2023 Colorado Revised Statutes › Title 11 - FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (§§ 11-1-101 — 11-111-116) › BANKS (§§ 11-101-101 — 11-111-116) › COLORADO BANKING CODE (§§ 11-101-101 — 11-111-116) › Article 101 - GENERAL PROVISIONS (§§ 11-101-101 — 11-101-401) › Part 4 - DEFINITIONS (§ 11-101-401) › Section 11-101-401 - [Effective 8/7/2024] Definitions

As used in this code, unless the context otherwise requires:
(1)
"Account holder" means a person having an established demand, savings, or loan account at a Colorado bank.
(2)
"Account overline" means a banking transaction pursuant to which an account holder debits the account holder's existing demand or savings account even though such debit may create or extend a negative balance to be covered by an extension of credit or would create a negative balance but for an extension of credit to such account by the Colorado bank.
(3)
"Action", in the sense of a judicial proceeding, means a recoupment, counterclaim, third-party claim, cross-claim, setoff, suit in equity, arbitration, and any other proceeding in which rights are determined.
(3.5)
"Affiliate" means any company that directly or indirectly controls, is controlled by, or is under common control with another company.
(4)
"Affiliate financial institution" means any bank or savings and loan association that has its principal place of business in Colorado and that is controlled by a financial institution.
(5)
"Bank" or "banking institution" means a state bank or bank with trust powers chartered by this state or another state, a national bank, or a national bank with trust powers, but does not include a credit card national bank; except that, for the purpose of part 2 of article
104
of this title, "bank" means any bank organized or chartered under articles
101
to
107
of this title, any bank organized or chartered as a bank under the laws of any other jurisdiction, or any bank organized or chartered under chapter 2 of title 12 of the United States Code.
(6)
"Bank holding company" means any company that has direct or indirect control over any banking institution.
(7)
"Banking board" means the banking board within the division established pursuant to section
11-102-103
.
(8)
Repealed.
(9)
"Banking transactions" means cash withdrawals, deposits, account transfers, payments from bank accounts, disbursements under a preauthorized credit agreement, and loan payments initiated by an account holder at a communications facility and accessing his or her account at a Colorado bank.
(10)
"Branch" means any branch bank, branch office, branch agency, additional office, or branch place of business situated in Colorado or another state of a financial institution located in this or another state at which deposits are received, checks are paid, and money is lent and trust powers may be exercised, if approved by its chartering authority.
(11)
"Capital and surplus" or "capital stock and unimpaired surplus fund" means paid-in capital stock plus surplus, undivided profits, subordinated notes and debentures, reserves for contingencies and other capital reserves, and the reserve for possible loan losses.
(12)
"Colorado affiliate", with respect to a Colorado bank or Colorado trust company, means:
(a)
Any company that is controlled by a bank holding company that controls a Colorado bank or Colorado trust company; or
(b)
Any company that is controlled by or that controls a Colorado bank or Colorado trust company.
(13)
"Colorado bank" means a bank having its principal place of business in Colorado.
(14)
"Colorado bank holding company" means a registered bank holding company the operations of which are principally conducted in Colorado. "Colorado bank holding company" does not include an out-of-state bank holding company that acquires control of one or more Colorado bank holding companies or Colorado banks, whether or not its operations are principally conducted in Colorado after such acquisition, or any Colorado bank holding company the control of which or as to which a majority nonvoting equity interest is first acquired by an out-of-state bank holding company on or after July 1, 1988.
(15)
"Colorado financial institution" means a financial institution having its principal place of business in Colorado.
(16)
"Colorado trust company" means:
(a)
A national banking association that has its principal office in Colorado and to which the comptroller of the currency has issued a certificate authorizing the commencement of business and that is required by said comptroller to limit its operations to those of a trust company and any activities related thereto; or
(b)
A trust company organized under article
109
of this title, which trust company has its principal office in Colorado.
(16.5)
"Commercial activities" means activities in which a bank holding company, a financial holding company, a national bank, or a national bank financial subsidiary may not engage under federal law.
(17)
"Commissioner" means the state bank commissioner appointed and serving pursuant to section
11-102-101 (2)
, who shall be the commissioner of banking referred to in articles
101
to
109
of this title.
(18)
"Communications facility" means an attended or unattended electronic information processing device, other than an ordinary telephone instrument, located in this state separate and apart from a Colorado bank and through which account holders and Colorado banks may engage in banking transactions by means of either the instant transmission (online) of electronic impulses to and from the Colorado bank or its data processing agent or the recording of electronic impulses or other indicia of a banking transaction for delayed transmission (off-line) to a Colorado bank or its data processing agent. Such a device located on the premises of a Colorado bank shall be a communications facility if such device is utilized by the account holders of other Colorado banks.
