Sec. 36a-34. Findings of commissioner re Community Reinvestment Act compliance, consumer protection law compliance, adequacy of banking services to be provided and anticompetitive effects in connectio
Sec. 36a-34. Findings of commissioner re Community Reinvestment Act compliance, consumer protection law compliance, adequacy of banking services to be
provided and anticompetitive effects in connection with certain transaction approvals. (a) As used in subsection (b) of this section:
(1) "Entity" means the applicant or applicants except, in the case of an approval
pursuant to section 36a-411, "entity" means the subsidiaries of the applicant holding
company.
(2) "Resulting entity" means: (A) In the case of an approval pursuant to section
36a-145 and subdivision (2) of subsection (a) of section 36a-412, the applicant; (B) in
the case of an approval pursuant to section 36a-125, the resulting Connecticut bank; (C)
in the case of an approval pursuant to section 36a-181, the Connecticut bank; (D) in the
case of an approval pursuant to section 36a-411, the bank to be acquired or established;
and (E) in the case of an approval pursuant to subdivision (1) of subsection (a) of section
36a-412, the bank to be acquired or the resulting bank.
(3) "Federal CRA" shall have the same meaning as set forth in subsection (a) of
section 36a-30.
(b) The commissioner shall not grant any approval under section 36a-125, subsections (b), (c) and (d) of section 36a-145, section 36a-181, section 36a-411 or subdivisions
(1) and (2) of subsection (a) of section 36a-412 unless the commissioner finds, in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to chapter 54, that (1) based on the most recent
applicable performance evaluation and any related information required by the commissioner, the entity has a record of compliance with the requirements of federal CRA,
sections 36a-30 to 36a-33, inclusive, to the extent applicable, and applicable consumer
protection laws; and (2) except as otherwise provided in this subsection, if the entity,
and in the case of an approval pursuant to section 36a-411, the bank or any subsidiary
bank of the Connecticut holding company, received any overall rating other than an
assigned rating of "outstanding" on its most recent applicable community reinvestment
performance evaluation, the resulting entity will provide adequate services to meet the
banking needs of all community residents, including low-income residents and moderate-income residents to the extent permitted by its charter, in accordance with a plan
submitted by the applicant to the commissioner, in such form and containing such information as the commissioner may require, or, if acceptable to the commissioner, in accordance with an approved strategic plan prepared under federal CRA, or the relevant
portion thereof, that is submitted by the applicant to the commissioner. Upon receiving
any such plan, the commissioner shall make the plan available for public inspection
and comment at the Department of Banking and cause notice of its submission and
availability for inspection and comment to be published in the department's weekly
bulletin. With the concurrence of the commissioner, the applicant or applicants shall
publish, in the form of a legal advertisement in a newspaper having a substantial circulation in the area, notice of such plan's submission and availability for public inspection
and comment. The notice shall state that the inspection and comment period will last
for a period of thirty days from the date of publication. The commissioner shall not
make such finding until the expiration of such thirty-day period. In making such finding,
the commissioner shall, unless clearly inapplicable, consider, among other factors,
whether the plan identifies specific unmet credit and consumer banking needs in the
local community and specifies how such needs will be satisfied, provides for sufficient
distribution of banking services among branches or satellite devices, or both, located
in low-income neighborhoods, contains adequate assurances that banking services will
be offered on a nondiscriminatory basis and demonstrates a commitment to extend credit
for housing, small business and consumer purposes in low-income neighborhoods. The
submission of such plan shall not be required in the case of an approval under subsection
(d) of section 36a-145, provided, the commissioner may require the filing of such information in lieu of a plan as the commissioner deems appropriate. Except with respect to
an approval pursuant to sections 36a-145 and 36a-181, the commissioner shall not approve the transaction if the transaction would result in a monopoly, or would be in
furtherance of any combination or conspiracy to monopolize or attempt to monopolize
the business of banking in this state or if the commissioner determines that the effect
of the proposed transaction may be to substantially lessen competition, or would tend
to create a monopoly, or would be in restraint of trade, unless the commissioner finds
that the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in
the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience
and needs of the community to be served.
