Court Opinion

ID: 9641186
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 17:24:46.169688+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:35.653885
License: Public Domain

Robert L. Brown, Justice, dissenting. In this case it was clear from the outset that Merchants and Farmers Bank applied for the branch bank in Marvell to benefit existing customers. The bank’s amendment to its application dated December 29, 1988, states as much: Our bank has a substantial customer base in this area (we have used the zip codes for Marvell (72366), Poplar Grove (72374) and Turner (72383) to approximate the area) as depicted in the following table: Type of Account Number of Accounts or Total Dollars of Accounts Checking 461 accounts Savings 184 accounts Certificates of Deposit $3,237,540 Loans $6,401,617 It is presently very inconvenient for these customers to travel to our west — West Helena branch as driving time from Turner (one of the farthest points) is 35 minutes while driving time from Kindall (one of the closest points) is 15 minutes. We are not locating the branch in Marvell to capture a share of new business, as we agree the area is stagnant or losing population, but to serve our existing customer base. (Emphasis added.) Serving existing customers was a primary focus of the applicant during the hearing before the Bank Commissioner, and the Bank Commissioner’s findings of fact evidence that emphasis: 22. Based upon the Application, the testimony of Bill Simmons, Jerry Kelley, Gordan White and Alma Norton, it is found that the Applicant has a substantial number of existing deposit and loan customers in the Marvell trade area, who will be better served by the Applicant through a branch in Marvell. The Applicant has approximately 461 checking accounts, 184 savings accounts, $3,237,540 deposited in certificates of deposit and $6,401,617 in loans with existing customers living in the Marvell trade area. A substantial amount of the loans are made for agriculture purposes. Applicant’s customers living in Marvell have to drive approximately 15 miles to the nearest branch and customers living in other areas have to drive even farther. 25. Based upon the testimony of Bill Simmons, Thomas N. Hill, Jerry Kelley, Gordan White and Alma Norton, the Application and other evidence, it is found that the public convenience and necessity of the Appli- - cant’s existing customers will be promoted by the establishment of the branch. 26. Based upon the Application, the testimony of Bill Simmons, Gordan White and Thomas N. Hill, it is found that local conditions in the Marvell trade area assure reasonable promise of successful operation of the branch. The projected income statements of the proposed branch appear conservative and indicate that the branch would be operated profitably with existing customers. (Emphasis added.) State law confirms that in order to approve a new full service branch office, the Bank Commissioner must find that the branch “will serve the public convenience and necessity:” (a) The Bank Commissioner shall have the authority to approve the application for a state-chartered bank to establish a full service branch, if he shall find upon investigation that the establishment of the branch is economically feasible and will serve the public convenience and necessity. (f) The commissioner’s decision on a branch bank application will be in the form of final findings of fact, conclusions of law, and an order given by the commissioner within a reasonable time period following the expiration of the fifteen (15) calendar day formal protest period. The findings of fact shall include findings that: (1) Public convenience and necessity will be promoted by the establishment of the proposed full service branch .... Ark. Code Ann. § 23-32-1203 (Supp. 1989). Other jurisdictions have made it clear under comparable language that the entire public is what is meant by such statutes and not the customers of any one bank, which could be better served by a new branch. See Bank of New Bern v. Wachovia Bank & Trust Company, N.A., 353 F. Supp. 643, (E.D. N.C. 1972); Citizens National Bank of Southern Maryland v. Camp, 317 F. Supp. 1389 (D. Md. 1970). The finding of public convenience and necessity required under Arkansas statues is not limited to existing bank customers but must embrace the public as a whole. Yet it is obvious that the Bank Commissioner’s findings are premised on existing bank customers as opposed to the general public, which renders his order fatally deficient. The majority, however, chooses to deemphasize the language of the Bank Commissioner in his findings as well as the language in the bank’s amended application. I would affirm the trial court’s judgment.