Title 6. Banks and Trust Companies
§6-101. Short title.
This act may be cited as the "Oklahoma Banking Code".
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 101. Amended by Laws 1997, c. 111, § 1, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 205, § 1, emerg. eff. May 17, 2000.
§6-102. Definitions.
As used in the Banking Code unless the context otherwise requires:
1. "Acquisition" or "acquire" means any act or action with respect to the ownership or control of a bank or the purchase of its assets and the assumption of its liabilities which would require the approval of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System under the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, or the Office of Thrift Supervision under the Savings and Loan Holding Company Act, as amended;
2. "Action" in the sense of a judicial proceeding includes recoupment, counterclaim, third-party claims, cross claims, setoff, suit in equity, arbitration and any other proceedings in which rights are determined;
3. "Bank" means any bank authorized and chartered by the laws of this state to engage in the banking business, or any bank chartered by the office of the Comptroller of the Currency with its main office in this state;
4. "Banking company" means any bank;
5. "Bank holding company" means any Oklahoma corporation which directly or indirectly owns or controls at least one bank or out-of-state bank as defined in this section;
6. "Board" when used with an initial capital letter means the Banking Board of this state;
7. "Branch bank" means any place of business separated from the main office of a bank at which deposits are received, or checks paid or money lent;
8. "Capital" shall include the paid-in common capital stock account, preferred stock account, surplus account, undivided profits account, capital reserves (other than contingency reserves), allowance for possible loan losses and mandatory convertible instruments that are convertible into common stock. "Capital" shall also include all other approved subordinated notes and debentures, having an original weighted average maturity of at least seven (7) years, to the extent their maturity date exceeds five (5) years. As such notes and debentures approach maturity of less than five (5) years, they shall be considered "capital" in proportion to their years to maturity as it bears to five (5) years;
9. "Commissioner" means the State Banking Commissioner appointed and serving pursuant to this act, who shall be the Commissioner of Banking and who shall administer and enforce the applicable provisions of this act;
10. "Community" means a city, town or incorporated village of this state, or a trade area in this state in unincorporated territory;
11. "Company" means any corporation, association, partnership, business trust or similar organization, but shall not include any corporation, the majority of the shares of which are owned by the United States or by any state;
12. "Compliance review committee" means:
a. an audit, loan review or compliance committee appointed by the Board of Directors of an insured depository institution, or
b. any other person to the extent the person acts in an investigatory capacity at the direction of a compliance review committee;
13. "Compliance review documents" means documents prepared for or created by a compliance review committee;
14. "Confusingly similar name" means:
a. as applied to the name of any bank, a name which is identical to that of any other bank located within this state, or a name which:
(1) contains one or more of the following words with or without the words "State," "National," or "Trust": American, Central, Citizens, City, Commerce, Commercial, Community, Exchange, Farmers & Merchants, First, Guaranty, Oklahoma, Peoples, Security or United,
(2) does not contain a geographical name (other than "Oklahoma") descriptive of the immediate location of the bank (street, town, city, county or other local geographical name),
(3) does not contain other unique or clearly distinguished words or marks, and
(4) is not a federally registered trade name, trademark or service mark owned by or licensed to the particular bank,
b. as applied to the name of any person not a bank, a name which is confusingly similar in spelling or wording or sound to the name of any bank located anywhere within this state, if such name would tend to suggest falsely to the public that the person is a bank or is affiliated with the bank, directly or indirectly. However, nothing contained in this subsection shall prohibit the use of a similar name by a corporation which is in a relationship to the bank of parent, subsidiary, brother-sister corporation or other commonly controlled company, or
c. notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subparagraph a or b of this paragraph, the name or shortened name of a bank shall not be considered confusingly similar when used in conjunction with a federally registered trademark or service mark owned by or licensed to the particular bank. Proof of ownership or license of a federally registered mark must be provided to the Banking Department.
