12 USC 3103 - Interstate banking by foreign banks

View all text of Chapter 32 [§ 3101 - § 3111]

§ 3103. Interstate banking by foreign banks

(a) Interstate branching and agency operations

(1) Federal branch or agency

(2) State branch or agency

(3) Criteria for determinationIn approving an application under paragraph (1) or (2), the Board and (in the case of an application under paragraph (1)) the Comptroller of the Currency—

(A) shall apply the standards applicable to the establishment of a foreign bank office in the United States under section 3105(d) of this title;

(B) may not approve an application unless the Board and (in the case of an application under paragraph (1)) the Comptroller of the Currency—

(i) determine that the foreign bank’s financial resources, including the capital level of the bank, are equivalent to those required for a domestic bank to be approved for branching under section 36 of this title and section 1831u of this title; and

(ii) consult with the Secretary of the Treasury regarding capital equivalency; and

(C) shall apply the same requirements and conditions to which an application for an interstate merger transaction is subject under paragraphs (1), (3), and (4) of section 1831u(b) of this title.

(4) Operation

(5) Exclusive authority for additional branches

(6) Requirement for a separate subsidiary

(7) Additional authority for interstate branches and agencies of foreign banks, upgrades of certain foreign bank agencies and branchesNotwithstanding paragraphs (1) and (2), a foreign bank may—

(A) with the approval of the Board and the Comptroller of the Currency, establish and operate a Federal branch or Federal agency or, with the approval of the Board and the appropriate State bank supervisor, a State branch or State agency in any State outside the foreign bank’s home State if—

(i) the establishment and operation of such branch or agency is permitted by the State in which the branch or agency is to be established; and

(ii) in the case of a Federal or State branch, the branch receives only such deposits as would be permitted for a corporation organized under section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act [12 U.S.C. 611 et seq.]; or

(B) with the approval of the Board and the relevant licensing authority (the Comptroller in the case of a Federal branch or the appropriate State supervisor in the case of a State branch), upgrade an agency, or a branch of the type referred to in subparagraph (A)(ii), located in a State outside the foreign bank’s home State, into a Federal or State branch if—

(i) the establishment and operation of such branch is permitted by such State; and

(ii) such agency or branch—(I) was in operation in such State on the day before September 29, 1994; or(II) has been in operation in such State for a period of time that meets the State’s minimum age requirement permitted under section 1831u(a)(5) of this title.

(8) Continuing requirement for meeting community credit needs after initial interstate entry by acquisition

(A) In general

(B) Exception for branch that receives only deposits permissible for an Edge Act corporation

(9) Home State of domestic bank definedFor purposes of this subsection, the term “home State” means—

(A) with respect to a national bank, the State in which the main office of the bank is located; and

(B) with respect to a State bank, the State by which the bank is chartered.

(b) Continuance of lawful interstate banking operations previously commenced

(1) in the case of a foreign bank that has any branch, agency, subsidiary commercial lending company, or subsidiary bank in more than 1 State, the home State of the foreign bank is the 1 State of such States which is selected to be the home State by the foreign bank or, in default of any such selection, by the Board; and

(2) in the case of a foreign bank that does not have a branch, agency, subsidiary commercial lending company, or subsidiary bank in more than 1 State, the home State of the foreign bank is the State in which the foreign bank has a branch, agency, subsidiary commercial lending company, or subsidiary bank.

(d) Clarification of branching rules in case of foreign bank with domestic bank subsidiaryIn the case of a foreign bank that has a domestic bank subsidiary within the United States—

(1) the fact that such bank controls a domestic bank shall not affect the authority of the foreign bank to establish Federal and State branches or agencies to the extent permitted under subsection (a); and

(2) the fact that the domestic bank is controlled by a foreign bank which has Federal or State branches or agencies in States other than the home State of such domestic bank shall not affect the authority of the domestic bank to establish branches outside the home State of the domestic bank to the extent permitted under section 36(g) of this title or section 1828(d)(4) or 1831u of this title, as the case may be.

(Pub. L. 95–369, § 5, Sept. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 613; Pub. L. 103–328, title I, §§ 104, 107(f), Sept. 29, 1994, 108 Stat. 2354, 2361; Pub. L. 106–102, title VII, § 732, Nov. 12, 1999, 113 Stat. 1478.)