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FED ER AL RESERVE BANK
OF N EW YORK

[

Circular No. 8 3 6 4
June 1, 1978

]

PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO REGULATION T
Subordinated Capital Loans Between Brokers and Dealers

T o A l l B r o k e r s a n d D e a le r s E x te n d in g S e c u r itie s C re d it,
a n d O th e r s C o n cern ed , in the S e c o n d F e d e r a l R e s e r v e D is tr ic t:

Follow ing is the text of a statement issued by the Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System regarding a proposed amendment to its Regulation T, “Credit by Brokers and
D ealers,” to permit brokers or dealers to extend and maintain subordinated credit for capital
purposes:
The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System today [ M a y 25, 197 8 ] proposed for comment
an amendment to its Regulation T (margin requirements for brokers and dealers) that would permit any
broker or dealer subject to the regulation to make a subordinated capital loan to another broker or dealer. At
present, only those who are members of national securities exchanges may make such loans.
The proposal would also remove certain existing restrictions on the use of such loans.
The Board asked for comment by June 28.
The Board asked specifically for comment as to any potential conflict of interest, control or restraintof-trade problems that might develop if the amendment is adopted.

Printed below is the text of the Board of Governors’ proposal. Comments should be sub­
mitted by June 28, 1978, and may be sent to our Regulations Division.
P aul A. V olcker,
P r e s id e n t.

[Regulation T ; Docket No. R-0165]
CREDIT BY BROKERS AND DEALERS
[12 CFR 220]
Subordinated Credit Extended for Capital Purposes
A G E N C Y : Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve
System.

D A T E : Comments must be received on or before June
28, 1978.

A C T IO N : Proposed rule.

A D D R E S S : Secretary, Board of Governors of the Fed­
eral Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551. All
material should be in writing and should include the
docket number R-0165.

S U M M A R Y : This proposal will relax the rule covering
subordinated loans between brokers and dealers so as
to permit any individual or firm subject to Regulation
T to extend and maintain subordinated credit to another
broker or dealer for capital purposes. The present rule
limits these loans to intra-company loans and loans be­
tween members of the same exchange. In addition, the
proposal removes certain restrictions on the use of the
loan proceeds if the borrower has no other customer
relationship with the lender. The Board is proposing
this rule change under authority of section 7 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934 in order to improve
the capital-raising ability of the entire industry and, by
removing existing requirements related to exchange
membership, to provide equal treatment for all brokers
and dealers.



FO R F U R T H E R IN F O R M A T IO N C O N TA C T:
Theodore W. Prush, Securities Regulations Analyst,
Securities Regulation Section, Division of Banking Su­
pervision and Regulation, Board of Governors of the
Federal Reserve System, Washington, D.C. 20551
(202-452-2781).
S U P P L E M E N T A R Y IN F O R M A T IO N : The Board
of Governors proposes to amend Regulation T (12 CFR
220) to permit brokers and dealers who are not mem­
bers of an exchange to extend and maintain subordinated
credit to other brokers and dealers for capital purposes.
The proposal will permit individuals and firms who are

( over)

not members of a national securities exchange, but who
are nonetheless subject to Regulation T (e.g., brokers
and dealers in the over-the-counter market and certain
individuals associated with member firms of a national
securities exchange), to make subordinated loans.
Under the Board’s existing rule a creditor is pro­
hibited from using the proceeds of any subordinated
credit received from another creditor for the purpose
of increasing the security dealings of his firm or any of
its corporate affiliates. The Board’s proposal would
allow a creditor receiving subordinated credit from an­
other creditor to use the proceeds of such loans in the
ordinary course of his business, provided that he has
no other financial relationships that might make him a
customer of the broker. The loans would be subject to
the approval of the national securities exchange, national
securities association or regional office of the SEC,
whichever is the borrower’s appropriate Examining
Authority.
To aid in the consideration of this material by the
Board, interested persons are invited to submit relevant
data, views, comments, or arguments. The Board is
specifically requesting comments as to any potential
conflict-of-interest, control or restraint-of-trade prob­
lems that might develop if the amendment is adopted.
Any such material should be submitted in writing to
the Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Re­
serve System, Washington, D.C. 20551 to be received
not later than June 28, 1978. All material submitted
should include the docket number R-0165. Such infor­
mation will be made available for inspection and copying
upon request except as provided in section 261.6(a) of
the Board’s Rules Regarding Availability of Informa­
tion (12 CFR 261.6(a)).
Accordingly, pursuant to sections 7 and 23 of the
Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15




U.S.C. 78g and w) the Board proposes to amend 12
CFR part 220 as follows:
SECTIO N 220.4— SPECIA L ACCOUNTS
* *
*
(f)
Special miscellaneous account. In a special mis­
cellaneous account, a creditor may:
* *
*
( 2 ) ***

(ii) Extend and maintain a subordinated loan to an­
other creditor for capital purposes. Provided, That
(a) Either the lender or the borrower is a firm or
corporation which is a member of a national securities
exchange or national securities association, the other
party to the credit is an affiliated corporation of such
firm or corporation, the credit is not in contravention of
any rule of the exchange or association and the credit
has the approval of appropriate committees of the ex­
change or association, or
(b) The lender as well as the borrower is a creditor
as defined in section 220.2 (b ), the subordinated loan
agreement has the approval of the appropriate Examin­
ing Authority as defined in Securities and Exchange
Commission Rule 15c3-l (c) (12) (12 CFR 240.15c3-l
(c )(1 2 )) and such Examining Authority is satisfied,
in the case of a borrower who would be considered a
customer of the lender apart from the subordinated loan,
that the loan will not be used to increase the amount of
dealing in securities for the account of the borrower, his
firm or corporation or an affiliated corporation of such
firm or corporation.
*
*
*