(a) Approval Required. A savings association may not establish a branch office or an additional office as provided by §60.202 of this title (relating to Types of Additional Offices) without prior written approval of the Commissioner. A branch office application is required if a savings association would like to establish and operate a courier/messenger service pursuant to §60.202 of this title.

(b) Required Information. The application must provide the following information, subscribed to and sworn before a notary:

(1) proposed location for the office;

(2) the personnel and office facilities to be provided;

(3) the estimated cost and projected profits of such office; and

(4) any information deemed necessary by the Commissioner to render a determination on the matters set forth in subsection (c) of this section.

(c) Determination by Commissioner. The Commissioner will not approve the application unless the Commissioner determines that:

(1) the operation and condition of the savings association affords no basis for supervisory objection;

(2) the character, responsibility, and general fitness of the current management of the savings association warrant a belief that the branch office will be operated in accordance with the Texas Savings and Loan Act; and

(3) the financial effect of establishing and operating the proposed office will not adversely affect the safe and sound operation of the savings association.

(d) Commencement of Operations. The branch office must commence operations on or before 12 months after the date of approval unless the Commissioner grants a written extension. No more than one 12-month extension will be approved by the Commissioner, unless good cause for such extension is shown. At the end of any approved extension, if the office has not been opened, the approval for such office is deemed revoked and a new application must be made.

(e) Identification of Branch Office; Definition of Community. The proposed location for the branch office must be specifically identified so as to exactly locate it within the community to be served. The term "community" as used in Finance Code §62.008 means the geographical area surrounding the proposed location of the branch office within which persons would be reasonably anticipated to patronize the proposed office in the ordinary course of their business.

(f) Public Notice. An applicant seeking to establish a branch office must publish a public notice of the application as provided by §60.103 of this title (relating to Public Notice of Application), which must be published both in the county where the proposed branch office is to be located and in the county where the savings association has its home office.

(g) Request for Hearing; Deadline to Protest. A person affected by the proposed branch office may protest or otherwise request a hearing on the branch office application as provided by Finance Code §62.011. Any person affected by the proposed establishment of a branch office and desiring to protest the application or otherwise request a hearing on the application must file a written protest with the Department on or before 10 days after the date the public notice is made as provided by subsection (f) of this section, otherwise, any right or opportunity to protest or have a hearing on the application under Finance Code §62.011 is deemed waived.

(h) Hearing. If a hearing is required, the Commissioner will set a hearing on the application on or before 60 days after the date the protest or request for hearing and the required fee are received. The hearing is governed by the procedural requirements concerning contested cases set forth in Chapter 9 of this title (relating to Rules of Procedure for Contested Case Hearings, Appeals, and Rulemakings).

(i) Time of Decision. To the extent a hearing on the application is required, the Commissioner will render a decision on or before 30 days after the date the hearings officer issues his or her proposal for decision and the applicable time period for filing exceptions to the proposal for decision and replies to such exceptions lapsed without the hearings officer amending the proposal for decision. If a hearing on the application is not required, the Commissioner will render a decision on or before 30 days after the time period for protesting or requesting a hearing on the application lapsed as provided by subsection (g) of this section.

(j) Offices in Other States or Territories. To the extent permitted by the laws of the state or territory in question, and subject to the requirements of this chapter, a savings association may establish branch offices in any state or territory of the United States. Each application for permission to establish such a branch office must comply with the requirements of this section and must include a certified copy of an order from the appropriate banking agency approving the office, or other evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner that all state or territorial regulatory requirements have been satisfied. The Commissioner will not approve the application unless the Commissioner determines that all requirements of this chapter applicable to the office have been met, and that all applicable requirements of the laws of the state or territory in question have been met.

Source Note: The provisions of this §60.131 adopted to be effective July 16, 2023, 48 TexReg 3644