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A.  In addition to the general corporate powers conferred in La. Rev. Stat. 6:241 and the powers conferred by other provisions of the laws of this state, a state bank shall have the following banking powers and those incidental to the exercise of these powers:

(1)  To receive and pay out deposits, with or without interest, and pay checks.

(2)  To lend money at interest on a secured or unsecured basis and, pursuant to regulations issued by the commissioner, to vary from time to time the interest rate charged on loans according to the terms and conditions contained in the promissory note.  Such conditions shall not be deemed to rely upon the whim of the obligor so as to render them null nor shall such conditions destroy the negotiability of the promissory note.

(3)  To accept for payment at a future date drafts drawn upon it by its customers.

(4)  To issue letters of credit.

(5)  To discount and buy and sell promissory notes, bills of exchange and other evidences of indebtedness, gold and silver, and bonds of the United States, of this state, and of the several levee districts, parishes, school districts, drainage districts, road districts, and municipal corporations of this state, on which bonds there shall have been no default in the payment of interest for the lesser of the last five years or the existence of the bonds.

(6)(a)  To act as the agent for any insurance company authorized to do insurance business in this state by soliciting and selling insurance and to receive for services so rendered such lawful commissions or fees as may be agreed upon between the bank and the insurance company for which it is acting as agent.  The location of the insurance agency shall be the address shown on the license application submitted to the Department of Insurance pursuant to the provisions of the Louisiana Insurance Code, notwithstanding the conduct of insurance sales activities at other locations.

(b)  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any bank which was engaged as a general insurance agent or broker on January 1, 1984, may continue to be so engaged.

(7)  To maintain and lease safe deposit boxes and to accept property or documents for safekeeping.

(8)  To subscribe to the capital stock and become a member of the Federal Reserve System and to comply with the rules and regulations thereof.

(9)  To obtain insurance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and to comply with the rules and regulations thereof.

(10)  To invest in mortgages, obligations, stocks, or other securities of the Federal National Mortgage Association, the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation, the Student Loan Marketing Association, the Government National Mortgage Association, or any agency of the United States and to invest in bonds issued, assumed, or guaranteed by the African Development Bank.

(11)  To engage in the business of selling, issuing, or offering shares of stock and to be exempt from all provisions of the laws of this state, other than the provisions of this law, which provide for supervision, reporting, registration, or regulation in connection with the sale, issuance, or offering of securities, and the sale, issuance, or offering of any shares of stock shall be legal without any action or approval whatsoever on the part of any official other than the commissioner authorized to license, regulate, or supervise the sale, issuance, or offering of securities.  This exemption shall apply with the same force to any officer or employee of any bank when acting within the scope of his employment.  Nothing contained herein shall be construed to extend the powers of state banks to underwrite the sale of stock beyond that currently permitted either under the laws of this state or of the United States.

(12)  To make loans and advances of credit secured by mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, the Veterans’ Administration, and other similar federal agencies and to otherwise purchase and invest in obligations of those agencies.

(13)  To borrow money and to mortgage, pledge, hypothecate, or grant a security interest in any of its assets to secure such borrowings when authorized by resolution of the board of directors, which resolution specifies the maximum amount which may be borrowed.

(14)  To agree to repurchase securities sold by the state bank commonly referred to as repurchase agreements.

(15)  To enjoy such powers as may be accorded through regulations issued by the commissioner.

(16)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary state-chartered banks are authorized to sell annuities to the same extent as federally chartered banks.  The commissioner of insurance shall license employees of banks or bank subsidiaries to fulfill the purposes of this Paragraph.

(17)  Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, to engage in the business of making and facilitating refund anticipation loans and to assess interest charges and fees in relation to such loans to the same extent as a state-chartered bank in any other state or a bank chartered under the laws of the United States.  For purposes of this Paragraph, the term “refund anticipation loan” means a loan whereby the creditor arranges to be repaid directly by the Internal Revenue Service from the anticipated proceeds of the debtor’s income tax refund.

(18)  In furtherance of the Louisiana Community Development Financial Institutions Act and in low-income communities affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, to make investments in Louisiana Community Development Financial Institutions to promote the public welfare such as developing housing, fostering economic growth and revitalization, and creating small businesses, including minority-owned businesses, provided that such investments do not expose a bank to unlimited liability and that a bank’s aggregate investments made under this Paragraph shall not exceed the maximum amount allowed by federal law for investments in Community Development Financial Institutions.

B.  A state bank shall have the powers conferred by Subsection A without specific mention thereof in its articles of incorporation or certificate of authority.

C.(1)(a)  In addition to any other preexisting powers, a state bank shall have and possess such rights, powers, privileges, and immunities of a national bank or national bank branch domiciled in this state only if both of the following conditions are met:

(i)  The state bank notifies the commissioner in writing of its intent to exercise such rights, powers, privileges, and immunities.