The Board shall promulgate rules which govern the use of "confusingly similar names" as defined in this paragraph;
15. "Consumer banking electronic facility" means any electronic device owned, operated, leased by or on the behalf of a bank, savings association, or credit union other than a telephone or modem operated by a customer of a depository institution, to which a person may initiate an electronic fund transfer. The term includes without limitations, a point-of-sale terminal, automatic teller machines, automated loan machines, video banking centers, or any other similar electronic devices;
16. "Continuing bank" means a merging bank the charter of which becomes the charter of the resulting bank;
17. "Control" means control as such term is defined under the Federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, 12 U.S.C., Section 1841;
18. "Converting bank" means a bank converting from a state to a national bank, or the reverse;
19. "Court" means a court of competent jurisdiction;
20. "Department" means the Oklahoma State Banking Department created by this Code;
21. "Deposits" means all demand, time and savings deposits of individuals, partnerships, corporations, the United States and states and political subdivisions of the United States, deposits of banks, foreign governments, institutions, deposits held by foreign banking offices or corporations organized pursuant to 12 U.S.C., Sections 601 through 604a, or Sections 611 through 631, as amended. Determinations of deposits shall be made by the Commissioner by reference to regulatory reports of condition or similar reports filed by banks or savings associations with state or federal regulatory agencies;
22. "Emergency" means any condition or occurrence which may interfere physically with the conduct of normal business operations at one or more or all of the offices of a bank or an out-of-state bank, or which poses an imminent or existing threat to the safety or security of persons or property, or both. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, an emergency may arise as a result of any one or more of the following: fires; floods; earthquakes; hurricanes; wind, rain or snow storms; labor disputes and strikes; power failures; transportation failures; interruptions of communication facilities; shortages of fuel, housing, food, transportation or labor; robberies or attempted robberies; actual or threatened enemy attack; epidemics or other catastrophes; riots, civil commotions and other acts of lawlessness or violence, actual or threatened;
23. "Executive officer", when referring to a bank, out-of-state bank, or trust company, means any person designated as such in the bylaws and includes, whether or not so designated, the chairman of the board of directors, chairman of the executive committee, the president, any vice-president, the trust officer, the treasurer, the cashier, the comptroller and the secretary, or any person who performs the duties appropriate to those offices;
24. "Federal Reserve Act" means the Act of Congress approved December 23, 1913, (38 Stat. 251), as amended;
25. "Federal Reserve Bank" means the Federal Reserve Banks created and organized under authority of the Federal Reserve Act;
26. "Federal Reserve Board" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System created and described in the Federal Reserve Act, as amended;
27. "Fiduciary" means original or successor trustee of an expressed or implied trust, including, but not limited to, a resulting or constructive trust, special administrator, executor, administrator, administrator common trust agreement, guardian, guardian-trustee or conservator for a minor or other incompetent person, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for creditors or any holder of a similar position of trust acting alone or with others;
28. "General obligation" means obligations of the State of Oklahoma or a political subdivision of this state and of any other state or political subdivision thereof supported by the full faith and credit of the obligor. It includes all obligations payable from a special fund when the full faith and credit of a state or any political subdivision of a state is obligated for payment into the fund of amounts which will be sufficient to provide for all required payments in connection with the obligation. It implies an obligor possessing resources sufficient to justify faith and credit;
29. "Good faith" means honesty in fact in the transaction and some reasonable ground for belief that the transaction is rightful or authorized;
30. "Insolvent" means that the actual cash market value of a bank's assets is insufficient to pay its liabilities other than its capital stock, surplus and undivided profits, or that the bank is unable to meet the demands of its creditors in the usual course of business;
31. "Insured depository institution" means any bank or savings association the deposits of which are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation;
32. "Interstate merger transaction" means a merger between two banks, two savings associations or a bank and a savings association, one of which is chartered by or has its main office located in this state, and the other of which is an out-of-state bank as defined in this section;
33. "Investment securities" means marketable obligations in the form of bonds, notes or debentures which are commonly regarded as investment securities. It does not include investments which are predominantly speculative in nature;
34. "Item" means any instrument for the payment of money even though not negotiable, but does not include money;
35. "Legal newspaper" means a newspaper qualified to publish legal notices under the provisions of Section 106 of Title 25 of the Oklahoma Statutes;
36. "Loan review committee" means a person or group of persons who, on behalf of an insured depository institution, reviews loans held by such institution for the purpose of assessing the credit quality of the loans, compliance with the loan policies of such institution, and compliance with the applicable state and federal laws, regulations and rules;
37. "Local media" means:
a. any newspaper, radio station or television station with its main office located in the same city or town in which a particular main office of a bank is located, and
b. other means or media of advertising, including without limitation any outdoor signage on the premises of the bank, billboards, bulk mailings and other solicitations to persons who are not customers of the bank, but only to the extent that any such advertising is strictly limited in geographical location or distribution to the same city or town, including the immediate surrounding unincorporated rural area, where the particular main office of the bank is located;
38. "Main bank" means the office location which has been designated by the State Banking Commissioner or Comptroller of the Currency as the main office of a bank;
39. "Main office" means either the main bank or the main office location of a savings association;
40. "Managing officer" means the chief executive officer of the bank;
41. "Member bank" means any national bank, state bank or banking and trust company which becomes a member of the Federal Reserve System;
42. "Merger" includes consolidation;
43. "Military banking facility" means a facility maintained by a bank upon a military installation, provided the facility must be within the confines of a military reservation and located upon property owned or leased by the United States government;
44. "Mobile" means the ability to be moved, picked up, rolled, pulled or driven;
45. "Multibank holding company" means an Oklahoma corporation which directly or indirectly owns or controls two or more banks, two or more bank holding companies, or one or more of each as defined in this section;
46. "National Bank Examiner" or "Federal Bank Examiner" means any person employed as a bank examiner by the Comptroller of the Currency, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve Board or Bank;
47. "Office" means any place at which a bank or an out-of-state bank transacts its business or conducts operations related to its business;
