97-18526. Applicability of Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act to Transactions Between a Member Bank and Its Subsidiaries  

  • [Federal Register Volume 62, Number 135 (Tuesday, July 15, 1997)]
    [Proposed Rules]
    [Pages 37744-37747]
    From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
    [FR Doc No: 97-18526]
    
    
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    Proposed Rules
                                                    Federal Register
    ________________________________________________________________________
    
    This section of the FEDERAL REGISTER contains notices to the public of 
    the proposed issuance of rules and regulations. The purpose of these 
    notices is to give interested persons an opportunity to participate in 
    the rule making prior to the adoption of the final rules.
    
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    Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 135 / Tuesday, July 15, 1997 / 
    Proposed Rules
    
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    FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
    
    12 CFR Part 250
    
    [Miscellaneous Interpretations; Docket R-0977]
    
    
    Applicability of Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act 
    to Transactions Between a Member Bank and Its Subsidiaries
    
    AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
    
    ACTION: Notice of proposed rulemaking.
    
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    SUMMARY: Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act restrict the 
    ability of a member bank to fund an affiliate through direct 
    investment, loans, or other transactions. The Board is proposing to 
    apply sections 23A and 23B to transactions between a member bank and 
    any subsidiary that engages in activities that are impermissible for 
    the bank itself and that Congress has not previously exempted from 
    coverage by section 23A. The proposed treatment is largely consistent 
    with the existing treatment of these subsidiaries by the other banking 
    agencies, which have applied sections 23A and 23B in some form to 
    transactions between a bank and such subsidiaries.
    
    DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before September 3, 1997.
    
    ADDRESSES: Comments, which should refer to Docket No. R-0977, may be 
    mailed to Mr. William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
    Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., 
    Washington, D.C. 20551. Comments addressed to Mr. Wiles also may be 
    delivered to the Board's mail room between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. and 
    to the security control room outside of those hours. Both the mail room 
    and the security control room are accessible from the courtyard 
    entrance on 20th Street between Constitution Avenue and C Street, N.W. 
    Comments may be inspected in Room MP-500 between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 
    p.m. weekdays, except as provided in Sec. 261.8 of the Board's Rules 
    Regarding Availability of Information, 12 CFR 261.8.
    
    FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Gregory Baer, Managing Senior Counsel 
    (202/452-3236), Pamela G. Nardolilli, Senior Attorney (202/452-3289), 
    or Deborah M. Awai, Senior Attorney (202/452-3594), Legal Division or 
    Roger T. Cole, Deputy Associate Director (202/452-2618), Banking 
    Supervision and Regulation or Molly S. Wassom, Assistant Director, 
    Banking Supervision and Regulation (202/452-2305), Board of Governors 
    of the Federal Reserve System. For the hearing impaired only, 
    Telecommunications Device of the Deaf (TDD), Diane Jenkins (202/452-
    3254).
    
    SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    
    Background
    
    Restrictions of Sections 23A and 23B
    
        Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act are designed to 
    protect a member bank from loss in transactions with its 
    affiliates.1 Although sections 23A and 23B originally 
    applied only to member banks, Congress has since applied these sections 
    to insured nonmember banks and savings associations in the same manner 
    as they apply to member banks.2 Section 23A protects these 
    institutions in three major ways. First, the statute limits ``covered 
    transactions'' with any single affiliate to no more than 10 percent of 
    the bank's capital and surplus, and aggregate transactions with all 
    affiliates to no more than 20 percent of capital and 
    surplus.3 Covered transactions include extensions of credit, 
    investments, and other transactions exposing the member bank to risk. 
    Second, all transactions between a member bank and its affiliate must 
    be on terms and conditions consistent with safe and sound banking 
    practices, and, in particular, a bank may not purchase low-quality 
    assets from the bank's affiliate. Finally, the statute requires that 
    all credit exposures to an affiliate be secured by a statutorily 
    defined amount of collateral.
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        \1\ 12 U.S.C. 371c, 371c-1.
        \2\ 12 U.S.C. 1828(j); 12 U.S.C. 1468.
        \3\ ``Capital and surplus'' has been defined by the Board as 
    tier 1 and tier 2 capital plus the balance of an institution's 
    allowance for loan and lease losses not included in tier 2 capital. 
    12 CFR 250.242.
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        Section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act requires a member bank to 
    engage in transactions with its affiliates only on terms and under 
    circumstances that are substantially the same or at least as favorable 
    as those prevailing at the time for comparable transactions with 
    unaffiliated companies.4 Section 23B applies this 
    restriction to any covered transaction as defined by section 23A, as 
    well as other transactions, such as a sale of securities or other 
    assets to an affiliate and the payment of money or the furnishing of 
    services to an affiliate.
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        \4\ 12 U.S.C. 371c-1(a)(1). Section 23B also contains other 
    provisions that apply in limited cases.
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    Coverage of Subsidiaries of Banks
    
