N.Y. Banking Law 555-A – Changes in control
§ 555-a. Changes in control. 1. It shall be unlawful except with the prior approval of the superintendent for any action to be taken which results in a change of control of the business of a licensee. Prior to any change of control, the person desirous of acquiring control of the business of a licensee shall make written application to the superintendent and pay an investigation fee as prescribed pursuant to section eighteen-a of this chapter to the superintendent. The application shall contain such information as the superintendent, by rule or regulation, may prescribe as necessary or appropriate for the purpose of making the determination required by subdivision two of this section.
Terms Used In N.Y. Banking Law 555-A
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Executor: A male person named in a will to carry out the decedent
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: means an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, two or more persons having a joint or common interest, or any other legal or commercial entity. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
- Superintendent: means the superintendent of financial services. See N.Y. Banking Law 554
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
2. The superintendent shall approve or disapprove the proposed change of control of a licensee in accordance with the provisions of subdivision one of section five hundred fifty-six of this article. The superintendent shall approve or disapprove the application in writing within ninety days after the date the application is filed with the superintendent.
3. For a period of six months from the date of qualification thereof and for such additional period of time as the superintendent may prescribe, in writing, the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section shall not apply to a transfer of control by operation of law to the legal representative, as hereinafter defined, of one who has control of a licensee. Thereafter, such legal representative shall comply with the provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section. The provisions of subdivisions one and two of this section shall be applicable to an application made under such section by a legal representative.
The term "legal representative", for the purposes of this section, shall mean one duly appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction to act as executor, administrator, trustee, committee, conservator or receiver, including one who succeeds a legal representative and one acting in an ancillary capacity thereto in accordance with the provisions of such court appointment.
4. As used in this section: (a) the term "person" includes an individual, partnership, corporation, association or any other organization, and (b) the term "control" means the possession, directly or indirectly, of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management and policies of a licensee, whether through the ownership of voting stock of such licensee, the ownership of voting stock of any person which possesses such power or otherwise. Control shall be presumed to exist if any person, directly or indirectly, owns, controls or holds with power to vote ten per centum or more of the voting stock of any licensee or of any person which owns, controls or holds with power to vote ten per centum or more of the voting stock of any licensee, but no person shall be deemed to control a licensee solely by reason of being an officer or director of such licensee or person. The superintendent may in his discretion, upon the application of a licensee or any person who, directly or indirectly, owns, controls or holds with power to vote or seeks to own, control or hold with power to vote any voting stock of such licensee, determine whether or not the ownership, control or holding of such voting stock constitutes or would constitute control of such licensee for purposes of this section.