Section 7-1-282. Direct leasing of personal and real property

   Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary and subject to such regulations as the department may prescribe, a bank may:

   (1) Become the owner and lessor of personal property acquired upon the specific request and for the use of a customer and may incur such additional obligations as may be incident to becoming an owner and lessor of such property. At the end of any lease, the bank shall, within six months, enter into a new lease with respect to the property or dispose of it. The leasing shall constitute an indebtedness under Code Section 7-1-285 and shall be subject to the lending limitations of such Code section;

   (2) Become the owner and lessor of certain public real property and facilities. A bank may purchase or construct a municipal building, school building, or other similar state, local, or other governmental authority facility if, as holder of legal title, such purchase is for the purpose of leasing the facility to a municipality or other public or governmental authority which has the authority to enter into such lease, is authorized to levy taxes or is backed by the taxing authority of another political subdivision, and has the resources sufficient to make lease payments as they come due. The lease agreement must provide that the lessee will become the owner of the building or facility upon the expiration of the lease; and

   (3) Become the owner and lessor of real property acquired upon the specific request and for the use of a customer or an affiliate thereof and may incur such additional obligations as may be incidental to becoming an owner and lessor of such property. The lessee, or an affiliate thereof, shall be responsible for any and all construction of buildings or other improvements related to such real property. Any lease with respect to such real property shall provide that the lessee thereof shall be responsible for maintaining the property, insuring the property, and paying real estate taxes related to the property. At the end of any lease, the bank shall, within six months, enter into a new lease with respect to the property or dispose of it. The leasing shall be subject to credit approval by the bank in a manner substantially similar to a loan and shall constitute an indebtedness under Code Section 7-1-285 and shall be subject to the lending limitations of such Code section. The assignment of any purchase contract, or the right to purchase real property thereunder, by the lessee or an affiliate thereof to the bank shall not affect the entitlement of any real estate broker to any real estate brokerage commissions owing upon the sale of such real property.

Ga. L. 1919, p. 135, art. 19, § 22; Code 1933, § 13-2022; Ga. L. 1966, p. 590, § 8; Code 1933, § 41A-1303, enacted by Ga. L. 1974, p. 705, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 674, § 4; Ga. L. 2000, p. 174, § 5; Ga. L. 2001, p. 4, § 7; Ga. L. 2004, p. 458, § 3.