§ 19-7-2. Acquisitions authorized. (a) An out-of-state bank or bank-holding company may acquire direct or indirect ownership or control of more than five percent (5%) of the voting stock of one or more financial institutions or Rhode Island bank-holding companies if the following conditions are met:

(1) The laws of the state in which the out-of-state bank is located, or in which operations of the bank subsidiaries of an out-of-state bank-holding company are principally conducted, expressly authorize, under conditions no more restrictive than those imposed by the laws of Rhode Island, as determined by the director, or the director's designee, the acquisition by a Rhode Island bank-holding company or a financial institution of direct or indirect ownership or control of more than five percent (5%) of the voting stock of banks located in that state or bank-holding companies, the operations of the bank subsidiaries of which are principally conducted in that state;

(2) The acquisition, including all of the terms and conditions of the acquisition, has been approved in advance by the director, or the director's designee, as being in the public interest, pursuant to a written order evidencing such approval. In determining whether the approval of a proposed acquisition by an out-of-state bank or bank-holding company is in the public interest, the director, or the director's designee, shall consider, in addition to any other factors he or she may in his or her discretion determine, whether the acquisition shall promote the safety and soundness of the financial institution whose voting stock is to be acquired and the convenience and advantage of communities served by that financial institution, and whether the acquisition is likely to have a significant impact upon the state's economy, employment levels, and tax base. Any financial institution or Rhode Island bank-holding company that is the subject of an acquisition under this section shall be a party to the proceedings of the director, or the director's designee, and shall be entitled to seek judicial review of any final decision of the director, or the director's designee. The procedures for notice and the conducting of hearings by the director, or the director's designee, and the rights of appeal from decisions of the director, or the director's designee, shall be governed by this title.

(b) The provisions of subsection (a) shall apply to mergers, acquisitions, consolidations, or purchases of assets and assumptions of liabilities irrespective of whether the transactions under those sections involve an out-of-state bank or out-of-state bank-holding company.

(c) The provisions of this section shall only apply after September 29, 1995, to the extent consistent with and not preempted by federal law.

History of Section. (P.L. 1995, ch. 82, § 45; P.L. 1997, ch. 98, § 6.)