[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 75 (Wednesday, April 17, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 16792]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-9457]



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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Deutsche Bank, AG; Notice of Application to Engage in Certain 
Nonbanking Activities

    Deutsche Bank AG, Frankfurt, Germany (Deutsche Bank), has provided 
notice, pursuant to section 4(c)(8) of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 
U.S.C. 1843(c)(8)) (BHC Act) and section 225.23(a) of the Board's 
Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.23(a)), to acquire indirectly through debis 
Financial Services, Inc., Norwalk, Connecticut, all the voting shares 
of Remarketing Services of America, Inc., Amherst, New York (Company), 
and thereby engage in providing remarketing and repossession services 
for automobiles and recreational vehicles that have been financed or 
leased by third parties. The proposed remarketing services would be 
provided either at the expiration of the lease or upon repossession of 
the vehicle and would include arranging for the transportation, 
inspection, and resale of the vehicle; arranging for the transfer of 
title for the vehicle from the lender or lessor to the seller or 
purchaser of the vehicle; engaging in telemarketing activities designed 
to locate potential sellers, buyers or lessees of vehicles reaching the 
end of their lease term; arranging for the repair of previously leased 
or financed vehicles, including the filing of insurance claims; and 
market value and residual value forecasting. Such activities would be 
conducted throughout the world.
    Section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act provides that a bank holding company 
may, with 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 have provided 
the proposed activity, that banks generally provide services that are 
operationally or functionally similar to the proposed activity so as to 
equip them particularly well to provide 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 794, 806 (1984). Deutsche Bank 
contends that the proposed activities are within the scope of 
collection agency activities previously determined by the Board to be 
closely related to banking.
    In order to approve the proposal, the Board also must determine 
that the proposed activities to be conducted by Deutsche Bank ``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). Deutsche Bank 
believes that the proposal would produce public benefits that outweigh 
any potential adverse effects. In particular, Deutsche Bank maintains 
that the proposal would not materially reduce competition in the 
relevant markets and would enable Company to expand its operations. 
Deutsche Bank also maintains that the proposal would not result in any 
adverse effects.
    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 and received by William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board 
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551, not 
later than May 2, 1996. 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 New York.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, April 12, 
1996.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 96-9457 Filed 4-16-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F