N.Y. BNK Law § 238 — New York Code / Act BNK / Article 6 / Section 238
Regulations and restrictions as to repayment of deposits
Status: in_force

§ 238. Regulations and restrictions as to repayment of deposits. 1.\nThe repayment of deposits made with any savings bank and any interest\ncredited thereto, shall be subject to the provisions of this chapter and\nto rules and regulations made in accordance therewith. Any such\nregulations adopted by the board of trustees shall be posted in a\nconspicuous place in the office or offices of such savings bank, and\nshall be available to depositors upon request. All such rules and\nregulations, from time to time in effect, and all amendments thereto,\nfrom time to time in effect, shall be binding upon all depositors.\n  2. A savings bank may at any time by a resolution of its board of\ntrustees require a notice of sixty days before repaying deposits which\nare not demand deposits, in which event no non-demand deposit shall be\ndue or payable until sixty days after notice of intention to withdraw\nthe same shall have been personally given by the depositor. Any such\nnon-demand deposit shall cease to be due or payable under such notice or\nby reason thereof upon the fifteenth day after the expiration of such\nsixty days' notice if not withdrawn by the fifteenth day thereafter.\nNothing herein contained, however, shall be construed as prohibiting any\nsavings bank from making payments of such deposits before the expiration\nof said sixty days' notice. Except as provided in subdivision four of\nthis section and in subdivision one-a of section two hundred thirty-four\nof this chapter, no savings bank shall agree with its depositors in\nadvance to waive said sixty days' notice nor shall it require a longer\nnotice than sixty days. In the event that any savings bank shall require\nthat notice be given before such deposits may be withdrawn it shall,\nupon the day such requirement is made effective, notify the\nsuperintendent by telephone or telegraph that such requirement has been\nmade.\n  3. Except as provided in subdivisions four, five and six of this\nsection, a savings bank shall not pay, nor shall a depositor, his\nassignee or anyone claiming through a depositor, be entitled to receive\nany interest or deposit or portion of a deposit, unless the passbook of\nthe depositor be produced and the proper entry be made therein at the\ntime of the payment. The board of trustees, however, may provide in the\nby-laws for making payments in cases of loss of passbook, or other\nexceptional cases where the passbooks cannot be produced without serious\ninconvenience to depositors. The board of trustees may further provide\nin the by-laws for the payment of interest to a depositor without\nrequiring the production of the passbook, provided that such payment is\nmade (a) pursuant to the written request of the depositor, and (b) by\ncheck payable to the order of the depositor. The right to make such\npayments without production of the passbook shall cease when the\nsuperintendent shall so direct, upon his being satisfied that such right\nis being improperly exercised. Payments, however, may be made upon the\njudgment or order of a court. Where payment is made without production\nof the passbook in accordance with its by-laws, a savings bank shall not\nbe liable to an assignee of that passbook for such payment if such\nassignee has not, prior to such payment, served upon the savings bank\nwritten notice of the assignment. When authorized by the depositor, or,\nin the case of a joint account, by both depositors, a savings bank may\ncharge the account of such depositor or depositors for any sums due the\ninsurance department of such savings bank, or due the insurance\ndepartment of any other savings bank for which it is agent, without\nrequiring the production of the passbook for the recording of the charge\ntherein. For the purpose of this subdivision, the term "passbook" shall\ninclude any evidence of ownership of a deposit held pursuant to\nsubdivision one-a of section two hundred thirty-four of this chapter,\nsubject, however, to such regulations and restrictions as the\nsuperintendent of financial services may prescribe pursuant to such\nsubdivision.\n  4. A savings bank may contract with its depositors to repay deposits\nof fixed sums made at regular intervals, other than demand deposits and\ndeposits held pursuant to subdivision one-a of section two hundred\nthirty-four of this chapter, at a given time with all interest credited\nthereon or to repay said deposits when, together with interest credited\nthereon, they shall equal a specific sum and may issue a certificate\nsetting forth the given sum to which such deposits shall be accumulated\nor the given time during which the deposits and the interest thereon\nshall be accumulated. Such contract shall not provide for any forfeiture\nof the sums deposited in the event of the discontinuance of the regular\npayments. Interest on club accounts, if offered, must be credited at\nleast quarterly and may not be forfeited once credited, in the event of\nthe discontinuance of regular payments. Any savings bank which provides\nfor deposits in club accounts shall, in all advertising, announcements\nor brochures pertaining to such accounts, state whether or not interest\nis paid thereon and, if interest is paid, shall state the rate or form\nof interest so paid in accordance with any rules and regulations that\nmay be prescribed by the superintendent.\n  4-a. If a deposit held pursuant to subdivision one-a of section two\nhundred thirty-four of this chapter is repaid prior to maturity at the\nrequest of a depositor, such repayment shall be subject to such\npenalties as the superintendent of financial services may find to be\nnecessary and proper, except that no such penalty shall be imposed where\nthe depositor has died or been declared legally incompetent.\n  5. A savings bank may accept deposits from an employer or an employee\ngroup, to be credited to the individual accounts of the members of a\ngroup of employees having a common employer, without the issuance of a\npassbook in connection therewith, and may pay to any one of the members\nof such group, or to his authorized agent, in person, the whole or any\npart of such deposits credited to his account together with the interest\ncredited thereon, without requiring the production of a passbook.\n  6. Subject to any regulations and restrictions prescribed by the\nsuperintendent of financial services, a savings bank may accept\ndeposits, including demand deposits, without the issuance of a passbook\nin connection therewith, and may issue such other evidences of its\nobligation to repay such deposits as may be appropriate to safeguard the\ninterests of the depositors and of the savings bank.\n