        Section 23A defines an ``affiliate'' of a member bank to include 
    any company that controls the member bank and any company that is under 
    common control with the member bank.5 (The definition is 
    applied to insured nonmember banks and savings associations in the same 
    way as member banks.) Section 23A excludes from the definition of 
    ``affiliate'' any subsidiary of the bank, unless the Board determines 
    by regulation or order that the subsidiary should be considered an 
    affiliate. The statute also excludes from the definition of 
    ``affiliate'' companies engaged solely in certain specified activities: 
    holding the premises of the member bank, conducting a safe deposit 
    business, or holding obligations issued or guaranteed by the United 
    States or its agencies.6
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        \5\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(1). The definition also includes other 
    entities as an affiliate, including a bank subsidiary of a member 
    bank.
        \6\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(2). The statute temporarily excludes 
    companies where control of the company results from the exercise of 
    rights arising out of a bona fide debt previously contracted. The 
    exception generally lasts for two years.
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        When section 23A was originally enacted as part of the Banking Act 
    of 1933, a majority-owned subsidiary of a member bank was included as 
    an affiliate of the member bank.7 In its 1982 redrafting of 
    section 23A, Congress, at the Board's urging, amended the definition of 
    ``affiliate'' in section 23A to exclude nonbank 
    subsidiaries.8 This statutory amendment was consistent with 
    the law as it had developed since 1933. The 1933 version of section 23A 
    already exempted from the definition of ``affiliate'' Edge Act 
    subsidiaries, Agreement corporations, companies holding bank premises, 
    companies
    
