§ 1843. Interests in nonbanking organizations
(a)
Ownership or control of voting shares of any company not a bank; engagement in activities other than banking
Except as otherwise provided in this chapter, no bank holding company shall—
(1)
after May 9, 1956, acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any company which is not a bank, or
(2)
after two years from the date as of which it becomes a bank holding company, or in the case of a company which has been continuously affiliated since May 15, 1955, with a company which was registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 [15 U.S.C. 80a–1 et seq.], prior to May 15, 1955, in such a manner as to constitute an affiliated company within the meaning of that Act, after December 31, 1978, or, in the case of any company which becomes, as a result of the enactment of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970, a bank holding company on December 31, 1970, after December 31, 1980, retain direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any company which is not a bank or bank holding company or engage in any activities other than
(A)
those of banking or of managing or controlling banks and other subsidiaries authorized under this chapter or of furnishing services to or performing services for its subsidiaries, and
(B)
those permitted under paragraph (8) of subsection (c) of this section subject to all the conditions specified in such paragraph or in any order or regulation issued by the Board under such paragraph: Provided, That a company covered in 1970 may also engage in those activities in which directly or through a subsidiary
(i)
it was lawfully engaged on June 30, 1968 (or on a date subsequent to June 30, 1968 in the case of activities carried on as the result of the acquisition by such company or subsidiary, pursuant to a binding written contract entered into on or before June 30, 1968, of another company engaged in such activities at the time of the acquisition), and
(ii)
it has been continuously engaged since June 30, 1968 (or such subsequent date). The Board by order, after opportunity for hearing, may terminate the authority conferred by the preceding proviso on any company to engage directly or through a subsidiary in any activity otherwise permitted by that proviso if it determines, having due regard to the purposes of this chapter, that such action is necessary to prevent undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, conflicts of interest, or unsound banking practices; and in the case of any such company controlling a bank having bank assets in excess of $60,000,000 on or after December 31, 1970, the Board shall determine, within two years after such date (or, if later, within two years after the date on which the bank assets first exceed $60,000,000), whether the authority conferred by the preceding proviso with respect to such company should be terminated as provided in this sentence. Nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to authorize any bank holding company referred to in the preceding proviso, or any subsidiary thereof, to engage in activities authorized by that proviso through the acquisition, pursuant to a contract entered into after June 30, 1968, of any interest in or the assets of a going concern engaged in such activities. Any company which is authorized to engage in any activity pursuant to the preceding proviso or subsection (d) of this section but, as a result of action of the Board, is required to terminate such activity may (notwithstanding any otherwise applicable time limit prescribed in this paragraph) retain the ownership or control of shares in any company carrying on such activity for a period of ten years from the date on which its authority was so terminated by the Board. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph, if any company that became a bank holding company as a result of the enactment of the Competitive Equality Amendments of 1987 acquired, between March 5, 1987, and August 10, 1987, an institution that became a bank as a result of the enactment of such Amendments, that company shall, upon enactment of such Amendments, immediately come into compliance with the requirements of this chapter.
The Board is authorized, upon application by a bank holding company, to extend the two year period referred to in paragraph (2) above from time to time as to such bank holding company for not more than one year at a time, if, in its judgment, such an extension would not be detrimental to the public interest, but no such extensions shall in the aggregate exceed three years. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the period ending December 31, 1980, referred to in paragraph (2) above, may be extended by the Board of Governors to December 31, 1984, but only for the divestiture by a bank holding company of real estate or interests in real estate lawfully acquired for investment or development. In making its decision whether to grant such extension, the Board shall consider whether the company has made a good faith effort to divest such interests and whether such extension is necessary to avert substantial loss to the company.
(b)
Statement purporting to represent shares of any company except a bank or bank holding company
After two years from May 9, 1956, no certificate evidencing shares of any bank holding company shall bear any statement purporting to represent shares of any other company except a bank or a bank holding company, nor shall the ownership, sale, or transfer of shares of any bank holding company be conditioned in any manner whatsoever upon the ownership, sale, or transfer of shares of any other company except a bank or a bank holding company.
