§ 159.5 - How much may a Federal savings association invest in service corporations or lower-tier entities?

The amount that a Federal savings association (“you”) may invest in a service corporation or any lower-tier entity depends upon several factors. These include your total assets, your capital, the purpose of the investment, and your ownership interest in the service corporation or entity.

(a) Under section 5(c)(4)(B) of the HOLA, you may invest up to 3% of your assets in the capital stock, obligations, and other securities of service corporations. Any investment you make under this paragraph that would cause your investment, in the aggregate, to exceed 2% of your assets must serve primarily community, inner city, or community development purposes. You must designate the investments serving those purposes, which include:

(1) Investments in governmentally insured, guaranteed, subsidized or otherwise sponsored programs for housing, small farms, or businesses that are local in character;

(2) Investments for the preservation or revitalization of either urban or rural communities;

(3) Investments designed to meet the community development needs of, and primarily benefit, low- and moderate-income communities; or

(4) Other community, inner city, or community development-related investments approved by the OTS or the OCC.

(b) In addition to the amounts you may invest under paragraph (a) of this section, and to the extent that you have authority under other provisions of section 5(c) of the HOLA and part 160 of this chapter, and available capacity within any applicable investment limits, you may make loans to any non-consolidated subsidiary, subject to the lending limits in part 32 of this chapter.

(c) For purposes of this section, the term “obligations” includes all loans and other debt instruments (except accounts payable incurred in the ordinary course of business and paid within 60 days) and all guarantees or take-out commitments of such loans or debt instruments.