What is "industrial loan company"

n. a finance company that makes small loans to industrial workers [syn: industrial bank]

An industrial loan company (ILC) or industrial bank is a financial institution in the United States that lends money, and may be owned by non-financial institutions. Though such banks offer FDIC-insured deposits and are subject to FDIC and state regulator oversight, a debate exists to allow parent companies such as Wal-Mart to remain unregulated by the financial regulators. "FDIC-insured entities are subject to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, which limits bank transactions with affiliates, including the parent company." (FDIC.gov) The ILC is permitted to have branches in multiple states (which is permitted by many states on a reciprocal basis). They are state-chartered, and insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. They are currently chartered by seven states, with most chartered by Utah. Other states permitting them include California, Colorado, Minnesota, Indiana, Hawaii, and Nevada.

Companies that have set up industrial banks include UBS, General Electric, General Motors, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, American Express, Target Corp, Nordstrom, Harley-Davidson, First Data, UnitedHealth Group, BMW, and Sallie Mae. In May 2005, Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway, Inc. announced plans to operate a Utah industrial bank to handle consumer loans for its R. C. Willey Home Furnishings stores. The Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, Ford Motor Co., Ceridian Corp. and Home Depot await approval.

Top Ten FDIC-Insured Industrial Banks by Assets, 2005 ($ millions).

Rank

Bank

State

assets

1

Merrill Lynch Bank USA

UT

$60,367.7

2

UBS Bank USA

UT

$18,585.8

3

American Express Centurion Bank

UT

$15,933.0

4

Fremont Investment & Loan

CA

$11,316.4

5

Morgan Stanley Bank

UT

$8,674.9

6

USAA Savings Bank

NV

$7,099.6

7

GMAC Commercial Mortgage Bank

UT

$4,872.5

8

GMAC Automotive Bank

UT

$2,429.5

9

Beal Savings Bank

NV

$2,420.2

10

Lehman Brothers Commercial Bank

UT

$2,127.2

Source: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. As of 2009, some of these banks are no longer extant.

However, the assets held by an ILC tend to paint an incomplete picture. The actual loan book amount can be considered more important. In this view, for example, UBS would replace Merrill Lynch as number 1.