(1) Within sixty days following the filing of the completed application for a de novo charter or conversion of an established bank, the commissioner shall make or cause to be made a careful investigation to determine that the following requirements have been met:

(a) That the applicant has proceeded in a lawful manner;

(b) That the name is not deceptively similar to that of another bank or otherwise misleading;

(c) That the persons who will serve as directors or officers, insofar as such persons are known, possess the qualifications and experience required under rules promulgated by the banking board and that the qualifications and financial status of the incorporators, directors, officers, and persons in control of the bank, as defined in section 11-102-302 (2), are consistent with their responsibilities and duties;

(d) That the proposed capital satisfies the standards and guidelines in the rules promulgated by the banking board;

(e) That the proposed or amended articles of incorporation and bylaws are appropriate or may be amended to be appropriate.

(2) If the commissioner determines that any of the requirements in subsection (1) of this section have not been met in any respect, he or she shall notify the applicant of such deficiencies and of corrective measures deemed appropriate. Within six months after the filing of an application for charter, and prior to the hearing prescribed in subsection (3) of this section, the commissioner shall report to the banking board that the applicant has met all of the requirements of subsection (1) of this section, if such be the case, or shall report which requirements have been met and which have not been met, together with the circumstances respecting such deficiencies. This report shall be introduced by the banking board into the record of the hearing on such application.

(3) (a) The banking board, within six months after the filing of an application for charter, and subject to subsection (7) of this section, shall hold a public hearing to consider the application; except that the banking board, for valid reasons and good cause, may postpone such hearing. At such hearing, the applicant for a de novo bank charter has the burden of proving:

(I) That the proposed bank will serve a public need and advantage in the community or area of the community that the bank will serve; and

(II) That the volume of business in the community or area of the community that the proposed bank will serve is such that profitable operation of the bank may be reasonably projected.

(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, if the banking board has given notice pursuant to subsection (5) of this section of a hearing on any application for charter filed pursuant to this section and the banking board has received no written protests against such charter application on or before the tenth day preceding the date fixed for the hearing, the banking board may grant such charter without a hearing as otherwise required in this section if the applicants for such charter are known to the banking board.

(4) On hearing, the banking board may admit in evidence the application for charter and any other relevant information in the files of the division. The applicant and all others receiving notice by registered or certified mail under subsection (5) of this section are also entitled to be heard and to introduce testimony at such hearing, as well as such others as the banking board may determine to be necessary.

(5) The banking board shall give notice of the hearing on application for a de novo bank charter provided in subsection (3) of this section at least thirty days in advance of the hearing date fixed by the banking board, by registered or certified mail, to the applicant, to each bank within a three-mile radius of the location of the proposed bank, and to such other persons or banks as the banking board may designate. The notice must be in the form prescribed by the banking board and must include the names of the incorporators, the name of each stockholder subscribing to ten percent or more of the stock of the bank, the name and location of the proposed bank, the date, time, and place of the hearing, and a statement declaring that the application and proposed articles of incorporation or amended articles of incorporation are available for inspection in the office of the banking board. The banking board shall also cause such notice to be published at least one time not less than twenty days prior to the date fixed for such hearing in a newspaper of general circulation within the community in which the proposed bank is to be located.

(6) Within one hundred twenty days following the date of conclusion of the hearing, the banking board shall issue a written order requiring the commissioner to grant a charter if a majority of the banking board finds that the requirements of subsection (1) of this section have been met and that the applicant for a de novo bank charter has met the burden of proof prescribed in subsection (3) of this section. The banking board shall make execution of its order to grant a de novo bank charter contingent upon the proposed bank making a bona fide application for membership in the federal deposit insurance corporation or the federal reserve system. In applications where the directors or management has not been fully disclosed at the time of the hearing, the banking board may make execution of its order to grant a charter contingent upon its subsequent approval of the directors and management. If a majority of the banking board finds that the requirements of subsection (1) of this section or the burden of proof of subsection (3) of this section have not been met, the banking board shall deny the application for a de novo charter. The banking board may revoke a charter in any case where the proposed bank has not exercised its charter and opened for business within six months after the date of the order to grant the charter.

(7) If, within a ninety-day period, there have been filed with the banking board two or more applications for a de novo bank charter for state banks to serve the same community, the banking board may hold a single hearing to consider the applications. The banking board may grant or deny a de novo bank charter to one or more of the applicants without regard to the priority in time of filing applications. The determination of the banking board to deny a charter to an applicant who might otherwise qualify for a charter under subsections (1) and (3) of this section must be based upon a finding that the public need or advantage of the community or area of the community in which the proposed bank will be located will best be served by such denial and by the granting of a de novo bank charter on another application or other applications heard at such single hearing.

(8) It is a criminal offense under this code for a proposed de novo state bank to perform any act as a state bank other than to perfect its organization, obtain and equip a place of business, or otherwise prepare to do business as a state bank prior to receiving a charter.

(9) Unless otherwise provided by law to the contrary, the banking board must first approve the articles of incorporation, amended articles of incorporation, or amendments to articles of incorporation, which the applicant shall then deliver and file as follows:

(a) Duplicate originals shall be delivered to the secretary of state for filing in accordance with the general corporate laws of this state;

(b) A verified copy shall be filed in the office of the clerk and recorder for the county in which the state bank is located;

(c) A copy to which the commissioner shall affix the charter, or certificate of approval in the case of amendments, shall be delivered by the commissioner to the applicant.