[Federal Register Volume 62, Number 65 (Friday, April 4, 1997)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16213-16214]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 97-8572]


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

DEPARTMENT OF THE TREASURY
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
[Docket No. 97-07]


Operating Subsidiary Notice

AGENCY: Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Treasury.

ACTION: Notice and request for comment on an operating subsidiary.

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

SUMMARY: The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) requests 
comment concerning an application filed by NationsBank, National 
Association, Charlotte, North Carolina, to engage in limited real 
estate development activities in connection with bank premises through 
an operating subsidiary of the bank.

DATES: Comments should be submitted on or before May 5, 1997.

ADDRESSES: Written comments regarding the application should be sent to 
the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Communications Division, 
250 E Street, SW, Third Floor, Washington, DC 20219, Attn: Docket No. 
97-07. In addition, comments may be sent by facsimile transmission to 
fax number (202) 874-5274 or by internet mail to 
[email protected]. A copy of the application will be 
available for inspection and copying at the OCC's Public Reference 
Room, 250 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20219, through the OCC's 
Information Line at (202) 479-0141, or through the OCC's web site at 
HTTP://WWW.OCC.TREAS.GOV. Appointments for inspection of comments or 
the application can be made by calling (202) 874-5043.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: William B. Glidden, Assistant 
Director, Bank Activities and Structure Division, (202) 874-5300, or 
Robert Sihler, Senior Bank Structure Analyst, Bank Organization and 
Structure, (202) 874-5060.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: A national bank may establish or acquire an 
operating subsidiary to conduct, or may conduct in an existing 
operating subsidiary, activities that are part of or incidental to the 
business of banking, as determined by the OCC pursuant to 12 U.S.C. 24 
(Seventh), and other activities permissible for national banks or their 
subsidiaries under other statutory authority. Section 5.34(d) of 12 CFR 
part 5 authorizes the OCC to permit a national bank to conduct an 
activity through its operating subsidiary that is different from that 
permissible for the parent national bank, subject to the additional 
requirements specified in 12

[[Page 16214]]

CFR 5.34(f). For activities not previously approved by the OCC, the OCC 
provides public notice and opportunity for comment on the application 
by publishing notice of the application in the Federal Register.
    NationsBank, National Association, Charlotte, North Carolina, has 
applied to the OCC pursuant to 12 CFR 5.34(f) to establish an operating 
subsidiary. NationsBank's application generally describes the 
activities in which the operating subsidiary will engage as follows:
    The subsidiary will engage in the development of real estate in 
locations that the bank already occupies through the maintenance of 
bank premises, in order to gain increased flexibility in enhancing its 
premises locations by making them economically more vibrant. The 
subsidiary will be subject to the safeguards specified in 12 CFR 
5.34(f). The bank further states that such flexibility will better 
enable it to contribute to the communities in which it operates as well 
as to make a safer, more pleasant work environment for employees and 
customers. The bank is currently considering sponsoring the development 
of a building to be located in Charlotte which would house 
approximately 45 residential condominium units. Most of the land on 
which the apartment building will be constructed has been owned for 
over 25 years by the bank and was the site of a bank branch. 
NationsBank is now in the process of constructing an office building on 
the site to be used as bank premises. The value of the office building 
and land is estimated to be $56 million, and the cost of constructing 
the residential building is estimated to be $13 million. Thus, the bank 
states that the residential building will be ancillary to its office 
building, and that both buildings will form an integrated mixed-use 
development with shared parking. Future projects are expected to be 
limited in number and in all cases will be confined to areas adjacent 
to or near bank premises. These projects may include the construction 
of an office building, retail space or a residential building. In order 
to ensure that the subsidiary's activities remain consistent with the 
parameters described above, NationsBank states that it will submit a 
detailed description of each future project to the OCC for prior 
approval.
    The OCC reviews operating subsidiary applications to determine 
whether the proposed activities are legally permissible for an 
operating subsidiary and to ensure that the proposal is consistent with 
safe and sound banking practices and OCC policy and does not endanger 
the safety or soundness of the parent national bank. In publishing 
notice of the application, the OCC does not take a position on issues 
raised by the proposal. Notice is published solely to seek the views of 
interested persons on the issues presented and does not represent a 
determination by the OCC that the proposal meets, or is likely to meet, 
the criteria outlined above. Interested parties are invited to comment 
on any aspect of the application.

    Dated: March 31, 1997.
Eugene A. Ludwig,
Comptroller of the Currency.
[FR Doc. 97-8572 Filed 4-3-97; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4810-33-P