Comments due on proposed amendments to Fed's Control rules

The Federal Reserve Board has published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking [84 FR 21634] inviting public comment on a proposal that would revise the Board's regulations related to determinations of whether a company has the ability to exercise a controlling influence over another company for purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act (Regulation Y) or the Home Owners' Loan Act (Regulation LL). The proposal would significantly expand the number of presumptions for use in such determinations. By codifying the presumptions in the Board's regulations, the Board's rules would provide substantial additional transparency on the types of relationships that the Board would view as supporting a determination that one company controls another company.

The proposed presumptions generally would be consistent with the Board's historical practice with respect to the types of relationships that raise, or do not raise, significant controlling influence concerns. Several of the proposed presumptions, however, would represent targeted adjustments relative to the Board's historical practice. Finally, the proposal would include various definitions and ancillary rules to ensure that the application of the proposed presumptions is clear, transparent, and consistent. Comments on the proposal are due by July 15, 2019.