FRB Proposes Rule to Expand Applicability of Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ("FRB") requested public comment on a proposed rule to expand the FRB's Small Bank Holding Company Policy Statement (the "Policy Statement") to apply to bank holding companies and savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets under $1 billion that satisfy the qualitative requirements specified in the Policy Statement. Institutions covered by the Policy Statement are exempt from the FRB's regulatory capital requirements.

The proposed rule would also exempt such institutions from quarterly consolidated financial reporting requirements (FR Y-9C), and instead require parent-only financial statement reporting (FR Y-9SP). Savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets under $500 million that satisfy the qualitative requirements of the Policy Statement would be exempt from FR Y-9SP reporting.

In addition, the FRB adopted an interim final rule to exclude savings and loan holding companies with total consolidated assets under $500 million that satisfy the qualitative requirements of the Policy Statement from the FRB's regulatory capital requirements. This treatment of savings and loan holding companies parallels the FRB's current treatment of bank holding companies under the Policy Statement.

Comments on the proposed and interim final rule are due by March 4, 2015.

See: FRB Press Release.