§ 1842. Acquisition of bank shares or assets

(a) Prior approval of Board as necessary; exceptions; disposition, time extension; subsequent approval or disposition upon disapproval

It shall be unlawful, except with the prior approval of the Board,

(1) for any action to be taken that causes any company to become a bank holding company;

(2) for any action to be taken that causes a bank to become a subsidiary of a bank holding company;

(3) for any bank holding company to acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of any voting shares of any bank if, after such acquisition, such company will directly or indirectly own or control more than 5 per centum of the voting shares of such bank;

(4) for any bank holding company or subsidiary thereof, other than a bank, to acquire all or substantially all of the assets of a bank; or

(5) for any bank holding company to merge or consolidate with any other bank holding company. Notwithstanding the foregoing this prohibition shall not apply to

(A) shares acquired by a bank,

(i) in good faith in a fiduciary capacity, except where such shares are held under a trust that constitutes a company as defined in section 1841 (b) of this title and except as provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) of section 1841 (g) of this title, or

(ii) in the regular course of securing or collecting a debt previously contracted in good faith, but any shares acquired after May 9, 1956, in securing or collecting any such previously contracted debt shall be disposed of within a period of two years from the date on which they were acquired;

(B) additional shares acquired by a bank holding company in a bank in which such bank holding company owned or controlled a majority of the voting shares prior to such acquisition; or

(C) the acquisition, by a company, of control of a bank in a reorganization in which a person or group of persons exchanges their shares of the bank for shares of a newly formed bank holding company and receives after the reorganization substantially the same proportional share interest in the holding company as they held in the bank except for changes in shareholders’ interests resulting from the exercise of dissenting shareholders’ rights under State or Federal law if—

(i) immediately following the acquisition—

(I) the bank holding company meets the capital and other financial standards prescribed by the Board by regulation for such a bank holding company; and

(II) the bank is adequately capitalized (as defined in section 1831o of this title);

(ii) the holding company does not engage in any activities other than those of managing and controlling banks as a result of the reorganization;

(iii) the company provides 30 days prior notice to the Board and the Board does not object to such transaction during such 30-day period; and

(iv) the holding company will not acquire control of any additional bank as a result of the reorganization..^[1]

The Board is authorized upon application by a bank to extend, from time to time for not more than one year at a time, the two-year period referred to above for disposing of any shares acquired by a bank in the regular course of securing or collecting a debt previously contracted in good faith, if, in the Board’s judgment, such an extension would not be detrimental to the public interest, but no such extension shall in the aggregate exceed three years. For the purpose of the preceding sentence, bank shares acquired after December 31, 1970, shall not be deemed to have been acquired in good faith in a fiduciary capacity if the acquiring bank or company has sole discretionary authority to exercise voting rights with respect thereto, but in such instances acquisitions may be made without prior approval of the Board if the Board, upon application filed within ninety days after the shares are acquired, approves retention or, if retention is disapproved, the acquiring bank disposes of the shares or its sole discretionary voting rights within two years after issuance of the order of disapproval.

(b) Application for approval; notice to Comptroller of Currency or State authority; views and recommendations; disapproval; hearing; order of Board; nonaction deemed grant of application; procedure in emergencies or probable failures requiring immediate Board action and orders

(1) Notice and hearing requirements

Upon receiving from a company any application for approval under this section, the Board shall give notice to the Comptroller of the Currency, if the applicant company or any bank the voting shares or assets of which are sought to be required ^[2] is a national banking association, or to the appropriate supervisory authority of the interested State, if the applicant company or any bank the voting shares or assets of which are sought to be acquired is a State bank, in order to provide for the submission of the views and recommendations of the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority, as the case may be. The views and recommendations shall be submitted within thirty calendar days of the date on which notice is given, or within ten calendar days of such date if the Board advises the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action. If the thirty-day notice period applies and if the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority so notified by the Board disapproves the application in writing within this period, the Board shall forthwith give written notice of that fact to the applicant. Within three days after giving such notice to the applicant, the Board shall notify in writing the applicant and the disapproving authority of the date for commencement of a hearing by it on such application. Any such hearing shall be commenced not less than ten nor more than thirty days after the Board has given written notice to the applicant of the action of the disapproving authority. The length of any such hearing shall be determined by the Board, but it shall afford all interested parties a reasonable opportunity to testify at such hearing. At the conclusion thereof, the Board shall, by order, grant or deny the application on the basis of the record made at such hearing. In the event of the failure of the Board to act on any application for approval under this section within the ninety-one-day period which begins on the date of submission to the Board of the complete record on that application, the application shall be deemed to have been granted. Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, if the Board finds that it must act immediately on any application for approval under this section in order to prevent the probable failure of a bank or bank holding company involved in a proposed acquisition, merger, or consolidation transaction, the Board may dispense with the notice requirements of this subsection, and if notice is given, the Board may request that the views and recommendations of the Comptroller of the Currency or the State supervisory authority, as the case may be, be submitted immediately in any form or by any means acceptable to the Board. If the Board has found pursuant to this subsection either that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action or that it must act immediately to prevent probable failure, the Board may grant or deny any such application without a hearing notwithstanding any recommended disapproval by the appropriate supervisory authority.

