Foreign Banking Corporations

Application for a Change of Location Foreign Branch/Foreign Agency

Please note the following:

1. The information requested in Sections 105.3(a)(3) and (5) of Supervisory Procedure G 105 need not be submitted.
2. Documents executed in foreign countries must be properly certified and legalized. Please refer to Supervisory Policy G 7 (Legalization of Foreign Documents).
3. An application form may be utilized.
4. The applicant should provide a draft of the new Certificate of Designation with its application relating to the proposed location change. The applicant should also submit to the Department its new executed Certificate of Designation indicating the new address where the Department can forward process served on the Superintendent at the time it relocates its branch or agency, which would be after receiving approval of the relocation application. 

UNOFFICIAL COPY

SUPERVISORY PROCEDURE G 105
APPLICATION FOR A CHANGE OF LOCATION OR A CHANGE OF DESIGNATION OF PRINCIPAL OFFICE
(Statutory authority: Banking Law, § 28)

105.1 General information
105.2 Application
105.3 Additional information
105.4 Confidential information
105.5 Information required for certain relocations

§ 105.1 -- General information.

Requests for approval to change the location of a place of business or to change the designation of a principal office should be submitted by letter application to the Superintendent, accompanied, except in the case of an application by a credit union, by an investigation fee of [please refer to the Department's Application Fee Schedule].  Banking organizations subject to Article III, VI, X, or XI of the Banking Law which seek to change the location of a place of business may utilize an application form in lieu of a letter application.  Forms may be obtained directly from the Department, and are available on the Department's Website.  Banking organizations subject to other articles of the Banking Law which seek to change the location of a place of business should submit a letter application setting forth the information required in Sections 105.2 and 105.3 of this Procedure.

§ 105.2 -- Application.

The application submitted to the New York City Office of the Department of Financial Services at the address set forth in section 1.1 of Supervisory Policy G 1, should state the reason for any proposed change, should include addresses of the offices affected by any such proposed change, and should be accompanied by a copy of the resolution of the board of directors/trustees authorizing such application.  (Banking organizations subject to Article III, VI, or X of the Banking Law eligible for the expedited branch application process may submit a statement that a resolution has been passed in lieu of submitting a copy.)

§ 105.3 -- Additional information.

If the application is for a change of location, the applicant should submit the following:

(a) a statement giving the proposed date for commencement of operations at the new location and:

1. stating that no lease for the proposed premises will contain a clause prohibiting the landlord from renting space to another banking institution under State or Federal supervision;
2. stating whether any director, trustee, officer or employee of the applicant has any interest, direct or indirect, in the proposed premises, or in the construction thereof;
3. estimating the cost of establishing an office at the new location;
4. confirming that the proposed site has been appropriately zoned to permit the operation of a banking office;
5. stating whether or not the contemplated expenditures for acquisition of land and buildings, or leasehold improvements, may be incurred within the relevant statutory limits;
6. indicating the proposed disposition of the present location, if owned, or if leased, the arrangements made to terminate the lease or to sublet the premises;
7. confirming that the establishment of the office at the proposed location does not conflict with any of the existing provisions of the New York State Historic Preservation Act;
8. stating that the applicant is aware of and has given due consideration to adopting appropriate security measures in accordance with industry standards; and
9. confirming that the level of service at the new location will be substantially the same as, or greater than, the level of service presently being offered.  (If this is not the case, an explanation should be provided.)

(b) Any additional items which the Department may require on a case-by-case basis.

§ 105.4 -- Confidential information.

In accordance with 23 N.Y.C.R.R. Part 3 (Public Access to Department of Financial Services Records), the entire application and all supporting material are available for public inspection except for confidential material. If the applicant believes that the public availability or disclosure of certain of the information provided would be clearly harmful, such information should be segregated from the public portion and labeled "confidential." The applicant should also state the reasons for any request for confidentiality.

§ 105.5 -- Information required for certain relocations.

The following applies to banking organizations subject to Article III, VI, or X of the Banking Law: For a planned change of location in which the proposed site is outside the immediate neighborhood of the present office, or the nature of the business of the office or the customers served by the office would be substantially affected, the customers of the office must be given prior notice of the relocation of at least ninety days, in the manner set forth in section 112.3 of Supervisory Procedure G 112  (Report of Planned Branch Closings).

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SUPERVISORY POLICY G 7
LEGALIZATION OF FOREIGN DOCUMENTS.

§ 7.1 -- General statement.

From time to time, documents executed in foreign countries must be submitted to the Department. Such documents include applications by a foreign banking corporation for a license to open a branch or agency in New York, appointment of New York branch manager as well as certifications as to paid-in-capital stock, surplus fund and undivided profit. Such requirements are found, for example, in article V of the New York State Banking Law and Supervisory Procedure CB 104.

On October 15, 1981, the United States became a party to the Hague Convention Abolishing the Requirement of Legalization for Foreign Public Documents. The convention simplified the procedure for having a foreign document legalized. Each country which is a party to the convention designates the authority or authorities who may certify public documents. A certification, also known as an apostille, is affixed to the document by the competent local authority of the foreign country where the document originated. The form of the apostille is set forth in section 7.2 of this supervisory policy in the same form as set forth in the convention. Further legalization of documents will not be required for submission in the case of documents originating in countries which are parties to the convention. 

§ 7.2 -- Model form of apostille. 

§ 7.3 -- Limitations.

This supervisory policy applies only to documents originating in countries which are party to the convention. The Department will rely on opinions of counsel or other appropriate evidence from parties seeking to use this supervisory policy that the country in which the documents originate is a party to the convention.