(a) An insured branch of a foreign bank shall maintain on a daily basis eligible assets in an amount not less than 106 percent of the preceding quarter's average book value of the insured branch's liabilities or, in the case of a newly-established insured branch, the estimated book value of its liabilities at the end of the first full quarter of operation, exclusive of liabilities due to the foreign bank's head office, other branches, agencies, offices, or wholly owned subsidiaries. The Director of the Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection or his designee may impose a computation of total liabilities on a daily basis in those instances where it is found necessary for supervisory purposes. The FDIC Board of Directors, after consulting with the insured branch's primary regulator, may require that a higher ratio of eligible assets be maintained if the financial condition of the insured branch warrants such action. Among the factors which will be considered in requiring a higher ratio of eligible assets are the concentration of risk to any one borrower or group of related borrowers, the concentration of transfer risk to any one country, including the country in which the foreign bank's head office is located or any other factor the FDIC determines is relevant. Eligible assets shall be payable in United States dollars.

(b) In determining eligible assets for the purposes of compliance with paragraph (a) of this section, the insured branch shall exclude the following:

(1) Any asset due from the foreign bank's head office, or its other branches, agencies, offices or affiliates;

(2) Any asset classified “Value Impaired,” to the extent of the required Allocated Transfer Risk Reserves or equivalent write down, or “Loss” in the most recent state or federal examination report;

(3) Any deposit of the insured branch in a bank unless the bank has executed a valid waiver of offset agreement;

(4) Any asset not supported by sufficient credit information to allow a review of the asset's credit quality, as determined at the most recent state or federal examination, as follows:

(i) Whether an asset has sufficient credit information will be a function of the size of the borrower and the location within the foreign bank of the responsibility for authorizing and monitoring extensions of credit to the borrower. For large, well known companies, when credit responsibility is located in an office of the foreign bank outside the insured branch, the insured branch must have adequate documentation to show that the asset is of good quality and is being supervised adequately by the foreign bank. In such cases, copies of periodic memoranda that include an analysis of the borrower's recent financial statements and a report on recent developments in the borrower's operations and borrowing relationships with the foreign bank generally would constitute sufficient information. For other borrowers, periodic memoranda must be supplemented by information such as copies of recent financial statements, recent correspondence concerning the borrower's financial condition and repayment history, credit terms and collateral, data on any guarantors, and where necessary, the status of any corrective measures being employed;

(ii) Subsequent to the determination that an asset lacks sufficient credit information, an insured branch may not include the amount of that asset among eligible assets until the FDIC determines that sufficient documentation exists. Such a determination may be made either at the next federal examination, or upon request of the insured branch, by the appropriate regional director;

(5) Any asset not in the insured branch's actual possession unless the insured branch holds title to such asset and the insured branch maintains records sufficient to enable independent verification of the insured branch's ownership of the asset, as determined at the most recent state or federal examination;

(6) Any intangible asset;

(7) Any other asset not considered bankable by the FDIC.

(c) A foreign bank which has more than one insured branch in a state may treat all of its insured branches in the same state as one entity for purposes of compliance with paragraph (a) of this section and shall designate one insured branch to be responsible for maintaining the records of the insured branches' compliance with this section.

(d) The average book value of the insured branch's liabilities for a quarter shall be, at the insured branch's option, either an average of the balances as of the close of business for each day of the quarter or an average of the balances as of the close of business on each Wednesday during the quarter. Quarters end on March 31, June 30, September 30, and December 31 of any given year. For days on which the insured branch is closed, balances from the previous business day are to be used. Calculations of the average book value of the insured branch's liabilities for a quarter shall be retained by the insured branch until the next federal examination.


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