(2) Waiver in case of bank in danger of closing

If the Board receives a certification described in section 1823 (f)(8)(D) ^[3] of this title from the appropriate Federal or State chartering authority that a bank is in danger of closing, the Board may dispense with the notice and hearing requirements of paragraph (1) with respect to any application received by the Board relating to the acquisition of such bank, the bank holding company which controls such bank, or any other affiliated bank.

(1) Competitive factors

The Board shall not approve—

(A) any acquisition or merger or consolidation under this section which would result in a monopoly, or which would be in furtherance of any combination or conspiracy to monopolize or to attempt to monopolize the business of banking in any part of the United States, or

(B) any other proposed acquisition or merger or consolidation under this section whose effect in any section of the country may be substantially to lessen competition, or to tend to create a monopoly, or which in any other manner would be in restraint or ^[4] trade, unless it finds that the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served.

(2) Banking and community factors

In every case, the Board shall take into consideration the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the company or companies and the banks concerned, and the convenience and needs of the community to be served.

(3) Supervisory factors

The Board shall disapprove any application under this section by any company if—

(A) the company fails to provide the Board with adequate assurances that the company will make available to the Board such information on the operations or activities of the company, and any affiliate of the company, as the Board determines to be appropriate to determine and enforce compliance with this chapter; or

(B) in the case of an application involving a foreign bank, the foreign bank is not subject to comprehensive supervision or regulation on a consolidated basis by the appropriate authorities in the bank’s home country.

(4) Treatment of certain bank stock loans

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Board shall not follow any practice or policy in the consideration of any application for the formation of a one-bank holding company if following such practice or policy would result in the rejection of such application solely because the transaction to form such one-bank holding company involves a bank stock loan which is for a period of not more than twenty-five years. The previous sentence shall not be construed to prohibit the Board from rejecting any application solely because the other financial arrangements are considered unsatisfactory. The Board shall consider transactions involving bank stock loans for the formation of a one-bank holding company having a maturity of twelve years or more on a case by case basis and no such transaction shall be approved if the Board believes the safety or soundness of the bank may be jeopardized.

(5) Managerial resources

Consideration of the managerial resources of a company or bank under paragraph (2) shall include consideration of the competence, experience, and integrity of the officers, directors, and principal shareholders of the company or bank.

(6) Money laundering

In every case, the Board shall take into consideration the effectiveness of the company or companies in combatting money laundering activities, including in overseas branches.

(d) Interstate banking

(1) Approvals authorized

(A) Acquisition of banks

The Board may approve an application under this section by a bank holding company that is adequately capitalized and adequately managed to acquire control of, or acquire all or substantially all of the assets of, a bank located in a State other than the home State of such bank holding company, without regard to whether such transaction is prohibited under the law of any State.

(B) Preservation of State age laws

(i) In general Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), the Board may not approve an application pursuant to such subparagraph that would have the effect of permitting an out-of-State bank holding company to acquire a bank in a host State that has not been in existence for the minimum period of time, if any, specified in the statutory law of the host State.

(ii) Special rule for State age laws specifying a period of more than 5 years Notwithstanding clause (i), the Board may approve, pursuant to subparagraph (A), the acquisition of a bank that has been in existence for at least 5 years without regard to any longer minimum period of time specified in a statutory law of the host State.

For purposes of this subsection, a bank that has been chartered solely for the purpose of, and does not open for business prior to, acquiring control of, or acquiring all or substantially all of the assets of, an existing bank shall be deemed to have been in existence for the same period of time as the bank to be acquired.