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    conducting a safe deposit business, and certain other member bank 
    subsidiaries that Congress had authorized. In 1970, the Board issued an 
    interpretation that also excluded from section 23A any transaction 
    between a member bank and its ``operations subsidiary,'' defined as ``a 
    separately incorporated department of the bank, performing, at 
    locations at which the bank is authorized to engage in business, 
    functions that the bank is empowered to perform directly.'' 
    9 Thus, in recommending that Congress exempt subsidiaries in 
    1982, the Board stated, ``It should be noted that this liberalization 
    is much more limited than it might first appear * * *. [M]ember banks 
    are generally prohibited from purchasing stock, and of the few types of 
    companies whose stock is exempt from this prohibition, several are 
    already exempt from the restriction of Section 23A.'' 10
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        \7\ Banking Act of 1933, Pub. L. 73-66, section 13, 48 Stat. 
    162, 183 (1933).
        \8\ Banking Affiliates Act of 1982, Pub. L. 97-320, section 410, 
    96 Stat. 1469, 1515 (1982) (codified at 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(2)(A)).
        \9\ 12 CFR 250.240 (1997).
        \10\ A Discussion of Amendments to Section 23A of the Federal 
    Reserve Act Proposed by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
    Reserve System 15 (September 1981) (hereafter, Board's 23A Proposal) 
    (attached as appendix to correspondence from Chairman Paul Volcker 
    to the Chairman and Ranking Members of the House and Senate 
    Committees on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, October 2, 1981).
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        Although Congress generally exempted transactions with a subsidiary 
    from section 23A, it expressly granted the Board authority to reimpose 
    sections 23A and 23B on any subsidiary that has ``a relationship with 
    the member bank or any subsidiary or affiliate of the member bank, such 
    that covered transactions by the member bank or its subsidiary with 
    that company may be affected by the relationship to the detriment of 
    the member bank or its subsidiary.'' 11 The Board has had 
    few occasions to exercise this authority, as subsidiaries of banks 
    generally have continued to be limited in their activities to those on 
    which the 1982 amendments were premised.12
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        \11\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(1)(E).
        \12\ In one case, the Board concluded that transactions between 
    a bank and a subsidiary that engaged in underwriting life insurance 
    abroad should be limited by section 23A. Citibank Overseas 
    Investment Corporation, 70 Fed. Res. Bull. 68 (1984). In another 
    case, the Board determined that certain investment advisory 
    subsidiaries of a national bank should be treated as affiliates of 
    the bank. Wells Fargo & Company, 76 Fed. Res. Bull. 465,466 (1990).
        In addition, in 1987, the Board solicited comment on a proposal 
    regarding the real estate investment and development activities of 
    subsidiaries of banks owned by bank holding companies. 52 FR 42301 
    (1987). As part of its rulemaking, the Board sought comment on 
    whether to apply sections 23A and 23B to the subsidiaries of banks 
    engaged in real estate activities. The Board never issued a final 
    rule, as market conditions caused banks to curtail their real estate 
    activities and thereby made such action unnecessary.
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    Expansion of Subsidiary Activities
    
