[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 92 (Friday, May 11, 2001)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 24226-24229]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-11607]



[[Page 24226]]

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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 250

[Miscellaneous Interpretations; Docket R-1016]


Applicability of Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act to Loans 
and Extensions of Credit Made by a Member Bank to a Third Party

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule.

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SUMMARY: Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act restricts the ability 
of a member bank to fund its affiliates through investments, loans, 
asset acquisitions, or certain other transactions (``covered 
transactions''). Section 23A deems transactions between a member bank 
and a nonaffiliated third party as covered transactions between the 
bank and its affiliate to the extent that proceeds of the transactions 
are used for the benefit of or transferred to the affiliate. The Board 
is adopting an interpretation and exemptions from section 23A for 
certain loans made by an insured depository institution (``depository 
institution'') to customers who use the loan proceeds to purchase a 
security or other asset through an affiliate of the depository 
institution acting exclusively as a broker or riskless principal in the 
transaction.
    First, the Board is adopting an interpretation confirming that 
section 23A does not apply to extensions of credit by an insured 
depository institution to customers that use the loan proceeds to 
purchase a security or other asset through an affiliate of the 
depository institution, so long as the affiliate is acting exclusively 
as a broker in the transaction, and the affiliate retains no portion of 
the loan proceeds. The Board also is exempting from section 23A that 
portion of a loan to a third party that an affiliate retains as a 
market-rate brokerage commission or agency fee.
    In addition, the Board is adopting an exemption from section 23A 
for extensions of credit by an insured depository institution to 
customers that use the loan proceeds to purchase a security issued by 
third parties through a broker-dealer affiliate of the institution that 
is acting as riskless principal in the securities transaction. Finally, 
the Board is adopting an exemption for extensions of credit by an 
insured depository institution to customers that use the credit to 
purchase securities from a broker-dealer affiliate of the institution 
when that extension of credit was made pursuant to a preexisting line 
of credit not entered into in contemplation of the purchase of 
securities from an affiliate of the depository institution.

EFFECTIVE DATE: June 11, 2001.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Pamela G. Nardolilli, Senior Counsel 
(202/452-3289), or Mark E. Van Der Weide, Counsel (202/452-2263), Legal 
Division; or Molly S. Wassom, Associate Director (202/452-2305), 
Division of Banking Supervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of 
the Federal Reserve System, 20th and C Streets, NW., Washington, DC 
20051.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act, originally enacted as part 
of the Banking Act of 1933, is designed to prevent the misuse of a 
member bank's resources through ``non-arm's length'' transactions with 
its affiliates.\1\ To achieve this purpose, section 23A establishes 
both quantitative limits and qualitative restrictions on transactions 
by a member bank with its affiliates. The statute limits ``covered 
transactions'' between a member bank and any single affiliate to no 
more than 10 percent of the bank's capital and surplus and limits 
aggregate covered transactions with all affiliates to no more than 20 
percent of the bank's capital and surplus.\2\ Covered transactions 
include extensions of credit, investments, and certain other 
transactions that expose the member bank to the credit risk of an 
affiliate. Section 23A also requires that credit exposures to an 
affiliate be secured by collateral, the amount of which is statutorily 
defined.\3\
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 371c. Although section 23A originally applied only 
to member banks, Congress has since applied the section to insured 
nonmember banks and insured savings associations in the same manner 
as it applies to member banks. See 12 U.S.C. 1828(j); 12 U.S.C. 
1468.
    \2\ ``Capital and surplus'' has been defined by the Board as 
tier 1 and tier 2 capital plus the balance of an institution's 
allowance for loan and lease losses not included in tier 2 capital. 
12 CFR 250.242.
    \3\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(c).
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    In addition to regulating direct transactions between a bank and 
its affiliates, section 23A deems any transaction by a member bank with 
any person to be a transaction with an affiliate to the extent that the 
proceeds of the transaction are ``used for the benefit of, or 
transferred to,'' that affiliate.\4\ This provision of the statute, 
commonly referred to as the ``attribution rule,'' is designed to 
prevent an evasion of the quantitative limits and collateral 
requirements of section 23A through the use of a third party that 
serves as a conduit for the flow of funds from the bank to its 
affiliates.\5\ The Board and its staff have taken the position that 
section 23A applies to loans made by a bank to a third party, where the 
proceeds of the loans are used to purchase various types of assets from 
the bank's affiliate.\6\
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    \4\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(a)(2). Section 23A defines an affiliate to 
include, among other things, ``any company that controls the member 
bank and any other company that is controlled by the company that 
controls the member bank.'' 12 U.S.C. 371c(b)(1).
    \5\ See A Discussion of Amendments to Section 23A of the Federal 
Reserve Act Proposed by the Board of Governors of the Federal 
Reserve System 36 n.1 (September 1981).
    \6\ See, e.g., Letter from General Counsel of the Board to Ms. 
Charla Jackson (August 26, 1996) (crop-production loan to farmer who 
leases farm land from a bank's affiliate is covered by section 23A).
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    Section 23A also gives the Board authority to grant exemptions from 
the statute's restrictions. Specifically, the statute permits the Board 
to exempt transactions or relationships, by regulation or by order, if 
such exemptions are ``in the public interest and consistent with the 
purposes of this section.'' \7\
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    \7\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(f)(2).
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    In August 1997, the Board adopted Operating Standards governing the 
activities of section 20 subsidiaries.\8\ Operating Standard #6 allows 
a bank to extend credit to a customer to purchase securities from a 
section 20 affiliate during the underwriting period for the securities, 
pursuant to a preexisting line of credit not entered into in 
contemplation of the purchase of affiliate-underwritten securities. In 
adopting Operating Standard #6, the Board stated that it would consider 
whether an exemption from section 23A for transactions permitted under 
the Operating Standard would be appropriate.
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    \8\ 12 CFR 225.200.
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Proposal

