IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT: DIVISION OF BANKS TO MOVE
On March 15, 2010, the Division of Banks will move its central office to 1000 Washington Street, 10 th Floor, Boston, Massachusetts 02118. The main office telephone number, extensions and direct dial telephone numbers will remain the same. Other matters related to this change of address will be provided in the near future. Please visit the Division's website at http://www.mass.gov/dob for additional information.
SEE IMPORTANT NOTICE AT THE END OF THIS REPORT
BOARD OF BANK INCORPORATION
There were no applications filed with or pending before the Board of Bank Incorporation in January.
DIVISION OF BANKS
Decisions/Notices
Freedom Credit Union, Springfield - notice to establish a branch office at 422 B Main Street, Easthampton - non-objection issued January 26, 2010.
Applications/Notices Pending
Grafton Suburban Credit Union, North Grafton - permission to amend its by-laws to expand the associations which qualify persons for membership. The amendment relative to membership eligibility proposes to add membership for those who live, work or attend school in Middlesex County as set out in the proposed by-law. Comment period ended January 22, 2010.
Grafton Suburban Credit Union, North Grafton - permission to close a branch office located at 43 Main Street, South Grafton. Comment period ended January 28, 2010.
Northampton Co-operative Bank, Northampton - notice to establish a branch office at 390 College Street, Amherst. Filed December 21, 2009.
Polish National Credit Union, Chicopee - notice to establish a branch office at 32 East Longmeadow Road, Hampden. Filed January 12, 2010.
FEBRUARY 2010 FILING DATE
Complete applications for the February Activity Report must be received by the Division or the Board on or before 5:00 P.M., Tuesday, February 16, 2010.
COMMUNITY REINVESTMENT ACT DESCRIPTIVE RATINGS AND EVALUATIONS
WHICH BECAME PUBLIC DURING THE MONTH
The following state-chartered banks and credit unions and licensed mortgage lenders have Community Reinvestment Act descriptive ratings and evaluations describing the basis for the rating issued by the Division of Banks. The ratings, as set out in statute, for a bank's or credit union's record of meeting community credit needs are: Outstanding ("O"); High Satisfactory ("HS"); Satisfactory ("S"); Needs to Improve ("NI"); and Substantial Noncompliance ("SNC"). Licensed mortgage lenders are also assigned one of these ratings to describe their record of meeting the mortgage credit needs in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
A consolidated list of all ratings can be found at www.mass.gov/dob.
A copy of an individual CRA evaluation is available directly from the bank, credit union, or mortgage lender which is required by law to make the material available upon request, or from the Division's web site.
| Bank/Credit Union | Rating | Date of Examination |
|---|---|---|
Billerica Municipal Employees Credit Union, Billerica | S | 12/08/09 |
Crescent Credit Union, Brockton | HS | 09/28/09 |
| Mortgage Lender | Rating | Date of Examination |
|---|---|---|
NE Moves Mortgage LLC | S | 07/29/09 |
APPLICATIONS TO SELL INSURANCE
First Priority Credit Union - approved January 19, 2010
CHECK CASHER LICENSES
Applications Pending
Bennington Convenience Store, Inc. d/b/a Sava's Market, East Boston - permission to operate a check casher office at 150 Bennington Street, East Boston. Comment period ended June 18, 2009.
Braz Transfers, Inc., Somerville, Massachusetts - permission to operate a check casher office at 377 Somerville, Ave., Somerville. Comment period ended September 24, 2009.
Castleridge, Inc., Fitchburg, Massachusetts - permission to operate a check casher office at 442 Mechanic Street, Fitchburg. Comment period ended November 20, 2008.
THE COMMONWEALTH OF MASSACHUSETTS
DIVISION OF BANKS
NOTICE OF PUBLIC HEARING
Pursuant to the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 140D, section 3 and in accordance with the provisions of Massachusetts General Laws chapter 30A, section 2, a public hearing will be held on Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 10:30 a.m., Hearing Room A, 2 nd Floor, One South Station, Boston, Massachusetts at which comments will be received by the Division of Banks (the "Division") relative to the adoption of amendments to 209 CMR 32.00: Disclosure of Consumer Credit Costs and Terms.
The purpose of the proposed amendments is to adopt recent amendments to federal Regulation Z in order to maintain regulatory consistency between federal and state Truth-In-Lending regulations. These changes include adding two new sections, Sections 209 CMR 32.35 and 209 CMR 32.36, to establish prohibited acts or practices in connection with higher-priced mortgage loans and in connection with credit secured by a consumer's principal dwelling, respectively. Three new sections, 209 CMR 32.46 to 209 CMR 32.48, inclusive, are added to establish special disclosure requirements for private education loans. Additional amendments, among others, would make changes to a number of other sections in order to recognize past federal revisions relating to electronic signatures and electronic disclosures as well as on open-end credit governing credit cards. All such changes are being made in order to retain the exemption of the Massachusetts statute as long as it equals or exceeds the federal law protections. Other changes may be made based on testimony at the public hearing or during the comment period.
Written comments may be submitted to the Division on the proposed amendments until 5:00 p.m. on Thursday, March 4, 2010. Copies of the proposed amendments are available at, and copies may be obtained from, the Massachusetts Division of Banks, One South Station, Boston, Massachusetts 02110 or at www.mass.gov/dob/.
IMPORTANT NOTICE ON CHANGE IN APPLICATION PROCESS
The Division of Banks has an ongoing initiative to reduce paperwork. Among other things, the application process is being changed. Beginning with the application review cycle that starts on February 16, 2010 and ends on March 12, 2010, all applications filed with the Division and the Board of Bank Incorporation, except those filed electronically pursuant to FDICconnect shall consist of one printed copy as well as a submission in an electronic media format preferably a compact disk or USB drive. Banks and credit unions, as well as counsel for such institutions, are advised to submit ONLY the information requested in the application. Accordingly, the submission should not include, among other things, entire Annual Reports, entire public CRA Statements, copies of applications to the Federal Reserve Board, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Office of Thrift Supervision, and the National Credit Union Administration. Additionally, please be advised that certain comparative analyses on deposit and loan overlap among other materials in corporate transactions are being reduced in conjunction with the revised applications.
The Division and the Board will process applications not in compliance with this new requirement until Friday, March 12, 2010. After March 12, 2010, only one hardcopy and a submission in an electronic media format (e.g., a compact disk or USB drive) will be accepted for purposes of filing an application. Any additional materials submitted will, at the discretion of the Division, either be returned at the Petitioner's expense or destroyed. A petitioner is responsible for the actions of its counsel or consultant.
All applications are being reviewed and amended to reflect this new policy. As always, the Division or the Board reserves the right to request supplemental material to be filed on any application or particular question. Petitioners and their counsel must adjust their own internal filing procedures to reflect these significant changes by the Division.
All Board of Bank Incorporation applications are covered by this policy.
Division applications that are covered by this policy are all bank and credit union merger, acquisition and membership by-law change applications, as well as all bank and credit union branch office and main office related applications except for notices to establish branch offices. Also covered are all bank applications (e.g. mutual holding company reorganizations) filed in connection with a transaction before the Board of Bank Incorporation.
Applications that are not covered by this policy are letter applications by banks and credit unions to the Division that do not appear on the Activity Report. Also not covered by this policy are bank and credit union notices to establish branch offices.
PLEASE NOTE: All publications of the Division of Banks are now delivered electronically. To subscribe, simply send an email to:
dobactivityreport-subscribe@listserv.state.ma.us
If you need assistance or have questions, please contact Bernard N. Waxman at 617.956.1571.
For information relative to current Activity Reports please contact the Consumer Assistance Unit .