48. "Officer", when referring to a bank, out-of-state bank or trust company, means any person designated as such in the bylaws and includes, whether or not so designated, any executive officer, the chairman of the board of directors, the chairman of the executive committee, and any trust officer, assistant trust officer, assistant vice-president, assistant treasurer, assistant cashier, assistant comptroller, assistant secretary, auditor or any person who performs the duties appropriate to those offices;
49. "Order" means all, or any part, of the final disposition, whether affirmative, negative, injunctive or declaratory in form, by the Commissioner or the Banking Board, of any matter other than the making of regulations of general application;
50. "Out-of-state bank" means a national bank or a state or federal savings association which has its main office located in a state other than Oklahoma, or a bank chartered by a state other than Oklahoma;
51. "Out-of-state bank holding company" means a bank holding company which is not incorporated in this state and which directly or indirectly owns or controls one or more banks or out-of-state banks as defined in this section;
52. "Person" means an individual, group of individuals, board, committee, partnership, firm, association, corporation or other entity;
53. "Political subdivision" includes a county, city, town or other municipal corporation, a public authority, and generally any publicly owned entity which is an instrumentality of the state or a municipal corporation;
54. "Principal place of business of a bank or a bank holding company" means the state in which the total deposits of the bank or the bank subsidiaries of the bank holding company are the largest;
55. "Reason to know" means that upon the information available a person of ordinary intelligence in the particular business, or of the superior intelligence or experience which the person in question may have, would infer that the fact in question exists or that there is such a substantial chance of its existence that, if exercising reasonable care with reference to the matter in question, conduct would be predicated upon the assumption of its possible existence;
56. "Resulting bank" means the combined banks and trust companies carrying on business upon completion of a merger;
57. "Retailer" means a person, corporation or partnership, primarily engaged in the sale of goods at retail to the general public;
58. "Savings association" means any savings and loan association or savings bank chartered under the laws of this state or the laws of the United States authorized to engage in the savings and loan business with its main office located in this state;
59. "Savings association branch" means any place of business separated from the main office of a savings association at which deposits are received, checks paid or money lent;
60. "Subsidiary" with respect to a specified bank holding company or multibank holding company means a subsidiary as the term is defined in the Federal Reserve Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, 12 U.S.C., Section 1841; and
61. "Trust company" means:
a. any person doing a trust company business as set forth in this Code except an incorporated or unincorporated organization which is organized under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code as being organized and operated exclusively for educational, religious, charitable, or other eleemosynary purposes when exercising powers pursuant to the Oklahoma Charitable Fiduciary Act and the Oklahoma General Corporation Act, and
b. the trust departments of banks authorized to engage in the trust company business.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 102. Amended by Laws 1968, c. 93, § 1, emerg. eff. April 1, 1968; Laws 1976, c. 31, § 1, emerg. eff. March 17, 1976; Laws 1982, c. 223, § 1; Laws 1983, c. 73, § 1, emerg. eff. April 29, 1983; Laws 1986, c. 316, § 1, emerg. eff. June 24, 1986; Laws 1996, c. 92, § 1, eff. June 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 2, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 205, § 2, emerg. eff. May 17, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 67, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2002.
§6-103. Repealed by Laws 1997, c. 111, § 113, eff. July 1, 1997.
§6-104. Effect on existing banks and trust companies - Registration of bank or trust-related activities.
A. The certificates, permits and charters of state banks and trust companies heretofore organized under the laws of the state and existing before August 31, 1965, shall continue in full force and effect. All such state banks and trust companies, and, to the extent applicable, all national banks now or hereafter doing business in this state, shall from August 31, 1965, be subject to the provisions and requirements of this Code in every particular as if organized under this act.
B. Any bank, bank holding company, trust company or business association not holding a charter of authority to engage in banking or trust company business in this state shall register with the Commissioner, on a form provided by the Commissioner and pay a registration fee in an amount set by rule of the Board, all bank or trust-related activities conducted in this state by the bank, bank holding company, trust company, business association, or any subsidiary or affiliate thereof.
C. Bank or trust-related activities include receiving deposits, transaction accounts, making loans, issuing debentures or other evidence of debt, holding funds or other property in trust, acting in a fiduciary capacity, or conducting in any other manner banking, or bank or trust-related activities.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 104. Amended by Laws 1980, c. 360, § 1, emerg. eff. June 27, 1980; Laws 1984, c. 133, § 1, eff. Oct. 1, 1984; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 3, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2005, c. 48, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2005.
§6-105. Repealed by Laws 1980, c. 68, § 1, emerg. eff. April 10, 1980.
§6-106. Repealed by Laws 1980, c. 68, § 1, emerg. eff. April 10, 1980.
§6-107. Repealed by Laws 1997, c. 111, § 113, eff. July 1, 1997.
§6-201. Establishment - Officers and employees.
A. There shall be a Banking Department, with a main office located at 2900 North Lincoln Boulevard, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, which shall be a separate department of the state government charged with supervision of the activities in this state as provided in the Oklahoma Banking Code of 1997 and in other legislation conferring jurisdiction upon the Department.
B. The head of the Department shall be the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate. The Commissioner shall have been a qualified elector of the state for at least three (3) years prior to the appointment, shall be at least thirty-five (35) years old and shall have had ten (10) years' experience as a bank officer or employee, or five (5) years' experience as a bank president or managing officer of a bank, or five (5) years' experience as a state or federal bank examiner. The Commissioner shall be appointed for a term of four (4) years. The Commissioner shall continue to serve until a successor is duly appointed, confirmed and qualified. The Commissioner may be removed by the Governor for cause after notice and hearing. A successor to a Commissioner who dies, resigns or is removed shall be appointed in the same manner as provided in this section.
C. 1. The Commissioner shall appoint a Deputy Commissioner who may also serve as secretary to the Board hereinafter created. The Deputy Commissioner shall have been a qualified elector of the state for at least three (3) years prior to the appointment, shall be at least thirty (30) years old and shall have had five (5) years' experience as a bank officer or employee, or three (3) years' experience as a bank president or managing officer of a bank, or five (5) years' experience as a state or federal bank examiner. If the office of the Commissioner is vacant or if the Commissioner is absent or unable to act, the Deputy Commissioner shall be the acting Commissioner.
