Opinion  Summary of Selected Opinion 98-225

Date:	10/01/1998
Organization:	Division of Banks
Docket Number:	98-225

This opinion was issued in the fourth quarter of 1998.

Use of the word "bank" in the name of an insurance comapny doing business in Massachusetts

Mass. Gen. Laws chapter 167, section 37, entitled "Unauthorized Banking," prohibits a domestic or foreign corporation, individual, partnership or association from transacting business in Massachusetts under any name or title which contain the words "bank," "banking," or "bankers." The purpose of said section 37 is to prohibit unauthorized entities from conducting the business of banking in Massachusetts and to avoid confusion on the part of consumers as to whether particular entities are authorized to transact banking business in Massachusetts. An insurance company wishing to use the word "Banc" in its title would be permitted to do so, as "Banc" is not one of the prohibited words.