ENROLLED
COMMITTEE SUBSTITUTE
FOR
H. B. 2595
(By Delegates Williams and Carper)

[Passed April 6, 1993; in effect from passage.]

AN ACT to amend and reenact section thirteen, article four, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, relating to the powers of state banking institutions generally; the authorization to own real property; and determining how certain real estate is to be valued.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That section thirteen, article four, chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted to read as follows:

ARTICLE 4. BANKING INSTITUTIONS AND SERVICES GENERALLY.

§31A-4-13. Powers of state banking institutions generally.

(a) Any state-chartered banking institution shall have and exercise all of the powers necessary for, or incidental to, the business of banking, and without limiting or restricting such general powers, it shall have the right to buy or discount promissory notes and bonds, negotiate drafts, bills of exchangeand other evidences of indebtedness, borrow money, receive deposits on such terms and conditions as its officers may prescribe, buy and sell, exchange, bank notes, bullion or coin, loan money on personal or other security, rent safe-deposit boxes and receive on deposit, for safekeeping, jewelry, plate, stocks, bonds and personal property of whatsoever description and provide customer services incidental to the business of banking, including, but not limited to, the issuance and servicing of and lending money by means of credit cards as letters of credit or otherwise. Any state-chartered banking institution may accept, for payment at a future date, not to exceed one year, drafts drawn upon it by its customers. Any state-chartered banking institution may issue letters of credit, with a specified expiration date or for a definite term, authorizing the holders thereof to draw drafts upon it or its correspondents, at sight or on time. Any such banking institution may organize, acquire, own, operate, dispose of, and otherwise manage wholly owned subsidiary corporations for purposes incident to the banking powers and services authorized by this chapter.
(b) Any state-chartered banking institution may acquire, own, hold, use and dispose of real estate, which shall in no case be carried on its books at a value greater than the actual cost: Provided, That such property shall be necessary for the convenient transaction of its business, including any buildings, office space or other facilities to rent as a source of income: Provided, however, That such investment hereafter made shall not exceed sixty-five percent of the amount of its capital stock and surplus, unless the consent in writing of the commissioner ofbanking is first secured.
(c) Any state-chartered banking institution may acquire, own, hold, use and dispose of real estate, which shall be carried on its books at the lower of fair value or cost as defined in rules promulgated by the commissioner of banking, subject to the following limitations:
(1) Such as shall be mortgaged to it in good faith as security for debts in its favor;
(2) Such as shall be conveyed to it in satisfaction of debts previously contracted in the course of its business dealings; and
(3) Such as it shall purchase at sales under judgments, decrees, trust deeds or mortgages in its favor, or shall purchase at private sale, to secure and effectuate the payment of debts due to it.
(d) The value at which any real estate is held shall not be increased by the addition thereto of taxes, insurance, interest, ordinary repairs, or other charges which do not materially enhance the value of the property.
(e) Any real estate acquired by any such banking institution under subdivisions two and three of subsection (c) of this section shall be disposed of by the banking institution at the earliest practicable date, but the officers thereof shall have a reasonable discretion in the matter of the time to dispose of such property in order to save the banking institution from unnecessary losses: Provided, That in every case such property shall be disposed of within ten years from the time it is acquired by the banking institution, unless an extension of timeis given in writing by the commissioner of banking.
(f) No state-chartered banking institution shall hereafter invest more than twenty percent of the amount of its capital and surplus in furniture and fixtures, whether the same be installed in a building owned by such banking institution, or in quarters leased by it, unless the consent in writing of the commissioner of banking is first secured.