New Banking Era Set to Kick Off
By Andrew Clark
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 100 U.S. financial firms will be able to start taking advantage next week of the sweeping overhaul of Depression-era U.S. banking laws passed by Congress last year.
The legislation, the culmination of a two-decades-old effort to allow U.S. banks, brokers and insurers into each other's businesses, takes effect on Saturday. On Monday the Federal Reserve is expected to approve about 100 applications to set up ``financial holding companies' to take advantage of the new powers the legislation affords, a spokesman said.
Analysts predict the new law will fuel mergers in the industry as companies compete to build ``financial supermarkets' offering all the services customers need under one roof.
But some say the initial flurry of financial holding company applications does not necessarily portend an immediate wave of deals, and that it instead reflects companies' desire to stake out an early claim on the new financial frontier.
``It's more people positioning themselves at this stage,' said Keith Stock, global director of Ernst & Young's financial services consulting group. ``But it is the tip of the iceberg.'
Stock said financial holding company applications will likely snowball as companies see their competitors taking the plunge. He also sees merger activity starting in earnest by year-end, with insurance companies especially likely to be looking to tie up with commercial banks and asset managers.
The Fed laid out its ground rules for financial holding companies in January, urging firms to apply early if they wanted to get a head start when the new law took effect.
That may have spurred firms to apply even if they do not necessarily have a clear strategy yet, said Timothy McTaggart, a partner at the Washington D.C. law firm of Nixon Peabody.
``I think there may be some sense that it might be a slightly more streamlined process initially,' he said. ``So all other things being equal it might be easier to try to get it underway now.'
Getting approved now will also allow firms to be more nimble in reacting to future changes in the marketplace. Financial holding companies can start up a new business or effect a merger without getting prior regulatory approval.
Still, industry representatives say many executives, particularly at the largest financial firms, are still weighing the costs and benefits of the new structure.
``A lot of companies are just holding back to see how this is administered by the Fed,' said Richard Whiting, executive director of the Financial Services Round Table. ``They really don't know yet quite what they'd be signing up for.'
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency on Friday issued related final rules for nationally-chartered banks, which can choose to expand into certain new activities through 'financial subsidiaries' overseen by that agency. The OCC said it would act soon on around a dozen pending applications. |
