(a) The record of any examination or investigation of a financial institution by the department or the report by the examiner or employee of the department who conducted such examination or investigation or a copy of either, when duly certified by the department, shall, in the absence of any applicable privilege, be admissible and constitute prima-facie evidence of facts therein stated, but not of conclusions drawn by the examiner from such facts, in any action at law or equity in which one of the parties is the department or any officer or employee thereof, either in his official capacity or otherwise, or the financial institution subjected to examination or investigation.

(b) The department, with the permission of the court, may edit out of any report to be admitted as evidence pursuant to subsection (a) of this Code section any portion of the report which is not pertinent to the issue in question before the court or which would tend unnecessarily to affect adversely the public confidence in the financial institution.