2. The Commissioner may appoint Administrative Assistants whose administrative duties shall be prescribed by the Commissioner.
3. The Attorney General is hereby authorized to appoint an Assistant Attorney General, in addition to those now provided by law, to be assigned to the Department. The Assistant Attorney General shall perform such additional duties as may be assigned by the Attorney General, and shall otherwise be subject to all provisions of the statutes relating to Assistant Attorneys General. The Banking Department is authorized to pay all or any part of the salary of the Assistant Attorney General.
4. The Commissioner may also appoint a Budget Director for the Department, a Credit Union Administrator and Assistant Deputy Commissioners. The Budget Director, Credit Union Administrator and Assistant Deputy Commissioners shall have the duties and authority as prescribed by the Commissioner.
5. The Commissioner shall prepare in writing a manual of all employee positions for the Department, including job classifications, seniority status, personnel qualifications, duties, maximum and minimum salary schedules and other personnel information for approval by the Board. The Commissioner may select, appoint and employ such accountants, attorneys, auditors, examiners, clerks, secretaries, stenographers and other personnel as the Commissioner deems necessary for the proper administration of the Department and any other statutory duties of the Commissioner.
D. All officers and employees of the Department shall be in the exempt unclassified service as provided for in Section 840-5.5 of Title 74 of the Oklahoma Statutes. All future appointees to such positions shall be in the exempt unclassified service. Except as provided in subsection B of this section, officers and employees of the Department shall not be terminable except for cause as defined by the Board.
E. The Commissioner may delegate to any officer or employee of the Department any of the powers of the Commissioner and may designate any officer or employee of the Department to perform any of the duties of the Commissioner.
F. The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner, Assistants to the Commissioner, credit union administrator, budget director, Assistant Deputy Commissioners, examiners, examiner-trainees, and all other personnel shall, before entering upon the discharge of their duties, take and subscribe to the oath of office required of state officers as provided by Section 36.2A of Title 51 of the Oklahoma Statutes.
G. 1. The Commissioner shall adopt an appropriate seal as the Seal of the State Banking Commissioner.
2. Every certificate, assignment and conveyance executed by the Commissioner, in pursuance of the authority conferred upon the Commissioner by law and sealed with the seal of the Department, shall be received in evidence and recorded in the proper recording offices in the same manner as a deed regularly acknowledged, as required by law.
3. Whenever it is necessary for the Commissioner to approve any instrument or to affix the official seal thereto, the Commissioner may charge a fee for affixing the approval of the Commissioner or the official seal to such instrument. Copies of all records and papers in the office of the Department, certified by the Commissioner and authenticated by the seal, shall be received in evidence in all cases equally and of like effect as the original. Whenever it is proper to furnish a copy of any paper filed in the Department or to certify such paper, the Commissioner may charge a fee for furnishing such copy, for affixing the official seal on such copy and/or for certifying the same.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 201. Amended by Laws 1967, c. 52, § 1, emerg. eff. April 14, 1967; Laws 1967, c. 365, § 1, emerg. eff. May 22, 1967; Laws 1970, c. 321, § 1; Laws 1971, c. 352, § 2; Laws 1975, c. 109, § 1, emerg. eff. May 7, 1975; Laws 1976, c. 280, § 3, emerg. eff. June 15, 1976; Laws 1977, c. 66, § 3, emerg. eff. May 23, 1977; Laws 1979, c. 173, § 1; Laws 1980, c. 159, § 2, emerg. eff. April 2, 1980; Laws 1980, c. 360, § 2, emerg. eff. June 27, 1980; Laws 1981, c. 209, § 6, emerg. eff. May 29, 1981; Laws 1982, c. 223, § 3; Laws 1985, c. 331, § 4, emerg. eff. July 29, 1985; Laws 1992, c. 367, § 13, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 183, § 2, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1995, c. 36, § 1, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 4, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 27, § 1, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2005, c. 48, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2005; Laws 2008, c. 275, § 1, eff. July 1, 2008; Laws 2009, c. 3, § 1, eff. July 1, 2009.
§6-201.1. Compensation of Commissioner.
A. The annual compensation, payable monthly, of the Commissioner, shall be fixed by the Banking Board within limits established by the Legislature.
B. The Commissioner and, with the Commissioner's authority, other members of the Department shall be entitled to reimbursement for actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties, as provided by the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
Added by Laws 1985, c. 331, § 5, emerg. eff. July 29, 1985. Amended by Laws 1987, c. 208, § 13, operative July 1, 1987; Laws 1987, c. 236, § 52, emerg. eff. July 20, 1987; Laws 1990, c. 266, § 14, operative July 1, 1990; Laws 1992, c. 367, § 14, eff. July 1, 1992; Laws 1993, c. 183, § 3, eff. July 1, 1993; Laws 1994, c. 270, § 1, operative July 1, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 5, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 27, § 2, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 1999, c. 222, § 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Laws 2003, c. 356, § 3, emerg. eff. June 3, 2003.
§6-202. Board membership and meetings.
