AGO 97007.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97007. DATE: January 13, 1997SUBJECT: Nebraska Bank Holding Company Act of 1995; De Novo Formation of a National Bank by an Out-of-State Bank Holding CompanyREQUESTED BY: James A. Hansen, Director Department of Banking and FinanceWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Fredrick F. Neid, Assistant Attorney General This is in response to the request of the Department of Banking and Finance for an opinion of the Attorney General regarding application of provisions of the Nebraska Bank Holding Company Act of 1995, Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 8-908 - 8-917 (Cum. Supp. 1996) ("Nebraska Act") to formation and acquisition of banks by out-of-state bank holding companies. Two specific questions are asked. First, whether the Nebraska Act prohibits an out-of-state bank holding company from forming and acquiring a new bank in this state. The second question consists of a request for a "ruling" that prior informal opinions issued by this Office "are no longer applicable as a result of the repeal of the laws" which were addressed by the opinions. It is our opinion that the "charter age requirements" of Neb. Rev. Stat. § 8-911 (Cum. Supp. 1996) do not prohibit the formation of a de novo national bank in Nebraska by an out-of-state bank holding company. We further conclude that the application of prior opinions of this Office, Op. Att'y General No. 87102 (October 7, 1987) and Inf. Op. Att'y General (September 12, 1988) is limited to the provisions of the Nebraska Banking Holding Company Act of 1963. BACKGROUND You have related that an out-of-state bank holding company has made application to federal banking authorities, the Comptroller of the Currency and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, to establish a newly chartered national bank in Nebraska. The Federal Reserve Board is the approving authority for expansion by bank holding companies into another state under the Bank Holding Act of 1956, §§ 2-105, 12 U.S.C.A. §§ 1841-1850 ("Federal Act"). The Federal Act, administered by the Federal Reserve Board, requires a bank holding company to apply for approval for certain expansion activities across state lines. 12 U.S.C.A. §§ 1842 (d)(1)(A) and (B) and 1842 (d)(2)(A) and (B). The question whether provisions of the Nebraska Bank Holding Act of 1963 prohibited out-of-state bank holding companies from forming or establishing a newly chartered national bank was previously addressed by this Office. In Op. Att'y General, No. 87102 (October 7, 1987) and Inf. Op. Att'y General (September 12, 1988) this Office concluded that charter age requirements set forth in Neb. Rev. Stat. § 8-903 applied only to the acquisition of an existing bank and did not prohibit the formation of a new bank by an out-of-state bank holding company. Section 8-903 prohibited a bank holding company from acquiring any bank which has been chartered for less than five years. The requests for the opinions were in part due to application by Norwest Corporation, an out-of- state bank holding company, to establish a de novo bank in Nebraska. The application of Norwest Corporation was approved by the Federal Reserve Board in 1988. Reportedly, other de novo banks have been formed by bank holding companies...