Bank Holding Company Act
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The Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA) was a federal law passed in 1956. The law established regulations for bank holding companies and granted the Federal Reserve Board regulatory authority over bank holding companies. The law also prohibited these companies from owning non-banking companies. Some provisions of the act were repealed by later legislation, such as the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994.[1]
Legislative history
The Bank Holding Company Act was introduced into the United States House of Representatives as HR 6227. The act passed the House by a vote of 371-24 on June 14, 1955. The bill then moved to the United States Senate, where it passed by a vote of 58-18 on April 24, 1956. The act was signed into law by President Dwight D. Eisenhower (R) on May 9, 1956.[2][3][4]
Provisions
The Bank Holding Company Act prohibited bank holding companies from engaging in certain activities and granted the Federal Reserve Board regulatory power over them. The act defined a bank holding company as any company that held 25 percent or more of the shares of two or more banks. As passed, the law required bank holding companies seeking to expand to obtain permission from the Federal Reserve Board, which could prohibit expansion. This restriction was repealed with the passage of the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act of 1994. The Bank Holding Company Act also required bank holding companies to divest themselves of ownership of any non-banking companies. This provision was repealed with the passage of the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act in 1999.[5]
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Government Publishing Office, "Bank Holding Company Act," accessed March 18, 2017
- ↑ GovTrack, "HR 6227 Regulation of Bank Holding Companies," accessed March 18, 2017
- ↑ GovTrack, "S 2577 Bank Holding Companies," accessed March 18, 2017
- ↑ The American Presidency Project, "99 - Statement by the President Upon Signing the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956," accessed March 18, 2017
- ↑ Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, "6000 - Bank Holding Company Act," accessed March 18, 2017
