Legal Interpretations
Bank Holding Company/Change in Control - 2007 Letters
December 20, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Rebecca H. Laird advising that Davis Selected Advisors, L.P. and affiliated entities collectively may acquire up to 15 percent of any class of voting securities of a bank holding company or bank without being deemed to have acquired control of that institution under the Bank Holding Company Act or the Change in Bank Control Act when the acquisition complies with certain conditions.
December 19, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Thomas M. Mistele advising that it and affiliated entities collectively may acquire up to 15 percent of any class of voting securities of a bank holding company or bank without being deemed to have acquired control of that institution under the Bank Holding Company Act or the Change in Bank Control Act when the acquisition complies with certain conditions.
December 18, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Alton E. Yother granting an exemption from the Board’s risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit Regions Financial Corporation, Birmingham, Alabama, to assign a 10% risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans, reinvesting the proceeds only if the customer is unwilling to agree that he does not intend to sell the new security before paying for it with settled funds.
December 17, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Jeffrey D. Landau granting an exemption from the Board’s risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation, New York, New York, to assign a 10% risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans.
November 19, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Oliver Ireland, Esq., opining that a proposal by The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc. ("Bear Stearns") to create an employee stock ownership trust holding shares of Bear Stearns would not cause Bear Stearns to lose certain grandfather rights under section 4(f) of the BHC Act.
November 5, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Leonard J. Essig granting an exemption from the Board's risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit Stifel Financial Corp., St. Louis, Missouri, to assign a 10% risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans.
October 12, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Citigroup, describing the risk-based capital requirements under the Board’s capital adequacy guidelines (12 CFR parts 208 and 225, Appendix A) for bank holding companies and state member banks that provide liquidity facilities to a structured finance vehicle, the Master Liquidity Enhancement Conduit.
September 17, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to John M. James granting an exemption from the Board’s risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit Bank of America Securities LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina, to assign a 10% risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans.
August 31, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Paul E. Glotzer approving the notice by BNP Paribas, Paris, France, to engage on a limited basis in physical commodity trading activities in the United States.
August 29, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Mark J. Welshimer, Esq., granting an exemption from the Board’s risk-based capital guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit Wachovia Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, to assign a 10% risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans.
August 22, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Timothy J. Mayopoulos, stating that Board staff believes a nonvoting convertible preferred stock investment by Bank of America Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, a bank holding company registered with and subject to supervision and examination by the Board, in Countrywide Financial Corporation, Calabasas, California, would be permissible under section 4(c)(6) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
August 21, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to H. Rodgin Cohen, Esq. in response to an inquiry on the appropriate risk-based capital treatment of certain collateralized loans of cash under the Board's risk-based capital guidelines for state member banks and bank holding companies. The letter clarifies that the risk weight on a collateralized loan can range from zero to 100 percent depending on several factors, including the nature of the obligor, the presence of a guarantee, the nature of the collateral, and whether the loan is documented as a securities borrowing transaction or a reverse repurchase agreement.
July 18, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to B. Robbins Kiessling, Esq., stating that Board staff would not find that a proposed investment by Perry Capital LLC, Marathon Asset Management LLC, Tennenbaum Capital Partners, LLC, and D. E. Shaw & Co. L.P. and D. E. Shaw & Co., L.L.C., in Doral Financial Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and proposed business relationships and director interlocks between these investors and Doral Financial would cause these investors to control Doral Financial for purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act.
July 18, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Gary Rice, Esq., stating that Board staff would not find that a proposed investment by The Bear Stearns Companies, Inc., in Doral Financial Corporation, San Juan, Puerto Rico, and proposed business relationships and interlocks between the companies would cause Bear Stearns to control Doral Financial for purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act or lose its grandfather rights under section 4(f) of the Bank Holding Company Act.
June 15, 2007 (PDF)
To John C. Gerspach, Citigroup, Inc., granting an exemption from the Board's risk-based capital adequacy guidelines for bank holding companies (12 CFR Part 225, App. A) to permit Citigroup to assign a 10 percent risk weight to its Regulation T margin loans.
April 24, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Gregory A. Baer approving the notice by Bank of America Corporation, Charlotte, North Carolina, to engage on a limited basis in physical commodity trading activities.
March 27, 2007 (PDF)
Letter to Paul E. Glotzer approving the notice by Credit Suisse Group and Credit Suisse, Zurich, Switzerland, to engage on a limited basis in physical commodity trading activities.