BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to correcting or removing deficiencies, conflicts, or obsolete provisions affecting the department of financial institutions; amending RCW 21.20.740, 21.30.010, 30.04.010, 31.45.160, 32.04.020, and 33.44.020; and repealing RCW 30.04.270, 30.04.290, 30.04.900, 30.08.120, 30.12.050, 30.43.010, 30.43.020, 30.43.045, 31.12.095, 31.12.355, 32.04.040, 32.12.060, 32.20.290, and 33.04.010.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 21.20.740 and 1979 ex.s. c 68 s 42 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Every issuer which has registered securities under Washington state securities law shall file with the director reports described in subsection (2) of this section. Such reports shall be filed with the director not more than one hundred twenty days (unless extension of time is granted by the director) after the end of the issuer's fiscal year.

(2) The reports required by subsection (1) of this section shall contain such information, statements and documents regarding the financial and business conditions of the issuer and the number and description of securities of the issuer held by its officers, directors and controlling shareholders and shall be in such form and filed at such annual times as the director may require by rule or order. For the purposes of RCW 21.20.720, 21.20.740 and 21.20.745, a "controlling shareholder" shall mean a person who is directly or indirectly the beneficial holder of more than ten percent of the outstanding voting securities of an issuer.

(3)(a) The reports described in subsection (2) of this section shall include financial statements corresponding to those required under the provisions of RCW 21.20.210 and to the issuer's fiscal year setting forth in comparative form the corresponding information for the preceding year and such financial statements shall be furnished to all shareholders within one hundred twenty days (unless extension of time is granted by the director) after the end of such year, but at least twenty days prior to the date of the annual meeting of shareholders.

(b) Such financial statements shall be prepared as to form and content in accordance with rules ((~~and regulations~~)) prescribed by the director and shall be audited (except that financial statements filed prior to July 1, 1976 need be audited only as to the most recent fiscal year) by an independent certified public accountant who is not an employee, officer or member of the board of directors of the issuer or a holder of securities of the issuer. The report of such independent certified public accountant shall be based upon an audit made in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards with no limitations on its scope.

(4) The director may by rule or order exempt any issuer or class of issuers from this section for a period of up to one year if the director finds that the filing of any such report by a specific issuer or class of issuers is not necessary for the protection of investors and the public interest.

(5) For the purposes of RCW 21.20.740 and 21.20.745, "issuer" does not include issuers of:

(a) Securities registered by the issuer pursuant to section 12 of the securities and exchange act of 1934 as now or hereafter amended or exempted from registration under that act on a basis other than the number of shareholders and total assets.

(b) Securities which are held of record by less than two hundred persons or whose total assets are less than $500,000 at the close of the issuer's fiscal year.

(6) Any issuer who has been required to file under RCW 21.20.740 and who subsequently becomes excluded from the definition of "issuer" by virtue of RCW 21.20.740(5) must file a certification setting forth the basis on which they claim to no longer be an issuer within the meaning of this ((~~act~~)) chapter.

(7) The reports filed under this section shall be filed and maintained by the director for public inspection. Any person is entitled to receive copies thereof from the director upon payment of the reasonable costs of duplication.

(8) Filing of reports pursuant to this section shall not constitute an approval thereof by the director or a finding by the director that the report is true, complete and not misleading. It shall be unlawful to make, or cause to be made, to any prospective purchaser, seller, customer or client, any representation inconsistent with this subsection.

Sec. 2. RCW 21.30.010 and 1994 c 92 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Administrator" means the person designated by the director in accordance with the provisions of RCW ((~~21.20.460~~)) 21.30.390.

(2) "Board of trade" means any person or group of persons engaged in buying or selling any commodity or receiving any commodity for sale on consignment, whether such person or group of persons is characterized as a board of trade, exchange, or other form of marketplace.

(3) "Director" means the director of financial institutions.

(4) "Commodity broker-dealer" means, for the purposes of registration in accordance with this chapter, any person engaged in the business of making offers, sales, or purchases of commodities under commodity contracts or under commodity options.

(5) "Commodity sales representative" means, for the purposes of registration in accordance with this chapter, any person authorized to act and acting for a commodity broker-dealer in effecting or attempting to effect a transaction in a commodity contract or commodity option.

(6) "Commodity exchange act" means the act of congress known as the commodity exchange act, as amended, codified at 7 U.S.C. Sec. 1 et seq.

(7) "Commodity futures trading commission" means the independent regulatory agency established by congress to administer the commodity exchange act.

(8) "CFTC rule" means any rule, regulation, or order of the commodity futures trading commission in effect on October 1, 1986, and all subsequent amendments, additions, or other revisions thereto, unless the administrator, within ten days following the effective date of any such amendment, addition, or revision, disallows the application thereof by rule or order.

