[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46281-46282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22000]



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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Norwest Corporation; Application to Engage in Nonbanking 
Activities

    Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its wholly owned 
subsidiary Norwest Financial Services, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa (NFS) 
(together, Applicants), have given notice 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 
engage de novo through NFS's wholly owned subsidiaries, Orlandi Valuta, 
Los Angeles, California, and Orlandi Valuta Nacional, Boulder City, 
Nevada (together, Companies), in the activity of transmitting money for 
customers within the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S. 
Virgin Islands, and Guam (domestic money transmission).
    Orlandi currently engages solely in the activity of transmitting 
money to a foreign country (Mexico) on behalf of customers. The 
activity is conducted through Orlandi's office locations and Orlandi's 
network of outside representatives. Companies will use this network 
following the acquisition and, subject to licensing and other 
regulatory requirements, intend to expand the network to include 
Applicants' consumer finance offices. A ``hotline'' telephone will be 
located at the office of the outside representative. This telephone 
will be connected directly to Companies' office and the customer will 
speak directly with an employee of Companies. The customer will provide 
the information regarding the recipient and the dollar amount to be 
transferred. The outside representative will collect the money from the 
customer and deposit the funds in a designated account at a local bank 
chosen by the outside representative. These funds will be held in trust 
for the benefit of the remitting customer and will not be 

[[Page 46282]]
commingled with any other funds of Companies or the outside 
representative. Companies will collect the funds deposited in the 
outside representative's account by means of an ACH transaction or 
similar transaction. Companies will deposit an amount equal to the 
transmitted funds in an account at a bank at a location near the 
disbursement site. The local disbursement site will notify the 
recipient that the funds are available to be picked up. When the 
recipient comes to the disbursement site, a check drawn on the local 
bank will be issued to the recipient with funds immediately available 
for the recipient to cash or deposit the check.
    Section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act provides that a bank holding company 
may, with Board approval, engage in any activity which 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 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.
    The Board has not previously approved money transmission 
activiteswithun the United States. The Board has previously approved, 
by order, however, the activity of transmitting money for customers to 
a foreign county. See Philippine Commercial International Bank, Federal 
Reserve Bulletin 270 (1991); Berger Bank A/S, 76 Federal Reserve 
Bulletin 457 (1990); Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, 69 Federal Reserve 
Bulletin 42 (1983); European-American Bancorp, European-American 
Bancorp, 63 Federal Reserve Bulletin 595 (1977). In this regard, on 
August 28, 1995, the Board approved the notice by Applicants to acquire 
Orlandi and thereby engage in the activity of transmitting money for 
customers to Mexico. Applicants believe that the proposed activities 
meet the National Courier standard because the activity of domestic 
money transmission is identical to the previously approved activity of 
transmitting money for customers to a foreign country, except that the 
recipient will be located in the United States.
    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 in order 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 
and received by William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the 
Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551, not later than October 
4, 1995. 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 the 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 Minneapolis.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 30, 
1995.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 95-22000 Filed 9-5-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F