(D) Effect on State contingency laws

No provision of this subsection shall be construed as affecting the applicability of a State law that makes an acquisition of a bank contingent upon a requirement to hold a portion of such bank’s assets available for call by a State-sponsored housing entity established pursuant to State law, if—

(i) the State law does not have the effect of discriminating against out-of-State banks, out-of-State bank holding companies, or subsidiaries of such banks or bank holding companies;

(ii) that State law was in effect as of September 29, 1994;

(iii) the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation has not determined that compliance with such State law would result in an unacceptable risk to the Deposit Insurance Fund; and

(iv) the appropriate Federal banking agency for such bank has not found that compliance with such State law would place the bank in an unsafe or unsound condition.

(2) Concentration limits

(A) Nationwide concentration limits

The Board may not approve an application pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) if the applicant (including all insured depository institutions which are affiliates of the applicant) controls, or upon consummation of the acquisition for which such application is filed would control, more than 10 percent of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the United States.

(B) Statewide concentration limits other than with respect to initial entries

The Board may not approve an application pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) if—

(i) immediately before the consummation of the acquisition for which such application is filed, the applicant (including any insured depository institution affiliate of the applicant) controls any insured depository institution or any branch of an insured depository institution in the home State of any bank to be acquired or in any host State in which any such bank maintains a branch; and

(ii) the applicant (including all insured depository institutions which are affiliates of the applicant), upon consummation of the acquisition, would control 30 percent or more of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in any such State.

No provision of this subsection shall be construed as affecting the authority of any State to limit, by statute, regulation, or order, the percentage of the total amount of deposits of insured depository institutions in the State which may be held or controlled by any bank or bank holding company (including all insured depository institutions which are affiliates of the bank or bank holding company) to the extent the application of such limitation does not discriminate against out-of-State banks, out-of-State bank holding companies, or subsidiaries of such banks or holding companies.

(D) Exceptions to subparagraph (B)

The Board may approve an application pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) without regard to the applicability of subparagraph (B) with respect to any State if—

(i) there is a limitation described in subparagraph (C) in a State statute, regulation, or order which has the effect of permitting a bank or bank holding company (including all insured depository institutions which are affiliates of the bank or bank holding company) to control a greater percentage of total deposits of all insured depository institutions in the State than the percentage permitted under subparagraph (B); or

(ii) the acquisition is approved by the appropriate State bank supervisor of such State and the standard on which such approval is based does not have the effect of discriminating against out-of-State banks, out-of-State bank holding companies, or subsidiaries of such banks or holding companies.

(E) “Deposit” defined

For purposes of this paragraph, the term “deposit” has the same meaning as in section 1813 (l) of this title.

(3) Community reinvestment compliance

In determining whether to approve an application under paragraph (1)(A), the Board shall—

(A) comply with the responsibilities of the Board regarding such application under section 2903 of this title; and

(B) take into account the applicant’s record of compliance with applicable State community reinvestment laws.

(4) Applicability of antitrust laws

No provision of this subsection shall be construed as affecting—

(A) the applicability of the antitrust laws; or

(B) the applicability, if any, of any State law which is similar to the antitrust laws.

(5) Exception for banks in default or in danger of default

The Board may approve an application pursuant to paragraph (1)(A) which involves—

(A) an acquisition of 1 or more banks in default or in danger of default; or

(B) an acquisition with respect to which assistance is provided under section 1823 (c) of this title;

without regard to subparagraph (B) or (D) of paragraph (1) or paragraph (2) or (3).

(e) Insured depository institution

Every bank that is a holding company and every bank that is a subsidiary of such a company shall become and remain an insured depository institution as defined in section 1813 of this title.

(f) [Repealed]

(g) Mutual bank holding company

(1) Establishment

Notwithstanding any provision of Federal law other than this chapter, a savings bank or cooperative bank operating in mutual form may reorganize so as to form a holding company.

(2) Regulations

A bank holding company organized as a mutual holding company shall be regulated on terms, and shall be subject to limitations, comparable to those applicable to any other bank holding company.

[1] So in original.

[2] So in original. Probably should be “acquired”.

[3] See References in Text note below.

[4] So in original. Probably should be “of”.

U.S. Code

§ 1842. Acquisition of bank shares or assets