[Federal Register Volume 63, Number 28 (Wednesday, February 11, 1998)]
[Notices]
[Pages 6939-6940]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 98-3377]


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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 companies listed in this notice have given notice under section 
4 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1843) (BHC Act) and 
Regulation Y, (12 CFR Part 225) to engage de novo, or to acquire or 
control voting securities or assets of a company that engages either 
directly or through a subsidiary or other company, in a nonbanking 
activity that is listed in Sec.  225.28 of Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.28) 
or that the Board has determined by Order to be closely related to 
banking and permissible for bank holding companies. These activities 
will be conducted worldwide.
    Each notice is available for inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank 
indicated. The notice also will be available for inspection at the 
offices of the Board of Governors. Interested persons may express their 
views in writing on the question whether the proposal complies with the 
standards of section 4 of the BHC Act.
    Unless otherwise noted, comments regarding the applications must be 
received at the Reserve Bank indicated or the offices of the Board of 
Governors not later than February 25, 1998.
    A. Federal Reserve Bank of New York (Betsy Buttrill White, Senior 
Vice President) 33 Liberty Street, New York, New York 10045-0001:
    1. Union Bank of Switzerland, Zurich, Switzerland (``UBS''); to 
acquire Swiss Bank Corporation, Basel, Switzerland (``SBC''), and 
thereby acquire its subsidiaries and engage worldwide in certain 
nonbanking activities. Under the proposed transaction, SBC would merge 
into a subsidiary of UBS (``New UBS'') and, shortly thereafter, UBS 
would merge into New UBS. UBS, through various subsidiaries, currently 
conducts certain nonbanking activities in the United States, including 
underwriting and dealing in equity and debt securities that a state 
member bank may not underwrite and deal in (``bank-ineligible 
securities''), pursuant to grandfather rights established by section 
8(c) of the International Banking Act of 1978 (IBA) (12 U.S.C. Sec.  
3106(c)). Following consummation of the proposed transaction with SBC, 
UBS and New UBS propose to transfer certain nonbanking activities 
currently conducted by subsidiaries of UBS operating pursuant to the 
grandfather rights established by section 8(c) of the IBA to 
subsidiaries that would operate pursuant to section 4(c)(8) of the Bank 
Holding Company (BHC) Act, and thereby engage in such activities 
pursuant to section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act and the Board's Regulation 
Y.
    In connection with the transactions described above, UBS and New 
UBS propose to engage in the following nonbanking activities: (a) 
making, acquiring, or servicing loans or other extensions of credit 
pursuant to Sec.  225.28(b)(1) of the Board's Regulation Y; (b) 
activities related to making, acquiring, brokering or servicing loans 
or other extensions of credit, including acquiring debt that is in 
default at the time of acquisition pursuant to Sec.  225.28(b)(2) of 
the Board's Regulation Y; (c) leasing personal or real property or 
acting as agent, broker, or adviser in leasing such property pursuant 
to Sec.  225.28(b)(3) of the Board's Regulation Y; (d) performing 
functions or activities that may be performed by a trust company 
pursuant to Sec.  225.28(b)(5) of the Board's Regulation Y; (e) 
providing financial and investment advisory services pursuant to Sec.  
225.28(b)(6) of the Board's Regulation Y; (f) providing securities 
brokerage, riskless principal, private placement, futures commission 
merchant and other agency transactional services pursuant to Sec.  
225.28(b)(7) of the Board's Regulation Y; (g) underwriting and dealing 
in bank-eligible securities, engaging in investment and trading 
activities, and buying and selling bullion and related activities 
pursuant to Sec.  225.28(b)(8) of the Board's Regulation Y; (h) serving 
as general partner of certain private investment limited partnerships 
in accordance with the BHC Act and the Board's decisions and 
interpretations thereunder, see Meridian Bancorp, Inc., 80 Fed. Res. 
Bull. 736 (1994); and (i)

[[Page 6940]]

underwriting and dealing in, to a limited extent, all types of bank-
ineligible securities, except ownership interests in open-end 
investment companies, see Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, 76 Fed. 
Res. Bull. 158 (1990) and J.P. Morgan & Co., Inc., 75 Fed. Res. Bull. 
192 (1989).

    Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, February 5, 
1998.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Deputy Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 98-3377 Filed 2-10-98; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F