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Code 1756.2). Thus, under a literal reading of the definitions of branch and agency contained in the International Banking Act, a foreign bank's California office that accepts deposits from certain foreign sources (e.g., a U.S. citizen residing abroad), is a branch rather than an agency.

Section 5 of the International Banking Act establishes certain limitations on the expansion of the domestic deposit-taking capabilities of a foreign bank outside its home State. It also grandfathers offices established or applied for prior to July 27, 1978, and permits a foreign bank to select its home State from among the States in which it operated branches and agencies on the grandfather date. If a foreign bank's office that was established or applied for prior to June 27, 1978, is a branch as defined in the International Banking Act, then it is grandfathered as a branch. Accordingly, a foreign bank could designate a State other than California as its home State and subsequently convert its California office to a full domestic deposit-taking facility by obtaining Federal deposit insurance. If, however, the office is determined to be an agency, then it is grandfathered as such and the foreign bank may may not expand its deposittaking capabilities in California without declaring California its home State.

In the Board's view, it would be inconsistent with the purposes and the legislative history of the International Banking Act to enable a foreign bank to expand its domestic interstate deposit-taking capabilities by grandfathering these California offices as branches because of their ability to receive certain foreign source deposits. The Board also notes that such deposits are of the same general type that may be received by an Edge Corporation and, hence in accordance with section 5(a) of the International Banking Act, by branches established and operated outside a foreign bank's home State. It would be inconsistent with the structure of the interstate banking provisions of the International Banking Act to grandfather as full deposittaking offices those facilities whose activities have been determined by Con

gress to be appropriate for a foreign bank's out-of-home State branches.

Accordingly, the Board, in administering the interstate banking provisions of the IBA, regards as agencies those offices of foreign banks that do not accept domestic deposits but that may accept deposits from any person that resides, is domiciled, and maintains its principal place of business in a foreign country.

[45 FR 67309, Oct. 10, 1980]

§ 211.602 Investments by United States Banking Organizations in foreign companies that transact business in the United States.

Section 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611, the "Edge Act") provides for the establishment of corporations to engage in international or foreign banking or other international or foreign financial operations ("Edge Corporations"). Congress has declared that Edge Corporations are to serve the purpose of stimulating the provision of international banking and financing services throughout the United States and are to have powers sufficiently broad to enable them to compete effectively with foreign-owned institutions in the United States and abroad. The Board was directed by the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3101) to revise its regulations governing Edge Corporations in order to accomplish these and other objectives and was further directed to modify or eliminate any interpretations that impede the attainment of these purposes.

One of the powers of Edge Corporations is that of investing in foreign companies. Under the relevant statutes, however, an Edge Corporation is prohibited from investing in foreign companies that engage in the general business of buying or selling goods, wares, merchandise or commodities in the United States. In addition, an Edge Corporation may not invest in foreign companies that transact any business in the United States that is not, in the Board's judgment, "incidental" to its international or foreign business. The latter limitation also applies to investments by bank holding companies (12 U.S.C. 1843(c)(13)) and member banks (12 U.S.C. 601).

The Board has been asked to determine whether an Edge Corporation's minority investment (involving less than 25 percent of the voting shares) in a foreign company would continue to be permissible after the foreign company establishes or acquires a United States subsidiary that engages in domestic activities that are closely related to banking. The Board has also been asked to determine whether an Edge Corporation's minority investment in a foreign bank would continue to be permissible after the foreign bank establishes a branch in the United States that engages in domestic banking activities. In the latter case, the branch would be located outside the State in which the Edge Corporation and its parent bank are located.

In the past the Board, in exercising its discretionary authority to determine those activities that are permissible in the United States, has followed the policy that an Edge Corporation could not hold even a minority interest in a foreign company that engaged, directly or indirectly, in any purely domestic business in the United States. The United States activities considered permissible were those internationally related activities that Edge Corporations may engage in directly. If this policy were applied to the subject requests, the Edge Corporations would be required to divest their interests in the foreign companies notwithstanding the fact that, in each case, the Edge Corporation, as a minority investor, did not control the decision to undertake activities in the United States, and that even after the United States activities are undertaken the business of the foreign company will remain predominantly outside the United States.

International banking and finance have undergone considerable growth and change in recent years. It is increasingly common, for example, for United States institutions to have direct or indirect offices in foreign countries and to engage in activities at those offices that are domestically as well as internationally oriented. In this climate, United States banking organizations would be placed at a competitive disadvantage if their minority investments in foreign companies were limited to those companies that do no

domestic business in the United States. Moreover, continued adherence to the existing policy would be contrary to the declaration in the International Banking Act of 1978 that Edge Corporations' powers are to be sufficiently broad to enable them to compete effectively in the United States and abroad. Furthermore, where the activities to be conducted in the United States by the foreign company are banking or closely related to banking, it does not appear that any regulatory or supervisory purpose would be served by prohibiting a minority investment in the foreign firm by a United States banking organization.

