ENROLLED
Senate Bill No. 189
(By Senators Minard, Sharpe and Jenkins)
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[Passed March 7, 2003; in effect ninety days from passage.]
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AN ACT 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. 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) Confirms in writing to the commissioner that as long as it
maintains a branch in West Virginia, 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) 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 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.