To: GST who wrote (87825 ) 10/21/2007 8:41:59 AM From: Giordano Bruno Read Replies (1) | Respond to Section 23A is one of the most important parts of the Federal Reserve Act. It prohibits "covered transactions" with any one affiliate of a Fed member bank in excess of 10% of the bank's capital and surplus, and up to 20% in aggregate for all bank affiliates. The purpose of the section is to protect the capital of the bank, even if that means allowing non-bank units or the parent holding company to be decapitalized or even fail in a "market resolution."…. The Fed's August 20, 2007 letter to BAC [Bank of America] allows the lead bank to extend up to $25 billion in collateralized loans to affiliates, an amount equal to 30% of the bank's regulatory capital. The "securities financing transaction" will effectively allow the securities affiliate of BAC to "serve only as a conduit" for the bank to lend to "unaffiliated third parties." The letter notes at the bottom of Page 3 that any such loans will be eligible for excemption from the automatic stay in the US Bankruptcy Code, a comforting legal distinction that may have little impact on the increasing rancid economics of financing CDOs.rgemonitor.com