    On June 10, 1998, the Board proposed two exemptions from the 
quantitative limitations and collateral restrictions of section 23A for 
loans made by an insured depository institution, the proceeds of which 
are used to buy securities from a registered broker-dealer affiliate of 
the depository institution.\9\ The first exemption proposed by the 
Board applied to loans made by a depository institution to its 
customers for the purpose of purchasing third-party securities through 
a registered broker-dealer affiliate of the institution that is acting 
as broker or riskless principal \10\ in the securities

[[Page 24227]]

transaction (``Broker/Riskless Principal Exemption''). As proposed, the 
exemption was applicable even if the broker-dealer affiliate of the 
depository institution retained part of the loan proceeds as a 
brokerage commission or, in the case of a riskless principal 
transaction, a mark-up for effecting the securities transaction.
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    \9\ 63 FR 32,766 (1998).
    \10\ ``Riskless principal'' is the term used in the securities 
business to refer to a transaction in which a broker-dealer, after 
receiving an order to buy (or sell) a security for a customer, 
purchases (or sells) the security for its own account to offset a 
contemporaneous sale to (or purchase from) the customer. See, e.g., 
12 CFR 225.28(b)(7)(ii); The Bank of New York Company, Inc., 82 
Federal Reserve Bulletin 748 (1996).
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    The second proposed exemption applied to extensions of credit by a 
depository institution to a customer made pursuant to a preexisting 
line of credit, the proceeds of which were used to purchase securities 
underwritten or sold as principal by a registered broker-dealer 
affiliate of the institution (``Preexisting Line of Credit 
Exemption''). The proposal also required that the line of credit not 
have been entered into in contemplation of the purchase of securities 
from an affiliate and that either the line of credit be unrestricted or 
the extension of credit be clearly consistent with any restrictions 
imposed under the line.\11\
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    \11\ For example, if the customer had a preexisting line of 
credit limited to purchases of rated securities, then the bank would 
continue to be prohibited from lending to purchase unrated 
securities underwritten by an affiliate.
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Summary of Comments and Final Rule

    The Board received approximately 14 comments on the proposed 
exemptions. The commenters included ten banks or bank holding 
companies, and four trade associations that represent the banking 
industry. The Board also received seven comments from the Federal 
Reserve Banks. The commenters overwhelmingly supported the goals of the 
Board's proposals, which they believed would provide benefits to both 
consumers and depository institutions without raising the types of 
concerns that section 23A was intended to address, but many commenters 
argued that the Board should achieve its goals through alternative 
means.