(ii)  The commissioner does not raise an objection within forty-five days of receipt of the written notice of intent from the state bank.

(b)  The commissioner shall, upon request, notify the bank in writing as to the nature of his objection.

(2)  In the event of a conflict between this Subsection, or any rule or regulation promulgated hereunder, and any other provision of law, the provisions of this Subsection shall control.

D.(1)  Any state-chartered bank or trust company which desires to surrender trust or fiduciary powers shall file with the commissioner of financial institutions and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, if applicable, a certified copy of the resolution of its board of directors signifying such desire.  Upon receiving the resolution the commissioner shall make an investigation and, if satisfied that the bank or trust company has been relieved of all duties as trustee, executor, administrator, registrar of stocks and bonds, assignee, receiver, curator of the property of minors or interdicts, or other fiduciary duties, whether under court, private, or other appointments previously accepted under any law, may, in his discretion, issue to such bank or  trust company a certificate that such bank or trust company is no longer authorized to exercise trust or fiduciary powers.  Upon the issuance of the commissioner’s certificate, such bank or trust company shall not thereafter exercise any trust or fiduciary powers without paying a reapplication fee to be established by regulation and obtaining a new permit to exercise such powers.

(2)  The commissioner is authorized and empowered to promulgate such regulations, in conformity with La. Rev. Stat. 49:950 et seq., the Administrative Procedure Act, as he may deem necessary to enforce compliance with this Subsection.

E.(1)  If, in the opinion of the commissioner, a state chartered bank has unlawfully or unsoundly exercised, or has failed for a period of five consecutive years to exercise, the trust or fiduciary powers granted by La. Rev. Stat. 6:241(B)(6) and (7), or otherwise fails or has failed to comply with the duties of trustees as set forth in the Louisiana Trust Code, the commissioner may issue and serve upon the bank a notice of intent to revoke the authority of the bank to exercise trust or fiduciary powers.  The notice shall contain a statement of the facts constituting the alleged unlawful or unsound exercise of powers, or failure to exercise powers, or failure to comply, and shall fix a time and place at which a hearing will be held to determine whether an order revoking authority to exercise such powers should issue against the bank.

(2)  The revocation hearing shall be conducted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.  The hearing shall be fixed for a date not earlier than thirty days nor later than sixty days after service of such notice by certified mail, return receipt requested.

(3)  If a duly authorized representative of the banks fails to appear at the hearing, it shall be conclusively presumed that the bank has consented to the issuance of the revocation order.  In the event that consent is by letter communicated to the commissioner, or consent is conclusively presumed as provided for in the preceding sentence, or if, upon the record made at the hearing, the commissioner shall find that the allegations specified in the notice of charges have been established by sufficient competent and relevant evidence, the commissioner may issue and serve upon the bank an order prohibiting it from accepting any new or additional trust accounts and revoking authority to exercise any and all powers granted by La. Rev. Stat. 6:241(B)(6) and (7).  Such order shall specify a reasonable time for the bank to expeditiously divest or terminate all previously accepted trust accounts.  The bank shall be held to the statutory duties of trustee for all previously accepted trust accounts until they have been divested or terminated.

(4)  A revocation order issued after a hearing on the merits or based on the conclusive presumption of consent arising from nonappearance at a scheduled hearing shall become effective not earlier than thirty days after service of such order upon the bank by certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall remain effective and enforceable except to the extent as it is stayed, modified, terminated, or set aside by action of a reviewing court or the commissioner.  A revocation order based on the affirmative, written communication of the bank to the commissioner, consenting to the revocation, shall become effective at the time specified in the bank’s written consent to revocation.  If the written consent to revoke does not specify an effective date, the revocation order shall establish the revocation date as the date on which the commissioner receives the bank’s communication.

(5)  Judicial review of a revocation order shall be in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

Acts 1984, No. 719, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1985.  Acts 1985, No. 359, §1, eff. July 9, 1985; Acts 1985, No. 784, §1; Acts 1988, No. 40, §1, eff. June 10, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 134, §1; Acts 1989, No. 397, §1, eff. June 30, 1989; Acts 1990, No. 611, §1, eff. July 19, 1990; Acts 1990, No. 637, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1079, §2, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 1993, No. 281, §1, eff. July 1, 1993; Acts 1993, No. 952, §1; Acts 1995, No. 355, §1, eff. Sept. 29, 1995; Acts 1995, No. 681, §1; Acts 1997, No. 606, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1475, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 2003, No. 573, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2003, No. 665, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2005, 1^st Ex. Sess., No. 53, §1, eff. Jan. 21, 2006.