        Increasingly, however, operating subsidiaries are being authorized 
    to engage in activities impermissible for the bank. The Board recently 
    expressed its belief that Congress did not intend, in the National Bank 
    Act or elsewhere, to allow national banks to engage through 
    subsidiaries in activities prohibited to the national bank 
    itself.13 Indeed, as noted above, the 1982 amendments to 
    section 23A were based on the assumption that such activities were 
    impermissible. However, Congress has allowed state banks and federal 
    savings associations to engage through a subsidiary in some activities 
    impermissible to the state bank or thrift itself. Thus, the issue of 
    how a subsidiary engaged in activities impermissible for its parent 
    institution should be treated for purposes of sections 23A and 23B 
    arises regardless of the permissibility of those activities for 
    national banks.
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        \13\ See, e.g., Comment Letter from Board to Comptroller of the 
    Currency on Docket Numbers 97-06 and 97-07, May 5, 1997 (commenting 
    on a national bank's proposal to engage in real estate development 
    and leasing through a subsidiary).
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        For example, as amended in 1991, section 24 of the Federal Deposit 
    Insurance Act (FDI Act), although generally prohibiting insured state 
    banks from engaging as principal through a subsidiary in an activity 
    that is not permissible for a subsidiary of a national bank, allows a 
    state bank to engage in such an activity provided certain conditions 
    are met: The activity must be authorized by the bank's state chartering 
    authority, the bank must meet relevant capital requirements, and the 
    Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) must determine that the 
    activity will not pose a significant risk to the deposit insurance 
    fund.14 Acting under that authority, the FDIC recently 
    allowed by order some state chartered banks to invest in real estate 
    through majority-owned subsidiaries as authorized by state law, and has 
    issued a proposed rulemaking that would allow such activity by 
    regulation when authorized by state law, subject to certain 
    restrictions.15
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        \14\ 12 U.S.C. 1831a.
        \15\ 61 FR 43486 (1996).
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        As drafted, the FDIC's proposed rule would require the bank to 
    comply with sections 23A and 23B in its transactions with a real estate 
    subsidiary to the same extent as if the subsidiary were an affiliate, 
    except that a bank's loan to finance the sale of real estate by the 
    subsidiary to a third party would not be subject to the limits of 
    section 23A provided that it complied with section 23B.16
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        \16\ Id. at 43499. If such credit were extended to a third party 
    to purchase property from an affiliate, the credit would be subject 
    to the ``attribution rule'' of sections 23A and 23B, whereby any 
    transaction where the proceeds are used for the benefit of, or 
    transferred to, an affiliate is considered a transaction with the 
    affiliate. 12 U.S.C. 371c(a)(2), 371c-1(a)(3).
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        The FDIC also has promulgated a rule establishing parameters 
    pursuant to which state nonmember banks may, if authorized by their 
    state chartering authority, underwrite and deal in securities. The FDIC 
    generally applies the restrictions of section 23A of the Federal 
    Reserve Act to extensions of credit to such a subsidiary, but does not 
    include investments in the subsidiary toward the 23A limit and does not 
    apply the attribution rule of section 23A. However, very few, if any, 
    state nonmember banks have established a securities subsidiary pursuant 
    to this rule.17
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        \17\ See General Accounting Office, Banks' Securities 
    Activities: Oversight Differs Depending on Activity and Regulator 65 
    (1995) (sampling found no state nonmember banks engaged in 
    underwriting and dealing in bank-ineligible securities). FDIC staff 
    is currently aware of only one such subsidiary.
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        With respect to thrifts, section 5(c)(4)(B) of the Home Owners' 
    Loan Act (HOLA) allows a savings association to invest up to three 
    percent of its assets in the capital stock, obligations, and other 
    securities of a ``service corporation.'' 18 Under Office of 
    Thrift Supervision (OTS) rules, a service corporation may conduct any 
    activity ``reasonably related'' to the activities of financial 
    institutions, even if that activity is not permitted to the parent 
    savings association.19 Pursuant to OTS rules, extensions of 
    credit by a savings association to a majority-owned service corporation 
    generally are not subject to funding restrictions akin to sections 23A 
    and 23B, although other restrictions are applied by statute and 
    regulation.
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        \18\ 12 U.S.C. 1464(c)(4)(B).
        \19\ 12 CFR 559.4. The OTS distinguishes service corporations 
    from ``operating subsidiaries,'' which by definition may engage only 
    in activities the savings association may conduct directly.
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        Finally, as noted above, the Office of the Comptroller of the 
    Currency (OCC) recently amended its rules to allow a national bank to 
    engage through an operating subsidiary in activities prohibited to the 
    national bank. The OCC rule would subject transactions between national 
    banks and such subsidiaries to sections 23A and 23B.20
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        \20\  61 FR 60342 (1996) (codified at 5 CFR 5.34 (f)(3)(ii)).
    
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    [[Page 37746]]
    
