Banking: Off-Balance-Sheet Activities

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO provided information on commercial banks' off-balance-sheet (OBS) activities, focusing on: (1) the growth and volume of OBS activities from 1980 to 1987; (2) eight different OBS activities and the related risks; (3) the primary concerns of U.S. and foreign bank regulators; and (4) recent regulatory proposals requiring banks to maintain capital for certain OBS activities.