Interpretations and Actions: March 2003

Vol. 16, No. 3

PLEASE NOTE: Interpretive Letters and No-Objection Letters reflect the views of the Comptroller's legal staff. Corporate Decisions, CRA Decisions and Conditional Approvals are from the office of Bank Organization and Structure. The list of CRA Ratings is from the Communications Division. For copies of the CRA evaluations, you may either contact the bank directly, or you may write to the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) in any of three ways: by mail to the OCC, Attn: Public Information Room, Mail Stop 1-5, Washington, D.C. 20219; by fax to (202) 874-4448; or by email to FOIA-PA@occ.treas.gov. You may also write to the OCC for copies of enforcement actions and charters with standard conditions.

Members of the news media are encouraged to cite the letter number when reporting or summarizing documents from this package. This helps us to process single requests based upon your citation in a more timely manner.

Interpretive Letters

Letter No.	Topic
957	Letter details the OCC's position that, pursuant to 12 USC 484 and 12 CFR 5.34(e)(3) and 7.4006, the OCC has exclusive authority over national banks and their operating subsidiaries except where Federal law provides otherwise and States are precluded from examining or requiring information from national banks or their operating subsidiaries or otherwise seeking to exercise visitorial powers with respect to those entities. 01/27/2003
958	Letter details the OCC's position that, pursuant to 12 USC 484 and 12 CFR 5.34(e)(3) and 7.4006, the OCC has exclusive authority over national banks and their operating subsidiaries except where Federal law provides otherwise and States are precluded from examining or requiring information from national banks or their operating subsidiaries or otherwise seeking to exercise visitorial powers with respect to those entities. 01/27/2003
959	Letter determines that tax refund anticipation loans (RALs) are appropriately risk-weighted at 100%, as they are not directly or indirectly guaranteed by the U.S. Government or its agencies and are, therefore, ineligible to receive a lower risk-weight. 02/13/2003

CRA Decisions

Letter No.	Topic
115	Application by First National Bank & Trust Company, Beloit, Wisconsin to purchase certain assets and assume certain liabilities of three Clinton and Darien, Wisconsin branch offices of Amcore Bank, National Association, Rockford, Illinois. (Control Number 2002 CE 02 040), 02/11/2002

Approvals with Conditions Enforceable under 12 U.S.C. 1818

Letter No.	Topic
571	Application by Treasury Bank, National Association, Alexandria, Virginia, to increase its capital surplus. (Control Number 2002 NE 12 255), 01/30/2003 (Note: This approval is being republished, the one published February 2003 was inaccurate)
578	Application by Bank of America, N.A., Charlotte, North Carolina, for its wholly owned operating subsidiary, Banc of America Capital Management, LLC, to hold special equity interests in connection with investment management activities. (Control Number 2002 ML 02 08 0029), 02/27/2003

Charters with Standard Condition

Each of the following charter application(s) were approved with a standard condition enforceable under 12 U.S.C. 1818 that requires the bank to provide notice and obtain OCC's non-objection in advance of any significant deviations or changes from its business plan or operations.

Letter No.	Topic
579	Application to charter Trinity Bank, National Association, Fort Worth, Texas. (Control Number 2002 SW 01 0007), 02/14/2003
580	Application to convert Community State Bank, Ankeny, Iowa to a national bank and with the title of "Community State Bank, National Association." (Control Number 2002 SW 01 0007), 02/27/2003

Final Enforcement Actions

Enclosed is a copy of the OCC's news release number 2003-22, announcing the availability of enforcement actions. Copies of the final actions are available by writing to the OCC, Public Reference Room, Mailstop 1-5, Washington, D.C. 20219. When ordering, specify the appropriate enforcement action number.

Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) Performance Evaluations

Enclosed is a list of CRA performance evaluations that became public during the period of February 15, 2003 through March 14, 2003.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency publishes INTERPRETATIONS AND ACTIONS monthly. Subscriptions are available at a rate of $175 per year by writing to the Comptroller of the Currency, P.O. Box 73150, Chicago, IL 60673-7150. Prepayment is requested. Suggestions, comments or questions may be sent to Jacqueline J. England, Communications Division, Comptroller of the Currency, Mail Stop 3-2, Washington, DC 20219.