ENGROSSED
Senate Bill No. 506
(By Senators Minard and Jenkins)
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[Introduced February 11, 2004; referred to the Committee on
Banking and Insurance.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §31A-4-2 of the code of West Virginia,
1931, as amended, relating to the use of "bank" in its name by
a licensed insurance company.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §31A-4-2 of the code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 4. BANKING INSTITUTIONS AND SERVICES GENERALLY.
§31A-4-2. Use of terms; unlawfully engaging in banking business;
penalties; enforcement.
(a) No person doing business in this state, except a banking
institution, or a person authorized by the commissioner under the
terms of this section or an insurer licensed pursuant to article
three, chapter thirty-three of this code under a name including the
terms set forth herein as of the thirty-first day of December, two thousand three, may use or advertise in connection with such
business, or as a designation or title thereof, the term "bank",
"banker", "banking", "banking company", "industrial bank", "savings
bank" or "trust company" and the insurance commissioner shall
notify the commissioner of each insurer so licensed. No person
doing business in this state except a banking institution or a
person authorized by the commissioner under this article may or
engage in the banking or trust business in this state. A
nonbanking subsidiary of a bank holding company or a nonbanking
subsidiary of a banking institution having a bank branch or bank
main office in this state that provides trust services pursuant to
section fourteen of this article may use the term "trust company"
in its title and advertising. A trust entity owned jointly by
federally insured depository institutions located within this state
and authorized by the commissioner to operate in this state may use
the term "trust company" in its title and advertising.
(b) It is unlawful for any such person other than banking
institutions, as herein excepted, to advertise or hold himself,
itself or themselves, as the case may be, out to the public in any
manner indicating, directly, indirectly or by implication, that any
of them is engaged in the banking or trust business or is
authorized and approved to engage therein in this state. A
nonbanking subsidiary of a bank holding company or nonbanking
subsidiary of a banking institution having a bank branch or bank
main office in this state that provides trust services pursuant to section fourteen of this article may hold itself out to the public
as engaged in the trust business. A trust entity owned jointly by
federally insured depository institutions located within this state
and authorized by the commissioner to operate in this state may
hold itself out to the public as engaged in the trust business.
(c) The commissioner may authorize a person to utilize the
term "bank" or "banc" in connection with nonprofit organizations or
medical businesses where the term would have a common meaning
separate and apart from a financial institution and would not
result in confusion to the public (e.g., food bank; medical
databank); and in connection with bank holding companies or their
nonbanking affiliates where the term denotes the entities' common
affiliation and would not result in confusion to the public.
(d) Any violation of the provisions of this section
constitutes a misdemeanor offense, punishable as provided in
section fifteen, article eight of this chapter.
(e) The commissioner of banking or any one or more banking
institutions, acting individually or jointly, may petition the
circuit court of the county in which any violation of the
provisions of this section occur or are threatened to occur for
injunction or other appropriate judicial remedies for enforcement
of the provisions hereof and the prevention of further or continued
violations thereof.
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