THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

SENATE BILL

INTRODUCED BY McILHINNEY, D. WHITE, STACK, TOMLINSON AND ALLOWAY, NOVEMBER 14, 2011

REFERRED TO BANKING AND INSURANCE, NOVEMBER 14, 2011  

AN ACT

Amending the act of November 30, 1965 (P.L.847, No.356),

entitled "An act relating to and regulating the business of

banking and the exercise by corporations of fiduciary powers;

affecting persons engaged in the business of banking and

corporations exercising fiduciary powers and affiliates of

such persons; affecting the shareholders of such persons and

the directors, trustees, officers, attorneys and employes of

such persons and of the affiliates of such persons; affecting

national banks located in the Commonwealth; affecting persons

dealing with persons engaged in the business of banking,

corporations exercising fiduciary powers and national banks;

conferring powers and imposing duties on the Banking Board,

on certain departments and officers of the Commonwealth and

on courts, prothonotaries, clerks and recorders of deeds;

providing penalties; and repealing certain acts and parts of

acts," further providing for names permitted to be used and

for prohibition of adoption, use or advertisement of certain

names, titles and descriptions.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  Section 802 of the act of November 30, 1965

(P.L.847, No.356), known as the Banking Code of 1965, amended

July 6, 1984 (P.L.606, No.125) and July 6, 1984 (P.L.621,

No.128), is amended to read:

Section 802.  Names Permitted to Be Used

(a)  The name of an institution:

(i)  may be in any language but shall be expressed in

English letters or characters;

(ii)  in the case of a bank, bank and trust company or

savings bank, shall contain in English the word "bank" or

"banking" and [shall not contain either of the words "trust"

or "savings"] may contain the word "trust" if the bank, bank

and trust company or savings bank acts in a fiduciary or

other representative capacity as authorized in Chapter 4 of

this act;

[(iii)  in the case of a bank and trust company, shall

contain in English one or more of the words "bank",

"banking", "trust" or "trusts", and shall not contain the

word "savings";]

(iv)  in the case of a trust company, shall contain in

English the words "trust company" or "company for trusts" and

shall not contain any of the words "bank", "banking" or

"savings";

[(v)  in the case of a savings bank, shall contain in

English the words "savings bank" or "savings" and may contain

the word "trust" if the savings bank acts in a fiduciary or

other representative capacity as authorized in Chapter 4 of

this act;]

(vi)  in the case of a private bank, shall contain in

English the words "private bank" or "unincorporated bank"

and shall not contain either of the words "trust" or

"savings";

(viii)  shall not contain any word which may deceptively

lead to the conclusion that the institution is authorized to

perform any act or conduct any business which it is not

authorized to perform or conduct or which is forbidden to it

by law, its articles or otherwise;

(ix)  shall not contain any of the words "Government",

"Official", "Federal", "National" or "United States" [or any

abbreviation of any such word]; and

(x)  shall not be a name which would be unavailable for

use by a business corporation under section 202(B) of the

Business Corporation Law (dealing with names the same as, or

deceptively similar to, certain other names).

(b)  An institution may, without regard to the provisions of

subsection (a) of this section, use:

(i)  its name legally in use on the effective date of

this act, or

(ii)  a name legally in use on the effective date of this

act by another institution which is adopted by:

(A)  an institution which is the resulting

institution in a plan of merger or consolidation to which

the institution using the name is a party, or

(B)  an institution which is incorporated under this

act in pursuance of a plan of segregating the banking

business and the trust business of the institution using

the name.

(c)  An institution may adopt fictitious names permitted by

54 Pa.C.S. Ch. 3 (relating to fictitious names), provided that

such fictitious names do not violate subsection (a)(viii) or

(ix).

Section 2.  Section 805(d) of the act is amended to read:

Section 805.  Prohibition of Adoption, Use or Advertisement of

Certain Names, Titles and Descriptions

* * *

(d) Duty of Department of State--The Department of State

shall not approve as a corporate name, or register as a

fictitious name, any name which would violate the provisions of

this [section] chapter.

Section 3.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.