§ 211.21 - Definitions.

§ 211.21 Definitions.

The definitions contained in §§ 211.1 and 211.2 apply to this subpart, except as a term is otherwise defined in this section:

(a) Affiliate of a foreign bank or of a parent of a foreign bank means any company that controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with, the foreign bank or the parent of the foreign bank.

(b) Agency means any place of business of a foreign bank, located in any state, at which credit balances are maintained, checks are paid, money is lent, or, to the extent not prohibited by state or federal law, deposits are accepted from a person or entity that is not a citizen or resident of the United States. Obligations shall not be considered credit balances unless they are:

(1) Incidental to, or arise out of the exercise of, other lawful banking powers;

(2) To serve a specific purpose;

(3) Not solicited from the general public;

(4) Not used to pay routine operating expenses in the United States such as salaries, rent, or taxes;

(5) Withdrawn within a reasonable period of time after the specific purpose for which they were placed has been accomplished; and

(6) Drawn upon in a manner reasonable in relation to the size and nature of the account.

(c)

(1) Appropriate Federal Reserve Bank means, unless the Board designates a different Federal Reserve Bank:

(i) For a foreign banking organization, the Reserve Bank assigned to the foreign banking organization in § 225.3(b)(2) of Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.3(b)(2));

(ii) For a foreign bank that is not a foreign banking organization and proposes to establish an office, an Edge corporation, or an agreement corporation, the Reserve Bank of the Federal Reserve District in which the foreign bank proposes to establish such office or corporation; and

(iii) In all other cases, the Reserve Bank designated by the Board.

(2) The appropriate Federal Reserve Bank need not be the Reserve Bank of the Federal Reserve District in which the foreign bank's home state is located.

(d) Banking subsidiary, with respect to a specified foreign bank, means a bank that is a subsidiary as the terms bank and subsidiary are defined in section 2 of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1841).

(e) Branch means any place of business of a foreign bank, located in any state, at which deposits are received, and that is not an agency, as that term is defined in paragraph (b) of this section.

(f) Change the status of an office means to convert a representative office into a branch or agency, or an agency or limited branch into a branch, but does not include renewal of the license of an existing office.

(g) Commercial lending company means any organization, other than a bank or an organization operating under section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act (FRA) (12 U.S.C. 601-604a), organized under the laws of any state, that maintains credit balances permissible for an agency, and engages in the business of making commercial loans. Commercial lending company includes any company chartered under article XII of the banking law of the State of New York.

(h) Comptroller means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.

(i) Control has the same meaning as in section 2(a) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1841(a)), and the terms controlled and controlling shall be construed consistently with the term control.

(j) Domestic branch means any place of business of a foreign bank, located in any state, that may accept domestic deposits and deposits that are incidental to or for the purpose of carrying out transactions in foreign countries.

(k) A foreign bank engages directly in the business of banking outside the United States if the foreign bank engages directly in banking activities usual in connection with the business of banking in the countries where it is organized or operating.

(l) To establish means:

(1) To open and conduct business through an office;

(2) To acquire directly, through merger, consolidation, or similar transaction with another foreign bank, the operations of an office that is open and conducting business;

(3) To acquire an office through the acquisition of a foreign bank subsidiary that will cease to operate in the same corporate form following the acquisition;

(4) To change the status of an office; or

(5) To relocate an office from one state to another.

(m) Federal agency, federal branch, state agency, and state branch have the same meanings as in section 1 of the IBA (12 U.S.C. 3101).

(n) Foreign bank means an organization that is organized under the laws of a foreign country and that engages directly in the business of banking outside the United States. The term foreign bank does not include a central bank of a foreign country that does not engage or seek to engage in a commercial banking business in the United States through an office.

(o) Foreign banking organization means:

(1) A foreign bank, as defined in section 1(b)(7) of the IBA (12 U.S.C. 3101(7)), that:

(i) Operates a branch, agency, or commercial lending company subsidiary in the United States;

(ii) Controls a bank in the United States; or

(iii) Controls an Edge corporation acquired after March 5, 1987; and

(2) Any company of which the foreign bank is a subsidiary.

(p) Home country, with respect to a foreign bank, means the country in which the foreign bank is chartered or incorporated.

(q) Home country supervisor, with respect to a foreign bank, means the governmental entity or entities in the foreign bank's home country with responsibility for the supervision and regulation of the foreign bank.

(r) Licensing authority means:

(1) The relevant state supervisor, with respect to an application to establish a state branch, state agency, commercial lending company, or representative office of a foreign bank; or

(2) The Comptroller, with respect to an application to establish a federal branch or federal agency.

(s) Limited branch means a branch of a foreign bank that receives only such deposits as would be permitted for a corporation organized under section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611-631).

(t) Office or office of a foreign bank means any branch, agency, representative office, or commercial lending company subsidiary of a foreign bank in the United States.

(u) A parent of a foreign bank means a company of which the foreign bank is a subsidiary. An immediate parent of a foreign bank is a company of which the foreign bank is a direct subsidiary. An ultimate parent of a foreign bank is a parent of the foreign bank that is not the subsidiary of any other company.

(v) Regional administrative office means a representative office that:

(1) Is established by a foreign bank that operates two or more branches, agencies, commercial lending companies, or banks in the United States;

(2) Is located in the same city as one or more of the foreign bank's branches, agencies, commercial lending companies, or banks in the United States;

(3) Manages, supervises, or coordinates the operations of the foreign bank or its affiliates, if any, in a particular geographic area that includes the United States or a region thereof, including by exercising credit approval authority in that area pursuant to written standards, credit policies, and procedures established by the foreign bank; and

(4) Does not solicit business from actual or potential customers of the foreign bank or its affiliates.

(w) Relevant state supervisor means the state entity that is authorized to supervise and regulate a state branch, state agency, commercial lending company, or representative office.

(x) Representative office means any office of a foreign bank which is located in any state and is not a Federal branch, Federal agency, State branch, State agency, or commercial lending company subsidiary.

(y) State means any state of the United States or the District of Columbia.

(z) Subsidiary means any organization that:

(1) Has 25 percent or more of its voting shares directly or indirectly owned, controlled, or held with the power to vote by a company, including a foreign bank or foreign banking organization; or

(2) Is otherwise controlled, or capable of being controlled, by a foreign bank or foreign banking organization.