Broker/Riskless Principal Exemption

    Commenters generally agreed with the position taken in the Board's 
proposal that loans by an insured depository institution to a third 
party to purchase securities through a broker-dealer affiliate of the 
depository institution that is acting exclusively in a brokerage or 
riskless principal capacity should not be within the ambit of section 
23A. Many commenters, however, argued that the Board should not adopt 
an exemption to section 23A that applies only to broker-dealers and 
securities. These commenters contended that a better course of action 
would be for the Board to issue an interpretation broader in scope than 
the proposed exemption. The interpretation suggested by the commenters 
would confirm that in no case is a loan from a depository institution 
to a third party subject to section 23A when the third party purchases 
assets through a bank affiliate acting exclusively as broker or agent 
for the third party (regardless of the affiliate's retention of 
brokerage or agency fees).
    The commenters argued that adoption of a specific exemption for 
securities brokerage transactions involving broker-dealer affiliates 
implies that, absent a grant of exemption, the Board considers 
brokerage or agency transactions involving other types of affiliates 
and assets to be covered by section 23A. The commenters contended that, 
if an affiliate is acting only as broker or agent in a transaction, the 
affiliate does not receive a ``benefit'' from the transaction, and the 
transaction cannot be viewed as fitting within section 23A. One 
commenter, however, found support for the Board's decision to issue an 
exemption for riskless principal transactions, noting that there could 
be disagreement as to whether riskless principal transactions should be 
viewed as within the scope of section 23A.
    The exemption from section 23A proposed by the Board would have 
applied when an insured depository institution lends to its customers 
for the purpose of purchasing third-party securities through a 
registered broker-dealer affiliate acting solely as broker or riskless 
principal in a securities transaction with the customer. The Board 
believed that the exemption would be consistent with the purposes of 
section 23A because of the negligible risk that loans made pursuant to 
the exemption would be used as a source of funding from an insured 
depository institution to its broker-dealer affiliate. As proposed, the 
exemption only would have been available when the securities being sold 
were not in the inventory of the broker-dealer. Accordingly, the loan 
proceeds, although initially transferred to the affiliate to purchase 
the securities, would be transferred in turn (minus a brokerage fee or 
riskless principal mark-up) to the seller of the securities, which 
would not be an affiliate of the depository institution.
    The Board concurs with the commenters that extensions of credit by 
a depository institution to customers to purchase third-party 
securities and assets through an affiliate of the depository 
institution that is acting exclusively in a brokerage or agency 
capacity fall outside of the reach of section 23A to the extent that 
the affiliate retains no part of the loan proceeds. Accordingly, rather 
than issuing the proposed exemption from section 23A to cover certain 
types of brokerage transactions, the Board is issuing a broader 
interpretation, as requested by the commenters. The interpretation 
confirms that section 23A does not apply when a depository 
institution's borrower uses loan proceeds to enter into agency 
transactions with an affiliate of the depository institution so long as 
the securities or other assets being purchased by the borrower are not 
issued by, or sold from the inventory of, any affiliate of the 
depository institution and to the extent that no affiliate retains any 
portion of the loan proceeds.
    A somewhat different analysis under section 23A is required, 
however, when an affiliate retains a portion of a depository 
institution's loan to a third party as a brokerage commission or agency 
fee. The portion of the loan used by the borrower to pay the 
affiliate's commission or fee would be subject to section 23A because 
that transaction fee represents the proceeds of a loan retained and 
used for the benefit of an affiliate under the attribution rule.
    In accordance with its original proposal, the Board has determined 
to exempt from section 23A that portion of a loan from a depository 
institution to an unaffiliated customer that is retained by an 
affiliate of the institution as a market-rate brokerage fee or agency 
commission; that is, a fee or commission no greater than that 
prevailing at the same time for comparable agency transactions entered 
into by the affiliate with persons who are neither affiliates nor 
borrowers from an affiliated depository institution, as required by 
section 23B of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c-1). The Board 
expects that such transaction fees will be nominal amounts and will 
represent a small percentage of the overall agency transaction and, 
accordingly, believes that these fees present little opportunity for a 
depository institution to benefit its broker-dealer affiliate.
    Finally, a loan from a depository institution to a customer who 
engages in a riskless principal trade through a broker-dealer affiliate 
of the depository institution would be covered transactions under 
section 23A. Riskless principal trades--although the functional 
equivalent of securities brokerage transactions--involve the purchase 
of a security by the depository institution's broker-dealer affiliate.

