things, to declare acts “unfair, deceptive or abusive” and to  require certain consumer disclosures.  Debit Card Interchange Fees  FDIC Matters Volker Rule  Derivatives  Interstate Bank Branching  Systemically Significant Companies  Capital  The Dodd-Frank Act instructs the FRB to seek to make capital  requirements applicable to bank holding companies countercyclical, with a higher level required in times of  economic expansion and lower level needed in times of  economic contraction. The Dodd-Frank Act creates a new regulatory regime for  entities that are deemed to be “systemically significant financial  companies.” The Dodd-Frank Act sets a $50 billion consolidated asset floor for a bank holding company to be  subject to the heightened oversight and regulation, although the  FRB can adjust those amounts upward for some of the  heightened standards under certain circumstances. Dodd-Frank  establishes a broad framework for identifying, applying  heightened supervision and regulation to, and (as necessary)  limiting the size and activities of systemically significant  financial companies. Under the Dodd-Frank Act, a new regime  for the orderly liquidation of financial companies whose failure  would pose systemic risk is also created.  The Dodd-Frank Act provides for a set of new rules requiring  that interchange transaction fees for electric debit transactions  be “reasonable” and proportional to certain costs associated  with processing the transactions. The FRB is given authority to  establish standards for assessing whether interchange fees are  reasonable and proportional.  The Dodd-Frank Act creates an orderly liquidation process that  the FDIC can employ for failing financial companies that are  not insured depository institutions. The Dodd-Frank Act gives  the FDIC new authority to create a widely available emergency  financial stabilization program to guarantee the obligations of  solvent depository institutions and their holding companies and  affiliates during times of severe economic stress. Additionally  Dodd-Frank also codifies many of the temporary changes that  had already been implemented, such as permanently increasing  the amount of deposit insurance to $250,000.  In the “Volker Rule,” the Dodd-Frank Act sets forth new  restrictions on banking organizations’ ability to engage in  proprietary trading and sponsorship of or investment in private  equity and hedge funds. The Volker Rule also generally  prohibits any banking entity from sponsoring or acquiring any  ownership interest in a private equity or hedge fund. The  Volker Rule, however, contains a number of exceptions. The  Volker Rule permits transactions in the securities of the U.S.  government and its agencies, certain government-sponsored  enterprises and states and their political subdivisions, as well as  certain investments in small business investment companies. Transactions on behalf of customers and in connection with  certain underwriting and market making activities, as well as  risk-mitigating hedging activities and certain foreign banking  activities are also permitted. Dodd-Frank also defines certain  parameters with respect to a permissible  de minimis  investment  in a private equity or hedge fund that the banking entity  organizes and offers. In addition to the general prohibition on  sponsorship and investment, the Volker Rule contains a second  set of requirements applicable to any private equity or hedge  fund that is sponsored by the banking entity or for which it  serves as investment manager or investment advisor.  The Dodd-Frank Act sets forth a new regulatory system for the  U.S. market for swaps and other over-the-counter derivatives. Under this new regime, all derivatives transactions and all  entities that enter into them could be subject to potential  regulations, and the goal of the regulatory framework is to  promote the stability of the entire financial system and further  transparency and competition in the derivatives market.  The Dodd-Frank Act includes provisions permitting national  and insured state banks to engage in  de novo  interstate  branching if, under the laws of the state where the new branch  is to be established, as state bank chartered in that state would  be permitted to establish a branch.  FifthThirdBancorp135