In view of these considerations, the Board has reviewed its policy relating to the activities that may be engaged in in the United States by foreign companies (including foreign banks) in member which Edge Corporations,

banks, and bank holding companies invest. As a result of that review, the Board has determined that it would be appropriate to interpret sections 25 and 25(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601, 611) and section 4(c)(13) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(c)(13)) generally to allow United States banking organizations, with the prior consent of the Board, to acquire and hold investments in foreign companies that do business in the United States subject to the following conditions:

(1) The foreign company is engaged predominantly in business outside the United States or in internationally related activities in the United States;*

(2) The direct or indirect activities of the foreign company in the United States are either banking or closely related to banking; and

(3) The United States banking organization does not own 25 percent or more of the voting stock of, or otherwise control, the foreign company.

*This condition would ordinarily not be met where a foreign company merely maintains a majority of its business in international activities. Each case will be scrutinized to ensure that the activities in the United States do not alter substantially the international orientation of the foreign company's business.

In considering whether to grant its consent for such investments, the Board would also review the proposals to ensure that they are consistent with the purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act and the Federal Reserve Act. [46 FR 8437, Jan. 27, 1981]

§ 211.603 Commodity swap transactions.

For text of interpretation relating to this subject, see §208.128 of this chapter.

[56 FR 63408, Dec. 4, 1991]

§ 211.604 Data processing activities.

(a) Introduction. As a result of a recent proposal by a bank holding company to engage in data processing activities abroad, the Board has considered the scope of permissible data processing activities under Regulation K (12 CFR part 211). This question has arisen as a result of the fact that § 211.5(d)(10) of Regulation K does not specifically indicate the scope of data processing as a permissible activity abroad.

(b) Scope of data processing activities. (1) Prior to 1979, the Board authorized specific banking organizations to engage in data processing activities abroad with the expectation that such activity would be primarily related to financial activities. When Regulation K was issued in 1979, data processing was included as a permissible activity abroad. Although the regulation did not provide specific guidance on the scope of this authority, the Board has considered such authority to be coextensive with the authority granted in specific cases prior to the issuance of Regulation K, which relied on the fact that most of the activity would relate to financial data. Regulation K does not address related activities such as the manufacture of hardware or the provision of software or related or incidental services.

(2) In 1979, when the activity was included in Regulation K for the first time, the data processing authority in Regulation K was somewhat broader than that permissible in the United States under Regulation Y (12 CFR part 225) at that time, as the Regulation K authority permitted limited

non-financial data processing. In 1979, Regulation Y authorized only financial data processing activities for third parties, with very limited exceptions. By 1997, however, the scope of data processing activities under Regulation Y was expanded such that bank holding companies are permitted to derive up to 30 percent of their data processing revenues from processing data that is not financial, banking, or economic. Moreover, in other respects, the Regulation Y provision is broader than the data processing provision in Regulation K.

(3) In light of the fact that the permissible scope of data processing activities under Regulation Y is now equal to, and in some respects, broader than the activity originally authorized under Regulation K, the Board believes that §211.5(d)(10) should be read to encompass all of the activities permissible under §225.28(b)(14) of Regulation Y. In addition, the limitations of that section would also apply to §211.5(d)(10).

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(c) Applications. If a U.S. banking organization wishes to engage abroad in data processing or data transmission activities beyond those described in Regulation Y, it must apply for the Board's prior consent §211.5(d)(20) of Regulation K. In addition, if any investor has commenced activities beyond those permitted under §225.28(b)(14) of Regulation Y in reliance on Regulation K, it should consult with staff of the Board to determine whether such activities have been properly authorized under Regulation K.

[Reg. K, 64 FR 58781, Nov. 1, 1999]

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AUTHORITY: 12 U.S.C. 3201-3208; 15 U.S.C. 19. SOURCE: 61 FR 40302, Aug. 2, 1996, unless otherwise noted.

§ 212.1 Authority, purpose, and scope. (a) Authority. This part is issued under the provisions of the Depository Institution Management Interlocks Act (Interlocks Act) (12 U.S.C. 3201 et seq.), as amended.

(b) Purpose. The purpose of the Interlocks Act and this part is to foster competition by generally prohibiting a management official from serving two nonaffiliated depository organizations in situations where the management interlock likely would have an anticompetitive effect.

(c) Scope. This part applies to management officials of state member banks, bank holding companies, and their affiliates.

§ 212.2 Definitions.

For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:

(a) Affiliate. (1) The term affiliate has the meaning given in section 202 of the Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201). For purposes of that section 202, shares held by an individual include shares held by members of his or her immediate family. "Immediate family" means spouse, mother, father, child, grandchild, sister, brother, or any of their spouses, whether or not any of their shares are held in trust.

