§ 7 — Articles of consolidation or merger

Section 7. For any consolidation or merger under the preceding sections, articles of consolidation or merger shall be filed with the state secretary which shall set forth the due adoption of an agreement of consolidation or merger and shall state: (i) the names of the corporations and the name of the resulting or surviving corporation; (ii) the effective date of the consolidation or merger determined pursuant to the agreement of consolidation or merger; and (iii) any amendment to the articles of organization of the surviving corporation to be effected pursuant to the agreement of merger. Such articles of consolidation or merger shall be signed by the president or a vice president and the clerk or an assistant clerk of each corporation, who shall state under the penalties of perjury that the agreement of consolidation or merger has been duly executed on behalf of such corporation and has been approved as required.The form on which articles of consolidation or merger are filed shall also contain the following information which shall not for any purpose be treated as a permanent part of the articles of organization of the resulting or surviving corporation:(1) the post office address of the initial principal office of the resulting or surviving corporation in the commonwealth;(2) the name, of each of the initial trustees or directors and the president, treasurer and clerk of the resulting or surviving corporation;(3) the fiscal year of the resulting or surviving corporation initially adopted; and(4) the date initially fixed in the by-laws for the annual meeting of the shareholders or members of the resulting or surviving corporation.The consolidation or merger shall become effective when the articles of consolidation or merger are filed in accordance with sections 1.23 and 1.25 of chapter 156D, unless said articles specify a later effective date, in which event the consolidation or merger shall become effective upon such later date. Upon consolidation of any such institutions, as herein provided:(A) the corporate existence of all but 1 of the consolidating institutions shall be discontinued and consolidated into that of the remaining institution, which shall continue; provided, however, that all and singular the rights, privileges and franchises of each discontinuing institution and its right, title and interest to all property of whatever kind, whether real, personal or mixed, and things in action, and every right, privilege, interest or asset of conceivable value or benefit then existing which would inure to it under an unconsolidated existence, shall be deemed fully, finally and without any right of reversion transferred to or vested in the continuing institution, without further act or deed, and such continuing institution shall have and hold the same in its own right as fully as if the same was possessed and held by the discontinuing institution from which it was, by operation of the provisions hereof, transferred, and other provisions of law relative to limitations on the number of directors, corporators or trustees and on the investment of funds of such institutions shall not apply;(B) a discontinuing institution's rights, obligations and relations to any shareholder, depositor, creditor, trustee or beneficiary of any trust or other person, as of the effective date of the consolidation, shall remain unimpaired, and the continuing institution shall, by the consolidation, succeed to all such relations, obligations and liabilities, as though it had itself assumed the relation or incurred the obligation or liability; and its liabilities and obligations to creditors existing for any cause whatsoever shall not be impaired by the consolidation; nor shall any obligation or liability of any shareholder or depositor in any such institution, continuing or discontinuing, which is party to the consolidation, be affected by any consolidation; provided, however, that such obligations and liabilities shall continue as fully and to the same extent as the same existed before the consolidation, and the provisions relative to the limitations on shares and deposits shall not apply;(C) a pending action or other judicial proceeding to which any of the consolidating institutions is a party shall not be deemed to have abated or to have discontinued by reason of the consolidation, but may be prosecuted to final judgment, order or decree in the same manner as if the consolidation has not been made; or the continuing institution may be substituted as a party to any such action or proceeding to which the discontinuing institution was a party and any judgment, order or decree may be rendered for or against the continuing institution that might have been rendered for or against such discontinuing institution if such consolidation had not occurred;(D) after such consolidation, a foreclosure of a mortgage begun by any discontinuing institution may be completed by the continuing institution and publication begun by the discontinuing institution may be continued in the name of the discontinuing institution and any certificate of possession, affidavit of sale or foreclosure deed relative to such foreclosure shall be executed by the proper officers on behalf of whichever of such institution actually took possession or made the sale, but any such instrument executed on behalf of the continuing institution shall recite that it is the successor of the discontinuing institution which commenced the foreclosure;(E) a new name may be adopted as the name of the continuing institution at the special meetings called as herein provided and it shall become the name of the continuing institution upon the approval of the consolidation, without further action under the laws of the commonwealth as to change or adoption of a new name on the part of the continuing institution; and(F) any consolidation may be approved and effected pursuant to this section, notwithstanding that the percentage which the aggregate value of the guaranty fund, surplus and other reserves, of any of the consolidating institutions, bears to its liabilities including share liabilities, exceeds such percentage of any of the other consolidating institutions and any consolidating institution having such an excess of percentage shall not be required to make any distribution to its shareholders or depositors.