§ 240 — Restrictions as to place of business; branch offices

§ 240. Restrictions as to place of business; branch offices. 1. A\nsavings bank shall not be located in the same room with or in a room\nconnecting with any bank, trust company or national bank, unless it be a\nsavings bank lawfully so located when this act takes effect. The\nprohibitions of this subdivision shall not apply to automated teller\nmachines, point-of-sale terminals and similar facilities established\npursuant to section one hundred five-a, two hundred forty-a or three\nhundred ninety-six-a of this chapter or pursuant to any federal law\nauthorizing a national bank to operate a similar facility.\n 2. No savings bank, or trustee, officer, agent or employee thereof,\nshall transact any part of its usual business of banking at any place\nother than its principal office except as follows:\n (a) A savings bank may open and occupy one or more branch offices at\nany location in the state. In addition, a savings bank may open and\noccupy a branch office or branch offices in one or more places located\nwithout the state of New York.\n (b) An office of an affiliated bank at which the customers of a\nsavings bank may make deposits, renew time deposits, make withdrawals,\nclose loans, service loans, and receive payments on loans and other\nobligations shall not be deemed a branch office of such savings bank.\nFor the purposes of this section, the term "affiliated bank" means any\nbank, as such term is defined in section 3(a)(1) of the Federal Deposit\nInsurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(a)(1)), that is a subsidiary of the same\nbank holding company, as that term is defined in section 2 of the Bank\nHolding Company Act (12 U.S.C. 1841).\n (c) Except for the city or village in which its principal office is\nlocated, no branch office may be opened and occupied pursuant to\nparagraph (a) of this subdivision in any city or village with a\npopulation of fifty thousand or less and in which is already located the\nprincipal office of a bank, trust company or national banking\nassociation, other than a bank holding company, if such bank holding\ncompany is a banking institution, or a banking subsidiary of a bank\nholding company, as such terms "bank holding company", "banking\ninstitution" and "banking subsidiary" are defined in section one hundred\nforty-one of this chapter except that the definition of "bank holding\ncompany" is modified to change the phrase "a banking institution"\nwherever it appears therein to "two or more banking institutions" and\nthe definition of "banking institution" is modified to add a national\nbanking association, the principal office of which institution is\nlocated in this state.\n (d) (1) If so provided in the merger or asset acquisition plan\nsubmitted to the superintendent pursuant to section six hundred one or\nsix hundred one-a of this chapter, and if such merger or asset\nacquisition is permitted by law, a savings bank may, in addition to the\nauthority granted under paragraph (a) of this subdivision, and without\nlimitation by any of the provisions of paragraph (c) of this\nsubdivision, maintain as a branch office, or branch offices, the place\nor places of business of any savings bank or savings and loan\nassociation, federal savings bank, federal savings and loan association,\nbank, trust company, national bank, or out-of-state state bank (as such\nterm is defined in section two hundred twenty-two of this chapter) which\nit has received into itself by merger or asset acquisition pursuant to\nthis chapter which were in existence at the time the merger or asset\nacquisition becomes effective, including any branch office of the\nsavings bank, savings and loan association, or bank or trust company\nwith which it has merged or from which it has acquired assets which has\nbeen approved pursuant to subdivision three of this section or paragraph\n(c) of subdivision two of section three hundred ninety-six, or\nsubdivision two of section one hundred five of this chapter even if such\nbranch office is not in operation at the time said merger or asset\nacquisition becomes effective and may maintain, as its principal office\nrather than as a branch office, the principal office of such institution\nwith which it has merged or from which it has acquired assets (so long\nas the principal office is located in this state), in which event the\nformer principal office of the receiving savings bank may be maintained\nas a branch office.\n (2) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subparagraph one of\nthis paragraph, any public accommodation office of a savings bank,\nsavings and loan association, or bank or trust company which has been\nmerged or had assets acquired in an asset acquisition transaction,\nincluding any such office which has been approved pursuant to section\none hundred ninety-one of this chapter but which is not in operation at\nthe time said merger or asset acquisition becomes effective, may be\nmaintained by the receiving savings bank as a public accommodation\noffice only.\n (e) If so provided in an agreement submitted to the superintendent\npursuant to section six hundred one-c of this chapter, a savings bank\nmay, in addition to the authority granted under paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, and without limitation by any of the provisions of\nparagraph (a) or (c) of this subdivision, maintain as a branch office or\noffices the place or places of business of any savings bank or savings\nand loan association which it has acquired pursuant to such agreement as\nauthorized by section six hundred one-c of this chapter.\n 3. Before any branch office shall be opened and occupied pursuant to\nparagraph (a) of subdivision two of this section, the superintendent\nshall have given his written approval.\n 4. The term "village" as used in this section shall mean either an\nincorporated or an unincorporated village.\n