The reports of examinations and investigations made by the department and reports made by financial institutions shall be preserved by the department for a period of five years, after which they may be destroyed.
(Ga. L. 1919, p. 135, art. 2, § 19; Code 1933, § 13-319; Code 1933, § 41A-310, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 705, § 1.)