12 U.S.C. § 3401 — Definitions

For this chapter: (1) “Financial institution,” except as provided in section 3414, means an office in the United States or listed United States territories of a bank, savings bank, card issuer as defined in section 1602(n) of title 15, industrial loan company, trust company, savings association, building and loan or homestead association (including cooperative banks), credit^* union, or consumer^* finance institution. (2) “Financial record” means an original, copy, or information known to come from a record held by a financial institution about a customer’s relationship with it. (3) “Government authority” means a United States agency or department, or its officer, employee, or agent. (4) “Person^*” means an individual or a partnership of five or fewer individuals. (5) “Customer” means a person or that person’s authorized representative who uses or used a financial institution service, or for whom it acts or acted as fiduciary, concerning an account in the person’s name. (6) “Holding company” means (A) a bank holding company as defined in section 1841, or (B) a company described in section 1843(f)(1). (7) “Supervisory agency” means, for a financial institution, holding company, or subsidiary, an entity with statutory authority to examine its financial condition, operations, records, or transactions: (A) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation; (B) the Bureau^* of Consumer Financial Protection; (C) the National Credit Union Administration; (D) the Federal Reserve Board; (E) the Comptroller of the Currency; (F) the Securities and Exchange Commission; (G) the Commodity Futures Trading Commission; (H) the Treasury Secretary for the Bank Secrecy Act and subchapter II of chapter 53 of title 31; or (I) a State^* banking or securities department or agency. (8) “Law enforcement inquiry” means a lawful investigation or official proceeding about a violation of, or failure to comply with, a criminal or civil statute or a related regulation, rule, or order. This section does not define the quoted terms further.