West Virginia Code § 31A-4-26

Limitation on loans and extensions of credit; limitation on investments;
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loans to executive officers and directors of banks and employees of the banking
department; exceptions; valuation of securities.
(a) (1) The total loans and extensions of credit made by a state-chartered banking institution
to any one person or common enterprise and not fully secured, as determined in a manner
consistent with subdivision (2) of this subsection, may not exceed 15 percent of the
unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus of that state-chartered banking institution
initially determined for the period such loan or extension of creduit is made.
(2) Where the total loans and extensions of credit by a state-chartered banking institution to
any one person or common enterprise are fully secured by readily marketable collateral
having a market value, as determined by reliable and continuously available price
quotations, at least equal to the outstanding amount of such loans and extensions, then the
bank may provide such loans or extensions of up to 10 percent of the unimpaired capital and
unimpaired surplus of that state-chartered basnking institution initially determined for the
period such loan or extension is made. This limitation shall be separate from and in addition
to the limitation contained in subdivision (1) of this subsection.
(3) For the purposes of this subsection:
(A) The term "loans and extensions of credit" includes all direct or indirect advances of funds
to a person made on the basis of any obligation of that person to repay the funds or
repayable from specific property pledged by or on behalf of the person and to the extent
specified by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions; the terms also include any liability of
a state-chartered banking institution to advance funds to or on behalf of a person pursuant
to a contractual commitment;
(B) The term "person" includes an individual, partnership, sole proprietorship, society,
association, firm, institution, company, public or private corporation, not-for-profit
corporation, state, governmental agency, bureau, department, division or instrumentality,
political subdivision, county commission, municipality, trust, syndicate, estate or any other
legal entity whatsoever, formed, created or existing under the laws of this state or any other
jurisdiction;
(C) The term "unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus" means the amount of tier 1 (core)
capital, as defined in federal regulations, that is outstanding as indicated in the bank's most
recent quarterly report of condition and income as filed with the Commissioner of Financial
Institutions pursuant to §31A-4-19 of this code, plus the amount of the allowance for loan
losses; and
(D) The term "common enterprise" includes, but is not limited to, persons and entities who
are so related by business or otherwise that the expected source of repayment on the loan or
extension of credit is substantially the same for each person or entity.
(4) The limitations contained in this subsection are subject to the following exceptions:
(A) Loans or extensions of credit arising from the discount of commercial or business paper
evidencing an obligation to the person negotiating it with recourse are not subject to any
limitation based on capital and surplus;
(B) The purchase of bankers' acceptances of the kind described in Section 13 of the Federal
Reserve Act and issued by other banks are not subject to any limitation based on capital and
surplus; u
(C) Loans and extensions of credit having a term of 10 months or less and secured by bills of
lading, warehouse receipts or similar documents transferring or securing title to readily
marketable staples are subject to a limitation of 20 peracent of unimpaired capital and
unimpaired surplus in addition to the general limitations set forth in subdivision (1) of this
subsection, provided the market value of the staplels securing each additional loan or
extension of credit at all times equals or exceesds 115 percent of the outstanding amount of
such loan or extension of credit. The staples shall be fully covered by insurance whenever it
is customary to insure the staples. If collatieral values of the staples fall below the levels
required herein, to the extent that thge loan is no longer in conformance with its collateral
requirements and exceeds the general 15 percent limitation, the loan must be brought into
conformance within five business days, except where judicial proceedings, regulatory
actions or other extraordinary occurrences prevent the bank from taking action;
(D) Loans or extensions of credit secured by bonds, notes, certificates of indebtedness or
treasury bills of the United States or by other such obligations fully guaranteed as to
principal and interest by the United States or by bonds, notes, certificates of indebtedness
