District Circular Letters

August 8, 2000

BANKING SUPERVISION AND REGULATION:
COMMENT REQUESTED—
FINANCIAL HOLDING COMPANIES
ACTING AS FINDERS

To State Member Banks, Bank
Holding Companies, U.S. Branches
and Agencies of Foreign Banks,
and Others Concerned,
in the Twelfth Federal Reserve District

Comment Requested on Allowing Financial Holding Companies to Act as "Finders"(Docket R-1078)

The Federal Reserve Board is requesting public comment on a proposed rule that would allow financial holding companies to act as a "finder." The "finder" brings together buyers and sellers of financial and nonfinancial products for transactions that the buyers and sellers themselves negotiate and consummate.

Comment is requested by September 5, 2000.

The proposed rule, which was developed in consultation with the Secretary of the Treasury, would allow financial holding companies to, among other things, host an Internet marketplace consisting of links to the web sites of third-party buyers and sellers. It also would permit financial holding companies to operate a web site that allows buyers and sellers to post information concerning the products and services they are willing to buy and sell and to enter into transactions among themselves.

Copies

Copies of the Board's notice (Docket R-1078) are available from our Corporate Services Department. To request copies to be sent by mail, please call (415) 974-2060. To request copies to be sent by fax, please call (415) 974-3333, and specify document number 4254.

All circulars and documents are available on the Internet through the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco's Internet site, at http://www.frbsf.org/banking/bsr/regletters/index.html.

Additional Information

For additional information about the proposed rule, please contact our Banking Supervision and Regulation Department, at (415) 974-3007.

FEDERAL RESERVE BANK OF SAN FRANCISCO