[Federal Register Volume 59, Number 226 (Friday, November 25, 1994)]
[Unknown Section]
[Page 0]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 94-29041]


[[Page Unknown]]

[Federal Register: November 25, 1994]


-----------------------------------------------------------------------


FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
 

The Bank of Montreal; Application To Engage in Nonbanking 
Activities

    The Bank of Montreal, Toronto, Canada, has applied pursuant to 
section 4(c)(8) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(c)(8)) 
(BHC Act) and Sec.  225.23(a)(3) of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 
225.23(a)(3)) to retain its interest in Burns Fry and Timmins Holdings 
Inc., Chicago, Illinois (Burns Fry), and, subsequent to the merger of 
the operating subsidiaries of Burns Fry into Applicant's section 20 
subsidiary, Harris Nesbitt Thomson Securities Inc., New York, New York 
(Harris Nesbitt), to continue to engage indirectly through Harris 
Nesbitt in the following activities: (1) providing investment and 
financial advice, including financial advice to Canadian federal, 
provincial, and municipal governments; (2) providing securities 
brokerage service on a discount and full-service basis; (3) 
underwriting and dealing in all types of bank-eligible securities; (4) 
acting as agent for issuers in the private placement of all types of 
securities; (5) appraising real estate and tangible and intangible 
personal property, including securities; and (6) arranging commercial 
real estate equity financing. Applicant proposes to conduct these 
activities on a nationwide basis.
    Section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act provides that a bank holding company 
may, without Board approval, engage in any activity that the Board, 
after due notice and opportunity for hearing, has determined by order 
or regulation to be so closely related to banking or managing or 
controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. This statutory 
test requires that two separate tests be met for an activity to be 
permissible for a bank holding company. First, the Board must determine 
that the activity is, as a general matter, closely related to banking. 
Second, the Board must find in a particular case that the performance 
of the activity by the applicant bank holding company may reasonably be 
expected to produce public benefits that outweigh possible adverse 
effects.
    A particular activity may be found to meet the ``closely related to 
banking'' test if it is demonstrated that banks generally provide 
services that are so operationally or functionally similar to the 
proposed activity as to equip them particularly well to engage in the 
proposed activity, or that banks generally provide services that are so 
integrally related to the proposed activity as to require their 
provision in a specialized form. National Courier Ass'n v. Board of 
Governors, 516 F.2d 1229, 1237 (D.C. Cir. 1975). In addition, the Board 
may consider any other basis that may demonstrate that the activity has 
a reasonable or close relationship to banking or managing or 
controlling banks. Board Statement Regarding Regulation Y, 49 FR 806 
(1984).
    Applicant states that the Board previously has determined by 
regulation that some of the proposed activities, when conducted within 
limitations established by the Board, are closely related to banking 
for purposes of section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act. See 12 CFR 225.25(b)(4) 
(providing investment and financial advice, including financial advice 
to Canadian federal, provincial, and municipal governments); 12 CFR 
225.25(b)(15) (providing securities brokerage service on a discount and 
full-service basis); 12 CFR 225.25(b)(16) (underwriting and dealing in 
bank-eligible securities); 12 CFR 225.25(b)(13) (appraising real estate 
and tangible and intangible personal property, including securities); 
and 225.25(b)(14) (arranging commercial real estate equity financing).
    Applicant also states that the Board has determined by order that 
the remaining proposed activity, when conducted within limitations 
established by the Board in previous orders, is closely related to 
banking. See J.P. Morgan & Company Incorporated, 76 Federal Reserve 
Bulletin 26 (1990), and Bankers Trust New York Corporation, 75 Federal 
Reserve Bulletin 829 (1989) (acting as agent for issuers in the private 
placement of securities). In addition, Applicant maintains that Harris 
Nesbitt may provide execution-only services solely to a single 
affiliate, Nesbitt Burns Inc., Toronto, Canada, for the purchase and 
sale of certain exchange-traded futures contracts and options on 
futures contracts, pursuant to section 4(c)(1)(C) of the BHC Act (12 
U.S.C. 1843(c)(1)(C)).
    Applicant maintains that it would conduct these previously approved 
activities in conformance with the conditions and limitations 
established by the Board in prior cases. For this reason, Applicant 
contends that approval of the application would not be barred by 
section 20 of the Glass-Steagall Act (12 U.S.C. 377), which prohibits 
the affiliation of a state member bank with any company principally 
engaged in the underwriting, public sale, or distribution of 
securities.
    In order to approve the proposal, the Board must determine that the 
proposed activities ``can reasonably be expected to produce benefits to 
the public, such as greater convenience, increased competition, or 
gains in efficiency, that outweigh possible adverse effects, such as 
undue concentration of resources, decreased or unfair competition, 
conflicts of interests, or unsound banking practices.'' 12 U.S.C. 
1843(c)(8). Applicant states that the proposal will produce public 
benefits that outweigh any potential adverse effects. In particular, 
Applicant maintains that the proposal will enhance competition and 
enable it to offer its customers a broader range of services. In 
addition, Applicant states that the proposed activities will not result 
in adverse effects such as an undue concentration of resources, 
decreased or unfair competition, conflicts of interests, or unsound 
banking practices.
    In publishing the proposal for comment, the Board does not take a 
position on issues raised by the proposal. Notice of the proposal is 
published solely to seek the views of interested persons on the issues 
presented by the application and does not represent a determination by 
the Board that the proposal meets, or is likely to meet, the standards 
of the BHC Act.
    Any comments or requests for hearing should be submitted in writing 
to William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551, not later than December 12, 1994. 
Any request for a hearing on this application must, as required by 
Sec.  262.3(e) of the Board's Rules of Procedure (12 CFR 262.3(e)), be 
accompanied by a statement of reasons why a written presentation would 
not suffice in lieu of a hearing, identifying specifically any 
questions of fact that are in dispute, summarizing the evidence that 
would be presented at a hearing, and indicating how the party 
commenting would be aggrieved by approval of the proposal.
    This application may be inspected at the offices of the Board of 
Governors or the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, November 18, 
1994.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 94-29041 Filed 11-23-94; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F