[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 184 (Friday, September 20, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Page 49462]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-24116]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Notice of Proposals to Engage in Permissible Nonbanking 
Activities or to Acquire Companies that are Engaged in Permissible 
Nonbanking Activities

    The Governor and Company of the Bank of Ireland, Dublin, Ireland 
(Bank of Ireland); has provided notice pursuant to section 4(c)(8) of 
the Bank Holding Company Act, 12 U.S.C. Sec.  1843(c)(8)) (BHC Act), 
and section 225.23 of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.23), to 
acquire a 50 percent interest in BBOI Worldwide LLC (Company), Denver, 
Colorado, through its subsidiary, Bank of Ireland Asset Management 
(U.S.) Limited, Inc., Greenwich, Connecticut (Asset Management), and 
thereby engage de novo in the following nonbanking activities: 
providing investment advisory activities pursuant to 12 CFR 
225.25(b)(4) and providing certain administrative services for 
investment companies. Bank of Ireland also states that Company will 
provide certain incidental advice with respect to certain forward 
contracts on foreign currencies. These activities will be conducted in 
the United States through a joint venture arrangement with Berger 
Associates, Inc., Denver, Colorado, which will hold the remaining 50 
percent interest in Company. Berger Associates may be the organizer 
and/or distributer for investment companies advised and or administered 
by Company.
    The Board previously has determined that these activities are 
closely related to banking. See 12 CFR 225.25(b)(4); Mellon Bank 
Corporation, 79 Fed. Res. Bull. 626 (1993) (providing administrative 
and other services to investment companies); and Banque Nationale de 
Paris, 80 Fed. Res. Bull. 638 (1994); The Chuo Trust and Banking 
Company, Limited, 78 Fed.Res. Bull. 446 (1992) (joint venture). Bank of 
Ireland would engage in these activities in accordance with most of the 
limitations and conditions established by the Board's regulations and 
orders, with certain exceptions set forth in its notice. These 
exceptions include requests by Bank of Ireland to be permitted to have 
representatives of Asset Management and Berger Associates serve as both 
officers of Company and as trustees for certain mutual funds organized 
by Berger Associates that will be advised by Company and that certain 
mutual funds bear the name ``Berger/BIAM.''
    In order to approve the proposal, the Board must determine that the 
proposed activities to be conducted by Bank of Ireland ``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 interest, or 
unsound banking practices.'' 12 U.S.C. Sec.  1843(c)(8).
    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 October 7, 1996. Any request for a hearing on this 
application must, as required by section 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 Boston.

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, September 16, 
1996.
Jennifer J. Johnson
Deputy Secretary of the Board
[FR Doc. 96-24116 Filed 9-19-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F