Prior Board approval is required. A financial holding company that seeks to engage in or acquire more than 5 percent of the outstanding shares of any class of voting securities of a company engaged in an activity that the financial holding company believes is complementary to a financial activity must obtain prior approval from the Board in accordance with section 4(j) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(j)). The notice must be in writing and must:

Identify and define the proposed complementary activity, specifically describing what the activity would involve and how the activity would be conducted;

Identify the financial activity for which the proposed activity would be complementary and provide detailed information sufficient to support a finding that the proposed activity should be considered complementary to the identified financial activity;

Describe the scope and relative size of the proposed activity, as measured by the percentage of the projected financial holding company revenues expected to be derived from and assets associated with conducting the activity;

Discuss the risks that conducting the activity may reasonably be expected to pose to the safety and soundness of the subsidiary depository institutions of the financial holding company and to the financial system generally;

Describe the potential adverse effects, including potential conflicts of interest, decreased or unfair competition, or other risks, that conducting the activity could raise, and explain the measures the financial holding company proposes to take to address those potential effects;

Describe the potential benefits to the public, such as greater convenience, increased competition, or gains in efficiency, that the proposal reasonably can be expected to produce; and

Provide any information about the financial and managerial resources of the financial holding company and any other information requested by the Board.

Factors for consideration by the Board. In evaluating a notice to engage in a complementary activity, the Board must consider whether:

The proposed activity is complementary to a financial activity;

The proposed activity would pose a substantial risk to the safety or soundness of depository institutions or the financial system generally; and

The proposal could be expected to produce benefits to the public that outweigh possible adverse effects.

Board action. The Board will inform the financial holding company in writing of the Board's determination regarding the proposed activity within the period described in section 4(j) of the BHC Act (12 U.S.C. 1843(j)).