[[Page 24228]]

Accordingly, the broker-dealer retains the loan proceeds at least for 
some moment in time.\12\ As noted in the proposing release, there is 
negligible risk that loans made by a depository institution to 
borrowers to engage in riskless principal trades through a broker-
dealer affiliate of the depository institution would be used to fund 
the broker-dealer. For this reason, the Board believes that it is 
appropriate to adopt the proposed exemption from section 23A to cover 
riskless principal securities transactions engaged in by depository 
institution borrowers through broker-dealer affiliates of the 
depository institution.\13\ This grant of exemption is applicable even 
if the broker-dealer retains a portion of the loan proceeds as a 
market-rate mark-up for executing the riskless principal securities 
trade.
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    \12\ For this reason, riskless principal trades involve risks 
that are different from securities brokerage transactions. See, 
e.g., Exchange Act Rel. No. 33,743, reprinted in [1993-1994] Fed. 
Sec. L. Rep. (CCH) 85,326 (March 9, 1984).
    \13\ As in the proposed rule, the final rule would make clear 
that the exemption for riskless principal transactions would not 
apply if the broker-dealer affiliate sold securities to the third-
party borrower out of its own inventory or out of the inventory of 
another affiliate of the depository institution. This condition is 
not intended to make the exemption unavailable when the broker-
dealer affiliate sells as principal to the third-party borrower a 
security that it purchased immediately prior to the sale in order to 
effect the riskless principal transaction requested by the borrower, 
so long as the broker-dealer affiliate did not purchase the security 
from another affiliate of the depository institution.
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Preexisting Line of Credit Exemption

    Approximately a dozen commenters offered specific comments on the 
proposed preexisting line of credit exemption. A majority of these 
commenters supported the Board's proposed exemption and concurred with 
the Board's view that exempting an extension of credit pursuant to a 
preexisting credit line from section 23A would not raise safety and 
soundness concerns.
    Several commenters expressed concern about the requirement that the 
credit line be ``preexisting.'' The commenters urged the Board to adopt 
other safeguards in lieu of the ``preexisting'' requirement. For 
example, one commenter argued that the Board should only require that 
banks conduct independent credit analyses before granting credit. Other 
commenters offered alternative standards.
    The Board is adopting the exemption for preexisting lines of credit 
substantially as proposed. As noted above, the exemption applies to 
extensions of credit by a depository institution made pursuant to a 
preexisting line of credit, the proceeds of which are used to buy 
securities underwritten or held as principal by a registered broker-
dealer affiliate of the depository institution. Under the exemption, 
extensions of credit must be made by a depository institution pursuant 
to a preexisting line of credit that was not entered into in 
contemplation of the purchase of securities by the borrower from an 
affiliate of the institution, and the extension of credit must be 
consistent with any restrictions imposed by the line. The Board 
believes that the ``preexisting'' and other requirements for such lines 
of credit are important safeguards to ensure that the credit was not 
extended by the depository institution for the purpose of inducing a 
borrower to purchase securities from or issued by an affiliate.
    Several of the commenters that opposed the requirement that the 
line of credit be ``preexisting'' argued that, if, despite their 
objections, the Board decided to use a ``preexisting'' requirement as 
part of this exemption, the Board should adopt a safe harbor. These 
commenters urged the adoption of a five-day safe harbor, in which the 
credit line would meet the ``preexisting'' requirement if the line were 
established at least five days prior to the customer's securities 
transaction with the bank's broker-dealer affiliate.
    The Board does not regard as necessary or appropriate a five-day 
safe harbor for determining whether a line of credit is truly 
``preexisting.'' The Board intends that this exemption be used in good 
faith by depository institutions. As noted in the proposing release, in 
determining whether the exemption is being used in good faith, 
examiners will consider the timing of the line of credit. In addition, 
examiners will consider the conditions imposed on the credit line and 
whether the line of credit has been used for purposes other than the 
purchase of securities from an affiliate. The Board will issue 
additional examiner guidance regarding the ``preexisting'' requirement 
should such guidance prove necessary.
    Some commenters objected that the proposed Preexisting Line of 
Credit Exemption was not necessary to cover a borrower's purchases of 
bank-eligible securities from an affiliate, which the commenters 
apparently believed fall outside the purview of section 23A. The 
attribution rule of section 23A does not, however, distinguish between 
bank-eligible and bank-ineligible securities: A loan from a depository 
institution, the proceeds of which are used by the borrower to buy 
securities underwritten or held as principal by an affiliate of the 
depository institution, would be covered by section 23A regardless of 
whether the securities purchased are bank-eligible or bank-ineligible. 
To avoid having the loan covered by the quantitative limits of section 
23A, the loan would need to qualify for an exemption under the 
statute--either the Preexisting Line of Credit Exemption being adopted 
by the Board today or some other exemption (e.g., the exemption in 
section 23A(d)(4) for obligations fully secured by deposit accounts or 
U.S. government obligations).
    At the request of one commenter, the Board also is clarifying that 
the Preexisting Line of Credit Exemption may not be used in 
circumstances in which the line has been merely pre-approved. 
Accordingly, for an extension of credit to qualify for this exemption, 
the credit line must be, in fact, ``preexisting'' and not merely 
``preapproved.''