    Proposal
    
    Coverage of Transactions Between Member Banks and Their Subsidiaries
    
        The Board is proposing to designate a subsidiary of a member bank 
    as an affiliate of the member bank if the subsidiary engages in 
    functions that the member bank is not empowered to perform directly and 
    that Congress has not previously exempted from sections 23A and 23B. 
    Covered activities could include real estate development and 
    underwriting and dealing in bank-ineligible securities. The Board 
    believes, and proposes to find under the standard set forth in section 
    23A(b)(1)(E), that the relationship of such a subsidiary to its parent 
    institution could result in funding of the subsidiary to the detriment 
    of the bank.
        Absent application of sections 23A and 23B, a bank would have a 
    strong incentive to use its resources to prevent the failure of a 
    subsidiary or affiliate. Such efforts could include lending below 
    market rates, lending more than is prudent, or purchasing low quality 
    assets from the subsidiary or affiliate. Indeed, the risks to an 
    insured depository institution from a subsidiary (as well as the 
    rewards) appear to be greater than those present when nonbanking 
    activities are conducted in a holding company affiliate of the 
    institution. Under generally accepted accounting principles and 
    regulatory capital rules, losses of the subsidiary would generally be 
    consolidated with the parent bank, thereby adversely affecting the 
    capital position of the bank from both a market and regulatory 
    perspective. Furthermore, because the bank owns and controls the 
    management and operation of the subsidiary, its reputational stake is 
    greater. Thus, in the Board's view, the incentive of bank management to 
    prevent or defer losses through easy credit and other transactions is 
    that much stronger.
        The Board is also concerned that imposition of sections 23A and 23B 
    on an ad hoc basis by different agencies could result in 
    inconsistencies that would create confusion or competitive advantage by 
    charter or structure. The Board believes that it was this result that 
    Congress sought to avoid by authorizing the Board to write the 
    regulations in this area.
        Finally, the Board believes that imposition of sections 23A and 23B 
    could help to ensure corporate separateness. The requirement of section 
    23B that transactions be on market terms, in particular, could help to 
    prevent piercing of the bank's corporate veil. Nonetheless, the Board 
    recognizes that in this area, and with respect to other safety and 
    soundness concerns, imposition of sections 23A and 23B is not itself 
    sufficient. Ensuring that banks observe appropriate principles of 
    corporate separateness in dealing with their subsidiaries, and that the 
    relationship of a subsidiary to its parent bank does not otherwise 
    endanger the bank, will remain the responsibility of the bank's 
    appropriate Federal banking agency, as would primary responsibility for 
    monitoring compliance with sections 23A and 23B to the extent that they 
    were applied.
        The Board is not proposing to alter the statutory exemption from 
    sections 23A and 23B for two types of subsidiaries. First, the Board's 
    proposal would not affect the statutory exemption for subsidiaries that 
    are engaged solely in activities in which the member bank could engage 
    directly. Although concerns about imprudent funding by a bank exist 
    with respect to these subsidiaries as well, they have traditionally 
    been exempt from sections 23A and 23B, and it is these subsidiaries 
    that Congress understood it was exempting in the 1982 amendments. More 
    practically speaking, covering these subsidiaries could result in the 
    activities simply being transferred back to the bank, thereby imposing 
    costs with no corresponding benefit. Thus, the Board is not proposing 
    to apply sections 23A and 23B to such subsidiaries.
        The proposal also would not cover subsidiaries that Congress 
    previously had exempted from sections 23A and 23B when those statutes 
    generally applied to subsidiaries. In effect, Congress has determined 
    that the benefits of allowing banks to assume financial exposure to 
    these types of subsidiaries exceed the potential costs.
        The proposed rule addresses such subsidiaries in two ways. As 
    noted, the 1933 version of section 23A exempted subsidiaries engaged in 
    certain specified activities from coverage by sections 23A and 23B. One 
    group of activities could be performed by either an affiliate or a 
    subsidiary; although these activities no longer required an exemption 
    if performed in a subsidiary after 1982, section 23A continued to 
    exempt them if performed in an affiliate.21 These activities 
    include conducting a safe deposit business or holding bank premises. 
    Although the proposed rule would now treat a subsidiary conducting such 
    activities as an affiliate under sections 23A and 23B, the subsidiary 
    would also qualify for the exception that applies when such activities 
    are conducted in an affiliate.22 Thus, no language in the 
    proposed rule is necessary to exclude this group of companies from 
    coverage as subsidiaries by sections 23A and 23B.
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        \21\ There were two other types of companies that could operate 
    as either a subsidiary or an affiliate and that were exempt from the 
    pre-1982 section 23A: agricultural credit corporations and livestock 
    loan companies. However, on the Board's recommendation, Congress 
    discontinued the affiliate exemption for these companies. Board's 
    23A Proposal at 26.
        \22\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(2)(B-D).
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        The second group of subsidiaries exempt under the 1933 Act were 
    Edge Act subsidiaries and Agreement corporations. Because those 
    companies were almost always subsidiaries of a bank, Congress did not 
    retain a specific exception for them after the 1982 amendments (because 
    they, like all other subsidiaries, were already exempt). Similarly, 
    when member banks were first authorized to invest directly in the stock 
    of foreign banks in 1966, Congress specifically authorized the Board to 
    exempt transactions with such foreign bank subsidiaries from section 
    23A.23 The Board did so between 1967 and 1982, but 
    discontinued the exemption as unnecessary after 1982. Thus, the 
    proposed rule needs to contain specific language exempting these 
    subsidiaries.
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        \23\ 12 U.S.C. 601 (Third).
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    Application of Sections 23A and 23B to Insured Nonmember Banks and 
    Savings Associations
    
