Section 26-C206. BRANCHES, ADDITIONAL OFFICES (DISTRICT BANKS AND SAVINGS AND LOANS) AND CERTIFICATES OF AUTHORITY (FOREIGN SAVINGS AND LOANS)

 

206.1No financial institution organized under the laws of the District of Columbia shall establish a branch or additional office without prior approval of the Commissioner in accordance with this section.  No foreign association shall establish a branch or other office in the District of Columbia, nor shall such an association make loans of any kind or transact any savings and loan or building and loan association business within the District of Columbia without prior approval by the Commissioner.

 

206.2Application to conduct any of the activities described in subsection 206.1 of these rules shall be made by filing with the Commissioner a Form 1, for approval.

 

206.3Applications shall be accompanied by a business plan that meets the requirements of subsection 201.3 of these rules.

 

206.4Applications under this section shall be deemed to be privileged and confidential until publication of the notice required by subsection 206.9 of these rules. In the event that no publication is required, the application shall be deemed privileged and confidential until the preliminary approval referred to in subsection 206.8 of these rules has been granted.

 

206.5An application under this section shall be approved or disapproved by the Commissioner within sixty (60) days after publication of the notice required by subsection 206.9 of these rules unless the Commissioner, with respect to a particular application, extends such period. In the event that no publication is required, the application shall be approved or disapproved within sixty (60) days after filing.

 

206.6No application for permission to open a branch or office under this section shall be approved if, at the date on which such application is filed with the Commissioner the applicant does not submit in support of its application evidence giving reasonable assurance that the proposed branch or office, if approved, will be opened within 6 months after the date on which the application is approved. The Commissioner may extend this period for good cause.

 

206.7No application for permission to establish a branch or office shall be approved if, in the opinion of the Commissioner, the policies, condition, management, ownership or operation of the applicant afford a basis for supervisory objection to the application or if approval would have an adverse impact on the safety and soundness of the financial institution or would adversely impact the convenience and needs of the public.

 

206.8Upon determination by the Commissioner that an application under this section is complete, that the applicant is eligible and if it has been preliminarily determined that there is no basis for supervisory objection to approval of the application, the Commissioner shall advise the applicant that the application has been preliminarily approved.

 

206.9If the application is for permission to open a branch, office or additional office, the Commissioner shall inform the applicant of the preliminary approval and shall advise the applicant, in writing, to publish, within fifteen (15) days from the date of such advice, in at least one (1) newspaper printed in the English language and having general circulation in the community to be served by the proposed branch or office, a notice of the filing of the application in the following form:

 

Notice of Filing of [Branch] [Office] Application

Notice is hereby given that, pursuant to section 206 of the Rules of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, the [Bank] [Association] of __________, has filed an application with the Commissioner of the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking for the District of Columbia for permission to establish a [branch] [office] at, or in the immediate vicinity of, __________.

 

The application has been delivered to the Commissioner at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, located at 810 First Street, N.E., Suite 810, Washington, D.C.  20002. Any person may file communications in favor or in protest of said application at the aforesaid Office within twenty (20) days after the date of this publication.

 

A hearing, in Washington, D.C., may be held if any interested person, within (20) days after the publication of this notice, files a written protest which is coupled with a request for a hearing. The complete application, together with all communications in favor or in protest thereof, are available for inspection by interested persons at the aforesaid Department.

 

[Bank] [Association]

 

206.10Within twenty (20) days after the date of publication of said notice, any person may file, at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking, communications in favor or in protest of the application.

 

206.11Within ten (10) days after publication of the notice, the applicant shall transmit one copy thereof to the Commissioner accompanied by one copy of a publisher's affidavit of publication.

 

206.12The application, together with all communications in favor or in protest thereof, shall be available at the Department of Insurance, Securities and Banking during regular working hours for inspection by interested persons following the date of publication of the notice required in subsection 206.9 of these rules.

 

206.13A hearing shall be held upon an application under this section in any case in which a written protest requesting a hearing has been filed with the Commissioner in accordance with subsection 206.10 of these rules, unless the Commissioner, for good cause, determines that a hearing is not necessary. Notice of the hearing shall be published in the D.C. Register and shall be sent to the applicant and to all persons who have timely filed written statements protesting approval of the application.

 

206.14In any case in which the Commissioner has disapproved an application without a hearing, a hearing may be held, at the discretion of the Commissioner, if such hearing is requested by the applicant within thirty (30) days after receipt by it of advice that the Commissioner has disapproved the application.

 

206.15Not withstanding any other provision of this section, the Commissioner may at any time, in the Commissioner's discretion, order a hearing on any application under this section.

 

206.16Hearings shall be conducted in accordance with sections 404, 405, and 406 of these rules.

 

206.17Upon a determination by the Commissioner that a financial institution organized under the laws of the District of Columbia applying for permission to open a branch or additional office has satisfied the requirements of this section, the Commissioner shall issue a notice of approval to the financial institution.

 

206.18Upon a determination by the Commissioner that a foreign association has satisfied the applicable requirements of this section and those contained in D.C. Official Code § 26-206 (2001), the Commissioner shall issue a Certificate of Authority to the association.

 

206.19Certificates of Authority issued under this section shall be issued for a period of one year; they may be renewed annually, in accordance with D.C. Official Code § 26-206(b) (2001).

 

source

Final Rulemaking published at 35 DCR 6276, 6284-6287 (August 19, 1988).