Request for Public Comment on a Proposed Rule that Allows a Financial Holding Company to Act as a

Federal Reserve Bank Of Dallas

Description

Federal Reserve Bankll★Kof DallasDALLAS, TEXASAugust 10, 2000 75265-5906Notice 2000-50TO: The Chief Executive Officer of eachfinancial institution and others concernedin the Eleventh Federal Reserve DistrictSUBJECTRequest for Public Commenton a Proposed Rule that Allows a Financial Holding Company toAct as a “Finder” to Bring Together Buyers and SellersDETAILSThe Board of Governors, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, hasproposed to determine by rule that acting as a finder is an activity that is financial in nature orincidental to a financial activity and, therefore, permissible for financial holding companies.The proposed rule•W ould authorize financial holding companies to act as a “finder,” which is anactivity defined as bringing together buyers and sellers of products or services fortransactions that the buyers and sellers themselves negotiate and consummate;•W ould amend Subpart I of Regulation Y to add finder activities to the list ofpermissible activities for financial holding companies;• Provides examples of services that financial holding companies may perform as afinder and examples of actions that are outside the scope of permissible finderactivities; and•W ould require financial holding companies that act as a finder to distinguish theproducts and services offered by third parties through the company’s finderservice from any products or services offered by the financial holding company orits subsidiaries.For ...

Informations

• Publié par: Ensi
• Nombre de lectures: 47
• Langue: English

Extrait

FederalReserve Bank
of Dallas

August 10, 2000

T
O:
The Chief Executive Officer of each
financial institution and others concerned
in the Eleventh Federal Reserve District

DALLAS, TEXAS
75265-5906

Notice 2000-50

SUBJECT
Request for Public Comment
on a Proposed Rule that Allows a Financial Holding Company to
Act as a “Finder” to Bring Together Buyers and Sellers
DETAILS
The Board of Governors, in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, has
proposed to determine by rule that acting as a finder is an activity that is financial in nature or
incidental to a financial activity and, therefore, permissible for financial holding companies.
The proposed rule
•Would authorize financial holding companies to act as a “finder,” which is an
activity defined as bringing together buyers and sellers of products or services for
transactions that the buyers and sellers themselves negotiate and consummate;
•Would amend Subpart I of Regulation Y to add finder activities to the list of
permissible activities for financial holding companies;
•Provides examples of services that financial holding companies may perform as a
finder and examples of actions that are outside the scope of permissible finder
activities; and
•Would require financial holding companies that act as a finder to distinguish the
products and services offered by third parties through the company’s finder
service from any products or services offered by the financial holding company or
its subsidiaries.

For additional copies, bankers and others are encouraged to use one of the following toll-free numbers in contacting the Federal
Reserve Bank of Dallas: Dallas Office [phone]; El Paso Branch
Intrastate
[phone],
Interstate
[phone];
Houston Branch
Intrastate
[phone],
Interstate
[phone]; San Antonio Branch
Intrastate
[phone].

- 2 -

The Board solicits comments on all aspects of the proposed rule and will amend the
rule as appropriate in response to comments received. The Board must receive comments by
September 5, 2000. Please address comments to Jennifer J. Johnson, Secretary, Board of Gover-
nors of the Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and Constitution Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC
20551. Also, you may mail comments electronically to
[e-mail]
. All
comments should refer to Docket No. R-1078.

ATTACHMENT

A copy of the Board’s notice as it appears on pages 47696–701, Vol. 65, No. 150 of
the
Federal Register
dated August 3, 2000, is attached.

MORE INFORMATION

For more information, please contact Rob Jolley, Banking Supervision Department,
at [phone]. For additional copies of this Bank’s notice, contact the Public Affairs
Department at [phone] or access District Notices on our web site at
http://www.dallasfed.org/banking/notices/index.html.