Regulatory Flexibility Act

    The Board certifies that adoption of these rules is not expected to 
have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small 
business entities within the meaning of the Regulatory Flexibility Act 
(5 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) because the Board's action creates exemptions 
and clarifies certain interpretations under section 23A of the Federal 
Reserve Act. Accordingly, the Board's action does not impose more 
burdensome requirements on depository institutions, their holding 
companies, or their affiliates than are currently applicable.

Administrative Procedure Act

    Subject to certain exceptions, 12 U.S.C. 4801(b)(1) provides that 
new regulations and amendments to regulations prescribed by a Federal 
banking agency that impose additional reporting, disclosure, or other 
new requirements on an insured depository institution must take effect 
on the first day of a calendar quarter that begins on or after the date 
on which the regulations are published in final form. These rules are 
not subject to this delayed effective date requirement because the 
rules impose no new requirements on existing operations of depository 
institutions. The rules only exempt transactions that were previously 
subject to the restrictions of section 23A.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    The Board has determined that the rules do not involve the 
collection of information pursuant to the provisions

[[Page 24229]]

of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, 44 U.S.C. 3501 et seq.

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 250

    Banks, banking, Federal Reserve System.

    For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board amends 12 CFR 
part 250 as follows:

PART 50--MISCELLANEOUS INTERPRETATIONS

    1. The authority citation for part 250 continues to read as 
follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 78, 248(i) and 371c(f).
    2. Section 250.243 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 250.243  Applicability of section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act 
to loans and extensions of credit by an insured depository institution 
to a nonaffiliate to enable the nonaffiliate to purchase an asset 
through an affiliate of the institution that is acting exclusively in 
an agency or brokerage capacity in the transaction.

