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131st MAINE LEGISLATURE
FIRST REGULAR SESSION-2023
Legislative Document No. 114S.P. 53 In Senate, January 9, 2023
An Act to Make Technical Amendments to Banking Laws
Submitted by the Department of Professional and Financial Regulation pursuant to Joint
Rule 204.
Reference to the Committee on Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services
suggested and ordered printed.
DAREK M. GRANT
Secretary of the Senate
Presented by Senator BAILEY of York. Page 1 - 131LR0144(01)
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2 as amended by PL 2003, c. 322, §6, is further
3 amended to read:
4 A. To provide for the balance of the reasonable expenses incurred to fulfill the bureau's
5 duty pursuant to this Title, including general regulatory costs, overhead, transportation
6 and general office and administrative expenses, except as otherwise provided in this
7 paragraph, the superintendent shall assess each financial institution under the
8 superintendent's supervision at the annual rate of at least 6¢ for each $1,000 of the total
9 of average assets, as defined by the superintendent. The frequency of assessment may
10 coincide with the frequency of filing periodic financial reports with the bureau but may
11 not be more frequent than quarterly. The superintendent may raise the minimum
12 assessment rate of 6¢ for each $1,000 of the total of average assets by promulgating
13 adopting rules pursuant to section 251 at such time as economic conditions warrant
14 such an increase. In Except as otherwise provided in this paragraph, in no event may
15 the assessment be less than $25. The superintendent may lower or suspend by rule or
16 order any assessment specified in this paragraph or established by rule pursuant to this
17 paragraph. Rules adopted pursuant to this paragraph are routine technical rules as
18 defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2-A.
19 as amended by PL 2003, c. 322, §7, is further
20 amended to read:
21 Except as
22 otherwise provided in this subsection, nondepository trust companies that are not affiliated
23 with a financial institution shall pay an assessment at the annual rate of not less than $2,000
24 or an amount determined by the superintendent of at least 6¢ for every $10,000 of fiduciary
25 assets under its management, custody or care. The superintendent may further define by
26 rule fiduciary assets under management, custody or care or change the minimum
27 assessment whenever economic conditions warrant such a change. The superintendent may
28 lower or suspend by rule or order any assessment specified in this subsection or established
29 by rule pursuant to this subsection. Rules adopted pursuant to this subsection are routine
30 technical rules as defined in Title 5, chapter 375, subchapter 2‑A. These assessments must
31 be paid in accordance with subsection 2, paragraph B.
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33 §159, is amended to read:
34 C. The superintendent may suspend or postpone action on an application after the first
35 publication of notice pursuant to paragraph B, upon written request of the applicant or
36 on his the superintendent's own initiative for good cause shown. Good cause includes
37 a judgment by the superintendent that the bureau lacks the present capacity to
38 adequately ensure the safety and soundness of the proposed institution or activity. The
39 superintendent shall promptly provide notice of any suspension or postponement in the
40 same manner and in the same publications in which the original notice of application
41 was provided. If and when action is resumed on the application, the superintendent
42 shall again provide notice in the same manner and in the same publications in which
43 the preceding notices were provided. Page 2 - 131LR0144(01)
1 as enacted by PL 2005, c. 83, §10, is amended
2 to read:
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4 order the merger or consolidation of any financial institution that is described in section
5 363‑A or 365 with any other financial institution, state-chartered or federally chartered,
6 with the consent of the other financial institution and may prescribe the mode or procedure
7 for the merger or consolidation and the terms and conditions of the merger or consolidation.
8 Unless limited by the conservator or receiver, the effect of the merger on various property
9 interests and fiduciary designations of the resulting institution is the same as described for
10 mergers subject to section 357, subsection 1.
11 is enacted to read:
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13 of the financial institution, surrender property held by the financial institution as a fiduciary
14 and settle fiduciary accounts. The conservator or receiver may release fiduciary property
15 to one or more successor fiduciaries, and may sell one or more fiduciary accounts to one
16 or more successor fiduciaries. Upon a sale or transfer of a financial institution's fiduciary
17 property or a fiduciary account by a conservator or receiver, the successor fiduciary is
18 automatically substituted without further action and without any order of any court. The
19 conservator or receiver shall provide notice of the substitution, as far as practicable, to each
20 person to whom the financial institution provides periodic reports of fiduciary activity. The
21 notice must include the name of the financial institution, the name of the successor
22 fiduciary and the effective date of the substitution. The successor fiduciary has all of the
23 rights, powers, duties and obligations of the transferring financial institution and is deemed
24 to be named, nominated or appointed as fiduciary in any will, trust, court order or similar
25 written document or instrument that names, nominates or appoints the transferring financial
26 institution as fiduciary, whether executed before or after the substitution. The successor
27 fiduciary has no obligations or liabilities under this chapter for any acts, actions, inactions
28 or events occurring prior to the effective date of the substitution.
29 as enacted by PL 1997, c. 398, Pt. J, §2, is amended to
30 read:
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32 A financial institution engaged in the business of banking that does not accept retail
33 deposits and for which insurance of deposits by the FDIC is not required may be organized
34 pursuant to chapter 31. Unless otherwise indicated in this chapter, an uninsured bank has
35 all the powers, rights, duties and obligations as a financial institution under this Title. An
36 uninsured bank is not a nondepository trust company or a merchant bank.
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38 This bill provides the Superintendent of Financial Institutions with the authority to
39 reduce assessments by rule or order. Current law only allows the Bureau of Financial
40 Institutions to raise assessments.
41 The bill clarifies that the superintendent may suspend or postpone action on an
42 application submitted to the bureau in the event that the bureau has no present capacity to
43 supervise the applicant based on a lack of personnel or tools to adequately supervise certain
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44 emerging business models in a manner that protects the public and ensures the safety and
45 soundness of the institution.
3 The bill amends the processes for liquidations of financial institutions to provide that,
4 like standard mergers, fiduciary accounts are automatically transferred to the surviving
5 institution in the event of a merger conducted as part of a liquidation, thus removing the
6 need for such accounts to be transferred by court processes or obtaining consent of account
7 beneficiaries.
8 The bill clarifies that an uninsured bank must be engaged in the business of banking in
9 order to be organized under the laws governing investor-owned institutions.
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