Financial institutions today, Nov. 2014

Inside this issue:
Annual 2 Assessment for
Bank Holding Companies
FinCEN 2 Statement on Providing Banking
Services to Money Services
Businesses
Action on 3 Applications for
the Month of November
2015 State 5 Holidays
Contact 6 Information

News and topics of interest to financial institutions regulated by the Department of Banking and Finance

Monthly Bulletin #11

November 2014

Department Issues Proposed Rulemaking and Provides Opportunity to Comment
On November 3, 2014, pursuant to the provisions of the Georgia Administrative Procedure Act, O.C.G.A. 50-13-1 et seq., and by the authority of O.C.G.A. 7-1-61, 7-1-1012, 7-9-13 and other cited statutes, the Department of Banking and Finance ("Department") gave notice of its intent to adopt new rules.
Comments to the Department must be received by the close of business on Thursday, December 4, 2014.
The Proposed Rules may be viewed or downloaded from the Department's website at: http://dbf.georgia.gov/documents/2014-dbf-proposed-rulemaking-11-3-2014.

Annual Assessment for State-Chartered Financial Institutions
Annual assessment fee letters have been e-mailed to banks and credit unions, and the fees will be assessed on December 31, 2014.
Please complete and submit any change of information by December 15, 2014, using the Electronic Funds Transfer ("EFT") Authorization Form. The EFT Authorization Form and Instructions can be found on the Department's website at: http://dbf.georgia.gov/documents/electronic-funds-transfer-authorization-form-and-instructions.
Please e-mail or call Chris Pittman with any questions at cpittman@dbf.state.ga.us or 770-9861641.

DBF Outreach AND UPCOMING SPEAKING ENGAGEMENTS
Commissioner Hagler will be participating on a regulatory panel on December 4th during the Georgia Bankers Association's 2014 Credit Conference being held at the Atlanta Marriott Century Center. Learn more about this event.
"Safeguarding Georgia's Financial Services"

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November 2014

Annual Assessment for Bank Holding Companies
Annual assessment fee letters will be e-mailed to bank holding companies the first week of December 2014. The fees are due by December 31, 2014, and online reporting/payment is mandatory from the Department's website at: https://bkgfin.dbf.state.ga.us/HCAssessments.html.
Please e-mail or call Chris Pittman with any questions at cpittman@dbf.state.ga.us or 770-986-1641.
PLEASE NOTE: The Department will be using Official Payments Corporation as its credit card service provider for the payment of fees due the Department. In order to process your payment by credit or debit card, Official Payments Corporation charges a nominal convenience fee based on the amount of the transaction. The convenience fee is 2.50% of the payment amount, with a minimum service fee of $1.00 per payment transaction.

Financial Crimes Enforcement Network ("FinCEN") Statement on Providing Banking Services to Money Services Businesses ("MSBs")
On November 10, 2014, FinCEN issued a statement on providing banking services to MSBs. In the statement, FinCEN reiterated expectations regarding banking institutions' obligations under the Bank Secrecy Act ("BSA") for MSBs. MSBs play an important role in a transparent financial system because they often provide financial services to people less likely to use traditional banking services and because of their prominent role in providing remittance services.
FinCEN's statement highlighted concerns that banks are indiscriminately closing the accounts of all MSBs, or refusing to open accounts for any MSBs, thereby eliminating them as a category of customers. FinCEN expects financial institutions that open and maintain accounts for MSBs to apply the requirements of the BSA, as they do with all accountholders, based on risk. As with any category of accountholder, the levels of risk will vary; therefore, MSBs should be treated on a case-bycase basis.
FinCEN's statement also reiterated that the BSA does not require, and neither does FinCEN expect, institutions to serve as the de facto regulator of the money services business industry any more than of any other industry. FinCEN, the IRS, and state regulators have all taken steps in recent years to increase the effectiveness of their oversight of MSB BSA compliance.
Access the full text of the FinCEN statement at: http://www.fincen.gov/news_room/nr/html/20141110.html.

November 2014

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Action on Applications for the Month of November:
The following is a summary of official action taken on applications by State Financial Institutions under Title 7, Chapter 1 of the O.C.G.A. and petitions for Certificate of Incorporation of Financial Institutions and other matters of interest during the month of November 2014.

APPLICATIONS TO ESTABLISH A BRANCH OFFICE

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION Bank of Early Blakely

BRANCH OFFICE Macon Branch Office 4070 Forsyth Road Macon, GA 31210 Bibb County

APPROVAL 11-25-2014

BEGIN BUSINESS

Southern Bank & Trust Clarkesville

Blairsville Branch Office 361 Blue Ridge Street Blairsville, GA 30512 Union County

11-04-2014

Bank of Dudley Dudley

Jeffersonville Branch Office 207 Main Street Jeffersonville, GA 31044 Twiggs County

04-22-2014

11-03-2014

Pinnacle Bank Elberton

Covington Branch Office 6124 Highway 278 Northeast Covington, GA 30014 Newton County