which are general obligations of the State of West Virginia or by other such obligations fully
guaranteed as to principal and interest by the State of West Virginia are not subject to any
limiWtation based on capital and surplus;
(E) Loans or extensions of credit to or secured by unconditional takeout commitments or
guarantees of any department, agency, bureau, board, commission or establishment of the
United States or of the State of West Virginia or any corporation wholly owned directly or
indirectly by the United States are not subject to any limitation based on capital and surplus;
(F) Loans or extensions of credit secured by a segregated deposit account in the lending
bank are not subject to any limitation based on capital and surplus;
(G) Loans or extensions of credit to any banking institution or to any receiver, conservator or
other agent in charge of the business and property of such banking institution or other
federally insured depository institution, when the loans or extensions of credit are approved
by the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, are not subject to any limitation based on
capital and surplus;
(H) (i) Loans and extensions of credit arising from the discount of negotiable or
nonnegotiable installment consumer paper which carries a full recourse endorsement or
unconditional guarantee by the person or common enterprise transferring the paper are
subject under this section to a maximum limitation equal to 25 percent of such unimpaired
capital and unimpaired surplus, notwithstanding the collateral requirements set forth in
subdivision (2) of this subsection;
(ii) If the bank's files or the knowledge of its officers of the financial condition of each maker
of consumer paper is reasonably adequate and an officer of the bank dersignated for that
purpose by the board of directors of the bank certifies in writing that the bank is relying
primarily upon the responsibility of each maker for payment of such loans or extensions of
credit and not upon any full or partial recourse endorsement or guarantee by the transferor,
the limitations of this section as to the loans or extensions oft credit of each such maker are
the sole applicable loan limitations;
(I)(i) Loans and extensions of credit secured by shipping documents or instruments
transferring or securing title covering livestock or giving a lien on livestock when the market
value of the livestock securing the obligation iss not at any time less than 115 percent of the
face amount of the note covered shall be subject under this section to a maximum limitation
equal to 25 percent of the unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus, notwithstanding the
collateral requirements set forth in sgubdivision (2) of this subsection;
(ii) Loans and extensions of creedit which arise from the discount by dealers in livestock of
paper given in payment for livestock, which paper carries a full recourse endorsement or
unconditional guaranteeL of the seller and which are secured by the livestock being sold, are
subject under this section to a limitation of 25 percent of the unimpaired capital and
unimpaired surplus, notwithstanding the collateral requirements set forth in subdivision (2)
of this subsection;
(iii) If collateral values of the livestock documents, instruments or discount paper fall below
theW levels required herein, to the extent that the loan is no longer in conformance with its
collateral requirements and exceeds the general 15 percent limitation, the loan must be
brought into conformance within 30 business days, except where judicial proceedings,
regulatory actions or other extraordinary occurrences prevent the bank from taking action;
(J) Loans or extensions of credit to the Student Loan Marketing Association are not subject
to any limitation based on capital and surplus; and
(K) Loans or extensions of credit to a corporation owning the property in which that state-
chartered banking institution is located, when that state-chartered banking institution has
an unimpaired capital and surplus of not less than $1 million or when approved in writing by
the Commissioner of Financial Institutions, are not subject to any limitation based on capital
and surplus.
(5) (A) The Commissioner of Financial Institutions may prescribe rules to administer and
carry out the purposes of this subsection including rules to define or further define terms
used in this subsection and to establish limits or requirements other than those specified in
this subsection for particular classes or categories of loans or extensions of credit;
(B) The Commissioner of Financial Institutions may also prescribe rules to deal with loans or
extensions of credit, which were not in violation of this section prior to the effective date of
this article, but which will be in violation of this section upon the effective deate of this
article; and
(C) The Commissioner of Financial Institutions may also determine when a loan putatively
made to a person is, for purposes of this subsection, attributed tou another person.
