(a) General. It is part of the business of banking under 12 U.S.C. 24(Seventh) for a national bank to act as a finder, bringing together interested parties to a transaction.

(b) Permissible finder activities. A national bank that acts as a finder may identify potential parties, make inquiries as to interest, introduce or arrange contacts or meetings of interested parties, act as an intermediary between interested parties, and otherwise bring parties together for a transaction that the parties themselves negotiate and consummate. The following list provides examples of permissible finder activities. This list is illustrative and not exclusive; the OCC may determine that other activities are permissible pursuant to a national bank's authority to act as a finder.

(1) Communicating information about providers of products and services, and proposed offering prices and terms to potential markets for these products and services;

(2) Communicating to the seller an offer to purchase or a request for information, including forwarding completed applications, application fees, and requests for information to third-party providers;

(3) Arranging for third-party providers to offer reduced rates to those customers referred by the bank;

(4) Providing administrative, clerical, and record keeping functions related to the bank's finder activity, including retaining copies of documents, instructing and assisting individuals in the completion of documents, scheduling sales calls on behalf of sellers, and conducting market research to identify potential new customers for retailers;

(5) Conveying between interested parties expressions of interest, bids, offers, orders, and confirmations relating to a transaction;

(6) Conveying other types of information between potential buyers, sellers, and other interested parties; and

(7) Establishing rules of general applicability governing the use and operation of the finder service, including rules that:

(i) Govern the submission of bids and offers by buyers, sellers, and other interested parties that use the finder service and the circumstances under which the finder service will pair bids and offers submitted by buyers, sellers, and other interested parties; and

(ii) Govern the manner in which buyers, sellers, and other interested parties may bind themselves to the terms of a specific transaction.

(c) Limitation. The authority to act as a finder does not enable a national bank to engage in brokerage activities that have not been found to be permissible for national banks.

(d) Advertisement and fee. Unless otherwise prohibited by Federal law, a national bank may advertise the availability of, and accept a fee for, the services provided pursuant to this section.

[67 FR 35004, May 17, 2002]