GA Code § 7-1-234 (2021)
2021 Georgia Code|Title 7 - Banking and Finance|Chapter 1 - Financial Institutions|Article 1 - Provisions Applicable to Department of Banking and Finance and Financial Institutions Generally|Part 10 - Change in Control of Financial Institutions|§ 7-1-234. Grounds for Disapproving Proposal

 The department may disapprove any proposed acquisition if:    The proposed acquisition of control would result in a monopoly or would be in furtherance of any combination or conspiracy to monopolize or attempt to monopolize the business of banking in any part of this state;   The effect of the proposed acquisition of control in any section of this state may be substantially to lessen competition or to tend to create a monopoly or the proposed acquisition of control would in any other manner be in restraint of trade and the anticompetitive effects of the proposed acquisition of control are not clearly outweighed in the public interest by the probable effect of the transaction in meeting the convenience and needs of the community to be served;   The financial condition of any acquiring person is such as might jeopardize the financial stability of the bank or prejudice the interests of the depositors of the bank;   The competence, experience, or integrity of any acquiring person or of any of the proposed management personnel indicates that it would not be in the interest of the depositors of the bank or in the interest of the public to permit such person to control the bank;   Any acquiring person neglects, fails, or refuses to furnish the department all the information required by it;   In the case of trust companies, any individual who exercises control of a person that submits an application for approval under Code Section 7-1-232 has unsatisfactory results from a fingerprint record check report conducted by the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to any individual who exercises control of a person that submits an application for approval under Code Section 7-1-232, and such individual shall provide express written consent to the department to conduct a criminal background check and to use all information necessary to run such check, including, but not limited to, a classifiable set of fingerprints. The individual who exercises control of a person that submits an application for approval pursuant to Code Section 7-1-232 shall be responsible for all fees associated with the performance of such criminal background check. Upon receipt of fingerprints, fees, and other required information, the Georgia Crime Information Center shall transmit the necessary information to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for a search of its records; or   In the case of trust companies, any acquiring person or an individual who is a director or officer of such person has failed to demonstrate financial responsibility, character, and general fitness. The department shall be authorized to obtain personal history and work experience and other information, including, but not limited to, independent credit reports obtained from a consumer reporting agency described in the federal Fair Credit Reporting Act, 15 U.S.C. Section 1681a(f) with respect to such acquiring person and an individual who is a director or officer of such person.    (Code 1933, § 41A-1004, enacted by Ga. L. 1980, p. 1076, § 1; Ga. L. 2019, p. 828, § 4/HB 185; Ga. L. 2020, p. 320, § 1/HB 781; Ga. L. 2020, p. 493, § 7/SB 429; Ga. L. 2021, p. 323, § 2/HB 111.)    The 2019 amendment,  effective July 1, 2019, deleted "or" from the end of paragraph (4), substituted a semicolon for a period at the end of paragraph (5), and added paragraphs (6) and (7).    The 2020 amendments.  The first 2020 amendment, effective January 1, 2021, rewrote paragraph (6), which read: "In the case of trust companies, any acquiring person or an individual that is a director or officer of such person has unsatisfactory results from a fingerprint record check report conducted by the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to any acquiring person or an individual that is a director or officer of such person, and such acquiring person or an individual that is a director or officer of such person shall provide express written consent to the department to conduct a criminal background check and to use all information necessary to run such check, including, but not limited to, a classifiable set of fingerprints. The acquiring person or an individual that is a director or officer of such person shall be responsible for all fees associated with the performance of such criminal background check; or". The second 2020 amendment, effective July 29, 2020, part of an Act to revise, modernize, and correct the Code, substituted "individual who is" for "individual that is" throughout paragraphs (6) and (7).    The 2021 amendment,  effective July 1, 2021, rewrote paragraph (6), which read: "In the case of trust companies, any individual who is an acquiring party under Code Section 7-1-232 or an individual who is a director or officer of an acquiring party under Code Section 7-1-232 has unsatisfactory results from a fingerprint record check report conducted by the Georgia Crime Information Center and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The department shall be authorized to obtain conviction data with respect to any individual who is an acquiring party or an individual who is a director or officer of an acquiring party, and such individual who is an acquiring party or an individual who is a director or officer of an acquiring party shall provide express written consent to the department to conduct a criminal background check and to use all information necessary to run such check, including, but not limited to, a classifiable set of fingerprints. The individual who is an acquiring party or an individual who is a director or officer of an acquiring party shall be responsible for all fees associated with the performance of such criminal background check; or".