§ 396 — Change of location; change of designation of principal office; maintenance of branch office

§ 396. Change of location; change of designation of principal office;\nmaintenance of branch office. 1. Any savings and loan association may\nmake a written application to the superintendent, such application to be\naccompanied by an investigation fee as prescribed pursuant to section\neighteen-a of this chapter, for leave to change its place or one of its\nplaces of business to another place in the state or for leave to change\nthe designation of its principal office to a branch office and to change\nthe designation of one of its branch offices to its principal office.\nThe application shall state the reasons for such proposed change. Such\nchange may be made upon the written approval of the superintendent. If\nthe superintendent shall grant his or her certificate authorizing the\nchange of location, the association may, upon or after the day specified\nin the certificate, remove its property and effects to the location\ndesignated therein.\n 2. (a) A savings and loan association may open and occupy one or more\nbranch offices at any location in the state. In addition, a savings and\nloan association may open and occupy a branch office or branch offices\nin one or more places located without the state of New York.\n (b) Except for the city or village in which its principal office is\nlocated, no branch office may hereafter be opened and occupied pursuant\nto paragraph (a) of this subdivision in any city or village with a\npopulation of less than thirty thousand and in which is already located\nthe principal 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 (c) Before any branch office shall be opened and occupied pursuant to\nthis subdivision two, the superintendent shall have given his written\napproval.\n (d) The term "village" as used in this section shall mean either an\nincorporated or an unincorporated village.\n 3. (a) A savings and loan association may, if the merger or asset\nacquisition agreement so provides, and if such merger or asset\nacquisition is permitted by law, maintain as a branch office or branch\noffices the place or places of business of any savings and loan\nassociation, savings bank, federal savings bank, federal savings and\nloan association, bank, trust company, national bank, or out-of-state\nbank (as such term is defined in section two hundred twenty-two of this\nchapter) which it has received into itself pursuant to the provisions of\nthis chapter which were in existence at the time the merger or asset\nacquisition becomes effective, including any branch office of the\nsavings and loan association, savings bank, or bank or trust company\nwith which it has merged or from which it has acquired assets, which has\nbeen approved pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this\nsection or subdivision three of section two hundred forty or subdivision\ntwo of section one hundred five of this chapter, even if such branch\noffice is not in operation at the time the merger or asset acquisition\nbecomes effective and may maintain, as its principal office rather than\nas a branch office, the principal office of such institution with which\nit has merged or from which it has acquired assets (so long as the\nprincipal office is located in this state), in which event the former\nprincipal office of the receiving savings and loan association may be\nmaintained as a branch office.\n (b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in paragraph (a) of this\nsubdivision, any public accommodation office of a savings and loan\nassociation, savings bank, 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 and loan association as a public\naccommodation office only.\n 3-a. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subdivisions two and\nthree of this section, a savings and loan association may, if so\nprovided in an agreement made pursuant to section six hundred one-c of\nthis chapter, maintain as a branch office or offices the place or places\nof business of any savings bank or savings and loan association which it\nhas acquired pursuant to such agreement.\n