657.008 Place of doing business.
657.008 Place of doing business.
(1) Every credit union authorized to transact business pursuant to the laws of this state shall have one principal place of doing business as designated in its bylaws and where legal process may be served. A credit union may change its place of business through an amendment to its bylaws.
(2)(a) With 30 days’ prior written notification to the office or within such other time as is approved by the office, a credit union operating in a safe and sound manner may maintain branches at locations other than its main office or relocate branches previously established if the maintenance of such branches is determined by the board of directors to be reasonably necessary to furnish service to its members.
(b) If any branch is located outside this state, the cost of examining such branch shall be borne by the credit union. Such cost shall include, but shall not be limited to, examiner travel expense and per diem.
(3) A credit union may share office space with one or more credit unions and contract with any person or corporation to provide facilities or personnel.
(4) Any credit union organized under this state or federal law, the members of which are presently, or were at the time of admission into the credit union, employees of the state or a political subdivision or municipality thereof, or members of the immediate families of such employees, may apply for space in any building owned or leased by the state or respective political subdivision or municipality in the community or district in which the credit union does business. The application shall be addressed to the officer charged with the allotment of space in such building. If space is available, the officer may allot space to the credit union at a reasonable charge for rent or services. If the governing body having jurisdiction over the building determines that the services rendered by the credit union to the employees of the governing body are equivalent to a reasonable charge for rent or services, available space may be allotted to the credit union without charge for rent or services.
(5)(a) The office may authorize foreign credit unions to establish branches in Florida if all of the following criteria are met:
1. The state in which the foreign credit union’s home office is located permits Florida credit unions to do business in the state under restrictions that are no greater than those placed upon a domestic credit union doing business in that state. For this purpose, such restrictions shall include, but are not limited to, any fees, bonds, or other charges levied on domestic credit unions doing business in that state.
2. The deposits of such foreign credit union and its proposed Florida branch shall have insurance of accounts with the National Credit Union Administration.
3. The credit union’s field of membership is so limited as to be within that meaning of that term as defined in s. 657.002.
(b) Every foreign credit union operating in Florida shall keep the office informed of every location at which it is operating.
(c) If the office has reason to believe that a foreign credit union is operating a branch in this state in an unsafe and unsound manner, it shall have the right to examine such branch. If, upon examination, the office finds that such branch is operating in an unsafe and unsound manner, it shall require the branch office to make appropriate modifications to bring such branch operations into compliance with generally accepted credit union operation in this state. Such foreign credit union shall reimburse the office for the full cost of this examination. Costs shall include examiner salaries, per diem, and travel expenses.
(d) Any foreign credit union operating in this state shall in any connection therewith be subject to suit in the courts of this state, by this state and the citizens of this state.
(6) A credit union may provide, directly or through a contract with another company, off-premises armored car services to its members. Armored car services do not constitute a branch for the purposes of this section.
History. ss. 1, 6, ch. 80-258; ss. 2, 3, ch. 81-318; ss. 14, 51, ch. 84-216; ss. 9, 58, ch. 85-82; s. 1, ch. 91-307; ss. 1, 81, ch. 92-303; s. 8, ch. 93-111; s. 126, ch. 2001-266; s. 1743, ch. 2003-261; s. 10, ch. 2005-181.