(c) The commissioner shall not make a determination stating that the commissioner
does not disapprove an offer, invitation, request, agreement or acquisition pursuant to
section 36a-185 unless the commissioner finds, in accordance with regulations adopted
pursuant to chapter 54, that (1) based on the most recent applicable performance evaluation and any related information required by the commissioner, the acquiring person,
if such person is a bank or out-of-state bank, and the acquiring person's subsidiaries, if
such person is a holding company, has a record of compliance with the requirements
of federal CRA, sections 36a-30 to 36a-33, inclusive, to the extent applicable, and applicable consumer protection laws; and (2) if the bank or any banking subsidiary of the
holding company referred to in the acquisition statement received any overall rating
other than an assigned rating of "outstanding" on its most recent applicable community
reinvestment performance evaluation, such bank or banking subsidiary will provide
adequate services to meet the banking needs of all community residents, including low-income residents and moderate-income residents to the extent permitted by its charter
or their charters. If the acquiring person is not a natural person, or if the acquiring person
is a natural person who would be the beneficial owner of twenty-five per cent or more
of any class of voting securities of the bank or holding company referred to in the
acquisition statement, the finding as to the adequacy of services to be provided shall be
based on a plan submitted by the acquiring person to the commissioner, in such form
and containing such information as the commissioner may require, or, if acceptable to
the commissioner, in accordance with an approved strategic plan prepared under federal
CRA, or the relevant portion thereof, that is submitted by the acquiring person to the
commissioner. Upon receiving any such plan, the commissioner shall make the plan
available for public inspection and comment at the Department of Banking and cause
notice of its submission and availability for inspection and comment to be published
in the department's weekly bulletin. With the concurrence of the commissioner, the
acquiring person shall publish, in the form of a legal advertisement in a newspaper having
a substantial circulation in the area, notice of such plan's submission and availability for
public inspection and comment. The notice shall state that the inspection and comment
period will last for a period of thirty days from the date of publication. The commissioner
shall not make such finding until the expiration of such thirty-day period. In making
such finding, the commissioner shall consider, among other factors, whether the plan
identifies specific unmet credit and consumer banking needs in the local community
and specifies how such needs will be satisfied, provides for sufficient distribution of
banking services among branches or satellite devices, or both, located in low-income
neighborhoods, contains adequate assurances that banking services will be offered on
a nondiscriminatory basis and demonstrates a commitment to extend credit for housing,
small business and consumer purposes in low-income neighborhoods. If the acquiring
person is a natural person who would be the beneficial owner of less than twenty-five
per cent of all classes of voting securities of the bank or holding company referred to
in the acquisition statement, the commissioner shall make the finding as to adequacy
of services to be provided based on the commitment of the acquiring person to use the
acquiring person's best efforts to cause such bank or banking subsidiaries of such holding
company to provide such services. The commissioner shall not make a determination
stating that the commissioner does not disapprove such offer, invitation, request,
agreement or acquisition if such offer, invitation, request, agreement or acquisition
would result in a monopoly, or would be in furtherance of any combination or conspiracy
to monopolize or attempt to monopolize the business of banking in this state or if the
commissioner should determine that the effect of the proposed offer, invitation, request,
agreement or acquisition may be to substantially lessen competition, or would tend to
create a monopoly, or would be in restraint of trade, unless the commissioner finds that
the anticompetitive effects of the proposed transaction are clearly outweighed in the
public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and
needs of the community to be served.
(P.A. 94-122, S. 20, 340; P.A. 95-155, S. 6, 29; P.A. 96-8, S. 5, 6; P.A. 97-33.)
History: P.A. 94-122 effective January 1, 1995; P.A. 95-155 amended Subsec. (b) to add the references to Sec. 36a-145, and amended Subsec. (b) and (c) to add "and comment", to impose the requirement of publication on the applicant
or acquirer instead of the commissioner, and to reword the provisions re the 30-day inspection and comment period and
timing of the commissioner's finding, effective June 27, 1995; P.A. 96-8 added a new Subdiv. (a)(3) to define "Federal
CRA", and amended Subsecs. (b) and (c) to make technical changes, delete "business" from "thirty business days" and to
allow the commissioner to consider strategic plans prepared under federal CRA, effective April 29, 1996; P.A. 97-33
redefined "entity" and "resulting entity" in Subsec. (a), amended Subsec. (b) by adding references to Sec. 36a-145(d)
and Sec. 36a-412(a)(1) and (2), by providing that the entity's compliance record is based on the most recent applicable
performance evaluation and related information required by the commissioner and that a plan is required if the entity or
its subsidiary banks received any rating other than "outstanding" on their most recent community reinvestment performance
evaluation, and by adding exception to plan requirements for approval under Sec. 36a-145(d) and exception to findings
re anticompetitive effects for approval pursuant to Sec. 36a-181, and amended Subsec. (c) to provide that the compliance
record of the acquiring person or subsidiaries is based on the most recent applicable performance evaluation and related
information required by the commissioner and that a plan is required if the bank or subsidiary banks received any rating
other than "outstanding" on their most recent community reinvestment performance evaluation.