§ 225.22 - Exempt nonbanking activities and acquisitions.

§ 225.22 Exempt nonbanking activities and acquisitions.

Cross Reference

Link to an amendment published at 84 FR 61800, Nov. 13, 2019.

(a) Certain de novo activities. A bank holding company may, either directly or indirectly, engage de novo in any nonbanking activity listed in § 225.28(b) (other than operation of an insured depository institution) without obtaining the Board's prior approval if the bank holding company:

(1) Meets the requirements of paragraphs (c) (1), (2), and (6) of § 225.23;

(2) Conducts the activity in compliance with all Board orders and regulations governing the activity; and

(3) Within 10 business days after commencing the activity, provides written notice to the appropriate Reserve Bank describing the activity, identifying the company or companies engaged in the activity, and certifying that the activity will be conducted in accordance with the Board's orders and regulations and that the bank holding company meets the requirements of paragraphs (c) (1), (2), and (6) of § 225.23.

(b) Servicing activities. A bank holding company may, without the Board's prior approval under this subpart, furnish services to or perform services for, or establish or acquire a company that engages solely in servicing activities for:

(1) The bank holding company or its subsidiaries in connection with their activities as authorized by law, including services that are necessary to fulfill commitments entered into by the subsidiaries with third parties, if the bank holding company or servicing company complies with the Board's published interpretations and does not act as principal in dealing with third parties; and

(2) The internal operations of the bank holding company or its subsidiaries. Services for the internal operations of the bank holding company or its subsidiaries include, but are not limited to:

(i) Accounting, auditing, and appraising;

(ii) Advertising and public relations;

(iii) Data processing and data transmission services, data bases, or facilities;

(iv) Personnel services;

(v) Courier services;

(vi) Holding or operating property used wholly or substantially by a subsidiary in its operations or for its future use;

(vii) Liquidating property acquired from a subsidiary;

(viii) Liquidating property acquired from any sources either prior to May 9, 1956, or the date on which the company became a bank holding company, whichever is later; and

(ix) Selling, purchasing, or underwriting insurance, such as blanket bond insurance, group insurance for employees, and property and casualty insurance.

(c) Safe deposit business. A bank holding company or nonbank subsidiary may, without the Board's prior approval, conduct a safe deposit business, or acquire voting securities of a company that conducts such a business.

(d) Nonbanking acquisitions not requiring prior Board approval. The Board's prior approval is not required under this subpart for the following acquisitions:

(1) DPC acquisitions.

(i) Voting securities or assets, acquired by foreclosure or otherwise, in the ordinary course of collecting a debt previously contracted (DPC property) in good faith, if the DPC property is divested within two years of acquisition.

(ii) The Board may, upon request, extend this two-year period for up to three additional years. The Board may permit additional extensions for up to 5 years (for a total of 10 years), for shares, real estate or other assets where the holding company demonstrates that each extension would not be detrimental to the public interest and either the bank holding company has made good faith attempts to dispose of such shares, real estate or other assets or disposal of the shares, real estate or other assets during the initial period would have been detrimental to the company.

(iii) Transfers of DPC property within the bank holding company system do not extend any period for divestiture of the property.

(2) Securities or assets required to be divested by subsidiary. Voting securities or assets required to be divested by a subsidiary at the request of an examining federal or state authority (except by the Board under the BHC Act or this regulation), if the bank holding company divests the securities or assets within two years from the date acquired from the subsidiary.

(3) Fiduciary investments. Voting securities or assets acquired by a bank or other company (other than a trust that is a company) in good faith in a fiduciary capacity, if the voting securities or assets are:

(i) Held in the ordinary course of business; and

(ii) Not acquired for the benefit of the company or its shareholders, employees, or subsidiaries.

(4) Securities eligible for investment by national bank. Voting securities of the kinds and amounts explicitly eligible by federal statute (other than section 4 of the Bank Service Corporation Act, 12 U.S.C. 1864) for investment by a national bank, and voting securities acquired prior to June 30, 1971, in reliance on section 4(c)(5) of the BHC Act and interpretations of the Comptroller of the Currency under section 5136 of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 24(7)).