Pending

Fidelity Bank Norcross

Hiram Branch Office 5749 Wendy Bagwell Parkway Hiram, GA 30141 Paulding County

10-16-2013

11-17-2014

Fidelity Bank Norcross

Roswell Road Branch Office 214 Roswell Road Marietta, GA 30060 Cobb County

05-19-2014

11-03-2014

The Citizens Exchange Bank Pearson

Main Office 1500 Newcastle Street Brunswick, GA 31520 Glynn County

Pending

The Citizens Exchange Bank Pearson

Saint Simons Island Branch Office 60 Midway Square Saint Simons Island, GA 31522 Glynn County

Pending

Guardian Bank Valdosta

Pearson Branch Office 82 Railroad Avenue East Pearson, GA 31642 Atkinson County

Pending

PREVIOUS NAME The Citizens Exchange Bank Pearson

NOTICE OF CHANGE IN NAME
NEW NAME South Coast Bank & Trust

APPROVAL Pending

EFFECTIVE

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FINANCIAL INSTITUTION MERGERS

FINANCIAL INSTITUTION (SURVIVOR) ServisFirst Bank Birmingham, AL

MERGED INSTITUTION Metro Bank Douglasville, GA

The Farmers Bank Forsyth, GA

The Bank of Perry Perry, GA

The Farmers Bank Forsyth, GA

The Peoples Bank Covington, GA

The Farmers Bank Forsyth, GA

Spivey State Bank Swainsboro, GA

Community Bank & Trust - West Georgia LaGrange, GA

Community Bank & Trust- Alabama Union Springs, AL

November 2014
APPROVAL EFFECTIVE Pending Pending Pending Pending Withdrawn 11-14-2014

APPLICATIONS TO BECOME A BANK HOLDING COMPANY AND/OR TO ACQUIRE VOTING STOCK OF A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION

BANK HOLDING COMPANY

TO ACQUIRE

APPROVAL

FORMATIONS ServisFirst Bancshares, Inc. Birmingham, AL

Metro Bank Douglasville, GA

Pending

MetroCity Bankshares, Inc. Doraville, GA

Metro City Bank Doraville, GA

11-06-2014

LBC Bancshares, Inc. LaGrange, GA

LaGrange Banking Company LaGrange, GA

Pending

ACQUISITIONS State Bank Financial Corporation Atlanta, GA

First Bank of Georgia Augusta, GA

11-14-2014

Action on Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Bank ("MALPB") Applications for the Month of November:
The following is a summary of official action taken on applications for a MALPB charter under Title 7, Chapter 9 of the O.C.G.A. during the month of November 2014.

APPLICATION FOR AN MALPB CHARTER

NAME Credorax Bank North America, MALPB c/o Margaret D. Higginbotham, CPA 970 York Cove Milton, GA 30004 Fulton County

APPROVAL Pending

BEGIN BUSINESS

November 2014

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2015 State Holidays
In accordance with O.C.G.A. 1-4-1, Governor Nathan Deal proclaimed the following dates in 2015 as public and legal state holidays when the Capitol and all State agencies will be closed:

Holiday Name New Year's Day 2015 Robert E. Lee's Birthday
Martin Luther King Jr.'s Birthday Washington's Birthday
Confederate Memorial Day
Memorial Day Independence Day
Labor Day Columbus Day Veterans Day Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Day

Date Observed Thursday, January 1st
Monday, January 19th Will be observed on Friday, November 27th
Monday, January 19th
Monday, February 16th Will be observed on Thursday, December 24th
Sunday, April 26th Will be observed on Monday, April 27th
Monday, May 25th
Saturday, July 4th Will be observed on Friday, July 3rd
Monday, September 7th
Monday, October 12th
Wednesday, November 11th
Thursday, November 26th Lee's Birthday will be observed on Friday, November 27th
Friday, December 25th Washington's Birthday will be observed on Thursday, December 24th

Georgia law allows a financial institution to be closed one day each week in addition to Sundays and holidays (O.C.G.A. 7-1-110). Except in the case of an emergency closing, a financial institution must post a notice of intent to close at least 30 days in advance of the closure (O.C.G.A. 7-1-110.1).

DBF Holiday Hours
The offices of the Department of Banking and Finance will be closed on Thursday, December 25th and Friday, December 26th in observance of State holidays. Our offices will also be closed on Thursday, January 1st for New Year's Day.
The Department wishes you and your family a wonderful Holiday Season!!

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DEPARTMENT OF BANKING AND FINANCE
2990 Brandywine Road Suite 200
Atlanta, Georgia 30341-5565
Phone: (770) 986-1633 Fax: (770) 986-1654 or 1655 Email: dbfpress@dbf.state.ga.us

November 2014
The Department is the state agency that regulates and examines Georgia state-chartered banks, state-chartered credit unions, and state-chartered trust companies. The Department also has responsibility for the supervision, regulation, and examination of Merchant Acquirer Limited Purpose Banks (MALPBs) chartered in Georgia.
In addition, the Department has regulatory and/or licensing authority over mortgage brokers, lenders and processors, mortgage loan originators, check cashers, sellers-issuers of payment instruments, money transmitters, international banking organizations, and bank holding companies conducting business in Georgia.
Our Mission is to promote safe, sound, competitive financial services in Georgia through innovative, responsive regulation and supervision.
Our Vision is to be the best financial services industry regulator in the country Progressive. Proactive. Service-Oriented.

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Visit our website at: dbf.georgia.gov

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