(c)
Exemptions
The prohibitions in this section shall not apply to
(i)
any company that was on January 4, 1977, both a bank holding company and a labor, agricultural, or horticultural organization exempt from taxation under section
501 of title
26, or to any labor, agricultural, or horticultural organization to which all or substantially all of the assets of such company are hereafter transferred, or
(ii)
a company covered in 1970 more than 85 per centum of the voting stock of which was collectively owned on June 30, 1968, and continuously thereafter, directly or indirectly, by or for members of the same family, or their spouses, who are lineal descendants of common ancestors; and such prohibitions shall not, with respect to any other bank holding company, apply to—
(1)
shares of any company engaged or to be engaged solely in one or more of the following activities:
(A)
holding or operating properties used wholly or substantially by any banking subsidiary of such bank holding company in the operations of such banking subsidiary or acquired for such future use; or
(C)
furnishing services to or performing services for such bank holding company or its banking subsidiaries; or
(D)
liquidating assets acquired from such bank holding company or its banking subsidiaries or acquired from any other source prior to May 9, 1956, or the date on which such company became a bank holding company, whichever is later;
(2)
shares acquired by a bank holding company or any of its subsidiaries in satisfaction of a debt previously contracted in good faith, but such shares shall be disposed of within a period of two years from the date on which they were acquired, except that the Board is authorized upon application by such bank holding company to extend such period of two years from time to time as to such holding company if, in its judgment, such an extension would not be detrimental to the public interest, and, in the case of a bank holding company which has not disposed of such shares within 5 years after the date on which such shares were acquired, the Board may, upon the application of such company, grant additional exemptions if, in the judgment of the Board, such extension would not be detrimental to the public interest and, either the bank holding company has made a good faith attempt to dispose of such shares during such 5-year period, or the disposal of such shares during such 5-year period would have been detrimental to the company, except that the aggregate duration of such extensions shall not extend beyond 10 years after the date on which such shares were acquired;
(3)
shares acquired by such bank holding company from any of its subsidiaries which subsidiary has been requested to dispose of such shares by any Federal or State authority having statutory power to examine such subsidiary, but such bank holding company shall dispose of such shares within a period of two years from the date on which they were acquired;
(4)
shares held or acquired by a bank in good faith in a fiduciary capacity, except where such shares are held under a trust that constitutes a company as defined in section
1841
(b) of this title and except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section
1841
(g) of this title;
(5)
shares which are of the kinds and amounts eligible for investment by national banking associations under the provisions of section
24 of this title;
(6)
shares of any company which do not include more than 5 per centum of the outstanding voting shares of such company;
(7)
shares of an investment company which is not a bank holding company and which is not engaged in any business other than investing in securities, which securities do not include more than 5 per centum of the outstanding voting shares of any company;
(8)
shares of any company the activities of which had been determined by the Board by regulation or order under this paragraph as of the day before November 12, 1999, to be so closely related to banking as to be a proper incident thereto (subject to such terms and conditions contained in such regulation or order, unless modified by the Board);
(9)
shares held or activities conducted by any company organized under the laws of a foreign country the greater part of whose business is conducted outside the United States, if the Board by regulation or order determines that, under the circumstances and subject to the conditions set forth in the regulation or order, the exemption would not be substantially at variance with the purposes of this chapter and would be in the public interest;
(10)
shares lawfully acquired and owned prior to May 9, 1956, by a bank which is a bank holding company, or by any of its wholly owned subsidiaries;
(11)
shares owned directly or indirectly by a company covered in 1970 in a company which does not engage in any activities other than those in which the bank holding company, or its subsidiaries, may engage by virtue of this section, but nothing in this paragraph authorizes any bank holding company, or subsidiary thereof, to acquire any interest in or the assets of any going concern (except pursuant to a binding written contract entered into before June 30, 1968, or pursuant to another provision of this chapter) other than one which was a subsidiary on June 30, 1968;
(12)
shares retained or acquired, or activities engaged in, by any company which becomes, as a result of the enactment of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970, a bank holding company on December 31, 1970, or by any subsidiary thereof, if such company—
(13)
shares of, or activities conducted by, any company which does no business in the United States except as an incident to its international or foreign business, if the Board by regulation or order determines that, under the circumstances and subject to the conditions set forth in the regulation or order, the exemption would not be substantially at variance with the purposes of this chapter and would be in the public interest; or
(14)
shares of any company which is an export trading company whose acquisition (including each acquisition of shares) or formation by a bank holding company has not been disapproved by the Board pursuant to this paragraph, except that such investments, whether direct or indirect, in such shares shall not exceed 5 per centum of the bank holding company’s consolidated capital and surplus.
(A)
(i)
No bank holding company shall invest in an export trading company under this paragraph unless the Board has been given sixty days’ prior written notice of such proposed investment and within such period has not issued a notice disapproving the proposed investment or extending for up to another thirty days the period during which such disapproval may be issued.
