(Archived Content)
FROM THE OFFICE OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS
LS-1098The Treasury Department yesterday approved an interim rule defining three categories of activities listed in section 5136A(b)(3) of the Revised Statutes as financial in nature or incidental to a financial activity and therefore permissible for financial subsidiaries of national banks.
The interim rule will be published jointly with the Federal Reserve Board and will be effective on January 2, 2001. The Board has approved the interim rule for financial holding companies under a parallel section of the Bank Holding Company Act. Comments will be due 30 days after publication in the Federal Register, which is expected soon.
The three categories of activities are:
(1) Lending, exchanging, transferring, investing for others, or safeguarding financial assets other than money or securities;
(2) Providing any device or other instrumentality for transferring money or other financial assets; or
(3) Arranging, effecting, or facilitating financial transactions for the account of third parties.
The interim rule solicits comment on whether there are particular activities, not otherwise authorized, that may be covered by the three categories of activities. The interim rule also contains a procedure through which financial holding companies and financial subsidiaries of national banks may request the Board or the Secretary, respectively, to determine that a particular activity falls within one of the three categories of activities and is not otherwise authorized.