The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve) on July 12, 2012 issued supervisory guidance, effective immediately, to enable applicants to obtain a pre-filing review of a potential bank acquisition or other proposal before the submission of a formal application or notice. The Federal Reserve expects this program to be particularly helpful for community banking organizations, which typically do not file applications or notices on a frequent basis, and for investors with novel proposals.

This program could shorten and simplify the review of many formal filings. It would also provide a mechanism for investors to obtain feedback from the staff on critical issues before committing to a formal filing, which is subject to public notice and comment.