        As noted above, if the Board were to apply sections 23A and 23B to 
    transactions between a member bank and its subsidiaries, then by 
    operation of law such application would also extend to transactions 
    between an insured nonmember bank and a subsidiary engaged in 
    activities impermissible for its parent, and to transactions between a 
    savings association and a subsidiary engaged in activities 
    impermissible for its parent. However, especially in the savings 
    association context, application of sections 23A and 23B raises certain 
    policy issues. For example, in section 5 of the HOLA, Congress has 
    expressly permitted a savings association to invest up to 3 percent of 
    its assets in a service corporation--an amount greater than section 23A 
    would allow.24 The Board believes that if section 23A were 
    applied to service corporations, any investment in a subsidiary 
    expressly permitted by section 5 of the HOLA therefore should be 
    exempt. Furthermore, section 11(a)(1) of the
    
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    HOLA prohibits a savings association from making a loan or extension of 
    credit to an affiliate if the affiliate is engaged in impermissible 
    bank holding company activities. If the Board were to designate a 
    subsidiary as an ``affiliate'' for purposes of sections 23A and 23B, 
    then this lending prohibition arguably would be applied to savings 
    associations subsidiaries. Subsidiaries of member banks are not subject 
    to such a prohibition. Accordingly, the Board seeks comment on whether 
    sections 23A and 23B should be applied to transactions between savings 
    associations and their subsidiaries and, if so, in what manner.
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        \24\ At least one-half of the investment in excess of one 
    percent of a savings association's assets must be primarily used for 
    community, inner-city and community development purposes. 12 U.S.C. 
    1464(c)(4)(B).
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        Similarly, section 302(b) of the Small Business Investment Act of 
    1958 25 allows member banks and non-member insured banks to 
    invest up to 5 percent of their capital and surplus in small business 
    investment companies. The Board does not propose to include any 
    investment by a member or nonmember insured bank in a subsidiary that 
    qualifies as a small business investment company towards the 
    limitations of section 23A, and seeks comment on whether any additional 
    transactions should be covered.
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        \25\ 15 U.S.C. 682(b).
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    Transactions Between a Subsidiary and an Affiliate
    
        Pursuant to sections 23A and 23B, transactions between a subsidiary 
    of a bank and an affiliate of the bank are treated as if they are 
    transactions between the parent bank and the affiliate. For example, a 
    loan by a subsidiary of a bank to an affiliate of the bank is subject 
    to the collateral and other qualitative restrictions of sections 23A 
    and 23B, and the amount of the loan is counted toward the bank's 
    quantitative limits. This treatment is consistent with such 
    subsidiaries being considered departments of the bank.
        However, when such subsidiaries engage in activities not permitted 
    to the bank, and the bank would be limited by the proposed rule in its 
    ability to fund such subsidiaries, this restriction may no longer be 
    appropriate. If a subsidiary is no longer treated as a part of the bank 
    when it borrows, it could be argued that the subsidiary should not be 
    treated as part of the bank when lending to other affiliates. 
    Accordingly, the Board seeks comment on whether transactions between a 
    bank subsidiary and an affiliate of the bank should be exempt from 
    section 23A or 23B when the subsidiary is limited by sections 23A and 
    23B in the funding it can receive from its parent bank.
    
