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 II - Authorized Powers and Activities (§§ 1362 — 1362g) › § 1362d-1 - Establishment of branches and service offices outside of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico; foreign cooperative entities

(a) The cooperatives organized pursuant to this chapter, upon prior approval of the Corporation and subject to compliance with the norms provided in this section, shall be authorized to establish branches and/or service offices outside of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico. Every cooperative that requests the establishment of a branch and/or service office outside of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico shall submit to the Corporation such documents and evidence as it requires by means of regulation.
(b) The establishment of such branches and/or offices does not confer to the members who reside outside of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico the right to demand the creation of districts, nor to demand the holding of assemblies in their jurisdictions.
(c) In spite of the fact that the branches and/or service offices to be established outside of Puerto Rico shall keep separate accounting from the main office and other branches, all documents and information pertaining to the operations of such branches and/or service offices shall be available at all times for inspection by the Corporation. The cooperatives shall defray the costs and expenses of the examination of all the operations of such branches and/or service offices, which shall be defined by the Corporation by means of regulations to such effects.
(d) The establishment of branches and/or service offices outside of the jurisdiction of Puerto Rico shall not impair the authority of the Corporation, the Board of Directors or the high management of the cooperatives in all institutional, operational, and administrative matters, as the case may be. The main offices of the cooperatives in Puerto Rico shall be considered as the institutional domicile of the same.
(e) The Corporation is hereby authorized to provide by means of regulation the norms to implement the provisions in this section, including, but not limited to:
(1) Content of the application for authorization.
(2) Documents to be enclosed with the application, including evidence of compliance with the permits required by the jurisdiction in which the proposed branch and/or office shall be established. The regulations shall take into account the granting of temporary permits pending the delivery of the same.
(3) Financial situation required from the applying cooperatives.
(4) Amount to be paid for the application’s study and investigation charges, annual fees and examination expenses for each of said branches and/or service offices.
(5) Period for the approval or denial of the application, which shall not exceed sixty (60) working days as of the Corporation’s notice that the file of the application for authorization is complete.
While the adoption of said rules is pending, the establishment of branches and/or service offices outside of Puerto Rico shall be governed by the regulations in effect for branches in Puerto Rico.
(f) No cooperative entity organized under the laws of a jurisdiction other than Puerto Rico may do business locally, unless:
(1) It has prior authorization from the Corporation;
(2) it complies with the register of inscription of foreign cooperatives to be established by the Corporation to such purposes, and
(3) the Corporation issues an affirmative decision stating that cooperatives organized pursuant to this chapter are allowed to operate within the jurisdiction of incorporation of the foreign entity that submits the application.
All foreign cooperative entities authorized to operate in Puerto Rico pursuant to this chapter shall be subject to the provisions set forth herein and those of §§ 1334—1335h of this title, known as the “Public Corporation for the Supervision & Insurance of the Cooperatives in Puerto Rico Act”, and the regulations adopted thereunder, as well as all the powers of supervision and oversight of the Corporation. Provided, That the tax exemptions established in this chapter shall not apply to them.
The norms in effect in Puerto Rico concerning eligibility to become a member and the election and composition of the directing bodies shall apply to the extent that they are not in conflict with the laws of the location of incorporation of the foreign entity.
History —Oct. 28, 2002, No. 255, added as § 2.05-A on Dec. 27, 2006, No. 308, § 1.