CHAPTER 25
FORMERLY
SENATE BILL NO. 110
AS AMENDED BY SENATE AMENDMENT NO. 1
AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 8, TITLE 5, DELAWARE CODE, TO PROVIDE FOR THE REGULATION OF DELAWARE BANK HOLDING COMPANIES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF DELAWARE (three-fifths of all members elected to each House thereof concurring therein):
Section 1. Amend Chapter 8, Title 5, Delaware Code by adding a new Subchapter V
entitled "Regulation of Delaware Bank Holding Companies", to read as follows:
"Subchapter V. Regulation of Delaware Bank Holding Companies
§851. Definitions
As used in this Subchapter:
(1) 'Bank holding company' means a company, as defined by the Federal Bank
Holding Company Act of 1956 (12 U.S.C.A. Section 1841 gt. 1pg.), which is or
becomes a bank holding company within the provisions of the Federal Act including, without limitation its provisions for determining what constitutes control.
(2) 'Institution' means a national bank whose principal place of business is
located in Delaware or a Delaware chartered bank or bank and trust company.
(3) 'Delaware bank holding company' means a bank holding company with bank
subsidiaries whose operations are principally conducted in Delaware. For the purposes of this subchapter, the operations of a bank holding company's subsidiaries are principally located in this State if the total deposits of all such subsidiaries in this State are greater than in any other state.
§852. Becoming a Bank Holding Company
(1) Except as provided in §1842 of Title 12 of the United States Code, Subchapters I, II and III of this Chapter, and Chapters 7 and 1D of this Title, no bank holding company other than a Delaware bank holding company may control a Delaware institution.
(2) Any corporation intending to become a Delaware bank holding company shall file an application with the Commissioner for approval to acquire an institution. The application shall contain such information as the Commissioner may by regulation require, and shall, if not a Delaware corporation, designate a resident of the State as the applicant's agent for the service of any paper, notice of legal process on the applicant in connection with matters arising out of this Subchapter, and shall be accompanied by a filing fee in the amount of $5,000 for the use of the State, and a non-refundable processing fee in such amount as the Commissioner shall from time to time fix by regulation, payable to and for the use of the Office of the Bank Commissioner.
(3) In determining whether or not to approve such acquisition by a Delaware bank holding company, the Commissioner shall consider:
(a) the financial and the managerial resources of the Delaware bank holding company;
(b) the future prospects of the bank holding company and the bank whose assets or share it will acquire;
(c) the financial history of the bank holding company;
(a) whether such acquisition or holding may result in undue concentration of
resources or substantial lessening of competition within this State; and
(b) the convenience and needs of the public of this State.
§853. Registration
Every company that is a Delaware bank holding company on the effective date of this Act shall register with the Commissioner in accordance with procedures established by him not later than 180 days after the effective date of this Act.
§854. Beoorts
A Delaware bank holding company shall file with the Commissioner copies of all regular and periodic reports which a bank holding company is required to file under the Federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 or under Section 13 or Section 15 (d) of the Securities and Exchange Act of 1934 as amended, but excluding any portions not available to the public.
§855. Supervision and Examination
The Commissioner shall have supervision over all Delaware bank holding companies and shall have the right to examine all such companies, including their non-bank
subsidiaries. The costs of the examination shall be assessed against and paid by the
company in an amount to be set by regulation of the Commissioner. The examination
authorized by this Section shall be conducted jointly, concurrently or in lieu of examinations made by a Federal bank regulatory agency. The Commissioner shall use, to the extent deemed feasible, filings and reports made by the company to Federal or other State bank regulatory authority pursuant to a written agreement providing for the exchange of reports of examination between the Commissioner and the Federal or other state bank regulatory.
§856. Nonexclusivitv
Nothing in this Act or any law of this State shall be deemed to prohibit or limit a Delaware bank holding company from acquiring a bank or bank holding company located in any jurisdiction which acquisition is otherwise permitted by applicable law of the United States and any state.
§1. Bank Commissioner Cooperative Agreements
Prior to approving the acquisition by any Delaware bank holding company of any bank located in another state or bank holding company, the Commissioner may enter into cooperative agreements with the appropriate regulatory authorities for the periodic examinations of any out-of-state bank holding company or bank acquired by a Delaware bank holding company and may accept reports of examination and other records from such authorities in lieu of conducting his own examination. The Commissioner may enter into joint actions with other regulatory authorities having concurrent jurisdiction over any out-of-state bank holding company or bank acquired by a Delaware bank holding company or may take such actions independent to carry out his responsibilities under this Subchapter to assure the safety and soundness of any Delaware bank and to assure compliance with the provisions of applicable Delaware banking law."
Section 2. If any provision of this Act or the application thereof to any person or
circumstance is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Act if this Act can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to that end the provisions of this Act are declared severable.
Approved May 18, 1987.