(ii)
The period for disapproval may be extended for such additional thirty-day period only if the Board determines that a bank holding company proposing to invest in an export trading company has not furnished all the information required to be submitted or that in the Board’s judgment any material information submitted is substantially inaccurate.
(iii)
The notice required to be filed by a bank holding company shall contain such relevant information as the Board shall require by regulation or by specific request in connection with any particular notice.
(iv)
The Board may disapprove any proposed investment only if—
(I)
such disapproval is necessary to prevent unsafe or unsound banking practices, undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, or conflicts of interest;
(v)
Leverage.—
The Board may not disapprove any proposed investment solely on the basis of the anticipated or proposed asset-to-equity ratio of the export trading company with respect to which such investment is proposed, unless the anticipated or proposed annual average asset-to-equity ratio is greater than 20-to-1.
(B)
(i)
The total amount of extensions of credit by a bank holding company which invests in an export trading company, when combined with all such extensions of credit by all the subsidiaries of such bank holding company, to an export trading company shall not exceed at any one time 10 per centum of the bank holding company’s consolidated capital and surplus. For purposes of the preceding sentence, an extension of credit shall not be deemed to include any amount invested by a bank holding company in the shares of an export trading company.
(ii)
No provision of any other Federal law in effect on October 1, 1982, relating specifically to collateral requirements shall apply with respect to any such extension of credit.
(iii)
No bank holding company or subsidiary of such company which invests in an export trading company may extend credit to such export trading company or to customers of such export trading company on terms more favorable than those afforded similar borrowers in similar circumstances, and such extension of credit shall not involve more than the normal risk of repayment or present other unfavorable features.
(C)
For purposes of this paragraph, an export trading company—
(i)
may engage in or hold shares of a company engaged in the business of underwriting, selling, or distributing securities in the United States only to the extent that any bank holding company which invests in such export trading company may do so under applicable Federal and State banking laws and regulations; and
(ii)
may not engage in agricultural production activities or in manufacturing, except for such incidental product modification including repackaging, reassembling or extracting byproducts, as is necessary to enable United States goods or services to conform with requirements of a foreign country and to facilitate their sale in foreign countries.
(D)
A bank holding company which invests in an export trading company may be required, by the Board, to terminate its investment or may be made subject to such limitations or conditions as may be imposed by the Board, if the Board determines that the export trading company has taken positions in commodities or commodity contracts, in securities, or in foreign exchange, other than as may be necessary in the course of the export trading company’s business operations.
(E)
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, an Edge Act corporation, organized under section 25(a) [1] of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611–631), which is a subsidiary of a bank holding company, or an agreement corporation, operating subject to section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act [12 U.S.C. 601 et seq.], which is a subsidiary of a bank holding company, may invest directly and indirectly in the aggregate up to 5 per centum of its consolidated capital and surplus (25 per centum in the case of a corporation not engaged in banking) in the voting stock of other evidences of ownership in one or more export trading companies.
(F)
For purposes of this paragraph—
(i)
the term “export trading company” means a company which does business under the laws of the United States or any State, which is exclusively engaged in activities related to international trade, and which is organized and operated principally for purposes of exporting goods or services produced in the United States or for purposes of facilitating the exportation of goods or services produced in the United States by unaffiliated persons by providing one or more export trade services.[2]
(ii)
the term “export trade services” includes, but is not limited to, consulting, international market research, advertising, marketing, insurance (other than acting as principal, agent or broker in the sale of insurance on risks resident or located, or activities performed, in the United States, except for insurance covering the transportation of cargo from any point of origin in the United States to a point of final destination outside the United States), product research and design, legal assistance, transportation, including trade documentation and freight forwarding, communication and processing of foreign orders to and for exporters and foreign purchasers, warehousing, foreign exchange, financing, and taking title to goods, when provided in order to facilitate the export of goods or services produced in the United States;
(iii)
the term “bank holding company” shall include a bank which
(I)
is organized solely to do business with other banks and their officers, directors, or employees;
(III)
does not do business with the general public. No such other bank, owning stock in a bank described in this clause that invests in an export trading company, shall extend credit to an export trading company in an amount exceeding at any one time 10 per centum of such other bank’s capital and surplus; and
(G)
Determination of status as export trading company.—
(i)
Time period requirements.—
For purposes of determining whether an export trading company is operated principally for the purposes described in subparagraph (F)(i)—
(ii)
Export revenue requirements.—
A company shall not be treated as operated principally for the purposes described in subparagraph (F)(i) unless—
(H)
Inventory.—
(i)
No general limitation.—
The Board may not prescribe by regulation any maximum dollar amount limitation on the value of goods which an export trading company may maintain in inventory at any time.
