I 
109TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2660
To amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to clarify that real 
estate brokerage activities and real estate management activities are 
authorized financial activities for financial holding companies and finan-
cial subsidiaries of national banks, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
MAY 26, 2005
Mr. OXLEY (for himself and Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts) introduced the 
following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Financial Services 
A BILL 
To amend the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 to clarify 
that real estate brokerage activities and real estate man-
agement activities are authorized financial activities for 
financial holding companies and financial subsidiaries of 
national banks, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Fair Choice and Com-
petition in Real Estate Act of 2005’’.
SEC. 2. CLARIFICATION THAT CERTAIN REAL ESTATE AC-
TIVITIES ARE FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 4(k)(4) of the Bank Hold-
ing Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1843(k)(4)) is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(J) Engaging in real estate brokerage ac-
tivities and real estate management activities.’’. 
(b) DEFINITIONS.—Section 2 of the Bank Holding 
Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C. 1841) is amended by 
adding at the end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(r) DEFINITIONS RELATING TO FINANCIAL ACTIVI-
TIES.—
‘‘(1) REAL
ESTATE
BROKERAGE
ACTIVITY.—
The term ‘real estate brokerage activity’ means any 
activity that involves offering or providing real estate 
brokerage services to the public, including—
‘‘(A) acting as an agent for a buyer, seller, 
lessor, or lessee of real property; 
‘‘(B) listing or advertising real property for 
sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange; 
‘‘(C) providing advice in connection with 
sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of real 
property;
‘‘(D) bringing together parties interested 
in the sale, purchase, lease, rental, or exchange 
of real property; 
‘‘(E) negotiating, on behalf of any party, 
any portion of a contract relating to the sale, 
purchase, lease, rental, or exchange of real 
property (other than in connection with pro-
viding financing with respect to any such trans-
action); 
‘‘(F) engaging in any activity for which a 
person engaged in the activity is required to be 
registered or licensed as a real estate agent or 
broker under any applicable law; and 
‘‘(G) offering to engage in any activity, or 
act in any capacity, described in subparagraph 
(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F). 
‘‘(2) REAL ESTATE MANAGEMENT ACTIVITY.—
The term ‘real estate management activity’ means 
any activity that involves offering or providing real 
estate management services to the public, includ-
ing—
‘‘(A) procuring any tenant or lessee for 
any real property; 
‘‘(B) negotiating leases of real property;
‘‘(C) maintaining security deposits on be-
half of any tenant or lessor of real property 
(other than as a depository institution for any 
person providing real estate management serv-
ices for any tenant or lessor of real property); 
‘‘(D) billing and collecting rental payments 
with respect to real property or providing peri-
odic accounting for such payments; 
‘‘(E) making principal, interest, insurance, 
tax, or utility payments with respect to real 
property (other than as a depository institution 
or other financial institution on behalf of, and 
at the direction of, an account holder at the in-
stitution); 
‘‘(F) overseeing the inspection, mainte-
nance, and upkeep of real property, generally; 
and 
‘‘(G) offering to engage in any activity, or 
act in any capacity, described in subparagraphs 
(A), (B), (C), (D), (E), or (F).’’.
Æ