- videocam Live Webinar with Live Q&A
- calendar_month June 17, 2026 @ 1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
- signal_cellular_alt Intermediate
- card_travel Banking and Commercial Finance
- schedule 90 minutes
Attorney-Client Privilege for Financial Institutions in Internal Investigations, Audits, and Regulatory Exams
Confidential Information and Work Product; Bank Examination Privilege; Section 1828 Selective Waiver; and the Impact of AI Uses
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About the Course
Introduction
This CLE course will examine attorney-client privilege for banks and financial institutions. The faculty will provide actionable guidance on safeguarding the attorney-client privilege, responding to document requests that seek privileged information, and addressing regulatory requests for privileged information, including the potential consequences of sharing privileged information with regulators. The course will also explore how courts are applying traditional attorney-client privilege principles to emerging AI uses.
Description
Protecting the attorney-client privilege is vital for banks and financial institutions, and mistakes can cause tremendous economic and reputational injury.
First, sharing privileged materials with regulators is an area fraught with peril. Banks and financial institutions enjoy a unique privilege concerning confidential information shared with bank regulators, including the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, for supervisory or regulatory purposes. A federal statute allows financial institutions to provide privileged materials demanded by regulators without waiving the privilege in subsequent litigation. Counsel should understand this law and the strategic considerations relevant to providing regulators with privileged documents.
Second, parallel private or civil litigation often occur alongside regulatory investigations and enforcement actions. So, counsel must understand how to address discovery demands for privileged materials and minimize the risk of unintended waiver. Third, conducting internal investigations poses unique risks. Counsel should understand how to cloak investigations with privilege and avoid pitfalls that may result in an unwanted loss of confidentiality.
Listen as our authoritative panel of financial institution regulatory attorneys explains vital aspects of the attorney-client privilege as it applies during regulatory examinations and audits. The panel will discuss the scope of the privilege, who may invoke the privilege, responding to government requests for privileged information, how to respond to discovery requests, and communications between a financial institution and its counsel.
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This 90-minute webinar is eligible in most states for 1.5 CLE credits.
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Live Online
On Demand
Date + Time
- event
Wednesday, June 17, 2026
- schedule
1:00 PM ET/10:00 AM PT
I. Bank regulatory agencies and the bank examination privilege
A. Regulator requests to compel disclosure of privileged information; policy positions of OCC, FRB, FDIC, CFPB, and state agencies
B. Evaluating whether to waive attorney-client privilege in response to a regulatory demand
C. Selective waiver and Section 1828
D. Regulators' selective disclosure of confidential material to other agencies
E. Steps institutions can take to strengthen the protection of confidentiality of shared privileged information
II. Waiver
A. The scope of waiver (including Rule 502)
B. Types of waiver
C. Disclosure of investigative report
D. Recent court rulings on the impact on privilege assertions arising from use of AI
III. Who has the privilege in internal investigations/audits?
A. Privilege considerations when interviewing employees
B. Privilege within the corporation during the investigation
C. Protecting communication among management
D. Privilege and former employees
E. Audit committees and reporting to the board
F. Third parties in investigations
G. The Garner doctrine—access to investigatory materials by shareholders and other beneficiaries of fiduciary relationships
The panel will review these and other notable issues:
- How and when should banks and financial institutions share privileged materials with their regulators?
- What can banks and financial institutions do to strengthen the protection of confidentiality of shared privileged information with regulators?
- How should banks respond to civil discovery demands for privileged materials?
- How do companies lose privilege in internal investigations, and how can it be avoided?
- What is the applicability and scope of the bank examination privilege for confidential information disclosed to banking regulatory agencies?
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