2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE SEVEN - Banking (§§ 1 — 3116) › PART III - Other Financial Institutions (§§ 551 — 1390) › Chapter 86 - Cooperative Savings and Credit Associations Act of 2002 (§§ 1361 — 1371b) › Subchapter I - General Provisions (§ 1361) › § 1361 - Definitions

For the purposes of this chapter, the following terms shall have the meaning stated below:
(a) Shares.— Means the financial contribution made by each member of a credit union to the capital or net worth of the cooperative enterprise.
(b) Preferred stock.— Means those shares issued by every cooperative pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of § 1362f of this title.
(c) Agency.— Means any department, office, administration, bureau, board, commission, instrumentality, public corporation, dependency or political subdivision of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, including its municipalities, or of the Government of the United States of America.
(d) Cooperative Bank.— Means the Cooperative Bank of Puerto Rico created by §§ 751 et seq. of this title
(e) Indivisible capital.— Means the regulatory capital as required under § 1366a of this title.
(f) Capital stock.— Means the sum of all shares acquired by the members of the cooperative, the indivisible capital reserve, any other reserve required by law or regulations, the other voluntary reserves duly adopted by the cooperative, and the withheld and undistributed net savings.
(g) Committee.— Means any committee designated or elected in a cooperative.
(h) Cooperative.— Means any first or second-degree savings and credit cooperative association constituted and organized pursuant to this chapter. Those cooperatives whose members are cooperative entities shall be considered as second-degree cooperatives.
(i) Closed cooperatives.— Means every first-degree savings and credit cooperative whose partners are limited to a specific firm or group, excluding other groups.
(j) Ensured cooperative.— Means every cooperative covered by the shares and deposits insurance provided by the Corporation.
(k) Adequate condition cooperative.— Means a savings and credit cooperative that has an adequate financial and management condition to be determined according to objective and uniform parameters to be defined by the Corporation through regulations.
(l) Corporation.— Means the Public Corporation for the Supervision and Insurance of the Savings and Credit Cooperatives, created by virtue of §§ 1334 et seq. of this title, hereinafter “the Corporation”.
(m) Governing Board.— Means the Board of Directors, Credit Committee, Supervision Committee, Education Committee, any committee that performs functions delegated by the Board of Directors, and any permanent elected body duly instituted by law, regulations, or by general cooperative regulations. It is hereby expressly provided that the General Assembly of Delegates shall not be deemed to be part of a Governing Board.
(n) Depositor.— Means any person who, even if not a member of a cooperative, has deposits therein.
(o) Deposits.— Means all the assets, except shares, owned by a member or depositor in a savings and credit cooperative held by a member or depositor, that are evidenced by saving accounts, certificates of deposit, checking accounts, Christmas funds, individual retirement accounts, trust accounts, or any other account or financial instrument of alike or similar nature, as determined by administrative decision or by regulations issued by the Corporation.
(p) Executive officer.— Means any person who, by virtue of an appointment or a fixed term, indefinite or temporary work contract through the payment of a salary, compensation or remuneration, holds a position of trust in a cooperative, including that of executive president, manager, auditor, or controller.
(q) Financial institutions.— Means those financial institutions as defined in § 2004(g) of this title.
(r) CAEL indicators.— Is the financial analysis system adopted by the Corporation pursuant to Regulation No. 5231 of May 8, 1995, as said analysis system is amended from time to time, without including the indicator related to management identified with the letter “M” (Management).
(s) Board.— Means the Board of Directors of every cooperative duly constituted pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.
(t) Main office.— Means the central or main establishment in which the offices of the Board of Directors, the Executive President, and other executive officials determined by the Board of Directors, are located.
(u) Service offices.— Means those fixed or mobile establishments other than branches, in which the cooperatives render services, including automatic teller machines or similar electronic devices.
(v) Person.— Means any natural or juridical person organized or authorized to do business under the laws of Puerto Rico.
(w) Executive President.— Means the main executive official of the cooperative designated by the Board of Directors pursuant to the provisions of §§ 1365i and 1365j of this title.
(x) Partner.— Means every person who is admitted as a member of a cooperative pursuant to this chapter and the general regulations of said cooperative. Provided, That no profit-seeking legal or juridical persons shall be admitted as partners.
(y) Branches.— Means the fixed or mobile establishments in which the cooperative simultaneously renders direct services of opening accounts and disbursing of loans to its partners and clients.
(z) Family unit.— Means the spouse of a member of the Board of Directors or of an employee of the cooperative; and the members of their families up to a fourth degree of consanguinity or second degree of affinity, and those persons who share their legal residence with them, or whose financial affairs are under their legal control.
History —Oct. 28, 2002, No. 255, § 1.03; Dec. 30, 2010, No. 235, § 1.