§ 28-C — Branch office closings; report to and action by the superintendent

§ 28-c. Branch office closings; report to and action by the\nsuperintendent. 1. This section is intended to provide the\nsuperintendent with detailed information concerning the planned closing\nof branch offices by state-chartered banking organizations, the\navailability of alternative financial services within the general area\nserved by such branch and the economic impact upon the community\nresulting from such closing, and to provide the superintendent with\nauthority to conduct meetings with banking organizations and community\ngroups in areas where a branch closing is planned. The requirements of\nthis section shall not apply to the following:\n (a) branch offices located outside the state of New York;\n (b) a sale or other transfer of a branch office which does not result\nin any material reduction in the financial services offered at such\nlocation;\n (c) the closing of a branch office acquired from a failing or failed\ninstitution, provided that such closing occurs within one hundred eighty\ndays from the date of the acquisition; or\n (d) the closing of a branch office when unexpected circumstances make\nstrict compliance impossible, provided that such determination shall be\nsolely within the discretion of the superintendent and provided further\nthat the superintendent may require the banking organization to comply\nwith the requirements of this section to the extent possible.\n 2. Every banking organization shall submit to the superintendent a\nreport of its planned or intended closing of a branch office, and shall\ngive written notice to any person who maintains a banking account\nrelationship with such branch office which is the subject of such\nplanned or intended closing, no less than ninety days nor more than one\nhundred eighty days prior to the date of actual closing. The banking\norganization shall post and keep posted in a conspicuous place notice of\nsuch planned closing at such branch office, commencing on the date the\nbanking organization submits its report pursuant to the foregoing\nprovision and until the proposed closing is effected or withdrawn.\n 3. Such report shall be in writing and shall contain a statement of\nthe reasons leading to the decision to close the branch and any\nstatistical or other information in support thereof. Such report shall\nbe and remain at all times subject to the provisions of subdivision ten\nof section thirty-six of this chapter. Such report shall also contain\nthe following information, provided that the superintendent may waive or\nmodify these requirements for good cause:\n (a) a past (at least three years), present and projected financial\nanalysis of deposits at such branch (giving number of accounts and\ndollar amount, profits and losses);\n (b) a past (at least three years), present and projected financial\nanalysis of profits and losses relating to the loan activity at such\nbranch;\n (c) a detailed map of the general area served by such branch showing\nthe distance and direction of all remaining state or federally chartered\ninstitutions within such area and any licensee of the department which\nprovides financial services of any kind; and\n (d) a description of any planned limited or full service banking\nfacility to be opened within such area by either the reporting banking\norganization or, if known, to the reporting banking organization, by any\nother banking institution.\n 4. The superintendent shall make a finding as to whether or not the\nproposed branch closing will result in a significant reduction of\nfinancial services in the community to be affected. Such finding shall\nbe made public. If the superintendent finds that the availability of\nfinancial services in a particular geographic area or community will be\nsignificantly reduced by the closing of a particular branch office, he\nor she shall conduct such meetings with banking organizations and\ncommunity leaders as are necessary, in his or her judgment, to explore\nthe feasibility of replacing such branch with other adequate banking\nfacilities.\n 5. In this section:\n (a) "banking organization" includes each bank, trust company, savings\nbank, and savings and loan association as those terms are defined in\nsection two of this chapter and each out-of-state state bank authorized\nto operate and maintain a branch pursuant to article five-C of this\nchapter;\n (b) "branch office", "branch", or "office" shall not include\nelectronic facilities as defined by general regulation of the\nsuperintendent of financial services, but shall include a public\naccommodation office;\n (c) "financial services" includes demand and time deposit accounts,\ncheck cashing services, deposit and withdrawal transactions, sale of\nbank or travellers checks and money orders, processing loan\napplications, acceptance of loan repayments, and any related services;\nand\n (d) "facility" and "facilities" includes any building, structure,\nvehicle, unit, machine, or device, permanent or temporary, mobile or\nstationary, which provides or dispenses financial services of any kind\nor description.\n 6. No provision of this section or any rule or regulation adopted\npursuant thereto shall be deemed or construed as impairing the ability\nof any banking organization to close any branch office after complying\nwith the provisions of subdivision two of this section.\n