[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 172 (Wednesday, September 6, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46281-46282]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-22000]
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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM
Norwest Corporation; Application to Engage in Nonbanking
Activities
Norwest Corporation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, and its wholly owned
subsidiary Norwest Financial Services, Inc., Des Moines, Iowa (NFS)
(together, Applicants), have given notice pursuant to section 4(c)(8)
of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(c)(8)) (BHC Act) and
Sec. 225.23(a)(3) of the Board's Regulation Y (12 CFR 225.23(a)(3)) to
engage de novo through NFS's wholly owned subsidiaries, Orlandi Valuta,
Los Angeles, California, and Orlandi Valuta Nacional, Boulder City,
Nevada (together, Companies), in the activity of transmitting money for
customers within the United States, including Puerto Rico, the U.S.
Virgin Islands, and Guam (domestic money transmission).
Orlandi currently engages solely in the activity of transmitting
money to a foreign country (Mexico) on behalf of customers. The
activity is conducted through Orlandi's office locations and Orlandi's
network of outside representatives. Companies will use this network
following the acquisition and, subject to licensing and other
regulatory requirements, intend to expand the network to include
Applicants' consumer finance offices. A ``hotline'' telephone will be
located at the office of the outside representative. This telephone
will be connected directly to Companies' office and the customer will
speak directly with an employee of Companies. The customer will provide
the information regarding the recipient and the dollar amount to be
transferred. The outside representative will collect the money from the
customer and deposit the funds in a designated account at a local bank
chosen by the outside representative. These funds will be held in trust
for the benefit of the remitting customer and will not be
[[Page 46282]]
commingled with any other funds of Companies or the outside
representative. Companies will collect the funds deposited in the
outside representative's account by means of an ACH transaction or
similar transaction. Companies will deposit an amount equal to the
transmitted funds in an account at a bank at a location near the
disbursement site. The local disbursement site will notify the
recipient that the funds are available to be picked up. When the
recipient comes to the disbursement site, a check drawn on the local
bank will be issued to the recipient with funds immediately available
for the recipient to cash or deposit the check.
Section 4(c)(8) of the BHC Act provides that a bank holding company
may, with Board approval, engage in any activity which the Board, after
due notice and opportunity for hearing, has determined (by order or
regulation) to be so closely related to banking or managing or
controlling banks as to be a proper incident thereto. This statutory
test requires that two separate tests be met for an activity to be
permissible for a bank holding company. First, the Board must determine
that the activity is, as a general matter, closely related to banking.
Second, the Board must find in a particular case that the performance
of the activity by the applicant bank holding company may reasonably be
expected to produce public benefits such as greater convenience,
increased competition, or gains in efficiency that outweigh possible
adverse effects, such as undue concentration of resources, decreased or
unfair competition, conflicts of interests, or unsound banking
practices.
The Board has not previously approved money transmission
activiteswithun the United States. The Board has previously approved,
by order, however, the activity of transmitting money for customers to
a foreign county. See Philippine Commercial International Bank, Federal
Reserve Bulletin 270 (1991); Berger Bank A/S, 76 Federal Reserve
Bulletin 457 (1990); Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken, 69 Federal Reserve
Bulletin 42 (1983); European-American Bancorp, European-American
Bancorp, 63 Federal Reserve Bulletin 595 (1977). In this regard, on
August 28, 1995, the Board approved the notice by Applicants to acquire
Orlandi and thereby engage in the activity of transmitting money for
customers to Mexico. Applicants believe that the proposed activities
meet the National Courier standard because the activity of domestic
money transmission is identical to the previously approved activity of
transmitting money for customers to a foreign country, except that the
recipient will be located in the United States.
In publishing the proposal for comment, the Board does not take a
position on issues raised by the proposal. Notice of the proposal is
published solely in order to seek the views of interested persons on
the issues presented by the application and does not represent a
determination by the Board that the proposal meets, or is likely to
meet, the standards of the BHC Act.
Any comments or requests for hearing should be submitted in writing
and received by William W. Wiles, Secretary, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551, not later than October
4, 1995. Any request for a hearing on this application must, as
required by Sec. 262.3(e) of the Board's Rules of Procedure (12 CFR
262.3(e)), be accompanied by a statement of the reasons why a written
presentation would not suffice in lieu of a hearing, identifying
specifically any questions of fact that are in dispute, summarizing the
evidence that would be presented at a hearing, and indicating how the
party commenting would be aggrieved by approval of the proposal.
This application may be inspected at the offices of the Board of
Governors or the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, August 30,
1995.
William W. Wiles,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 95-22000 Filed 9-5-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-F