A. The Board shall consist of seven (7) members. The Commissioner shall be Chairman and vote only in case of a tie on any question requiring action by the Board.
B. Board - Qualifications. Other than the Commissioner, five members of the Board shall be active officers of state banks or trust companies, one of whom may be an officer or director of a national bank. One member of the Board shall be a citizen of Oklahoma, thirty-five (35) years old or older, who shall not have been in the past or become during the member's service on the Board an officer or stockholder in any banking institution, nor shall such person be related in the first degree to any other person who is or becomes during the term of such member an officer or stockholder in any state-chartered banking institution under the jurisdiction of the Department.
C. Board - Appointment - Qualifications - Successor - Removal. Members of the Board, including the Commissioner, shall be appointed by the Governor with the advice and consent of the Senate; provided, appointments to the Board, and not including the Commissioner nor the member not affiliated in the past or during the member's term with any banking institution, shall only be made of individuals whose names shall be included in a list of twelve names submitted to the Governor by the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Association of State Banks, a division of the Oklahoma Bankers Association. If a Board member resigns for any reason before his or her term expires under the provisions of this section, the resigning Board member shall notify the Governor in writing and shall submit a copy of his or her letter of resignation to the Commissioner and the Executive Committee of the Oklahoma Association of State Banks. If the Oklahoma Association of State Banks shall not submit such list within thirty (30) days after a vacancy shall occur, then the Governor may appoint, with the advice and consent of the Senate, such person as the Governor may select who shall meet the qualifications set forth in subsection B of this section.
The term of office of each Board member other than the Commissioner shall be six (6) years. The Governor may, after notice, hearing and proceeding in accordance with the Administrative Procedures Act, remove a member for cause.
D. Travel Expense. Each member shall be entitled to be reimbursed for necessary travel expenses pursuant to the State Travel Reimbursement Act.
E. Board Meetings - Quorum - Disqualification. The Board shall meet at least semiannually. The Commissioner may call additional meetings of the Board upon at least twenty-four (24) hours' notice and in any event shall call a meeting upon the written request of two members. Four members of the Board shall constitute a quorum, and action taken by a majority of those voting at any meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the action of the Board. No member shall participate in a proceeding before the Board to which any corporation or partnership of which the member is or was at any time in the preceding twelve (12) months a director, officer, partner, employee, member or stockholder is a party. A member may be disqualified upon the member's own motion from participating in a proceeding for any other cause deemed by the member to be sufficient.
F. Lack of Quorum - Appointment of Acting Members. At any meeting at which a quorum is not present, whether by reason of the inability of a member to participate or the voluntary disqualification of the member, or otherwise, the Governor may designate the Deputy Commissioner, the Attorney General, or the head of any other department of the state government, in that order, as acting members of the Board for the purpose of constituting a quorum, but the Governor shall not designate more acting members than shall be necessary to constitute a quorum.
G. Clerical, Technical and Legal Assistance. Such clerical, technical and legal assistance as the Board may require shall be provided by the Department.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 202. Amended by Laws 1975, c. 109, § 2, emerg. eff. May 7, 1975; Laws 1977, c. 208, § 1, emerg. eff. June 14, 1977; Laws 1984, c. 133, § 2, eff. Oct. 1, 1984; Laws 1985, c. 178, § 7, operative July 1, 1985; Laws 1994, c. 157, § 1, emerg. eff. May 6, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 36, § 2, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 6, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2005, c. 48, § 3, eff. Nov. 1, 2005.
§6-203. Powers of Board.
In addition to other powers conferred by the Oklahoma Banking Code, the Board shall have power to:
1. Regulate its own procedures and practice, except as may be hereafter provided by law;
2. Define any term not defined in the Oklahoma Banking Code;
3. Adopt and promulgate reasonable and uniform rules and regulations to govern the conduct, operation and management of all banks or trust companies created, organized or existing under or by virtue of the laws of this state, and to govern the examination, valuation of assets and the statements and reports of such banks or trust companies, and the form on which such banks or trust companies shall report their assets, liabilities and reserves, and charge off bad debts and otherwise keep their records and accounts, and otherwise to govern the administration of the Oklahoma Banking Code.
a. Each bank and trust company and each officer, director, owner, stockholder, agent and employee thereof shall comply with every rule and regulation promulgated so long as the same remain in force.
