For immediate release

The Federal Reserve Board today issued a report on the timing of its processing of applications during 1996. The System last year acted on 4,390 applications and notices filed by bank holding companies and state-chartered member banks. The total number of applications increased by 25 percent over 1995. However, after adjusting for the effect of certain large multiple applications in 1995 and 1996, there was a 12 percent increase overall in activity.

A breakdown of applications processed showed the following percentages: To expand banking operations (other than branching), about 13 percent of total For nonbanking expansion, almost 15 percent Bank branch notices, 47 percent Bank holding company formations and change of control notices for state member banks and bank holding companies, about 11 percent International activities of U.S. banking organizations, about 5 percent Various applications, such as those from banks to become members of the Federal Reserve System or to invest in bank premises, or bank holding companies seeking relief from commitments or to redeem stock, about 9 percent.

The Federal Reserve maintains target dates and procedures for the processing of applications filed under the Bank Holding Company Act, the Bank Merger Act, or the Change in Bank Control Act. The time allowed for a decision is 60 days after acceptance of an application. In 1996, action was taken on 97 percent of all applications within the established time frame. Extra time required to allow for supervisory comments from other regulatory agencies and to investigate questions raised about performance with regard to relevant laws and regulations accounted for a majority of the applications that were not processed within the target time frame.

On average, the 4,390 applications and notices were processed in 36 calendar days from the date of acceptance and 53 days from the date of filing, an improvement from 38 days and 56 days, respectively, in 1995. The average total processing time for international applications increased from 117 days in 1995 to 122 days in 1996, and the average total processing time for domestic applications improved from 54 days in 1995 to 50 days in 1996.

1996 Performance of the Federal Reserve in Processing Applications and Notices Filed by Bank Holding Companies and State Member Banks

		Accepted for processing		Decided		Decided within 60 days of acceptance
Type of application or notice	Filed	Number	Days since filing, average	Number	Days since acceptance, average	Number	Percent
Domestic	4,045	3,789	15	4,167	35	4,090	98
BHC formations	413	356	20	336	33	330	98
BHC/SMBK mergers and acquisitions	573	552	25	586	30	573	98
BHC nonbank acquisitions	638	579	7	645	47	611	95
BHC/SMBK changes in control	219	168	0	162	42	152	94
Other SMBK actions	1,863	1,830	16	2,147	33	2,141	100
Other BHC actions	339	304	12	291	32	283	97
International	186	173	66	223	56	189	85
Total domestic and international	4,231	3,962	17	4,390	36	4,279	97

1997 Other announcements