For example, a bank may not inform a customer that it will provide the customer with a loan only if the customer engages the bank’s securities affiliate for an underwriting or obtains some other product or service that is not a traditional bank product from the bank or an affiliate. The words “that is not a traditional bank product” are important.
Not all tying arrangements are illegal ties. The statute and the Federal Reserve Board’s regulations expressly permit a bank to condition the availability or price of a product or service on a requirement that the customer also obtain one or more traditional bank products from the bank or an affiliate.