§ 105 — Branch offices; prohibition against doing business at unauthorized places

§ 105. Branch offices; prohibition against doing business at\nunauthorized places. 1. (a) No bank or trust company or officer,\ndirector, agent or employee thereof, shall transact any part of its\nusual business of banking at any place other than its principal office,\nexcept that a bank or trust company may open and occupy one or more\nbranch offices at any location in the state, provided: (i) that the\nrequirements of section twenty-nine of this chapter are met and (ii)\nthat, except for the city or village in which its principal office is\nlocated, in no event shall a branch be opened and occupied pursuant to\nthis subdivision in a city or village with a population of fifty\nthousand or less in which is already located the principal office of\nanother bank, trust company or national banking association, other than\na bank holding company, if such bank holding company is a banking\ninstitution, or a banking subsidiary of a bank holding company (as such\nterms "bank holding company", "banking institution" and "banking\nsubsidiary" are defined in section one hundred forty-one of this\nchapter) except that the definition of "bank holding company" is\nmodified to change the phrase "a banking institution" wherever it\nappears therein to "two or more banking institutions" and the definition\nof "banking institution" is modified to add a national banking\nassociation, the principal office of which institution is located in\nthis state, except, in the case of a conversion pursuant to the\nprovisions of this article, branch offices occupied immediately prior\nthereto or except for the purpose of acquiring by merger, sale or\notherwise the business and property of a bank, trust company or national\nbanking association, whether in liquidation or doing business in the\nusual course.\n (b) An office of an affiliated bank at which the customers of a bank\nor trust company may make deposits, renew time deposits, make\nwithdrawals, close loans, service loans, and receive payments on loans\nand other obligations shall not be deemed a branch office of such bank\nor trust company. For the purposes of this section, the term "affiliated\nbank" means any bank, as such term is defined in section 3(a)(1) of the\nFederal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(a)(1)), that is a\nsubsidiary of the same bank holding company, as that term is defined in\nsection 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1841).\n 2. Hereafter before any branch or branches shall be opened and\noccupied pursuant to subdivision one of this section the superintendent\nshall have given his written approval as provided in article two of this\nchapter.\n 3. (a) Any bank or trust company may with the written approval of the\nsuperintendent, open and occupy a branch office or branch offices in one\nor more places located without the state of New York, either in the\nUnited States of America or in foreign countries.\n (b) If any bank or trust company has opened and occupied a branch\noffice in a foreign country pursuant to the provisions of paragraph (a)\nof this subdivision, it may, unless otherwise advised by the\nsuperintendent, open and occupy an additional branch office or branch\noffices in such country without having to apply for the approval of the\nsuperintendent, provided that it gives the superintendent notice of at\nleast thirty days (or such shorter period as the superintendent in\nindividual cases may approve) before opening and occupying any such\nadditional branch office.\n 4. The term "village" as used in this section shall mean either an\nincorporated or an unincorporated village.\n 5. (a) A bank or trust company may, if the merger or asset acquisition\nis permitted by law, and if the merger or asset acquisition agreement so\nprovides, maintain as a branch office or branch offices or trust office\nor trust offices, the place or places of business of any bank, trust\ncompany, safe deposit company, national banking association,\nout-of-state state bank or out-of-state trust company (as such terms are\ndefined in section two hundred twenty-two of this chapter), savings\nbank, or savings and loan association, federal savings bank or federal\nsavings and loan association which it has received into itself by merger\nor by acquisition of assets thereof pursuant to the provisions of this\nchapter and, if the merger or acquisition agreement so provides, may\nmaintain, as its principal office rather than as a branch or trust\noffice, the principal office of such banking institution with which it\nhas merged or from which it has acquired assets (so long as such\nprincipal office is located in this state), in which event the former\nprincipal office of the receiving or acquiring bank or trust company may\nbe maintained as a branch office. A state bank or trust company\nresulting from the conversion of a national banking association may, if\nthe conversion agreement so provides, maintain as a branch office or\nbranch offices or trust office or trust offices the place or places of\nbusiness of the national banking association. As used in this\nsubdivision, the term "place or places of business" shall include any\nbranch office or trust office of the banking institution that was\nconverted, merged or the assets of which were acquired which has been\napproved pursuant to this chapter or federal law or the law of another\nstate, as the case may be, even if such branch office or trust office is\nnot in operation at the time said merger, asset acquisition or\nconversion becomes effective.\n (b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, any public accommodation office of a merging or acquired\nbanking organization or association, including any such office which has\nbeen approved pursuant to section one hundred ninety-one of this chapter\nbut which is not in operation at the time said merger or acquisition\nbecomes effective, may be maintained by the receiving or acquiring bank\nor trust company as a public accommodation office only.\n