(5) Securities or property representing 5 percent or less of a company. Voting securities of a company or property that, in the aggregate, represent 5 percent or less of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities of a company, or that represent a 5 percent interest or less in the property, subject to the provisions of 12 CFR 225.137.

(6) Securities of investment company. Voting securities of an investment company that is solely engaged in investing in securities and that does not own or control more than 5 percent of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities of any company.

(7) Assets acquired in ordinary course of business. Assets of a company acquired in the ordinary course of business, subject to the provisions of 12 CFR 225.132, if the assets relate to activities in which the acquiring company has previously received Board approval under this regulation to engage.

(8) Asset acquisitions by lending company or industrial bank. Assets of an office(s) of a company, all or substantially all of which relate to making, acquiring, or servicing loans if:

(i) The acquiring company has previously received Board approval under this regulation or is not required to obtain prior Board approval under this regulation to engage in lending activities or industrial banking activities;

(ii) The assets acquired during any 12-month period do not represent more than 50 percent of the risk-weighted assets (on a consolidated basis) of the acquiring lending company or industrial bank, or more than $100 million, whichever amount is less;

(iii) The assets acquired do not represent more than 50 percent of the selling company's consolidated assets that are devoted to lending activities or industrial banking business;

(iv) The acquiring company notifies the Reserve Bank of the acquisition within 30 days after the acquisition; and

(v) The acquiring company, after giving effect to the transaction, meets the requirements of 12 CFR part 217, and the Board has not previously notified the acquiring company that it may not acquire assets under the exemption in this paragraph (d).

(vi) Qualifying community banking organizations. For purposes of paragraph (d)(8)(ii) of this section, a lending company or industrial bank that is a qualifying community banking organization (as defined in § 217.12 of this chapter) that is subject to the community bank leverage ratio framework (as defined in § 217.12 of this chapter), or is a subsidiary of such a qualifying community banking organization, has risk-weighted assets equal to:

(A) Its average total consolidated assets (as used in § 217.12 of this chapter) as most recently reported to its primary banking supervisor (as defined in § 225.14(d)(5)); or

(B) Its total assets, if the company or industrial bank does not report such average total consolidated assets.

(e) Acquisition of securities by subsidiary banks -

(1) National bank. A national bank or its subsidiary may, without the Board's approval under this subpart, acquire or retain securities on the basis of section 4(c)(5) of the BHC Act in accordance with the regulations of the Comptroller of the Currency.

(2) State bank. A state-chartered bank or its subsidiary may, insofar as federal law is concerned, and without the Board's prior approval under this subpart:

(i) Acquire or retain securities, on the basis of section 4(c)(5) of the BHC Act, of the kinds and amounts explicitly eligible by federal statute for investment by a national bank; or

(ii) Acquire or retain all (but, except for directors' qualifying shares, not less than all) of the securities of a company that engages solely in activities in which the parent bank may engage, at locations at which the bank may engage in the activity, and subject to the same limitations as if the bank were engaging in the activity directly.

(f) Activities and securities of new bank holding companies. A company that becomes a bank holding company may, for a period of two years, engage in nonbanking activities and control voting securities or assets of a nonbank subsidiary, if the bank holding company engaged in such activities or controlled such voting securities or assets on the date it became a bank holding company. The Board may grant requests for up to three one-year extensions of the two-year period.

(g) Grandfathered activities and securities. Unless the Board orders divestiture or termination under section 4(a)(2) of the BHC Act, a “company covered in 1970,” as defined in section 2(b) of the BHC Act, may:

(1) Retain voting securities or assets and engage in activities that it has lawfully held or engaged in continuously since June 30, 1968; and

(2) Acquire voting securities of any newly formed company to engage in such activities.

(h) Securities or activities exempt under Regulation K. A bank holding company may acquire voting securities or assets and engage in activities as authorized in Regulation K (12 CFR part 211).

[ Reg. Y, 62 FR 9329, Feb. 28, 1997, as amended at 78 FR 62291, Oct. 11, 2013; 80 FR 70673, Nov. 16, 2015; 84 FR 61800, Nov. 13, 2019]