The original law (subsequently amended), specified that the Federal Reserve Board of Governors must approve the establishment of a bank holding company and that bank holding companies headquartered in one state are banned from acquiring a bank in another state. The law was implemented, in part, to regulate and control banks that had formed bank holding companies to own both banking and non-banking businesses. The law generally prohibited a bank holding company from engaging in most non-banking activities or acquiring voting securities of certain companies that are not banks.
In the United States, financial holding companies continue to be prohibited from owning non-financial corporations in contrast to Japan and continental Europe, where this arrangement is common.
Private equity firms, which solicit funds but are not classified as banks and, more importantly, are not backstopped by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, may acquire large ownership positions in a number of non-bank corporations. That is not a problem since private equity firms are not banks.
Proposed new limits on bank activities in physical commodities
increase capital requirements for activities of Financial Holding Companies (FHCs) involving commodities for which existing laws would impose liability if the commodities were released into the environment;
lower the limit on the amount of physical commodities that may be held by banks that conduct commodity trading activities;
rescind authority for banks to engage in energy tolling and energy management services;
delete copper from the list of precious metals that Bank Holding Companies (BHCs) are permitted to own and store; and
establish new public reporting requirements on the nature and extent of firms’ physical commodities holdings and activities.[2]
Additionally under a report was issued pursuant to Section 620 of the Dodd-Frank Act. (620 Report),[3] which includes recommendations for legislation to repeal several current authorities for banks to engage in physical commodities activities.
Under the 620 Report the Board recommends legislative action that would:
repeal the authority of FHCs to engage in merchant banking activities; and
repeal the grandfather authority for certain FHCs to engage in commodities activities under section 4(o) of the Bank Holding Company Act.[4]
