Securities Industry Association v. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System et al. (468 U.S. 207)

U.S. Supreme Court · decided June 28, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)

Citation
468 U.S. 207 · 104 S. Ct. 3003
Decided
June 28, 1984
Term
October Term 1983
Vote
9–0
Majority author
Justice Powell
Issue area
Economic Activity
Disposition
Affirmed
Outcome
Petitioning party lost
Ideological direction
Conservative

Opinion excerpt

Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court. This case presents the question whether the Federal Reserve Board has statutory authority under § 4(c)(8) of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, 12 U. S. C. § 1843(c)(8), to authorize a bank holding company to acquire a nonbanking affiliate engaged principally in retail securities brokerage. HH BankAmerica Corp. (BAC) is a bank holding company within the meaning of the Bank Holding Company Act. In March 1982, BAC applied to the Federal Reserve Board (Board) for approval under § 4(c)(8) of the Act to acquire 100 percent of the voting shares of The Charles Schwab Corp., a company that engages through its wholly owned subsidiary, Charles Schwab & Co. (Schwab), in retail discount brokerage. The Board ordered that formal public hearings be held before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) to consider the application. The Securities Industry Association (SIA), a national trade association of securities brokers, and petitioner here, opposed BAC’s application and participated in those hearings. After six days of hearings, the ALJ recommended that BAC’s application be approved. After reviewing the evidentiary record, the Board adopted, with modifications, the findings and conclusions of the ALJ and authorized BAC to acquire Schwab. 69 Fed. Res. Bull. 105 (1983). SIA petitioned the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit for judicial…

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