    (a) The attribution rule of section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act 
(12 U.S.C. 371c) provides that ``a transaction by a member bank with 
any person shall be deemed to be a transaction with an affiliate to the 
extent that the proceeds of the transaction are used for the benefit 
of, or transferred to, that affiliate.'' \1\ The Board has considered 
the question of whether a loan or extension of credit by an insured 
depository institution (``depository institution'') to an unaffiliated 
borrower who uses the proceeds of the transaction to purchase an asset 
through an affiliate of the institution that is acting exclusively as 
an agent or broker in the transaction should be subject to the 
attribution rule because of the limited benefit that the affiliate 
receives when it acts only as an agent or broker in the transaction. 
The Board believes that a loan by a depository institution to an 
unaffiliated borrower who uses the proceeds of the loan to purchase an 
asset through an affiliate of the institution that is acting 
exclusively in an agency or brokerage capacity is not covered by 
section 23A if the affiliate retains no portion of the loan proceeds as 
a fee or commission for its services.
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    \1\ 12 U.S.C. 371c(a)(2).
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    (b) A somewhat different analysis is required when the affiliate 
acting as agent or broker in the transaction retains a portion of the 
loan proceeds as a fee or commission. In such a case, the portion of 
the loan not retained by the affiliate as a fee or commission still 
would be outside the coverage of section 23A. On the other hand, the 
portion of the loan retained by the affiliate as a fee or commission 
would be subject to section 23A because it represents proceeds of a 
loan by a depository institution to a third party that are transferred 
to, and used for the benefit of, an affiliate of the institution. The 
Board hereby grants an exemption from section 23A for such fees and 
commissions.
    (c) The Board notes that this interpretation would not apply if the 
securities or other assets purchased by the third-party borrower 
through the affiliate of the depository institution were issued or 
underwritten by, or sold out of the inventory of, another affiliate of 
the depository institution. In such a case, proceeds of the loan from 
the depository institution would be transferred to, and used for the 
benefit of, the affiliate that issued, underwrote, or sold the asset on 
a principal basis to the third party.
    (d) The Board also notes that the transactions described above 
(including the loan to the third-party borrower and any fee or 
commission paid to the affiliate of the depository institution out of 
the loan proceeds) would be subject to the market terms requirement of 
section 23B, which applies to ``any transaction in which an affiliate 
acts as an agent or broker or receives a fee for its services to the 
bank or any other person.'' \2\
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    \2\ 12 U.S.C. 371c-1(a)(2)(D).
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    3. Section 250.244 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 250.244  Exemption from section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act for 
certain loans and extensions of credit by an insured depository 
institution to a nonaffiliate to enable the nonaffiliate to purchase 
securities through a registered broker-dealer affiliate of the 
institution that is acting exclusively as riskless principal in the 
securities transaction.

    (a) A loan or extension of credit by an insured depository 
institution (``depository institution'') to any person other than an 
affiliate of such depository institution is exempted from section 23A 
of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c) if--
    (1) The loan or extension of credit is on terms that are consistent 
with safe and sound banking practices; and
    (2) The proceeds of the loan or extension of credit are used to 
purchase a security through an affiliate of the depository institution 
that is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and Exchange 
Commission, where
    (i) The affiliate is acting exclusively as a riskless principal in 
the securities transaction; and
    (ii) The security is not issued or underwritten by, or sold out of 
the inventory of, any affiliate of the depository institution.
    (b) This grant of exemption is applicable to a loan or extension of 
credit covered by paragraph (a) of this section even if a portion of 
the proceeds of the loan or extension of credit is used by the borrower 
to pay a riskless principal mark-up to the affiliate, provided that the 
mark-up is substantially the same as, or lower than, those prevailing 
at the same time for comparable transactions with or involving other 
nonaffiliated companies, in accordance with section 23B of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c-1).
    4. Section 250.245 is added to read as follows:


Sec. 250.245  Exemption from section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act for 
certain loans and extensions of credit by an insured depository 
institution to a nonaffiliate made pursuant to a preexisting line of 
credit.

    Section 23A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371c) shall not 
apply to an extension of credit by an insured depository institution 
(``depository institution'') to any person other than an affiliate of 
such depository institution if--
    (a) The proceeds of the loan or extension of credit are used to 
purchase a security from or through an affiliate of the depository 
institution that is a broker-dealer registered with the Securities and 
Exchange Commission; and
    (b) The loan or extension of credit is made pursuant to, and 
consistent with any conditions imposed in, a preexisting line of credit 
that was not established in contemplation of the purchase of securities 
from or through an affiliate of the depository institution.

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, May 3, 2001.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 01-11607 Filed 5-10-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P