Does Reg. O, or any other Reg. prohibit an executive officer or director from bidding at a public auction on property owned by the bank?

I'm not sure, but it had better be an arm's length transaction, that can be documented as such, because it could have the appearence of insider knowledge or preferential treatment.

I don't believe it would so long as it is a bona fide public auction under applicable rules.

I agree with Andy. Reg. O primarily deals with the extension of credit to an insider, and as long as you are not financing the transaction, I do not think Reg. O comes into play.

I'd like to also re-emphazie Nanwa comment about it being a arm's length tranaction.

In my last life, that was the only way a director (or any employee, for that matter) could acquire bank-owned property, although we did make an exception for a branch that had potential environmental problems the director agreed to assume.

The theory is that a public sale is arms length true market value. That theory could be turned on its head if your director knew your bidding strategy for the property, or what the outstanding balance was on a loan secured by the property, though.