SECTION 75.121. Savings Bank Charter

(a) Application Requirements. The charter application and all required supporting information must be executed by the proposed incorporators of the proposed savings bank which must consist of at least five adult residents of this state and must include all of the information required by Finance Code §92.051. The application must include a request for a corporate name to be approved by the Commissioner. The application must include the proposed home office of the savings bank, the identity and qualifications of the proposed managing officer(s), and any additional information the Commissioner deems necessary to enable the Commissioner to determine the matters set forth in Finance Code §92.058.

(b) Identification of Home Office; Definition of Community; Temporary Office Location. The proposed location for the home office must be specifically identified so as to exactly locate it within the community to be served. The term "community" as used in the Finance Code §92.058 means the geographical area surrounding the proposed location of the home office within which persons would be reasonably anticipated to patronize the proposed office in the ordinary course of their business. The Commissioner may approve the opening and operation of a temporary home office location for an approved charter, provided that such office is within the 1/2-mile radius of the permanent home office approved in the charter. If a temporary home office location is approved, the savings bank must promptly cease operations at such office upon the permanent home office being constructed or rendered fit for occupancy, but in any event no later than 18 months from the date the charter was approved, unless extended in writing by the Commissioner.

(c) Capital Requirements. No application to incorporate a savings bank will be approved unless the Commissioner determines the proposed savings bank has received subscriptions for capital stock and paid-in surplus in the case of a capital stock savings bank, or pledges for savings liability and expense fund in the case of a mutual savings bank, in an amount not less than the greater of the amount required to obtain insurance of deposit accounts by the FDIC or the amount required of a national bank. No savings bank with an approved charter may open or do business as a savings bank until the Commissioner certifies that the Commissioner has received satisfactory proof that the amounts of capital stock and additional paid-in capital, or the savings liability and expense fund, as set forth in this section, have been received by the savings bank in cash, free of encumbrance.

(d) Public Notice. A charter application is deemed to be a complete application for purposes of Finance Code §92.057 at the time the Department notifies the applicant that the application is complete and has been accepted for filing as provided by §75.101 of this title (relating to Application Filing Requirements). Upon receipt of such notice, the proposed incorporators must publish a public notice of the charter application as provided by §75.103 of this title (relating to Public Notice of Application), which must be published in the county where the proposed savings bank will have its home office. Such notice, when properly effected, is deemed to be the Commissioner's public notice of the application for purposes of Finance Code §92.057.

(e) Request for Hearing; Deadline to Protest. A person may protest or otherwise request a hearing on the application as provided by Finance Code §92.057. Any person desiring to protest the application or otherwise requesting a hearing on the application must file a written protest with the Department within 10 days from the date the public notice was made as provided by subsection (d) of this section, otherwise, any right or opportunity to protest or have a hearing on the application under Finance Code §92.057 is deemed waived.

(f) Hearing. If a charter application is protested or a hearing on the application is otherwise requested, the Commissioner will set a hearing on the application within 60 days after the date the protest or request for hearing and the required fee are received. The hearing is governed by the procedural requirements concerning contested cases set forth in Chapter 9 of this title (relating to Rules of Procedure for Contested Case Hearings, Appeals, and Rulemakings).

(g) Time of Decision. To the extent a hearing on the charter application is required, the Commissioner will render a decision within 30 days after the date the hearings officer issues his or her proposal for decision and the applicable time period for filing exceptions to the proposal for decision and replies to such exceptions has lapsed without the hearings officer amending the proposal for decision. Only then will the hearing be deemed to have ended for purposes of Finance Code §92.058. If a hearing on the charter application is not required, the Commissioner will render a decision within 30 days after the time period for protesting or requesting a hearing on the application lapsed as provided by Finance Code §92.057.

Source Note: The provisions of this §75.121 adopted to be effective November 20, 2022, 47 TexReg 7535