    Remaining Issues
    
        The Board recognizes that application of sections 23A and 23B to 
    bank subsidiaries may raise interpretive issues that the current 
    application to affiliates has not. For example, under Generally 
    Accepted Accounting Principles, retained earnings of a subsidiary are 
    considered an investment in the subsidiary by its parent bank and would 
    therefore be considered a covered transaction for purposes of sections 
    23A and 23B.26 The Board seeks comment on whether additional 
    interpretive issues should be addressed in the final rule.
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        \26\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(7)(B).
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    Regulatory Flexibility Act Analysis
    
        This proposal is not expected to have a significant economic impact 
    on a substantial number of small business entities within the meaning 
    of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because a 
    substantial number of small insured depository institutions do not 
    operate subsidiaries that are subject to the regulation. The Board 
    recognizes that some small state banks have established subsidiaries 
    engaged in real estate activities pursuant to section 24 of the FDI 
    Act, and the proposal would apply sections 23A and 23B to transactions 
    between the state banks and these subsidiaries. However, in its orders 
    approving such subsidiaries, the FDIC generally has required compliance 
    with sections 23A and 23B. The Board seeks comment on whether the 
    proposal would impose any additional burden on these entities, and what 
    relief would be appropriate.
    
    Paperwork Reduction Act
    
        No collection of information pursuant to section 3504(h) of the 
    Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.) is contained in this 
    notice.
    
    List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 250
    
        Banks, banking, Federal Reserve System.
    
        For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board proposes to 
    amend 12 CFR part 250 as follows:
    
    PART 250--MISCELLANEOUS INTERPRETATIONS
    
        1. The authority citation for part 250 continues to read as 
    follows:
    
        Authority: 12 U.S.C. 78, 248(i) and 371c(e).
    
        2. Section 250.243 is added to read as follows:
    
    
    Sec. 250.243  Applicability of sections 23A and 23B of the Federal 
    Reserve Act to transactions between a member bank and its subsidiaries.
    
        (a) Covered transactions between an insured depository institution 
    and its subsidiary--(1) In general. For purposes of sections 23A(b)(1) 
    and 23B(d)(1) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(1) and 
    371c-1(d)(1)), ``affiliate'' with respect to a member bank includes any 
    subsidiary of the member bank that engages, directly or through a 
    subsidiary, in any activity in which its parent bank may not engage 
    directly.
        (2) Exception for certain subsidiaries. The following subsidiaries 
    shall not be considered an affiliate for purposes of paragraph (a)(1) 
    of this section:
        (i) A corporation organized and operating under section 25A of the 
    Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611-631), and any subsidiary thereof;
        (ii) A corporation operating under section 25 of the Federal 
    Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601), and any subsidiary thereof; and
        (iii) A foreign bank held under authority of section 25 of the 
    Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601), and any subsidiary thereof.
        (3) Exception for certain investments. An investment in a small 
    business investment company pursuant to section 302(b) of the Small 
    Business Investment Act of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 682(b)) shall not be subject 
    to the lending limit of section 23A(a)(1)(A) and shall not count 
    towards the aggregate lending limit of section 23A(a)(1)(B) (12 U.S.C. 
    371c (a)(1)(A) and (a)(1)(B)).
        (b) Covered transactions between a subsidiary of an insured 
    depository institution and an affiliate of the institution. For 
    purposes of sections 23A(a)(1), 23A(c), and 23B(a)-(c) of the Federal 
    Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c(a)(1), 371c(c), and 371c-1(a)-(c)), a 
    subsidiary of a member bank shall not include any subsidiary that is 
    considered an affiliate for purposes of paragraph (a)(1) of this 
    section.
    
        By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
    System, July 3, 1997.
    William W. Wiles,
    Secretary of the Board.
    [FR Doc. 97-18526 Filed 7-14-97; 8:45 am]
    BILLING CODE 6210-01-P
    
    
    

Document Information

Published:
07/15/1997
Department:
Federal Reserve System
Entry Type:
Proposed Rule
Action:
Notice of proposed rulemaking.
Document Number:
97-18526
Dates:
Comments must be submitted on or before September 3, 1997.
Pages:
37744-37747 (4 pages)
Docket Numbers:
Miscellaneous Interpretations, Docket R-0977
PDF File:
97-18526.pdf
CFR: (1)
12 CFR 250.243