The bank denied a report by Der Spiegel, the German news magazine, that Mr. Ackermann was seeking to become chairman of the bank's supervisory board, a part-time oversight position.
Robert W. Brown, a member of NOAH's part-time oversight board, said in an interview that he had been subpoenaed for additional documents and to appear before a federal grand jury on Aug. 21.
But there were hints Thursday of the succession struggle that marred Mr. Ackermann's final years at the bank and helped derail plans for him to become chairman of the supervisory board, a part-time oversight role that many of his predecessors have held.
Rather, he said, the Public is in the best financial shape in its history, and its $50 million building-improvement plan, which includes the construction of a new 499-seat theater at its Lafayette Street base in the East Village, requires full-time oversight.
Real-time oversight is important, especially in critically ill patients, but often an expert ultrasound over-read is not available on location.
"We're going to focus on real-time oversight," he said.
The lack of well-educated trustees on college issues - part-time volunteers with full-time oversight - exacerbates this problem.
It would be entrusted for the first time with oversight of all of the largest and most interconnected financial companies, even if they are not banks.
The audit comes at a time when oversight of the Department of Education is a topic of much discussion in New York City and in Albany.
