Section 7-1-623. Acquisitions not requiring department approval

   (a) Subject to any applicable restrictions or exceptions provided for in subsection (b) of Code Section 7-1-622, a bank holding company having a bank subsidiary with banking offices in Georgia may acquire a bank that does not have banking offices in this state, and a bank holding company, which may or may not have an out-of-state bank subsidiary having only branch offices in Georgia, may acquire an out-of-state bank with branch offices in Georgia, but shall notify the department at least 30 days prior to the consummation of the proposed transaction. The notification requirements of this subsection shall be satisfied by furnishing the department with a copy of the application or applications filed with applicable bank supervisory agencies seeking approval for the proposed transaction and such other information as the department shall request. In lieu of furnishing the entire application, the applicant may submit to the department a description of the transaction within the same time frame. In this event, the department shall request further information only if needed. The department may, for good cause shown, object to the transaction by letter to the bank holding company and to the appropriate federal or state regulator before consummation of the transaction. Annual registration of the holding company with the department is required so long as it has banking offices in Georgia.

(b) A bank holding company may engage in the transactions described in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection without the necessity of complying with Code Section 7-1-622, provided that it notifies the department not less than 30 days following the consummation of the transaction.

   (1) The acquisition of a Georgia bank, if such acquisition has been consummated with assistance from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under Section 13(c) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended, 12 U.S.C. Section 1823(c); or

   (2) The acquisition of a Georgia bank, if such acquisition has been consummated in the regular course of securing or collecting a debt previously contracted in good faith, as provided in and subject to the requirements of Section 3(a) of the federal Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, as amended, 12 U.S.C. Section 1842(a). If the bank acquired under this provision has banking offices in Georgia, the bank or bank holding company must divest the securities or assets acquired within two years of the date of acquisition. The department may, in its discretion, permit the bank or bank holding company to retain such interest for up to three additional periods of one year each.

Code 1981, § 7-1-622, enacted by Ga. L. 1984, p. 1467, § 1; Ga. L. 1988, p. 13, § 7; Ga. L. 1994, p. 215, § 3; Code 1981, § 7-1-623, as redesignated by Ga. L. 1996, p. 279, § 1; Ga. L. 1999, p. 674, § 20.