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Federal Reserve Board Proposal Published: 66 Federal Register 307, January 3, 2001 On April 30, 2001, ABA responded to the Federal Reserve/Treasury proposal stating that real estate brokerage and management activities fall squarely within the language of Section 103(a) of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act. Authorizing these activities would increase competition in the real estate markets and (1) provide consumers with innovation, more choices and lower prices; (2) raise no new safety or soundness activities; and (3) enable banks to compete with integrated real estate firms that currently provide brokerage and mortgage lending activities. The fundamental purpose of the Gramm Leach Bliley Act was to enable banks to compete with other less regulated financial services providers, and ABA amply demonstrated that the competition is touting the advantages of one-stop homebuying services. On July 25, 2000, ABA had petitioned the Federal Reserve Board and the Department of Treasury for such a determination. These activities are squarely within the statutory definitions of activities that are financial in nature. ABA also demonstrated that banks' competitors view real estate brokerage and management as activities that are financial in nature. Competitive issues are among the factors the agencies must consider when making their determination. The Financial Services Subcommittee of the House Financial Institutions Committee held a hearing on May 2, 2001 at which ABA, the Federal Reserve Board, the Treasury Department and the National Association of Realtors testified. |
Questions? Please contact James McLaughlin (202) 663-5324 or Cris Naser (202) 663-5332 for more information.
