As part of the FDIC's systematic review of its regulations and written policies under section 303(a) of the Riegle Community Development and Regulatory Improvement Act of 1994 (CDRI), the FDIC has revised and consolidated its rules and regulations governing activities and investments of insured state banks and insured savings associations. The rule implements sections 24, 28, and 18(m) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, and also establishes certain safety and soundness standards pursuant to the FDIC's authority under section 8. The FDIC's final rule establishes a number of new exceptions and allows institutions to conduct certain activities after providing the FDIC with notice rather than filing an application. Subject to appropriate separations and limitations, the activities that may be conducted through a majority-owned subsidiary under these expedited notice processing criteria are real estate investment and securities underwriting. The FDIC combined its regulations governing the activities and investments of insured state banks with those governing insured savings associations. In addition, the FDIC's final rule updates its regulations governing the safety and soundness of securities activities of subsidiaries and affiliates of insured state nonmember banks. The FDIC's final rule modernizes this group of regulations and harmonizes the provisions governing activities that are not permissible for national banks with those governing the securities underwriting and distribution activities of subsidiaries of state nonmember banks. The FDIC's final rule makes a number of substantive changes and amends the regulations by deleting obsolete provisions, rewriting the regulatory text to make it more readable, conforming the treatment of state banks and savings associations to the extent possible given the underlying statutory and regulatory scheme governing the different charters. The FDIC's final rule also conforms most of the disclosures required under the current re