(9) "Commodity" means, except as otherwise specified by the director by rule or order, any agricultural, grain, or livestock product or by-product, any metal or mineral (including a precious metal set forth in subsection (17) of this section), any gem or gemstone (whether characterized as precious, semiprecious, or otherwise), any fuel (whether liquid, gaseous, or otherwise), any foreign currency, and all other goods, articles, products, or items of any kind. However, the term commodity does not include (a) a numismatic coin whose fair market value is at least fifteen percent higher than the value of the metal it contains, (b) real property or any timber, agricultural, or livestock product grown or raised on real property and offered or sold by the owner or lessee of such real property, or (c) any work of art offered or sold by art dealers, at public auction, or offered or sold through a private sale by the owner thereof.

(10) "Commodity contract" means any account, agreement, or contract for the purchase or sale, primarily for speculation or investment purposes and not for use or consumption by the offeree or purchaser, of one or more commodities, whether for immediate or subsequent delivery or whether delivery is intended by the parties, and whether characterized as a cash contract, deferred shipment or deferred delivery contract, forward contract, futures contract, installment or margin contract, leverage contract, or otherwise. Any commodity contract offered or sold shall, in the absence of evidence to the contrary, be presumed to be offered or sold for speculation or investment purposes. A commodity contract shall not include any contract or agreement which requires, and under which the purchaser receives, within twenty-eight calendar days from the payment in good funds of any portion of the purchase price, physical delivery of the total amount of each commodity to be purchased under the contract or agreement.

(11) "Commodity option" means any account, agreement, or contract giving a party thereto the right to purchase or sell one or more commodities and/or one or more commodity contracts, whether characterized as an option, privilege, indemnity, bid, offer, put, call, advance guaranty, decline guaranty or otherwise, but does not include a commodity option traded on a national securities exchange registered with the United States securities and exchange commission.

(12) "Commodity merchant" means any of the following, as defined or described in the commodity exchange act or by CFTC rule:

(a) Futures commission merchant;

(b) Commodity pool operator;

(d) Introducing broker;

(e) Leverage transaction merchant;

(f) An associated person of any of the foregoing;

(g) Floor broker; and

(h) Any other person (other than a futures association) required to register with the commodity futures trading commission.

(13) "Financial institution" means a bank, savings institution, or trust company organized under, or supervised pursuant to, the laws of the United States or of any state.

(14) "Offer" or "offer to sell" includes every offer, every attempt to offer to dispose of, or solicitation of an offer to buy, to purchase, or to acquire, for value.

(15) "Sale" or "sell" includes every sale, contract of sale, contract to sell, or disposition, for value.

(16) "Person" means an individual, a corporation, a partnership, an association, a joint-stock company, a trust where the interests of the beneficiaries are evidenced by a security, an unincorporated organization, a government, or a political subdivision of a government, but does not include a contract market designated by the commodity futures trading commission or any clearinghouse thereof or a national securities exchange registered with the United States securities and exchange commission (or any employee, officer, or director of such contract market, clearinghouse, or exchange acting solely in that capacity).

(17) "Precious metal" means:

(a) Silver, in either coin, bullion, or other form;

(b) Gold, in either coin, bullion, or other form;

(d) Such other items as the director may specify by rule or order.

Sec. 3. RCW 30.04.010 and 1996 c 2 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~Certain terms used in this title shall have the meanings ascribed in this section.~~)) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this title.

(1) "Banking" shall include the soliciting, receiving or accepting of money or its equivalent on deposit as a regular business.

(2) "Bank," unless a different meaning appears from the context, means any corporation organized under the laws of this state engaged in banking, other than a trust company, savings association, or a mutual savings bank.

(3) "Branch" means any established office of deposit, domestic or otherwise, maintained by any bank or trust company other than its head office. "Branch" does not mean a machine permitting customers to leave funds in storage or communicate with bank employees who are not located at the site of the machine, unless employees of the bank at the site of the machine take deposits on a regular basis. An office or facility of an entity other than the bank shall not be deemed to be established by the bank, regardless of any affiliation, accommodation arrangement, or other relationship between the other entity and the bank.

(4) The term "trust business" shall include the business of doing any or all of the things specified in RCW 30.08.150 (2), (3), (4), (5), (6), (7), (8), (9), (10) and (11).

(5) "Trust company," unless a different meaning appears from the context, means any corporation organized under the laws of this state engaged in trust business.

(6) "Person" unless a different meaning appears from the context, shall include a firm, association, partnership or corporation, or the plural thereof, whether resident, nonresident, citizen or not.

(7) "Director" means the director of financial institutions.

