§ 303.7 Public notice requirements. ( a ) *General.* The public must be provided with prior notice of a filing to establish a domestic branch, relocate a domestic branch or the main office, relocate an insured branch of a foreign bank, engage in a merger transaction, initiate a change of control transaction, or request deposit insurance. The public has the right to comment on, or to protest, these types of proposed transactions during the relevant comment period. In order to fully apprise the public of this right, an applicant shall publish a public notice of its filing in a newspaper of general circulation. For specific publication requirements, consult subparts B (Deposit Insurance), C (Branches and Relocations), D (Merger Transactions), E (Change in Bank Control), and J (International Banking) of this part.
( b ) *Confirmation of publication.* The applicant shall mail or otherwise deliver a copy of the newspaper notice to the appropriate FDIC office as part of its filing, or, if a copy is not available at the time of filing, promptly after publication.
( c ) *Content of notice.* ( 1 ) The public notice referred to in paragraph (a) of this section shall consist of the following: ( i ) In the case of an application for deposit insurance for a de novo depository institution, include the names of all organizers or incorporators. In the case of an application to establish a branch, include the location of the proposed branch or, in the case of an application to relocate a branch or main office, include the current and proposed address of the office. In the case of a merger application, include the names of all parties to the transaction. In the case of a notice of acquisition of control, include the name(s) of the acquiring parties. In the case of an application to relocate an insured branch of a foreign bank, include the current and proposed address of the branch.
( ii ) Type of filing being made;
( iii ) Name of the depository institution(s) that is the subject matter of the filing;
( iv ) That the public may submit comments to the appropriate FDIC regional director;
( v ) The address of the appropriate FDIC office where comments may be sent (the same location where the filing will be made);
( vi ) The closing date of the public comment period as specified in the appropriate subpart of this part; and
( vii ) That the nonconfidential portions of the application are on file in the appropriate FDIC office and are available for public inspection during regular business hours; photocopies of the nonconfidential portion of the application file will be made available upon request.
( 2 ) The requirements of paragraphs (c)(1)(iv) through (vii) of this section may be satisfied through use of the following notice: Any person wishing to comment on this application may file his or her comments in writing with the regional director of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at the appropriate FDIC office [insert address of office] not later than [insert closing date of the public comment period specified in the appropriate subpart of part 303]. The non-confidential portions of the application are on file at the appropriate FDIC office and are available for public inspection during regular business hours. Photocopies of the nonconfidential portion of the application file will be made available upon request.
( d ) *Multiple transactions.* The FDIC may consider more than one transaction, or a series of transactions, to be a single filing for purposes of the publication requirements of this section. When publishing a single public notice for multiple transactions, the applicant shall explain in the public notice how the transactions are related. The closing date of the comment period shall be the closing date of the longest public comment period that applies to any of the related transactions.
( e ) *Joint public notices.* For a transaction subject to public notice requirements by the FDIC and another federal or state banking authority, the FDIC will accept publication of a single joint notice containing all the information required by both the FDIC and the other federal agency or state banking authority, provided that the notice states that comments must be submitted to the appropriate FDIC office and, if applicable, the other federal or state banking authority.
( f ) Where public notice is required, the FDIC may determine on a case-by-case basis that unusual circumstances surrounding a particular filing warrant modification of the publication requirements.
[67 FR 79247, Dec. 27, 2002, as amended at 86 FR 8097, Feb. 3, 2021]