b. The Board may amend, modify or repeal rules and regulations now in force and effect or hereafter adopted. Copies of such amendments and modifications and notice of repeal shall be mailed to each state-chartered bank and state-chartered trust company within ten (10) days after such action is taken;
4. Restrict the withdrawal of deposits from all, or one or more, banks where the Board finds that extraordinary circumstances make such restriction necessary for the proper protection of depositors in the affected institution or institutions;
5. Authorize banks or trust companies under circumstances in which they are not given authority under the Oklahoma Banking Code to participate in any public agency hereafter created under the laws of this state, or of the United States, the purpose of which is to afford advantages or safeguards to banks or trust companies, and to authorize compliance with all requirements and conditions imposed upon such participants;
6. Order any person to cease violating a provision of the Oklahoma Banking Code, federal banking law, or a lawful regulation issued thereunder, or to cease engaging in any unsound banking or trust practice. A copy of such order shall be mailed to each director of the bank by which such person is employed;
7. Affirm, modify, reverse or stay the enforcement of any order or ruling of the Commissioner concerning banks or trust companies; and
8. Suspend a director, officer or employee of a bank or trust company who becomes ineligible to hold the position, or who, after receipt of an order to cease, violates the Oklahoma Banking Code, federal banking law, or a lawful regulation or order issued thereunder, or who is dishonest or who is reckless or grossly incompetent in the conduct of banking business or who has engaged or participated in any unsafe or unsound practice in connection with a bank or trust company. It shall be a criminal offense for any such person, after receipt of a suspension order, to perform any duty or exercise any power of any bank or trust company until the Board shall vacate such suspension order. A suspension order shall specify the grounds thereof. A copy of the order shall be sent to the bank or trust company concerned, and to each member of its board of directors; provided, in absence of circumstances deemed by the Board to require immediate action, no person shall be suspended under the powers herein granted unless the person shall have first been afforded a hearing before the Board after not less than ten (10) days' notice thereof shall have been served upon the person by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 203. Amended by Laws 1982, c. 60, § 1, operative Oct. 1, 1982; Laws 1985, c. 168, § 1, emerg. eff. June 18, 1985; Laws 1991, c. 128, § 1, emerg. eff. April 29, 1991; Laws 1994, c. 157, § 2, emerg. eff. May 6, 1994; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 7, eff. July 1, 1997.
§6-204. Powers of Commissioner – Review of orders.
A. In addition to other powers conferred by this Code, the State Banking Commissioner shall have the power to require a bank, bank holding company or trust company or shareholder, officer, director, or bank employee to:
1. Maintain its accounting system in accordance with such regulations as may be prescribed by the Board or as the Commissioner may prescribe in absence of Board regulations; provided, the accounting system required shall have due regard to the size of the banking and trust organization;
2. Observe methods and standards which the Commissioner may prescribe for determining the value of various types of assets;
3. Charge off the whole or part of an asset which at the time of the Commissioner's action could not lawfully be acquired;
4. Write down an asset to its market value;
5. Record liens and other interest in property;
6. Obtain a financial statement from a borrower to the extent that the bank can do so;
7. Obtain insurance against damage to real estate taken as security;
8. Search, or obtain insurance of, the title to real estate taken as security;
9. Maintain adequate insurance against such other risks as the Commissioner may determine to be necessary and appropriate for the protection of depositors, trust funds and the public;
10. Cease and desist from engaging in any act or transaction, or doing any act in furtherance thereof, which would constitute a violation of the provisions of the Oklahoma Banking Code, federal banking law or the applicable banking law of another state, or a lawful regulation issued thereunder, or to cease and desist from engaging in any unsafe or unsound banking or trust practice; and
11. Pay civil money penalties under the same circumstances and conditions applicable to imposition of civil money penalties by the primary federal bank regulatory agency of the bank.
B. Before issuing an order provided for in subsection A of this section, the Commissioner shall give reasonable notice of an opportunity for a hearing. However, if the Commissioner makes written findings of fact that the protection of depositors will be harmed by delay in issuing an order provided for in subsection A of this section, the Commissioner may issue a temporary order pending the hearing on the order provided for in subsection A of this section. The temporary order shall remain in effect until three (3) business days after the hearing on the order provided for in subsection A of this section and shall become final if the bank or trust company subject to the order fails within fifteen (15) days after the receipt of the order to request a hearing to determine whether the temporary order should be modified, vacated, or become final. If a hearing on the temporary order is not held upon written request, the temporary order shall dissolve and the order provided for in subsection A of this section shall not be issued except upon reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing.
C. Any person, bank or trust company aggrieved by a final order of the Commissioner as provided for in this section may obtain a review of the order by the Board, who shall have the power to affirm, modify, reverse, or stay the enforcement of any order of the Commissioner.
D. The Commissioner may enter into cooperative, coordinating, and information-sharing agreements with any other bank supervisory agencies or any organization affiliated with or representing one or more bank supervisory agencies with respect to the periodic examination or other supervision of any bank, bank holding company, or branch in this state of an out-of-state state bank, or any branch of an Oklahoma state bank in any other state, and the Commissioner may accept such reports of examination and reports of investigation in lieu of conducting the Commissioner's own examinations or investigations. If such agreements result in the payment of fees, however calculated, by any other bank supervisory agency to the Oklahoma State Banking Department for examination or supervisory activities conducted by Department personnel, whether such activity is conducted inside or outside of this state, such fees shall be deposited in the Oklahoma State Banking Department revolving fund pursuant to Section 211.1 of this title. If such agreements result in the payment of fees, however calculated, by the Department to any other bank supervisory agency for examination or supervisory activities conducted by such other bank supervisory agency, whether such activity is conducted inside or outside of this state, such fees shall be paid by the Department from the Oklahoma State Banking Department revolving fund pursuant to Section 211.1 of this title.
E. The Commissioner may enter into cooperative agreements with other bank regulatory agencies to facilitate the regulation of banks and bank holding companies doing business in this state. The Commissioner may accept reports of examinations and other records from such other agencies in lieu of conducting its own examinations of banks controlled by out-of-state bank holding companies. The Commissioner may take any action jointly with other regulatory agencies having concurrent jurisdiction over banks and bank holding companies or may take such actions independently in order to carry out the responsibilities of the Commissioner.