69674

eVDrta e11M<YA2>Federal Register
/Vol. 65, No. 150/Thursday, August 3, 2000/Proposed Rules
FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
12 CFR Part 225
[Regulation Y; Docket No. R±1078]
Bank Holding Companies and Change
in Bank Control
AGENCY
:
Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System.
ACTION
:
Proposed rule with request for
public comments.
SUMMARY
:
The Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, after
consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury, proposes to determine by rule
that acting as a finder is an activity that
is financial in nature or incidental to a
financial activity and therefore
permissible for financial holding
companies. The proposed rule would
authorize financial holding companies
to act as a ‘‘finder,’’ which is an activity
defined as bringing together buyers and
sellers of products or services for
transactions that the buyers and sellers
themselves negotiate and consummate.
The proposal would amend Subpart I of
Regulation Y to add finder activities to
the list of activities permissible for
financial holding companies. The
proposed rule provides examples of
services that financial holding
companies may perform as a finder, and
examples of actions that are outside the
scope of permissible finder activities. In
addition, the proposed rule would
require financial holding companies
that act as a finder to distinguish the
products and services offered by third
parties through the company’s finder
service from any products or services
offered by the financial holding
company or its subsidiaries.
The Board solicits comments on all
aspects of the proposed rule and will
amend the rule as appropriate in
response to comments received.
DATES
:
Comments must be received by
September 5, 2000.
ADDRESSES
:
Comments should refer to
docket number R–1078 and should be
mailed to Ms. Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, 20th Street and
Constitution Avenue, NW., Washington,
DC 20551 or mailed electronically to
[e-mail].
Comments addressed to Ms. Johnson
also may be delivered to the Board’s
mailroom between 8:45 a.m. and 5:15
p.m. and, outside those hours, to the
Board’s security control room. Both the
mailroom and the security control room
are accessible from the Eccles Building
courtyard entrance, located on 20th
Street between Constitution Avenue and

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eFedar leRigtsre/VC Street, NW. Members of the public
may inspect comments in room MP–500
of the Martin Building between 9 a.m.
and 5 p.m. on weekdays.
FORFURTHERINFORMATIONCONTACT
:
Scott G. Alvarez, Associate General
Counsel (202/452–3583), Kieran J.
Fallon, Senior Counsel (202/452–5270),
or Adrianne G. Threatt, Attorney (202/
452–3554), Legal Division; Board of
Governors of the Federal Reserve
System, 20th Street and Constitution
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20551.
For users of Telecommunications
Device for the Deaf (‘‘TDD’’)
only
,
contact Janice Simms at 202/872–4984.
SUPPLEMENTARYINFORMATION
:
Background
The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (Pub. L.
No. 106–102, 113 Stat. 1338 (1999))
(‘‘GLB Act’’) amended the Bank Holding
Company Act (‘‘BHC Act’’) (12 U.S.C.
1841
et seq.
) to allow a bank holding
company or foreign bank that qualifies
as a financial holding company to
engage in a broad range of activities that
are defined by the GLB Act to be
financial in nature or incidental to a
financial activity. The GLB Act also
permits financial holding companies to
engage in other activities that the Board
determines, by regulation or order and
in consultation with the Secretary of the
Treasury (‘‘Secretary’’), to be financial
in nature or incidental to a financial
activity.
In considering whether an activity is
financial in nature or incidental to a
financial activity, the GLB Act requires
the Board to consider: (1) The purposes
of the GLB Act and BHC Act; (2) the
changes or reasonably expected changes
in the marketplace in which financial
holding companies compete; (3) the
changes or reasonably expected changes
in technology for delivering financial
services; and (4) whether the proposed
activity is necessary or appropriate to
allow a financial holding company to
compete effectively with companies
seeking to provide financial services in
the United States, efficiently deliver
financial information and services
through technological means, and offer
customers any available or emerging
technological means for using financial
services or for the document imaging of
data. The Board also may consider other
factors and information that it considers
relevant to its determination.
After considering the factors listed
above and other relevant information,
the Board, after consultation with the
Secretary of the Treasury, proposes to
determine by rule that acting as a finder
is an activity that is incidental to a
financial activity. The proposed rule

lo .56 ,oN .510/hTrudsya ,uAugts ,3 would amend §225.86 of the Board’s
Regulation Y to add a new activity,
which, as explained below is
denominated ‘‘acting as a finder,’’ to the
list of activities permissible for financial
holding companies.
1
Bank holding
companies and foreign banks that
qualify as financial holding companies
would be permitted to engage in finder
activities by using the post-
commencement notice procedure
described in §225.87 of Regulation Y.
Bank holding companies and foreign
banks that do not qualify as financial
holding companies may engage only in
those nonbanking activities that were
permissible for bank holding companies
prior to the enactment of the GLB Act
and, thus, could not act as a fin