(ii)
Specific limitation by order.—
Notwithstanding clause (i), the Board may issue an order establishing a maximum dollar amount limitation on the value of goods which a particular export trading company may maintain in inventory at any time (after such company has been operating for a reasonable period of time) if the Board finds that, under the facts and circumstances, such limitation is necessary to prevent risks that would affect the financial or managerial resources of an investor bank holding company to an extent which would be likely to have a materially adverse effect on the safety and soundness of any subsidiary bank of such bank holding company.
The Board shall include in its annual report to the Congress a description and a statement of the reasons for approval of each activity approved by it by order or regulation under such paragraph during the period covered by the report.
(d)
Exemption of company controlling one bank prior to July 1, 1968
To the extent that such action would not be substantially at variance with the purposes of this chapter and subject to such conditions as it considers necessary to protect the public interest, the Board by order, after opportunity for hearing, may grant exemptions from the provisions of this section to any bank holding company which controlled one bank prior to July 1, 1968, and has not thereafter acquired the control of any other bank in order
(1)
to avoid disrupting business relationships that have existed over a long period of years without adversely affecting the banks or communities involved, or
(2)
to avoid forced sales of small locally owned banks to purchasers not similarly representative of community interests, or
(3)
to allow retention of banks that are so small in relation to the holding company’s total interests and so small in relation to the banking market to be served as to minimize the likelihood that the bank’s powers to grant or deny credit may be influenced by a desire to further the holding company’s other interests.
(e)
Divestiture of nonexempt shares
With respect to shares which were not subject to the prohibitions of this section as originally enacted by reason of any exemption with respect thereto but which were made subject to such prohibitions by the subsequent repeal of such exemption, no bank holding company shall retain direct or indirect ownership or control of such shares after five years from the date of the repeal of such exemption, except as provided in paragraph (2) of subsection (a) of this section. Any bank holding company subject to such five-year limitation on the retention of nonbanking assets shall endeavor to divest itself of such shares promptly and such bank holding company shall report its progress in such divestiture to the Board two years after repeal of the exemption applicable to it and annually thereafter.
(f)
Certain companies not treated as bank holding companies
(1)
In general
Except as provided in paragraph (9), any company which—
(A)
on March 5, 1987, controlled an institution which became a bank as a result of the enactment of the Competitive Equality Amendments of 1987; and
shall not be treated as a bank holding company for purposes of this chapter solely by virtue of such company’s control of such institution.
(2)
Loss of exemption
Subject to paragraph (3), a company described in paragraph (1) shall no longer qualify for the exemption provided under that paragraph if—
(A)
such company directly or indirectly—
(i)
acquires control of an additional bank or an insured institution (other than an insured institution described in paragraph (10) or (12) of this subsection) after March 5, 1987; or
(ii)
acquires control of more than 5 percent of the shares or assets of an additional bank or a savings association other than—
(I)
shares held as a bona fide fiduciary (whether with or without the sole discretion to vote such shares);
(II)
shares held by any person as a bona fide fiduciary solely for the benefit of employees of either the company described in paragraph (1) or any subsidiary of that company and the beneficiaries of those employees;
(III)
shares held temporarily pursuant to an underwriting commitment in the normal course of an underwriting business;
(V)
shares over which no control is held other than control of voting rights acquired in the normal course of a proxy solicitation;
(VII)
shares or assets acquired in securing or collecting a debt previously contracted in good faith, during the 2-year period beginning on the date of such acquisition or for such additional time (not exceeding 3 years) as the Board may permit if the Board determines that such an extension will not be detrimental to the public interest;
(VIII)
shares or assets of a savings association described in paragraph (10) or (12) of this subsection;
(IX)
shares of a savings association held by any insurance company, as defined in section 2(a)(17) of the Investment Company Act of 1940 [15 U.S.C. 80a–2
(a)(17)], except as provided in paragraph (11);
(XI)
assets that are derived from, or incidental to, activities in which institutions described in subparagraph (F) or (H) of section
1841
(c)(2) of this title are permitted to engage;
except that the aggregate amount of shares held under this clause (other than under subclauses (I), (II), (III), (IV), (V), and (VIII)) may not exceed 15 percent of all outstanding shares or of the voting power of a savings association;
(3)
Permissible overdrafts described
For purposes of paragraph (2)(C), an overdraft is described in this paragraph if—
(A)
such overdraft results from an inadvertent computer or accounting error that is beyond the control of both the bank and the affiliate;
(B)
such overdraft—
(i)
is permitted or incurred on behalf of an affiliate that is monitored by, reports to, and is recognized as a primary dealer by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; and
(ii)
is fully secured, as required by the Board, by bonds, notes, or other obligations that are direct obligations of the United States or on which the principal and interest are fully guaranteed by the United States or by securities and obligations eligible for settlement on the Federal Reserve book entry system; or
(C)
such overdraft—
(i)
is permitted or incurred by, or on behalf of, an affiliate in connection with an activity that is financial in nature or incidental to a financial activity; and
(ii)
does not cause the bank to violate any provision of section
371c or
371c–1 of this title, either directly, in the case of a bank that is a member of the Federal Reserve System, or by virtue of section 18(j) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U.S.C. 1828
(j)], in the case of a bank that is not a member of the Federal Reserve System.