(19)
"Community" means a city, town, or incorporated village of this state, or a trade area in this state in unincorporated territory.
(20)
"Company" means any corporation, partnership, business trust, association, or similar organization; except that, for the purpose of article
106
of this title, "company" means a bank or trust company that is authorized by the division of banking or the comptroller of the currency to conduct fiduciary business in Colorado.
(21)
"Constituent bank" means a party to a merger.
(22)
"Continuing bank" means a merging bank the charter of which becomes the charter of the resulting bank.
(23)
(a)
Except as otherwise provided in paragraphs (b) and (c) of this subsection (23), a company with "control" means:
(I)
A company that, either directly, indirectly, or acting through one or more persons, owns, controls, or has the power to vote twenty-five percent or more of the voting securities of another company; or
(II)
A company that controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors, managers, or trustees of another company.
(b)
For the purpose of part 2 of article
104
of this title, "control" means that:
(I)
A company, either directly, indirectly, or acting through one or more persons, owns, controls, or has power to vote twenty-five percent or more of the voting securities of a bank holding company or of a bank; or
(II)
A company controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors, managers, or trustees of a bank holding company or of a bank.
(c)
For the purpose of section
11-104-101
, "control" means that:
(I)
Any company directly or indirectly or acting through one or more persons owns, controls, or has power to vote twenty-five percent or more of the voting securities of the banking institution; or
(II)
The company controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors, managers, or trustees of the banking institution.
(24)
"Converted bank" means the same bank after the conversion.
(25)
"Converting bank" means a bank converting from a state to a national bank, or the reverse.
(26)
"Court" means a court of competent jurisdiction.
(27)
"Credit card national bank" means an institution that is organized or chartered as a national bank under chapter 2 of title 12 of the United States Code, that engages only in credit card operations, and that qualifies for exception from the definition of a "bank" under section 2 (c)(2)(F) of the federal "Bank Holding Company Act of 1956", Public Law 84-511,
12 U.S.C. sec. 1841 (c)(2)(F)
.
(27.5)
"De novo bank" means a newly incorporated and chartered federally insured bank.
(28)
"De novo branch" means a branch of a financial institution that:
(a)
Is originally established by the financial institution as a branch; and
(b)
Does not become a branch of such financial institution as a result of:
(I)
The acquisition by the financial institution of a depository institution or a branch of a depository institution; or
(II)
The conversion, merger, or consolidation of any such institution or branch.
(29)
"Deposit production office" means an office or branch used primarily for the purpose of deposit production.
(30)
"Depositor" means:
(a)
A person or company that places money in a bank account; and
(b)
A person delivering property or documents to a lessor for safekeeping.
(31)
"Division" means the division of banking of this state created by this code.
(32)
"Executive officer", when referring to a bank, means a person who participates or has authority to participate, other than in the capacity of a director, in major policy-making functions of the bank, whether or not the officer has an official title, the title designates the officer as an assistant, or the officer is serving without salary or other compensation. "Executive officer" includes the chairman of the board of directors and the president, every vice-president, and the cashier of a bank, unless any such officer is excluded by resolution of the board of directors or by the bylaws of the bank from participation, other than in the capacity of a director, in major policy-making functions of the bank and such officer does not actually participate therein.
(33)
"Federal bank holding company act" means the federal "Bank Holding Company Act of 1956", Pub.L. 84-511,
12 U.S.C. sec. 1841
et seq., as amended.
(34)
"Fiduciary" means original or successor trustee of an expressed or implied trust, including but not limited to a resulting or constructive trust, special administrator, executor, administrator, administrator c.t.a., guardian, guardian-trustee or conservator for a minor or other incompetent person, receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, assignee for creditors, or any holder of a similar position of trust acting alone or with others.
(35)
"Fiduciary business" means estate and trust administration, conservatorship, agency, escrow, and custodian business and any other fiduciary business.
(36)
"Financial institution" means any bank, bank holding company, savings and loan association, federal savings bank, or thrift holding company.
(37)
(a)
"Foreign bank" means any bank, including any commercial bank, merchant bank, or other institution that engages in banking activities that are usual in connection with the business of banking in the nations where such institution is organized or operating, other than a bank that is organized under the laws of a state of the United States or a national bank that maintains its head office in a state of the United States.
(b)
As used in this subsection (37), "foreign nation" means any nation other than the United States, including any subdivision, territory, trust territory, dependency, or possession of any such nation. "Foreign nation" includes Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, and any territory, trust territory, dependency, or insular possession of the United States.
(38)
"Good faith" means honesty in fact in the transaction and some reasonable ground for belief that the transaction is rightful or authorized.
