Financial Services Oversight Act

Financial Services Oversight Act - Title I: Financial Services Oversight Commission - Establishes the Financial Services Oversight Commission as an independent Federal agency. Sets forth the powers and duties of the Commission, which include: (1) promulgating regulations defining the types of activities in which bank holding companies, financial holding companies, and commercial holding companies may engage; (2) enforcing compliance with such regulations; (3) establishing minimum standards of capital adequacy for financial holding companies and their affiliates; and (4) promulgating regulations to assure that transactions between financial services subsidiaries of holding companies are conducted in a manner consistent with the purposes of this Act. Directs the Commission to establish an advisory committee. States that bank holding companies and financial holding companies may not control any commercial company or engage in any commercial activity. States that commercial holding companies may not control a bank or financial company which holds or offers transaction accounts. Directs the Commission to establish transition rules for the divestiture or other cessation of investments or activities made or engaged in prior to the date of enactment of this Act. Grants the Commission authority to issue rules and regulations to carry out the purposes of this Act. Directs the Commission to monitor the activities of bank, financial, and commercial holding companies to insure compliance with this Act and the rules and regulations promulgated hereunder. Allows the Commission to require reports to insure that the purposes of this Act are accomplished. Directs the Commission to refer violations of laws, rules, or regulations to the agency having primary regulatory responsibility. Describes the enforcement action to be taken by such agency. Title II: Amendments to Banking and Securities Laws - Amends the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to terminate (effective January 1, 1998) the grandfather status of nonbank bank holding companies. Permits bank holding companies to own shares in any company which engages in activities which are: (1) closely related to banking (as determined by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve); or (2) described by the Commission as financial services. Requires the Board, when determining whether an activity is a proper incident to banking or managing or controlling banks, to consider whether the activity described would produce benefits to the public. Permits the expedited approval of holding company acquisition applications (with respect to acquiring interest in a nonbanking organization) under emergency situations. Amends the National Housing Act to terminate (effective January 1, 1998) the exemption (which permits certain thrift holding companies to engage in nonbanking activities) afforded to unitary thrift holding companies. Amends the National Housing Act to include within the definition of "depository institution" any organization holding transaction accounts which are subject to specified reserve requirements. Expands the definition of "transaction accounts" to include accounts from which balances can be drawn by the account holder at par within 24 hours without prior notice for payment to third parties (provided such accounts are not insured under the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, the National Housing Act, or the Federal Credit Union Act). Allows the Board to require that reserves be maintained with respect to such transaction accounts. Requires each major direct user of large dollar electronic payment systems to maintain a reserve as specified by the Board. Directs the Board to pay interest on such reserves. Amends the Federal Reserve Act and the Federal Deposit Insurance Act to repeal certain provisions which prohibit the payment of interest on demand deposits. Amends the International Banking Act to allow the National Electronic Payments Corporation (established under this Act) to require foreign banks who are major users of such system to establish subsidiaries or affiliates under U.S. law. Makes conforming amendments to the Banking Act of 1933 and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934. Title III: National Electronic Payments Corporation - National Electronic Payments Corporation Act - Establishes the National Electronic Payments Corporation. Sets forth the powers and duties of the Corporation, which include: (1) establishing, operating, and maintaining a national electronic payments system to facilitate large dollar transactions; (2) promulgating and enforcing policies governing standards for the utilization of such system; (3) providing for the development or improvement of telecommunications facilities to operate such system; and (4) prescribing procedures for the operation of such system. Requires the Board of Directors of the Corporation to establish a list of banking and other financial organizations which have transactions of a sufficient magnitude to make their participation as shareholders appropriate. Allows the Board of Directors, in order to encourage membership, to limit access to the payment system to those organizations which are shareholders and which have established adequate reserve balances in Federal Reserve banks. Requires the Board of Directors to establish a schedule of fees for use of the Corporation's facilities. States that the initial schedule and any modification shall be subject to approval by the Board of Governors. Requires the Corporation to submit annual reports to the Congress on its activities during the preceding fiscal year. Authorizes appropriations.

Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 20, 1987. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.

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