(8) "Foreign bank" and "foreign banker" shall include:

((~~(1)~~)) (a) Every corporation not organized under the laws of the territory or state of Washington doing a banking business, except a national bank;

((~~(2)~~)) (b) Every unincorporated company, partnership or association of two or more individuals organized under the laws of another state or country, doing a banking business;

((~~(3)~~)) (c) Every other unincorporated company, partnership or association of two or more individuals, doing a banking business, if the members thereof owning a majority interest therein or entitled to more than one-half of the net assets thereof are not residents of this state;

((~~(4)~~)) (d) Every nonresident of this state doing a banking business in his or her own name and right only.

Sec. 4. RCW 31.45.160 and 1994 c 92 s 288 are each amended to read as follows:

Whenever the director has taken possession of the property and business of a licensee, the director may petition the superior court for the appointment of a receiver to liquidate the affairs of the licensee. During the time that the director retains possession of the property and business of a licensee, the director has the same powers and authority with reference to the licensee as is vested in the director ((~~with respect to industrial loan companies~~)) under chapter 31.04 RCW, and the licensee has the same rights to hearings and judicial review as are granted ((~~to industrial loan companies~~)) under chapter 31.04 RCW.

Sec. 5. RCW 32.04.020 and 1996 c 2 s 20 are each amended to read as follows:

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this title.

(1) The use of the term "savings bank" ((~~in this title~~)) refers to mutual savings banks and converted mutual savings banks only.

(2) The use of the words "mutual savings" as part of a name under which business of any kind is or may be transacted by any person, firm, or corporation, except such as were organized and in actual operation on June 9, 1915, or as may be thereafter organized and operated under the requirements of this title is hereby prohibited.

(3) The use of the term "director" ((~~in this title~~)) refers to the director of financial institutions.

(4) The use of the word "branch" ((~~in this title~~)) refers to an established office or facility other than the principal office, at which employees of the savings bank take deposits. The term "branch" ((~~in this title~~)) does not refer to a machine permitting customers to leave funds in storage or communicate with savings bank employees who are not located at the site of that machine, unless employees of the savings bank at the site of that machine take deposits on a regular basis. An office of an entity other than the savings bank is not established by the savings bank, regardless of any affiliation, accommodation arrangement, or other relationship between the other entity and the savings bank.

Sec. 6. RCW 33.44.020 and 1994 c 92 s 467 are each amended to read as follows:

Any association organized under the laws of this state, or under the laws of the United States, may, if it has obtained the approval, required by law or regulation, of any federal agencies, including the federal home loan bank board and the federal savings and loan insurance corporation, be converted into a savings bank or commercial bank in the following manner:

(1) The board of directors of such association shall pass a resolution declaring its intention to convert the association into a savings bank or commercial bank and shall apply to the director of financial institutions for leave to submit to the members of the association the question whether the association shall be converted into a savings bank or a commercial bank. A duplicate of the application to the director of financial institutions shall be filed with the director of financial institutions, except that no such filing shall be required in the case of an association organized under the laws of the United States. The application shall include a proposal which sets forth the method by and extent to which membership or stockholder interests, as the case may be, in the association are to be converted into membership or stockholder interests, as the case may be, in the savings bank or commercial bank, and the proposal shall allow for any member or stockholder to withdraw the value of his or her interest at any time within sixty days of the completion of the conversion. The proposal shall be subject to the approval of the director of financial institutions and shall conform to all applicable regulations of the federal home loan bank board, the federal savings and loan insurance corporation, the federal deposit insurance corporation, or other federal regulatory agency.

(2) Thereupon the director of financial institutions shall make the same investigation and determine the same questions as would be required by law to make and determine in case of the submission to the director of financial institutions of a certificate of incorporation of a proposed new savings bank or commercial bank, and the director of financial institutions shall also determine whether by the proposed conversion the business needs and conveniences of the members of the association would be served with facility and safety, except that no such conference shall be pertinent to such investigation or determination in the case of an association organized under the laws of the United States. After the director of financial institutions determines whether it is expedient and desirable to permit the proposed conversion, the director of financial institutions shall, within sixty days after the filing of the application, endorse thereon over the official signature of the director of financial institutions the word "granted" or the word "refused", with the date of such endorsement and shall immediately notify the secretary of such association of his or her decision. If an application to convert to a mutual savings bank is granted, the director of financial institutions shall require the applicants to enter into such an agreement or undertaking with the director of financial institutions as trustee for the depositors with the mutual savings bank to make such contributions in cash to the expense fund of the mutual savings bank as in the director of financial institutions judgment will be necessary then and from time to time thereafter to pay the operating expenses of the mutual savings bank if its earnings should not be sufficient to pay the same in addition to the payment of such dividends as may be declared and credited to depositors from its earnings.

