Fed Allows U.S. Branches for Banca di Roma

permission to establish branches in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, and Houston. The Fed found Banca di Roma's home country regulator subjected it to comprehensive supervision on a consolidated basis, the legal standard a foreign bank must meet before it can branch here. This is the first time the Fed has ruled that an Italian bank meets this standard, said David Sahr, a partner at the Washington law firm Shaw, Pittman, Potts & Trowbridge. The Rome-based bank has $134 billion in assets and operates 1,300 domestic branches, 13 foreign branches, and scores of representative offices. The Fed also approved Unibanco's bid to open a representative office in Miami. The office can solicit loans, promote products and services to customers, and function as a bridge between the bank's branches and offices. It also would supervise data-processing activities and support the bank's New York branch. Unibanco, Brazil's largest bank, operates branches in New York City, the Cayman Islands, and the Bahamas. It also has 1,300 domestic branches. The Fed also gave Nacogdoches Commercial Bancshares permission to acquire 6.3% of Security National Bank, both of Nacogdoches, Texas. The acquisition will give Nacogdoches $153 million in deposits, making it the 122nd-largest bank in the state.