A company that is the
majority shareholder in at least one
bank. A bank holding company controls the operations of the banks it owns. Bank holding companies have access to
liquidity from
regulators through the
loans made to the banks themselves. In the United States, bank holding companies must register with the
Federal Reserve and are subject to its regulation, though they may also be responsible to other regulators as well. Re-registering as a bank holding company became a favored way for
investment banks and other companies to increase their liquidity in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.