years. The regulations may from time to time be amended or repealed. Prior to issuing the regulations, the commissioner shall consider:
(1) Actions at law and administrative proceedings in which the production of bank records might be necessary or desirable;
(2) State and federal statutes of limitation applicable to the actions or proceedings;
(3) The availability of information contained in bank records from other sources; and
(4) Other matters that the commissioner deems pertinent, in order that the commissioner's 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.
(e) Any bank may dispose of any record that 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 the records in any action or proceeding.
(f) (1) Any bank may cause any or all records at any time in its custody to be reproduced and/or preserved by itself, or by any other person who agrees in writing to submit its operations to the examination of the commissioner, to the extent that the operations directly affect the recordkeeping, by any:
(A) Microphotographic process;
(B) Electronic and/or mechanical data storage technique; or
(C) Any other means approved by the commissioner.
(2) A record reproduced and/or preserved by a process, technique or means approved under subdivision (f)(1) shall have the same force and effect as the original record and be admitted into evidence equally with the original.
(g) To the extent that they are not in contravention of any law of the United States, this section applies to all banks doing business in this state.
[Acts 1969, ch. 36, § 1 (3.251); 1973, ch. 294, § 6; T.C.A., § 45-445.]