(2) For purposes of section 202(3)(B) of the Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201(3)(B)), an affiliate relationship based on common ownership does not exist if the Board determines, after giving the affected persons the opportunity to respond, that the asserted affiliation was established in order to avoid the prohibitions of the Interlocks Act and does not represent a true commonality of interest between the depository organizations. In making this determination, the Board considers, among other things, whether a person, including members of his or her immediate family, whose shares are necessary to constitute the group owns a nominal percentage of the shares of one of the organizations and the percentage is substantially disproportionate to that person's ownership of shares in the other organization.

(b) Area median income means:

(1) The median family income for the metropolitan statistical area (MSA), if a depository organization is located in an MSA; or

(2) The statewide nonmetropolitan median family income, if a depository organization is located outside an

MSA.

(c) Community means a city, town, or village, and contiguous and adjacent cities, towns, or villages.

(d) Contiguous or adjacent cities, towns, or villages means cities, towns, or villages whose borders touch each other or whose borders are within 10 road miles of each other at their closest points. The property line of an office located in an unincorporated city, town, or village is the boundary line of that city, town, or village for the purpose of this definition.

(e) Depository holding company means a bank holding company or a savings and loan holding company (as more fully defined in section 202 of the Interlocks Act (12 U.S.C. 3201)) having its principal office located in the United States.

(f) Depository institution means a commercial bank (including a private bank), a savings bank, a trust company, a savings and loan association, a building and loan association, a homestead association, a cooperative bank, an industrial bank, or a credit union, chartered under the laws of the United States and having a principal office located in the United States. Additionally, a United States office, including a branch or agency, of a foreign commercial bank is a depository institution.

(g) Depository institution affiliate means a depository institution that is an affiliate of a depository organization.

(h) Depository organization means a depository institution or a depository holding company.

(i) Low- and moderate-income areas means census tracts (or, if an area is not in a census tract, block numbering areas delineated by the United States Bureau of the Census) where the median family income is less than 100 percent of the area median income.

(j) Management official. (1) The term management official means:

(i) A director;

(ii) An advisory or honorary director of a depository institution with total assets of $100 million or more;

(iii) A senior executive officer as that term is defined in 12 CFR 225.71(a);

(iv) A branch manager;

(v) A trustee of a depository organization under the control of trustees; and

(vi) Any person who has a representative or nominee, as defined in paragraph (p) of this section, serving in any of the capacities in this paragraph (1)(1).

(2) The term management official does not include:

(i) A person whose management functions relate exclusively to the business of retail merchandising or manufacturing;

(ii) A person whose management functions relate principally to a foreign commercial bank's business outside the United States; or

(iii) A person described in the provisos of section 202(4) of the Interlocks Act (referring to an officer of a Statechartered savings bank, cooperative bank, or trust company that neither makes real estate mortgage loans nor accepts savings).

(k) Office means a principal or branch office of a depository institution located in the United States. Office does not include a representative office of a foreign commercial bank, an electronic terminal, a loan production office, or any office of a depository holding company.

(1) Person means a natural person, corporation, or other business entity.

(m) Relevant metropolitan statistical area (RMSA) means an MSA, a primary MSA, or a consolidated MSA that is not comprised of designated Primary MSAS to the extent that these terms are defined and applied by the Office of Management and Budget.

(n) Representative or nominee means a natural person who serves as a management official and has an obligation to act on behalf of another person with respect to management responsibilities. The Board will find that a person has an obligation to act on behalf of another person only if the first person has an agreement, express or implied, to act on behalf of the second person with respect to management respon

sibilities. The Board will determine, after giving the affected persons an opportunity to respond, whether a person is a representative or nominee.

(0) Total assets. (1) The term total assets means assets measured on a consolidated basis and reported in the most recent fiscal year-end Consolidated Report of Condition and Income. (2) The term total assets does not include:

(i) Assets of a diversified savings and loan holding company as defined by section 10(a)(1)(F) of the Home Owners' Loan Act (12 U.S.C. 1467a(a)(1)(F)) other than the assets of its depository institution affiliate;

(ii) Assets of a bank holding company that is exempt from the prohibitions of section 4 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 pursuant to an order issued under section 4(d) of that Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(d)) other than the assets of its depository institution affiliate; or

(iii) Assets of offices of a foreign commercial bank other than the assets of its United States branch or agency. (p) United States means the United States of America, any State or territory of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, and the Virgin Islands.

[61 FR 40302, Aug. 2, 1996, as amended at 64 FR 51679, Sept. 24, 1999]

§ 212.3 Prohibitions.

(a) Community. A management official of a depository organization may not serve at the same time as a management official of an unaffiliated depository organization if the depository organizations in question (or a depository institution affiliate thereof) have offices in the same community.

(b) RMSA. A management official of a depository organization may not serve at the same time as a management official of an unaffiliated depository organization if the depository organizations in question (or a depository institution affiliate thereof) have offices in the same RMSA and, in the case of depository institutions, each depository organization has total assets of $20 million or more.

(c) Major assets. A management official of a depository organization with total assets exceeding $2.5 billion (or

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