CHAPTER 111.
STATE BANK COMMISSIONER.
AN ACT to Create the Office of State Bank Commissioner, and to Define the Powers and Duties of said Commissioner.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the State of Delaware in. General Assembly met:
Section 1. That, the office of State Bank Commissioner is hereby created. The said Commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor, by and with the consent of the Senate, and shall hold office for the term of four years from the date of his commission, or until his successor shall be duly appointed and qualified. He shall give bond to the State in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of his duties, such bond to be approved by the Governor, and filed in the office of the Secretary of State. He shall receive in full compensation for his services an annual salary of thirty-six hundred dollars, payable monthly. The said Commissioner shall be removed from office by the Governor upon conviction of misbehavior; in which event the Governor shall fill the vacancy for the unexpired term by a. new appointment ; and likewise, in the event of the resignation, death or disability of the said Commissioner, the vacancy in said office shall be filled by appointment of the Governor, for the unexpired term.
Section 2. That the said State Bank Commissioner shall have power to appoint a Deputy and a Clerk, who shall hold office at the pleasure of the said Commissioner. The said Deputy and Clerk shall give Bond to the State, the Deputy in the sum of ten thousand dollars, and the Clerk in the sum of five thousand dollars, for the faithful performance of their respective duties, such Bonds to be approved by the Governor and filed in the office of the Secretary of State. The Deputy shall receive an annual salary of twenty-four hundred dollars, and the Clerk an annual salary of fifteen hundred dollars, payable monthly, in full compensation for their respective services. The said Deputy and Clerk shall perform such duties as may be assigned to them by the Commissioner. In the event of the removal, resignation, death or disability of the said Deputy, or said Clerk, the vacancy shall be filled by appointment of the Commissioner. The said Commissioner may, from time to time, temporarily employ such additional clerks as may be necessary to assist him in the discharge of his duties. Such additional Clerks shall be paid a reasonable compensation for their services, to be fixed by the Commissioner.
Section 3. That the said State Bank Commissioner, his Deputy Clerk, and any additional clerks he may temporarily employ, shall be selected with respect to their knowledge of and experience in banking and accounting. They shall be residents of the State of Delaware. They shall not be stockholders in any corporation coming under the provisions of this Act.
Section 4. That the principal office of the said State Bank Commissioner shall be in the State House at Dover. The necessary expenses of said office, the cost of the Bonds required to be given by the said Commissioner and his Deputy and Clerk, together with their salaries, and the necessary expenses incurred by them in the performance of their respective duties, and also the compensation of any additional Clerks the said Commissioner may temporarily employ, shall be paid by the State Treasurer, but no such payments shall be made except upon vouchers approved by the Governor. The said Commissioner shall render an account monthly to the State Auditor of all taxes and charges received by him and shall pay the amount thereof to the State Treasurer.
Section 5. That the said State Bank Commissioner shall design and use an official seal, a full description of which, with the impress thereof, shall be tiled in the office of the Secretary of State. The seal so designed and used shall continue to be the official seal of the State Bank Commissioner until changed by authority of law.
Section 6. The said State Bank Commissioner shall have supervision over all State Banks, Savings Banks, Trust Companies, Safe Deposit Companies, Building and Loan Associations, and other Corporations, engaged in like business, incorporated under the laws of Delaware, or doing business in this State, and shall secure the execution of all laws relative to such Corporations. He shall have and exercise all the powers and perform all the duties exercised and performed by the insurance Commissioner, with respect to such Corporations, under any law of this State in force at the time of the approval of this Act, and such other powers and duties as are conferred and prescribed by this Act. All such Corporations, and the National Banks in this State, shall make to the said State Bank Commissioner the same reports heretofore made to the said Insurance Commissioner, and shall pay to the said State Bank Commissioner the same taxes and other charges heretofore paid to the said Insurance Commissioner, except as otherwise herein provided.
Section 7. That upon the appointment and qualification of the said State Bank Commissioner the powers and duties of the said Insurance Commissioner with respect to State Banks, Savings Banks, Trust Companies, Safe Deposit Companies, Building and Loan Associations, and other Corporations engaged in like business, shall cease and determine. The said Insurance Commissioner shall deliver to the said State Bank Commissioner all papers, books and records in his possession relating to such Corporations.
Section 8. That the said Site Bank Commissioner, in person, or by his Deputy or Clerk, or with their assistance, or the assistance of such additional clerks as he may temporarily employ, shall, at least once in each year, and at any time that he may deem expedient, visit each State Bank, Savings Bank, Trust Company, Safe Deposit Company, Building Association, and Loan Association, and other Corporations, engaged in like business in this State. He shall, in the presence of one or more of the officers of the Corporation visited, have free access to the vaults, books and paper of said Corporation. Ile shall make a thorough examination into the affairs of such Corporation, its resources and liabilities, the investment of its funds, the mode of conducting its business, the safety and prudence of its management, the actions of its Officers, Directors or Trustees, the Security afforded to those by whom its engagements are held, and whether the requirements of its Charter and of the Laws of the State have been complied with in its administration, and also, as to such other matters, as in the judgment of said Commissioner, may have relation to the solvency or insolvency of said corporation; and, in connection with such examination, the said Commissioner shall have power to examine, under oath or affirmation, the officers, directors or trustees, and the employees, of the corporation, relative to its affairs, and, for this purpose, he is hereby authorized to administer oaths or affirmations; Provided, that the said Commissioner, his Deputy, or Clerk, before proceeding with the examination of any corporation shall, if required, exhibit to the Officers of the said Corporation Satisfactory evidence of his authority to make such examination.