(b) (1) Except as hereinafter provided or otherwise permitted by law, nothing herein
contained authorizes the purchase by a state-chartered banking institution for its own
account of any shares of stock of any corporation: Provaided, That a state-chartered banking
institution may purchase and sell securities and stock without recourse, solely upon the
order and for the account of customers. l
(2) The total amount of investment securities of any one obligor or maker held by a state-
chartered banking institution for its own aiccount may not exceed that percentage of the
unimpaired capital and unimpaired gsurplus of that state-chartered banking institution as is
permitted for investment by national banks or for any federally insured depository
institution.
(3) For purposes of this subsection:
(A) The term "investment securities" means a marketable obligation in the form of a stock,
bond, note or debent ure commonly regarded as an investment security and that is salable
under ordinarVy circumstances with reasonable promptness at a fair value. "Derivative
security" means a type of investment security involving a financial contract whose value
depends on the values of one or more underlying assets or indexes of asset values. The term
"derivative" refers inter alia to financial contracts such as collateralized mortgage
obligations, forwards, futures, forward rate agreements, swaps, options and
caps/floors/collars whose primary purpose is to transfer price risks associated with
fluctuations in asset values;
(B) The term "person" includes any individual, partnership, sole proprietorship, society,
association, firm, institution, company, public or private corporation, not-for-profit
corporation, state, governmental agency, bureau, department, division or instrumentality,
political subdivision, county commission, municipality, trust, syndicate, estate or any other
legal entity whatsoever, formed, created or existing under the laws of this state or any other
jurisdiction; and
(C) The term "unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus" has the same meaning as set
forth in subsection (a) of this section.
(4) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subsection, a state-chartered banking
institution may invest its funds in any investment authorized for national banking
associations or for any other federally insured depository institution. The investments by
state-chartered banking institutions shall be on the same terms and conditions applicable to
national banking associations or any other federally insured depository institution: Provided,
That: (i) The purchase of investment securities under this subdivision may be made only
when in the bank's prudent judgment, which judgment may be based in paret on estimates
which it believes to be reliable, there is adequate evidence that the obligor will be able to
perform all it undertakes to perform in connection with the securities, irncluding all debt
service requirements, and that the securities may be sold with reasonable promptness at a
price that corresponds to their fair value; and (ii) the purchase conforms to the requirement
of subdivision (5) of this subsection. The Commissioner of Financial Institutions may, from
time to time, provide notice to state-chartered banking instittutions of authorized investments
under this paragraph.
(5) The purchase of investment securities, including derivative securities, in which the
investment characteristics are considered distinctly or predominantly speculative, or the
purchase of such securities that are in default, whether as to principal or interest, is
prohibited. The proper management of interest rate risk through the use of derivative or
other investment securities may not be held a speculative purpose.
(6) The Commissioner of Financial Institutions may prescribe rules to administer and carry
out the purposes of this subsecetion, including rules to define or further define terms used in
this subsection and to establish limits or requirements other than those specified in this
subsection for particulaLr classes or categories of investment securities.
(c) If there is a material decline of unimpaired capital and unimpaired surplus of a state-
chartered bank during any quarterly reporting period of more than 20 percent from that
amount reported in the bank's most recent report of income and condition, or where there is
a decrease of more than 30 percent in any 12 month period, the bank shall review its
outWstanding loans, extensions of credit and investments and report to the Commissioner of
Financial Institutions those loans, extensions and investments that exceed the limitations of
this section using the bank's current reevaluated unimpaired capital and unimpaired
surplus. The report shall detail the bank's position in each such loan, extension of credit and
investment. The commissioner may, within his or her discretion, require that such loans,
extensions of credit and investments be brought into conformity with the bank's current
reevaluated legal lending and investment limitation.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, in order to ensure a bank's safety
and soundness, the Commissioner of Financial Institutions retains the authority to direct any
state-chartered bank to recalculate its lending and investment limits at more frequent
intervals than otherwise provided herein and to require all outstanding loans, extensions of
credit and investments be brought into conformance with the reevaluated limitations. In
such cases, the commissioner will provide the bank a written notice explaining briefly the
specific reasons why the determination was made to require the more frequent calculations.