(39)
"Home state" means:
(a)
In the case of a national bank, the state in which the main office of the bank is located; and
(b)
In the case of a state bank, the state in which the bank is chartered.
(40)
"Interested party" means, with respect to the fiduciary business of a transferor for which a successor is substituted:
(a)
Each person who is readily identifiable as a beneficiary or devisee because of such person's receipt of statements of account;
(b)
A parent, custodian, conservator, or guardian who receives statements of account on behalf of a minor beneficiary or devisee;
(c)
Each cofiduciary;
(d)
Each surviving settlor of a trust;
(e)
Each issuer of a security for which the transferor acts as a fiduciary;
(f)
The plan sponsor for every employee benefit plan;
(g)
The principal of every agency account; and
(h)
The guardian or conservator of the person under guardianship.
(40.5)
"Investment discretionary authority" means, with respect to an account, the sole or shared authority, whether or not that authority is exercised, to determine which securities or other assets to purchase or sell on behalf of the account. An institution that delegates its authority over investments and an institution that receives delegated authority over investments both have investment discretion.
(41)
"Item" means any instrument for the payment of money even though not negotiable, but does not include money.
(42)
"Lessee" means a person contracting with a lessor for the use of a safe deposit box.
(43)
"Lessor" means a bank or subsidiary thereof that rents or maintains safe deposit facilities. "Lessor" does not include a financial institution regulated by article 30, 46, or 109 of this title or a credit union chartered under the laws of the United States.
(44)
"Merger" includes consolidation.
(45)
"Merging bank" means a party to a merger.
(46)
"National bank" means a national banking association.
(47)
"Officer", when referring to a bank, means any person designated as such in the bylaws and includes, whether or not so designated, any executive officer, the chairman of the board of directors, the chairman of the executive committee, and any trust officer, assistant trust officer, assistant vice-president, assistant treasurer, assistant cashier, assistant comptroller, assistant secretary, auditor, or any person who performs the duties appropriate to those offices.
(48)
The state where "operations are principally conducted" means that state where the largest percentage of the aggregate deposits of all bank subsidiaries of the bank holding company is held.
(49)
"Order" means all or any part of the final disposition, whether affirmative, negative, injunctive, or declaratory in form, by the commissioner or the banking board of any matter other than the making of rules of general application.
(50)
"Out-of-state bank" means a bank the home state of which is another state. The term "out-of-state bank" includes a foreign bank.
(51)
"Out-of-state bank holding company" means a registered bank holding company the operations of which are principally conducted outside of Colorado.
(52)
"Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, joint venture, trust estate, unincorporated association, or any other legal or commercial entity.
(53)
"Registered bank holding company" means a bank holding company registered with the federal reserve board pursuant to the federal "Bank Holding Company Act".
(54)
"Resulting bank" means the combined banks and trust companies carrying on business upon completion of a merger.
(55)
"Retailer" means a person primarily engaged in the business of selling or leasing goods or services to consumers.
(56)
"Retail location" means a location where the primary business is selling or leasing goods or services to consumers. The term includes only that portion of the building or structure in which such goods or services are offered for sale or lease, but it does not include a wholesale or manufacturing business.
(57)
"Safe deposit box" means a safe deposit box, vault, or other safe deposit receptacle maintained by a lessor.
(58)
"State bank" means a bank or bank with trust powers chartered by this state.
(59)
"Successor" means a company that replaces the transferor as fiduciary for all or part of the fiduciary business of the transferor.
(60)
"Transferor" means a company that is replaced as fiduciary by a successor for all or part of its fiduciary business.
Amended by 2024 Ch. 461,§ 13, eff. 8/7/2024.
Amended by 2013 Ch. 282, §33, eff. 7/1/2013.
L. 2003: Entire article added with relocations, p. 1054, § 3, effective July 1. L. 2004: (43) amended, p. 1192, § 24, effective August 4. L. 2007: (3.5) and (16.5) added, p. 117, §1, effective March 16. L. 2009: (10) and (43) amended, (HB 09 -1053), ch. 159, p. 688, §6, effective August 5. L. 2013: (4), (5), (10), (30), (36), (43), and (58) amended, (8) repealed, and (27.5) and (40.5) added, (SB 13-154), ch. 282, p. 1472, § 33, effective July 1.
This section is similar to former §§ 11-1-102, 11-4-101, 11-6.3-101 (1), 11-6.4-102, 11-6.5-103, 11-7-100.3, 11-9-101, 11-25-102, and 11-10-105 as they existed prior to 2003.
2024 Ch. 461, was passed without a safety clause. See Colo. Const. art. V, § 1(3).
This section is set out more than once due to postponed, multiple, or conflicting amendments.