Section 9. That the said State Bank Commissioner in determining, in the course of his examination, the amount of lawful money reserve required under any law of this State to be maintained, at all times, by State Banks and Trust Companies, shall not require such State Banks and Trust Companies as may be members of the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District embracing the State of Delaware to maintain a greater reserve than that required by the Federal Reserve Act.
Section 10. That, if said State Bank Commissioner shall, upon examination, have reason to believe that the capital of the Corporation examined has, in any way, been impaired, he shall require such corporation to make good the deficiency, within sixty days from the date upon which he serves notice to that effect. If said Corporation shall fail to comply with said notice within the time prescribed, the said Commissioner shall forthwith take possession of such Corporation, and retain such possession until such Corporation shall have made good the deficiency, or has been finally liquidated; or a Receiver shall have been appointed by due process of law to take charge of its business and affairs. The said Commissioner may cause proceedings to be instituted against such Corporation, and it shall be the duty of the Attorney General, upon the request of said Commissioner, to institute such proceedings as the nature of the case may require.
Section 11. That the said State Bank Commissioner shall make and file in his office a detailed report of each examination made by him, or by his Deputy, or Clerk, and shall furnish a copy of said report to the Corporation examined; and with respect to a State Bank or Trust Company that may be a member of the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District embracing the State of Delaware, he shall also furnish a copy of his report of the examination of such State Bank or Trust Company to such Federal Reserve Bank ; but the said Commissioner, his Deputy, and Clerk, and any additional clerks temporarily employed by said Commissioner, shall be bound by their oath of office, to keep secret all the facts and information obtained in the course of the examination, except in so far as public duty shall require a report to be made of such examination, and except when said Commissioner, his Deputy, or Clerk, or Clerks, shall be called as a witness or witnesses in any criminal proceeding. If the said Commissioner, his Deputy, or Clerk, or any one of the additional Clerks temporarily employed by said Commissioner, shall disclose anything relative to the private accounts, or transactions of such corporation, or shall disclose any facts and information discovered in the course of the examination, or shall retain in his private possession, or remove from the office of said Commissioner, copies of any letters, papers, accounts, books, or records disclosing such facts and information, except as herein provided, whether during his term of office, or employment, or thereafter, he shall be subject, upon conviction thereof, to forfeiture of his office, and to the payment of not more than one thousand dollars, or to imprisonment for not more than two years, or both; Provided, that upon the request of any State Bank or Trust Company, which desires and has made application for membership in the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District embracing the State of Delaware, or is a member of such Federal Reserve Bank, together with the request of the said Federal Reserve Bank, said Commissioner shall furnish to the said Federal Reserve Bank all the facts and information at any time in his possession concerning such State Bank or Trust Company.
Section 12. That a State Bank or Trust Company which may be a member of the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District embracing the State of Delaware, and which shall be examined by a Federal Reserve Examiner, may be exempted from examination by the said State Bank Commissioner; and the examination by such Federal Reserve Examiner may be accepted by the said Commissioner as a sufficient compliance with the requirements of this Act with respect to examinations; and a State Bank or Trust Company, whether a member of the Federal Reserve Bank or a non-member, which shall be examined by a Certified Public Accountant, may, in like manner, be exempted from examination by the said Commissioner, and an examination by such Certified Public Accountant may be accepted by the said Commissioner as a sufficient compliance with the requirements of this Act with respect to examinations; provided, that, in every case, a certified report of the examination made by a Federal Reserve Examiner, or by a Certified Public Accountant, shall be filed in the office of the said Commissioner.
Section 13. That the said State Bank Commissioner shall charge each Corporation examined by him, or by his direction, and such corporation shall pay to the said Commissioner, twenty-five dollars on the first twenty-five thousand dollars of its assets, or fraction thereof, and two cents on each one thousand dollars of its assets over twenty-five thousand dollars, for each examination made by said Commissioner, and an additional charge of twenty dollars for the examination of each branch office maintained by such Corporation, such charges to be accounted for by said Commissioner as part of the receipts of his office.
Section 14. That the said State Bank Commissioner shall make an annual report to the Governor of his official acts.
Section 15. That all Acts, or parts of Acts, inconsistent herewith be and the same are hereby repealed.
Section 16. That this Act shall take effect from and after the date of its passage.
Approved April 2, A. D. 1919.