(e) Loans to directors or executive officers are subject to the following limitations:
(1) A director or executive officer of any banking institution may not borrow, directly or
indirectly, from a banking institution with which he or she is connected more than $25,000
or five percent of unimpaired capital and surplus to a maximum aggregate amount of
$500,000 without the prior approval of a majority of the board of directors or discount
committee of the banking institution, or of any duly constituted committee wehose duties
include those usually performed by a discount committee. The approval shall be by
resolution adopted by a majority vote of the board or committee, exclusrive of the director or
executive officer to whom the loan is made.
(2) If any director or executive officer of any bank owns or controls a majority of the stock of
any corporation, or is a partner in any partnership, a loan tot the corporation or partnership
constitutes a loan to the director or officer.
(3) For purposes of this subsection, an "executive officer" means:
(A) A person who participates or has authoritys to participate, other than in the capacity of a
director, in major policy-making functions of the company or bank, regardless of any official
title, salary or other compensation. The chiairman of the board, the president, every vice
president, the cashier, the secretaryg and the treasurer of a company or bank are considered
executive officers unless the officer is excluded, by resolution of the board of directors or by
the bylaws of the bank or company from participation, other than in the capacity of director,
in major policy-making functions of the bank or company and the officer does not actually
participate therein.
(B) An executive officer of a company of which the bank is a subsidiary, and any other
subsidiary of that company, unless the executive officer of the subsidiary is excluded, by
name or by title, from participation in major policy-making functions of the bank by
resolutions of the boards of directors of both the subsidiary and the bank and does not
actuWally participate in such major policy-making functions.
(4) Prior approval under subdivision (1) of this subsection is not required for:
(A) Payments of overdrafts pursuant to: (i) A written, preauthorized, interest-bearing
extension of credit plan that has been approved by the board of directors or an appropriate
committee and that specifies a method of repayment; or (ii) a written, preauthorized transfer
of funds from another account of the account holder at the bank; or
(B) Payments of inadvertent overdrafts on an account in an aggregate amount of $1,000 or
less: Provided, That: (i) The account is not overdrawn for more than five consecutive
business days; and (ii) the bank charges the director or executive officer the same fee
charged to any other customer of the bank in similar circumstances.
(f) An employee of the Division of Financial Institutions whose regulatory activities involve
participation in an examination, audit, visitation, review, investigation or any other
particular matter involving depository institutions chartered by the division may not borrow,
directly or indirectly, any sum of money from a state-chartered bank or state-chartered
credit union. An employee of the Division of Financial Institutions whose regulatory activities
involve participation in an examination, audit, visitation, review, investigation or any other
particular matter involving nondepository institutions licensed by the division may not
borrow, directly or indirectly, any sum of money from a nondepository entitye that is licensed
by the division. The commissioner, deputy commissioner and in-house legal counsel of the
Division of Financial Institutions may not borrow, directly or indirectly,r any sum of money
from any entity that is under the jurisdiction of the division.
(g) Securities purchased by a state-chartered banking institution shall be entered upon the
books of the bank at actual cost. For the purpose of calculatting the undivided profits
applicable to the payment of dividends, securities may not be valued at a valuation
exceeding their present cost as determined by amortization of premiums and accretion of
discounts pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles, that is, by charging to profit
and loss a sum sufficient to bring them to par at maturity: Provided, That securities held for
trade or permissible marketable equity securities and any other types of debt securities
which pursuant to generally accepted accounting principles are to be carried on the bank's
books at fair market value shall have the unrealized market appreciation and depreciation
included in the income and capital as permitted by generally accepted accounting principles.
(h) The market value of securieties purchased and loans extended by a state-chartered
banking institution shall be reported in all public reports and quarterly reports to the
commissioner pursuant Lto §31A-4-19 of this code in accordance with generally accepted
accounting principles and any applicable state or federal law, rule or regulation.

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