Federal Register / Vol. 62, No. 27 / Monday, February 10, 1997 / Notices 5989

the basis of sworn statements, affidavits,

depositions, or other documents or that

the nature of the matter in issue is such

that an oral hearing and crossexamination are necessary for the

development of an adequate record.

Pursuant to the further terms of 46 CFR

502.61, the initial decision of the

presiding officer in this proceeding shall

be issued by February 5, 1998, and the

final decision of the Commission shall

be issued by June 5, 1998.

Joseph C. Polking,

Secretary.

[FR Doc. 97–3206 Filed 2–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6730–01–M

FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

Formations of, Acquisitions by, and

Mergers of Bank Holding Companies

The companies listed in this notice

have applied to the Board for approval,

pursuant to the Bank Holding Company

Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.)

(BHC Act), Regulation Y (12 CFR Part

225), and all other applicable statutes

and regulations to become a bank

holding company and/or to acquire the

assets or the ownership of, control of, or

the power to vote shares of a bank or

bank holding company and all of the

banks and nonbanking companies

owned by the bank holding company,

including the companies listed below.

The applications listed below, as well

as other related filings required by the

Board, are available for immediate

inspection at the Federal Reserve Bank

indicated. Once the application has

been accepted for processing, it will also

be available for inspection at the offices

of the Board of Governors. Interested

persons may express their views in

writing on the standards enumerated in

the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1842(c)). If the

proposal also involves the acquisition of

a nonbanking company, the review also

includes whether the acquisition of the

nonbanking company complies with the

standards in section 4 of the BHC Act,

including whether the acquisition of the

nonbanking company can ‘‘reasonably

be expected to produce benefits to the

public, such as greater convenience,

increased competition, or gains in

efficiency, that outweigh possible

adverse effects, such as undue

concentration of resources, decreased or

unfair competition, conflicts of

interests, or unsound banking practices’’

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Unless otherwise

noted, nonbanking activities will be

conducted throughout the United States.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding each of these applications

must be received at the Reserve Bank

indicated or the offices of the Board of

Governors not later than March 6, 1997.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of New

York (Christopher J. McCurdy, Senior

Vice President) 33 Liberty Street, New

York, New York 10045-0001:

1. BanPonce Financial Corp., Popular

International Bank, Inc., and BanPonce

Financial Corp, Wilmington, Delaware;

to acquire 100 percent of the voting

shares of Seminole National Bank,

Sanford, Florida.

B. Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta

(Lois Berthaume, Vice President) 104

Marietta Street, N.W., Atlanta, Georgia

30303-2713:

1. Regions Financial Corporation,

Birmingham, Alabama; to merge with

Gulf South Bancshares, Inc., Gretna,

Louisiana, and thereby indirectly

acquire Gulf South Bank and Trust

Company, Gretna, Louisiana.

2. Whitney Holding Corporation, New

Orleans, Louisiana; to acquire 100

percent of the voting shares of

Merchants National Bank of Mississippi,

Gulfport, Mississippi (in organization).

3. Whitney Holding Corporation; to

merge with Merchants Bancshares, Inc.,

Gulfport, Mississippi, and thereby

indirectly acquire Merchants Bank &

Trust Company, Bay Saint Louis,

Mississippi.

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve

System, February 4, 1997.

Jennifer J. Johnson,

Deputy Secretary of the Board.

[FR Doc. 97–3165 Filed 2–7–97; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6210–01–F

Notice of Proposals To Engage in

Permissible Nonbanking Activities or

To Acquire Companies That are

Engaged in Permissible Nonbanking

Activities

The companies listed in this notice

have given notice under section 4 of the

Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C.

1843) (BHC Act) and Regulation

Y, (12 CFR Part 225) to engage de novo,

or to acquire or control voting securities

or assets of a company that engages

either directly or through a subsidiary or

other company, in a nonbanking activity

that is listed in § 225.25 of Regulation

Y (12 CFR 225.25) or that the Board has

determined by Order to be closely

related to banking and permissible for

bank holding companies. Unless

otherwise noted, these activities will be

conducted throughout the United States.

Each notice is available for inspection

at the Federal Reserve Bank indicated.

Once the notice has been accepted for

processing, it will also be available for

inspection at the offices of the Board of

Governors. Interested persons may

express their views in writing on the

question whether the proposal complies

with the standards of section 4 of the

BHC Act, including whether

consummation of the proposal can

‘‘reasonably be expected to produce

benefits to the public, such as greater

convenience, increased competition, or

gains in efficiency, that outweigh

possible adverse effects, such as undue

concentration of resources, decreased or

unfair competition, conflicts of

interests, or unsound banking practices’’

(12 U.S.C. 1843). Any request for a

hearing on this question must be

accompanied by a statement of the

reasons a written presentation would

not suffice in lieu of a hearing,

identifying specifically any questions of

fact that are in dispute, summarizing the

evidence that would be presented at a

hearing, and indicating how the party

commenting would be aggrieved by

approval of the proposal.

Unless otherwise noted, comments

regarding the applications must be

received at the Reserve Bank indicated

or the offices of the Board of Governors

not later than February 24, 1997.

A. Federal Reserve Bank of New

York (Christopher J. McCurdy, Senior

Vice President) 33 Liberty Street, New

York, New York 10045-0001:

1. Creditanstalt-Bankverein, Vienna,

Austria; to engage de novo in making

equity investments either directly or

through a wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary

in diversified partnerships, limited

liability companies, corporations, and

investment funds that engage in

activities designed to promote

community welfare, including

developing, and/or acquiring and

owning interest in, certain affordable

rental housing properties, pursuant to §

225.25(b)(6) of the Board’s Regulation Y.

2. The Toronto-Dominion Bank,

Toronto, Canada, and Waterhouse

Investor Services, Inc. New York, New

York; to engage through their whollyowned subsidiary, Waterhouse

Securities, Inc., New York, New York

(‘‘Company’’), in the purchase and sale

of securities on the order of customers

as riskless principal. See The Bank of

New York Company, Inc., 82 Fed. Res.

Bull. 748 (1996); Bankers Trust New

York Corporation, 75 Fed. Res. Bull. 829

(1989). Company would conduct this

activity in accordance with the

framework of limitations established in

the Board’s prior orders. See Order

Revising the Limitations Applicable to

Riskless Principal Activities, 82 Fed.

Res. Bull. 759 (1996).

B. Federal Reserve Bank of San

Francisco (Kenneth R. Binning,

Director, Bank Holding Company) 101