2023 District of Columbia Code › Title 26 - Banks and Other Financial Institutions › Chapter 6A - International Banking › § 26–636. Applications for licenses; approval or disapproval

§ 26–636. Applications for licenses; approval or disapproval.
(a)(1) Before being licensed by the Commissioner to transact a banking business in the District of Columbia as an international branch or international agency or before maintaining in the District of Columbia an office to carry on a banking business, or any part of a banking business, an international banking corporation shall submit to the Commissioner a separate application, in duplicate, which shall state:
(A) The name of the corporation and the country under the laws of which it was organized;
(B) The date of its incorporation and the period of its duration;
(C) The address of its principal office in the country under the laws of which it was organized;
(D) The address of its proposed registered office in the District of Columbia and the name of its proposed registered agent in the District of Columbia at such address;
(E) The names of other states and countries in which it is licensed or qualified to transact business;
(F) The names and respective addresses of its directors and principal officers;
(G) Such information as the Commissioner may require indicating that the international banking corporation is authorized to conduct a general banking business under the laws of the country of its organization and the nature of the business of the international banking corporation;
(H) A complete and detailed statement of its financial condition and the actual value of its assets;
(I) A listing of any occasion within the preceding 10-year period in which the international banking corporation or any of its directors, executive officers, or principal shareholders has been convicted of, or pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, any offense:
(i) With respect to which the penalties include the possibility of imprisonment for one year or more;
(ii) Involving money laundering; or
(iii) Otherwise related to the operation of a financial institution; and
(J) Such additional information as the Commissioner may require as necessary or appropriate to enable the Commissioner to determine whether the international banking corporation is entitled to a license.
(2) The application shall be accompanied by a reasonable fee determined by the Commissioner, made on forms prescribed and furnished by the Commissioner, and duly executed in duplicate by one or more of the principal officers of the international banking corporation.
(3) When the application is submitted to the Commissioner, the international banking corporation shall also:
(A) Submit a duly authenticated copy of its articles of incorporation, or equivalent corporate document, and an authenticated copy of its bylaws, or an equivalent of the bylaws, that is satisfactory to the Commissioner;
(B) Pay an investigation and supervision fee, which shall be established by regulation; and
(C) Submit a statement or certificate issued by the banking or supervisory authority of the country in which the international banking corporation is organized and licensed, stating that the international banking corporation is duly organized, licensed, in good standing, and authorized to conduct a general banking business.
(4) The Commissioner may approve or disapprove the application; provided, that the Commissioner shall not approve the application unless, in the Commissioner’s opinion, (A) the applicant meets every requirement of this chapter and any regulations adopted under this chapter, and (B) federal law permits the appropriate federal regulatory authority to issue a comparable license to the international banking corporation. In acting on an application, the Commissioner shall consider the financial and managerial resources and future prospects of the applicant and the international branch or agency and the convenience and needs of the community to be served. The Commissioner may specify conditions that the Commissioner considers appropriate, considering the public interest, the need to maintain a sound and competitive banking system, and the preservation of an environment conducive to the conduct of an international banking business in the District of Columbia.
(5) A license shall not be issued to an international banking corporation for the purpose of operating an international agency or an international branch in the District of Columbia unless the international banking corporation:
(A) Has been authorized by the bank regulatory authority, in the foreign country in which the international banking corporation is organized or incorporated, to establish the proposed international branch or agency;
(B) Is adequately supervised by the central bank or bank regulatory agency in the foreign country in which it is organized and chartered. The Commissioner shall establish, by regulation, the general principles which shall determine the adequacy of supervision of an international banking corporation’s foreign establishments, taking into consideration the standards set forth in the Federal International Act;
(C) Holds capital consistent with minimum capital requirements established by the Commissioner by regulation. In adopting such requirements, the Commissioner shall consider similar rules adopted by other bank regulatory agencies in the United States and the need to provide reasonably consistent regulatory requirements for international banking corporations which will maintain a safe and sound condition of international banking corporations doing business in the District of Columbia; and
(D) As of a date not more than 120 days before the application, has assets with a fair market value of $1 million greater than its liabilities.
(b)(1) Before being licensed by the Commissioner to transact business in the District of Columbia as an international bank representative office, an international banking corporation shall subscribe and submit to the Commissioner a separate application, in duplicate, which shall contain such corporate organizational, financial, and other information as the Commissioner determines to be appropriate, taking into consideration the information required to be submitted with regard to applications for international branches and agencies as set forth in this chapter.
(2) The application for a license shall be accompanied by a reasonable fee as determined by the Commissioner.
(3) The Commissioner shall issue a license to an international banking corporation to establish and maintain a representative office if the Commissioner determines that:
(A) The international banking corporation is of sound financial standing;
(B) The international banking corporation has been authorized by the bank regulatory authority of the foreign country in which it was organized or incorporated to establish the proposed international bank office or the regulatory authority interposes no objection to the office;
(C) The international banking corporation is adequately supervised by the central bank or bank regulatory agency in the foreign country in which it is organized and chartered;
(D) The management of the international banking corporation and the proposed management of the representative office are adequate; and
(E) The convenience and needs of persons to be served by the proposed representative office will be promoted.
(4) An international banking corporation desiring to convert its existing registered international representative office to a licensed international branch or licensed international agency shall submit an application to the Commissioner which meets the minimum criteria for licensing of an international branch or licensed international agency as required by this chapter.
(c) An application for approval to organize an international financing corporation shall be subject to the provisions of the District of Columbia Banking Code relating to the organization of new financial institutions and to regulations adopted by the Commissioner as necessary to ensure that the proposed international financing corporation will be operated in a safe and lawful manner; provided, that the applicant shall not be required to become a member of the Federal Reserve System or the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. An international financing corporation shall be subject to the examination and supervision of the Commissioner and subject to the District of Columbia Banking Code to the same extent as international banking corporations under § 26-633.
(d) An application filed under this section shall be subject to the application review procedures contained in § 26-704(a), (b), and (g) [subsection (g) repealed].
(e) The Commissioner shall submit an annual report to the Council of all actions that the Commissioner takes pursuant to this section.
(Apr. 3, 2001, D.C. Law 13-268, § 7, 48 DCR 1251; Dec. 11, 2007, D.C. Law 17-59, § 2, 54 DCR 10718.)
Section References
This section is referenced in § 26-634 and § 26-635.
Effect of Amendments
D.C. Law 17-59 rewrote subsec. (d) and added subsec. (e). Prior to amendment, subsec. (d) read as follows: “(d) An application filed under this section shall be subject to the application review procedures, including Council review, contained in § 26-704(a), (b), and (f) through (i).”
Emergency Legislation
For temporary (90 day) amendment of section, see § 2 of Bank Charter Modernization Emergency Amendment Act of 2007 (D.C. Act 17-66, July 9, 2007, 54 DCR 6819).
Temporary Legislation
Section 2 of D.C. Law 17-31 amended subsec. (d) and added subsec. (e) to read as follows:
“(d) An application filed under this section shall be subject to the application review procedures contained in section 5(a), (b), and (g) of the District of Columbia Regional Interstate Banking Act of 1985, effective November 23, 1985 (D.C. Law 6-63; D.C. Official Code § 26-704(a), (b), and (g)).
“(e) The Commissioner shall submit an annual report to the Council of all actions that the Commissioner takes pursuant to this section.”
Section 5(b) of D.C. Law 17-31 provided that the act shall expire after 225 days of its having taken effect.