ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 189
(By Senators Minard, Sharpe and Jenkins)
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[Introduced January 21, 2003; referred to the Committee on 
Banking and Insurance; and then to the Committee on Finance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact sections five and six, article eight-e,
chapter thirty-one-a of the code of West Virginia, one
thousand nine hundred thirty-one, as amended, all relating to
the requirement of notice and conditions for approval of
out-of-state bank applications to establish bank branches in
West Virginia; alternate method of providing notice to the
commissioner; and removal of the commissioner's right to
object to branch proposals upon grounds purely dealing with
the procedures of the out-of-state bank's supervisory agency.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That sections five and six, article eight-e, chapter thirty-
one-a of the code of West Virginia, one thousand nine hundred
thirty-one, as amended, be amended and reenacted, all to read as
follows:
ARTICLE 8E. INTERSTATE BRANCHING BY DE NOVO ENTRY AND ACQUISITION
OF BRANCHES.
§31A-8E-5. Requirement of notice.
An out-of-state bank desiring to establish and maintain a de
novo branch or to acquire a branch in this state pursuant to this
article shall provide written notice of the proposed transaction to
the commissioner not later than the date on which the bank applies
to the responsible federal or state bank supervisory agency for
approval to establish the branch. The out-of-state bank may comply
with this requirement by filing an additional copy of its branch
application with its home state regulator and requesting that the
home state regulator provide the copy to the commissioner. Of such
notice shall be accompanied by the filing The commissioner may
notify the home state regulator that the out-of-state bank must pay
to the West Virginia division of banking a fee of up to two hundred
fifty dollars.
§31A-8E-6. Conditions for approval.
No branch of an out-of-state bank may be established in this
state under this article unless the bank or its home state
regulator:
(a) The out-of-state bank confirms Confirms in writing to the
commissioner that as long as it maintains a branch in West
Virginia, it the out-of-state bank will comply with all applicable
laws of this state, including consumer protection laws and any
acquisition deposit limitations, as well as maintenance of deposit
insurance and capital requirements in the same manner as required
for West Virginia state banks.
(b) The applicant provides Provides satisfactory evidence to
the commissioner of compliance with the applicable requirements of
West Virginia law requiring foreign corporations to qualify to do
business in West Virginia.
(c) The commissioner, acting within thirty days after
receiving notice of an application under section five of this
article, or within seven days after a decision if a hearing is
held, certifies to the responsible federal bank supervisory agency
that the requirements of this article have been met. Unless
preempted by federal law, the commissioner shall have thirty days
from receipt of the written notice by the out-of-state bank to
object to the proposed transaction and request a hearing before the
board on the basis that the transaction is contrary to applicable
West Virginia law. The failure to object within thirty days shall
be construed as consent by the commissioner or, in his or her
discretion, the commissioner may, at any time, consent in writing.
The commissioner may also request a hearing on the basis that the
bank supervisory agency of the home state of the out-of-state bank
is without authority or procedures under its state's law to review
the transaction, or is not under its state's law viewed as the
primary regulator of its chartered banks' out-of-state branches, in
which event the criteria, fees and procedures set forth in section
three of this article shall apply.