F. 1. The Commissioner may issue interpretive statements containing matters of general policy for the guidance of state banks and trust companies and other entities under the jurisdiction of the Department. The Commissioner may amend or repeal an interpretive statement by issuing an amended statement or notice of repeal of a statement and shall provide notice thereof and make it available to all state-chartered banks and trust companies upon request.
2. The Commissioner may issue opinions in response to specific requests from members of the public or the banking and trust industry directly or through the Deputy Commissioner or the Department's attorneys. The Commissioner may amend or repeal an opinion by issuing an amended statement or notice of repeal of an opinion and shall provide notice thereof and make it available to all state-chartered banks and trust companies upon request, except that the requesting party may rely on the original opinion if all material facts were originally disclosed to the Commissioner, considerations of safety and soundness of the affected bank are not implicated with respect to further and prospective reliance on the original opinion, and the text and interpretation of relevant, governing provisions of this act have not been changed by legislative or judicial action.
3. An interpretive statement or opinion issued under this section does not have the force of law and is not a rule.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 204. Amended by Laws 1971, c. 352, § 3; Laws 1985, c. 168, § 2, emerg. eff. June 18, 1985; Laws 1996, c. 92, § 3, eff. June 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 8, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 205, § 3, emerg. eff. May 17, 2000; Laws 2003, c. 180, § 1, eff. Nov. 1, 2003; Laws 2005, c. 48, § 4, eff. Nov. 1, 2005.
§6205. Access of Commissioner and Board to records of Department.
The Commissioner, Deputy Commissioner and the Board shall have access to any record of the Department.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 205.
§6206. Power to subpoena witnesses Declaratory order Good faith as a defense.
A. Witnesses Subpoena. The Commissioner and the Board shall have the power to subpoena witnesses, compel their attendance, require the production of evidence, administer an oath and examine any person under oath in connection with any subject relating to duty imposed upon or a power vested in the Commissioner. These powers shall be enforced by the district court of the district in which the hearing is held.
B. Declaratory order. The Board may, on petition of any interested person and after hearing, issue a declaratory order with respect to the applicability of this Code or a rule issued hereunder to any person, property or state of facts. The orders shall bind the Board and all parties to the proceeding on the state of facts declared unless it is modified or reversed by a court. A declaratory order may be reviewed and enforced in the same manner as other orders of the Commissioner, but the refusal to issue a declaratory order shall not be reviewable.
C. Civil or criminal liability Good faith as defense. No person shall be subjected to any civil or criminal liability for any act or omission to act in good faith in reliance upon an existing order, regulation or definition of the Board notwithstanding a subsequent decision by a court invalidating the order, regulation or definition.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 206.
§6-207. Judicial review of orders of the Board or Commissioner.
A. Final orders of the Board or the State Banking Commissioner may be appealed to the Supreme Court of Oklahoma by any party directly affected and showing aggrievement by the order. A mere increase in competition resulting from the order shall not constitute aggrievement.
B. An appeal shall be commenced by filing with the clerk of the Supreme Court, within thirty (30) days from the date of the order or decision, a petition in error with a copy of the order or decision appealed from. The time limit prescribed herein for filing the petition in error may not be extended. The manner of perfection of the record of the proceedings to be reviewed and the time for its completion shall be in accordance with rules prescribed by the Supreme Court.
C. 1. A necessary jurisdictional prerequisite to the acceptance of the appeal by the Supreme Court shall include an affirmative showing of aggrievement from the record, by reference in the petition in error, which cannot be a mere increase in competition.
2. The appeal must be perfected by the posting of a bond by the appellant in a reasonable amount not to exceed the amount of reasonably projected gross income for four (4) years in the case of a branch, relocation, merger or acquisition, or an amount equal to the capital, surplus and undivided profits required to be paid in the case of a new charter. When the order being appealed is that of the Banking Board, the Board, in its sole discretion, shall set the amount of the bond. When the order being appealed is that of the Commissioner, the Commissioner, in the sole discretion of the Commissioner, shall set the amount of the bond. It is the obligation of the appellant to request that a bond amount be set and such request shall not postpone or extend the time period in which an appeal must be filed with the Oklahoma Supreme Court.
3. In the event the appellant is not the prevailing party in the appeal, the prevailing party may apply for an order assessing the bond in the amount demonstrated by such party to have been lost by reason of the delay caused by the appeal. The amount shall be based on the income projections in the original proceeding found to have been reasonable. The prevailing party shall make such application to the Board if the original order was issued by the Board or shall make such application to the Commissioner if the original order was issued by the Commissioner.
D. The Court shall give great weight to findings made and inferences drawn by the Board or Commissioner on questions of fact. The Court may affirm the decision or remand the case for further proceedings. Additionally, the Court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the findings, inferences or conclusions are not supported by substantial evidence in the record.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 207. Amended by Laws 1970, c. 316, § 1, emerg. eff. April 27, 1970; Laws 1978, c. 161, § 1; Laws 1980, c. 360, § 3, emerg. eff. June 27, 1980; Laws 1982, c. 204, § 1; Laws 1995, c. 36, § 3, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 9, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 1999, c. 27, § 3, eff. July 1, 1999; Laws 2000, c. 205, § 4, emerg. eff. May 17, 2000.
§6-208. Records of Department - Public inspection – Confidentiality – Electronic storage.