(4)
Divestiture in case of loss of exemption
If any company described in paragraph (1) fails to qualify for the exemption provided under paragraph (1) by operation of paragraph (2), such exemption shall cease to apply to such company and such company shall divest control of each bank it controls before the end of the 180-day period beginning on the date on which the company receives notice from the Board that the company has failed to continue to qualify for such exemption, unless, before the end of such 180-day period, the company has—
(5)
Subsection ceases to apply under certain circumstances
This subsection shall cease to apply to any company described in paragraph (1) if such company—
(6)
Information requirement
Each company described in paragraph (1) shall, within 60 days after August 10, 1987, provide the Board with the name and address of such company, the name and address of each bank such company controls, and a description of each such bank’s activities.
(7)
Examination
The Board may, from time to time, examine a company described in paragraph (1), or a bank controlled by such company, or require reports under oath from appropriate officers or directors of such company or bank solely for purposes of assuring compliance with the provisions of this subsection and enforcing such compliance.
(8)
Enforcement
(A)
In general
In addition to any other power of the Board, the Board may enforce compliance with the provisions of this chapter which are applicable to any company described in paragraph (1), and any bank controlled by such company, under section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act [12 U.S.C. 1818] and such company or bank shall be subject to such section (for such purposes) in the same manner and to the same extent as if such company or bank were a State member insured bank.
(9)
Tying provisions
A company described in paragraph (1) shall be—
(A)
treated as a bank holding company for purposes of section 106 of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 [12 U.S.C. 1971 et seq.] and section 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act [12 U.S.C. 375b] and any regulation prescribed under any such section; and
(B)
subject to the restrictions of section 106 of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 [12 U.S.C. 1971 et seq.], in connection with any transaction involving the products or services of such company or affiliate and those of a bank affiliate, as if such company or affiliate were a bank and such bank were a subsidiary of a bank holding company.
(10)
Exemption unaffected by certain emergency acquisitions
For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii)(VIII) of paragraph (2)(A), an insured institution is described in this paragraph if—
(11)
Shares held by insurance affiliates
Shares described in clause (ii)(IX) of paragraph (2)(A) shall not be excluded for purposes of clause (ii) of such paragraph if—
(12)
Exemption unaffected by certain other acquisitions
For purposes of clauses (i) and (ii)(VIII) of paragraph (2)(A), an insured institution is described in this paragraph if the insured institution was acquired (or any shares or assets of such institution were acquired) by a company described in paragraph (1)—
(13)
Special rule relating to shares acquired in a qualified stock issuance
A company described in paragraph (1) that holds shares issued in a qualified stock issuance pursuant to section
1467a
(q) of this title by any savings association or savings and loan holding company (neither of which is a subsidiary) shall not be deemed to control such savings association or savings and loan holding company solely because such company holds such shares unless—
(14)
Foreign bank subsidiaries of limited purpose credit card banks
(g)
Limitations on certain banks
(1)
In general
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section (other than the last sentence of subsection (a)(2) of this section), a bank holding company which controls an institution that became a bank as a result of the enactment of the Competitive Equality Amendments of 1987 may retain control of such institution if such institution does not—
(2)
Limitations cease to apply under certain circumstances
(h)
Tying provisions
(1)
Applicable to certain exempt institutions and parent companies
An institution described in subparagraph (D), (F), (G), or (H) of section
1841
(c)(2) of this title shall be treated as a bank, and a company that controls such an institution shall be treated as a bank holding company, for purposes of section 106 of the Bank Holding Company Act Amendments of 1970 [12 U.S.C. 1971 et seq.] and section 22(h) of the Federal Reserve Act [12 U.S.C. 375b] and any regulation prescribed under any such section.