If the application is denied by the director of financial institutions, the association, acting by a two-thirds majority of its board of directors, may, within thirty days after receiving the notice of the denial, appeal to the superior court in the manner prescribed in ((~~RCW 34.05.570~~)) chapter 34.05 RCW.

(3) If the application is granted by the director of financial institutions or by the court, as the case may be, the board of directors of the association shall, within sixty days thereafter, submit the question of the proposed conversion to the members of the association at a special meeting called for that purpose. Notice of the meeting shall state the time, place and purpose of the meeting, and that the only question to be voted upon will be, "shall the (naming the association) be converted into a savings bank or commercial bank under the laws of the state of Washington?" The vote on the question shall be by ballot. Any member may vote by proxy or may transmit the member's ballot by mail if the bylaws provide a method for so doing. If two-thirds or more in number of the members voting on the question vote affirmatively, then the board of directors shall have power, and it shall be its duty, to proceed to convert such association into a savings bank or commercial bank; otherwise, the proposed conversion shall be abandoned and shall not be again submitted to the members within three years from the date of the meeting.

(4) If authority for the proposed conversion has been approved by the members as required by this section, the directors shall, within thirty days thereafter, subscribe and acknowledge and file with the director of financial institutions in triplicate a certificate of reincorporation, stating:

(a) The name by which the converted corporation is to be known.

(b) The place where the bank is to be located and its business transacted, naming the city or town and county, which city or town shall be the same as that where the principal place of business of the corporation has theretofore been located.

(d) The amount of the assets of the corporation, the amount of its liabilities and the amount of its contingent, reserve, expense, and guaranty fund, as applicable, as of the first day of the then calendar month.

(e) A declaration that each signer will accept the responsibilities and faithfully discharge the duties of a trustee or director of the bank, and is free from all the disqualifications specified in the laws applicable to savings banks or commercial banks.

(f) Such other items as the director of financial institutions may require.

(5) Upon the filing of the certificate in triplicate, the director of financial institutions shall, within thirty days thereafter, if satisfied that all the provisions of this chapter have been complied with, issue in triplicate an authorization certificate stating that the corporation has complied with all the requirements of law, and that it has authority to transact at the place designated in its certificate of incorporation the business of a savings bank or commercial bank. One of the director of financial institutions certificates of authorization shall be attached to each of the certificates of reincorporation, and one set of these shall be filed and retained by the director of financial institutions, one set shall be filed in the office of the secretary of state, and one set shall be transmitted to the bank for its files. Upon the receipt from the corporation of the same fees as are required for filing and recording other incorporation certificates or articles, the secretary of state shall file the certificates and record the same; whereupon the conversion of the association shall be deemed complete, and the signers of said reincorporation certificate and their successors shall thereupon become and be a corporation having the powers and being subject to the duties and obligations prescribed by the laws of this state applicable to savings banks or commercial banks, as the case may be. The time of existence of the corporation shall be perpetual unless provided otherwise in the articles of incorporation of the association or unless sooner terminated pursuant to law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The following acts or parts of acts are each repealed:

(1) RCW 30.04.270 and 1994 c 92 s 26 & 1955 c 33 s 30.04.270;

(2) RCW 30.04.290 and 1994 c 92 s 27, 1973 1st ex.s. c 53 s 36, 1961 c 20 s 1, & 1955 c 33 s 30.04.290;

(3) RCW 30.04.900 and 1994 c 92 s 41, 1987 c 498 s 2, & 1986 c 279 s 54;

(4) RCW 30.08.120 and 1994 c 92 s 57 & 1955 c 33 s 30.08.120;

(5) RCW 30.12.050 and 1994 c 92 s 68, 1986 c 279 s 34, & 1955 c 33 s 30.12.050;

(6) RCW 30.43.010 and 1994 c 92 s 104, 1986 c 279 s 45, 1979 c 137 s 1, & 1974 ex.s. c 166 s 1;

(7) RCW 30.43.020 and 1994 c 92 s 105, 1981 c 83 s 1, & 1974 ex.s. c 166 s 2;

(8) RCW 30.43.045 and 1994 c 92 s 106 & 1981 c 83 s 2;

(9) RCW 31.12.095 and 1994 c 92 s 183 & 1984 c 31 s 11;

(10) RCW 31.12.355 and 1994 c 92 s 192 & 1984 c 31 s 37;

(11) RCW 32.04.040 and 1994 c 92 s 295, 1985 c 469 s 16, & 1955 c 13 s 32.04.040;

(12) RCW 32.12.060 and 1994 c 92 s 326 & 1955 c 13 s 32.12.060;

(13) RCW 32.20.290 and 1994 c 92 s 338, 1967 c 145 s 8, & 1955 c 13 s 32.20.290; and

(14) RCW 33.04.010 and 1994 c 92 s 415, 1982 c 3 s 3, & 1945 c 235 s 119-A.