WASHINGTON – The OCC proposes to amend its regulation
governing national bank investments that are designed primarily to promote the
public welfare. National banks and
their community partners committed $995 million to public welfare investments
in 2001. In order to encourage
additional public welfare investments by national banks, the proposal
simplifies the regulation and reduces unnecessary burden associated with these
investments.
The proposal streamlines the OCC’s processes for
notification and prior approval of the investments. Under the proposal, an eligible national bank may make a public
welfare investment without prior notification if the bank submits an
after-the-fact notice to the OCC that simply describes the investment, the
amount of the investment, and the percentage of the bank’s capital and surplus
represented by the bank’s total public welfare investments. A bank that is not eligible for
after-the-fact notice procedures may make a public welfare investment after submitting
an application that contains the same information and obtaining the OCC’s prior
approval.
The proposal also eliminates the requirement that a bank
demonstrate specific types of community support for the investment. This requirement is not mandated by statute
or comparable rules, and the OCC’s experience in implementing the regulation
suggests that the majority of community development investments include various
forms of community support or participation.
The proposed rule updates the definition section of the
regulation to reflect the additional types of public welfare investment
structures that have become more common in recent years and that are
permissible under the governing statute.
The proposal also provides an extensive list of additional examples of
eligible public welfare investments, organized by type of activity for ease of
reference.
The OCC invites public comment on the proposal after
publication in tomorrow’s
Federal Register.
The comment period closes on March 11.
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The OCC charters, regulates and examines
approximately 2,100 national banks and 52 federal branches of foreign banks
in the U.S., accounting for more than 55 percent of the nation’s banking
assets. Its mission is to ensure a safe and sound and competitive national
banking system that supports the citizens, communities and economy of the
United States.
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