A. The following records in the Oklahoma State Banking Department are designated as public records:
1. All applications for state bank charters and supporting information with the exception of personal financial records of individual applicants;
2. All records introduced at public hearings on bank charter applications;
3. Information disclosing the failure of a state bank, an out-of-state bank and branches of out-of-state banks located in this state and the reasons therefor;
4. Reports of completed investigations which uncover a shortage of funds in a bank, an out-of-state bank and branches of out-of-state banks located in this state, after the reporting of the shortage to proper authorities by the State Banking Commissioner. However, nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to mean that reports prepared by the Department in connection with routine, special, or conversion examinations of banks, trust companies, or other entities subject to examination by the Department are public record;
5. Names of all stockholders and officers of banks, out-of-state banks, out-of-state bank holding companies, and branches of out-of-state banks located in this state filed in the office of the Secretary of State; and
6. Regular financial call reports issued at the time of the state bank calls.
B. All other records in the Department shall be confidential and not subject to public inspection. However, the Banking Board, Commissioner, or Deputy Commissioner may divulge such confidential information with the written approval of the Commissioner after receipt of a written request which shall:
1. Specify the record or records to which access is requested; and
2. Give the reasons for the request. Such records may also be produced pursuant to a valid judicial subpoena or other legal process requiring production, if the Commissioner determines that the records are relevant to the hearing or proceeding and that production is in the best interests of justice. The records may be disclosed only after a determination by the Commissioner that good cause exists for the disclosure. Either prior to or at the time of any disclosure, the Commissioner shall impose such terms and conditions as the Commissioner deems necessary to protect the confidential nature of the record, the financial integrity of any institution to which the record relates, and the legitimate privacy interests of any individual named in such records. If any request is made for a copy of an examination report relating to a state bank, trust company, savings association, or credit union, the request must be accompanied by documentation which indicates no objection by the primary federal regulator having jurisdiction over the bank, trust company, savings association, or credit union to which the examination report relates.
C. All documents which the Department is required, by any provision of the Oklahoma Banking Code or by any other statute or regulation of this state, to retain or preserve in its possession may be retained and preserved, in lieu of retention of the original records or copies, in an electronic format and stored by electronic imaging or otherwise so that the documents may be later reproduced as necessary. Any such electronically stored or imaged document or reproduction shall have the same force and effect as the original thereof and be admitted in evidence equally with the original.
D. With respect to records of the Department which are considered public records, and which are subject to the Oklahoma Open Records Act, the Department may charge a document copying fee of twenty-five cents ($0.25) per page. With respect to records of the Department which are not considered public records, the Department may charge a document copying fee of One Dollar ($1.00) per page, and when the Commissioner, pursuant to the provisions of paragraph 2 of subsection B of this section, permits the inspection or copying of an examination report prepared by the Department, a minimum fee of One Hundred Dollars ($100.00) shall be charged.
Added by Laws 1965, c. 161, § 208. Amended by Laws 1986, c. 316, § 2, emerg. eff. June 24, 1986; Laws 1994, c. 157, § 3, emerg. eff. May 6, 1994; Laws 1995, c. 36, § 4, eff. July 1, 1995; Laws 1996, c. 92, § 4, eff. June 1, 1996; Laws 1997, c. 111, § 10, eff. July 1, 1997; Laws 2000, c. 205, § 5, emerg. eff. May 17, 2000; Laws 2002, c. 67, § 2, eff. Nov. 1, 2002.
§6-208.1. Availability of personnel data – Confidentiality - Definitions.
A. A supervisory agency shall make available to a requesting agency any data obtained or generated by, and in the possession of, the supervisory agency and that the requesting agency deems necessary for review in connection with the supervision of any person over which the requesting agency has direct supervisory authority. However, the requested data must relate to the person, or an affiliate of the person, over which the requesting agency has direct supervisory authority. An agency has direct supervisory authority over a person if such authority is specifically provided by statute, or the agency granted the charter, license, or registration of the person, or otherwise granted permission for the person to conduct its business in this state.
B. When a requesting agency and a federal regulatory agency or self-regulatory association have concurrent jurisdiction over a person, a requesting agency may share with such agency or association data received from a supervisory agency. However, the federal regulatory agency or self-regulatory association shall return such shared data to the requesting agency unless the federal regulatory agency or self-regulatory association has obtained approval from the supervisory agency to retain the data. The term “federal regulatory agency” shall not include law enforcement agencies.
C. 1. Notwithstanding any other statute, rule, or policy governing or relating to records of the requesting agency, all data received by a requesting agency from a supervisory agency shall be and remain confidential and not open to public inspection, subpoena, or any other form of disclosure while in the possession of the requesting agency. Any request for inspection, subpoena, or other form of disclosure shall be directed at the supervisory agency from which the data originated and disclosure thereof shall be subject to the laws, rules, and policies governing or relating to records of the supervisory agency.
2. The provision of data by a supervisory agency to a requesting agency under this section shall not constitute a waiver of, or otherwise affect, any privilege or claim of confidentiality that a supervisory agency may claim with respect to such data under any federal laws or laws of this state.
D. A supervisory agency shall not be required to share original documents with a requesting agency. A requesting agency shall reimburse the supervisory agency for costs associated with providing copies of data to the requesting agency.