[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 182 (Wednesday, September 21, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-23373]
[[Page Unknown]]
[Federal Register: September 21, 1994]
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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota; Request for Relief
from a Commitment
Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota (Norwest), a bank
holding company within the meaning of the Bank Holding Company Act, 12
U.S.C. 1841 et seq., has requested that the Board grant to it relief
from a commitment that it made in connection with the Board's approval
of Norwest's application to underwrite and deal in certain securities
to a limited extent through Norwest Investment Services, Inc.,
Minneapolis, Minnesota (NISI). Norwest Corporation, 76 Federal Reserve
Bulletin 79 (1990) (Norwest Order). In the Norwest Order, the Board
authorized Norwest to underwrite and deal in, among other things,
municipal revenue bonds pursuant to the prudential limitations and
other conditions set forth in Citicorp, J.P. Morgan & Co. Incorporated,
and Bankers Trust New York Corporation, 73 Federal Reserve Bulletin 473
(1987) as modified by Order Approving Modifications to Section 20
Orders, 75 Federal Reserve Bulletin 751 (1989).
Among the conditions to which Norwest is subject pursuant to the
Norwest Order is that the municipal revenue bonds underwritten by NISI
must be rated as investment quality (i.e., in one of the top four
categories) by a nationally recognized rating agency. Norwest has
requested limited relief from this condition to allow NISI to
underwrite issues of municipal revenue bonds that are not rated by a
nationally recognized rating agency so long as each issue of unrated
bonds does not exceed $7.5 million.
Norwest supports its request for relief by contending that it is
not cost effective for municipalities to obtain ratings for smaller
issues of municipal revenue bonds. Norwest asserts that NISI's
participation in underwriting these unrated municipal revenue bonds
will benefit the communities that issue the bonds by providing
additional competition in the market for this service. Norwest believes
that the systems and procedures that it has in place to evaluate the
creditworthiness of these issues should substantially mitigate any risk
that may be associated with the underwriting of these bonds.
In publishing the proposal for comment, the Board does not take a
position on issues raised by the proposal. Notice of the proposal is
published solely in order to seek the views of interested persons on
the issues presented by the request.
Any comments or requests for hearing should be submitted in writing
and received by William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551, not later than October
11, 1994. Any request for a hearing on this application must, as
required by Sec. 262.3(e) of the Board's Rules of Procedure (12 CFR
262.3(e)), be accompanied by a statement of the reasons why a written
presentation would not suffice in lieu of a hearing, identifying
specifically any questions of fact that are in dispute, summarizing the
evidence that would be presented at a hearing, and indicating how the
party commenting would be aggrieved by approval of the proposal.
The request may be inspected at the offices of the Board of
Governors or the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis Minneapolis (James
M. Lyon, Vice President) 250 Marquette Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota
55480.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 16,
1994.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 94-23373 Filed 9-20-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F
