No, we do not believe you need to send any additional notices to the FDIC or IDFPR’s Division of Banking if you have already received all necessary approvals to establish the branch, unless your bank is required to file a notice with the IDFPR’s Division of Banking before beginning operations at a new branch due to your CAMELS rating. We recommend reviewing the definition of “eligible state bank” in the Illinois Administrative Code (linked in the resources below) to ensure that your bank is not subject to the IDFPR’s notice requirements for new branches.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Act requires the FDIC’s consent whenever a state-chartered bank that is not a member of the Federal Reserve System establishes a new domestic branch, but it does not impose any notice requirements. Similarly, the Illinois Banking Act does not impose any notice requirements for state banks that wish to establish and maintain additional branches in Illinois.
However, the Illinois Administrative Code requires a state bank “that is not an eligible bank” to file a notice with the IDFPR’s Division of Banking “not less than 30 calendar days before the bank enters into any contract or expends funds on a temporary or permanent branch facility.” The Illinois Administrative Code defines “eligible state bank” as Illinois state banks with a composite CAMELS rating of 1 or 2 — or 3, if the bank is “stable and improving” and “the composite rating is confirmed by an offsite review in which no adverse trends are noted from other available information.” Additionally, the definition of “eligible state bank” contains multiple exceptions that also disqualify a bank from being considered “eligible,” such as disqualifications for banks that are subject to regulatory or enforcement actions or that have recently undergone a merger, conversion, or change in control.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 12 USC 1828(d)(1) (“No State nonmember insured bank shall establish and operate any new domestic branch unless it shall have the prior written consent of the Corporation, and no State nonmember insured bank shall move its main office or any such branch from one location to another without such consent.”)
- Illinois Banking Act, 205 ILCS 5/5(15)(a) (“A bank organized under this Act or subject hereto shall be a body corporate and politic and shall, without specific mention thereof in the charter, have all the powers conferred by this Act and the following additional general corporate powers: . . . To establish and maintain, in addition to the main banking premises, branches offering any banking services permitted at the main banking premises of a State bank.”)
- IDFPR Administrative Rules, 38 Ill. Adm. Code 305.20 (“A state bank that is not an eligible bank as defined in Section 305.10 and that seeks to establish and maintain a bank branch inside the United States . . . must file a Notice with the Division not less than 30 calendar days before the bank enters into any contract or expends funds on a temporary or permanent branch facility.”)
- IDFPR Administrative Rules, 38 Ill. Adm. Code 305.10 (“‘Eligible Bank’ means a state bank as defined in 38 Ill. Adm. Code 380.20.”)
- IDFPR Administrative Rules, 38 Ill. Adm. Code 380.20 (“‘Eligible state bank’ means an Illinois state bank that, at its last examination, was assigned a composite CAMELS Rating of 1 or 2, or stable and improving composite 3-rated institutions if the composite rating is confirmed by an offsite review in which no adverse trends are noted from other available information; except that, unless otherwise determined by the Secretary, the following shall not be an eligible state bank:
A newly chartered state bank, for the first three years after receiving its charter;
A state bank that results from the merger of a state bank with a financial institution other than a state bank, for the first examination period after the merger;
A state bank that results from the merger of a state bank with another state bank that was assigned a CAMELS Rating of 3, 4 or 5 at its last regular examination, for the first examination period after the merger;
A state bank that results from the conversion of a financial institution other than a state bank, for the first examination period after the conversion;
A state bank that has undergone a change of control pursuant to the applicable Act that results in new ownership or control of more than 50% of the outstanding voting stock of the state bank, for the first examination period after the change of control;
A state bank whose management or board of directors has requested an examination by the Secretary;
A state bank that, in the opinion of the Secretary, is:
operating in an unsafe manner;
operating in an unsound condition;
conducting its business in violation of applicable laws, rules, or regulations; or
conducting its business in a fraudulent manner
A state bank concerning which the appropriate federal banking agency has communicated to the Secretary that the federal banking agency will not alternate in conducting examinations of the particular bank or class of banks; and
A state bank that is subject to an administrative order or other regulator or enforcement action issued by the Secretary or the appropriate federal banking agency.”)