(a) General. A person or entity required or authorized
to file public notice, including a person or entity requesting authorization
for a merger, purchase of assets, a conversion, an applicant for a
foreign bank agency, or another application requiring public notice,
shall publish notice in a newspaper of general circulation in its
specified community or in an alternative form of publication acceptable
to the banking commissioner and in such other locations as may be
required by the banking commissioner.
(b) Contents. The public notice must state that a filing
is being made; the date (or expected date) of the filing; sufficient
information describing the proposed transaction, and other related
information required by the Finance Code, Title 3, Subtitle A or G,
this chapter, or another rule adopted pursuant to the Finance Code.
The notice must also contain any other information as may be required
by the banking commissioner. In addition, the notice must include
substantially the following text as a separately stated paragraph:
"Any person wishing to comment on this application, either for or
against, may file written comments with the Texas Department of Banking,
2601 North Lamar Boulevard, Austin, Texas 78705-4294 on or before
the 14th day after the date of this publication. Such comments will
be made a part of the record before and considered by the banking
commissioner. Any person wishing to formally protest and oppose (describe
type of application in general terms) and participate in the application
process may do so by filing a written notice of protest with the Texas
Department of Banking on or before the 14th calendar day after the
date of this publication accompanied by a protest filing fee of $2,500.
The protest fee may be reduced or waived by the banking commissioner
upon a showing of substantial hardship."
(c) Publisher's affidavit. A person or entity required
to file public notice under this section shall file with the banking
commissioner a copy of the notice and a publisher's affidavit attesting
to the date of publication.
(d) One Publication Sufficient. Unless otherwise required
by the Finance Code or rules and regulations adopted pursuant to the
Finance Code, one public notice publication per submitted or accepted
filing in each community specified by the banking commissioner is
sufficient if in substantial compliance with this section and chapter
and with the Finance Code, as determined by the banking commissioner.
The banking commissioner reserves the right to require additional
publication based on a determination that a particular publication
is insufficient or is otherwise not in compliance.
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Source Note: The provisions of this §15.5 adopted to be effective January 5, 1996, 20 TexReg 10999; amended to be effective March 21, 1997, 22 TexReg 2608; amended to be effective November 12, 2003, 28 TexReg 9825; amended to be effective November 8, 2012, 37 TexReg 8779; amended to be effective March 12, 2024, 49 TexReg 1457 |