The Florida Senate

In any case in which a person or a group of persons, directly or indirectly or acting by or through one or more persons, proposes to purchase or acquire a controlling interest in any state bank or state trust company, and thereby to change the control of that bank or trust company, each person or group of persons shall first make application to the office for a certificate of approval of such proposed change of control of the bank or trust company. The application shall contain the name and address, and such other relevant information as the commission or office requires, including information relating to other and former addresses and the reputation, character, responsibility, and business affiliations, of the proposed new owner or each of the proposed new owners of the controlling interest. The office shall issue a certificate of approval only after it has made an investigation and determined that the proposed new owner or owners of the interest are qualified by reputation, character, experience, and financial responsibility to control and operate the bank or trust company in a legal and proper manner and that the interests of the other stockholders, if any, and the depositors and creditors of the bank or trust company and the interests of the public generally will not be jeopardized by the proposed change in ownership, controlling interest, or management. No person who has been convicted of, or pled guilty or nolo contendere to, a violation of s. 655.50, relating to the Florida Control of Money Laundering in Financial Institutions Act; chapter 896, relating to offenses related to financial transactions; or any similar state or federal law shall be given a certificate of approval by the office.

For the purposes of this section, the standards, criteria, and exceptions contained in s. 658.27(2), (3), (4), and (5) relating to control by a business organization of a bank or another business organization apply to the persons mentioned in this section and constitute the standards, criteria, and exceptions which determine whether any person or group of persons shall be deemed to be purchasing or acquiring, or to have purchased or acquired, directly or indirectly a “controlling interest” in a state bank or a state trust company; but the office is not limited to those standards or criteria in determining whether any such person shall be deemed to be acting by or through one or more other persons.

In any case in which a proposed purchase or acquisition of voting securities of a state bank or trust company would give rise to the presumption created under s. 658.27(2)(c), the person or group of persons who propose to purchase or acquire the voting securities shall first give written notice of the proposal to the office. Such notice may present information that the proposed purchase or acquisition will not result in control. The office shall afford the person seeking to rebut the presumption an opportunity to present views in writing or orally before its designated representatives at an informal conference. If the office determines, pursuant to the informal conference, that the person or group of persons seeking to rebut the presumption exercises a controlling influence over the bank, an application for change of control must be filed pursuant to this section.

For the purposes of this section, no person will be considered as having effected a change in control of any bank by the formation of a bank holding company when the person or persons who controlled the bank or banks are the same person or persons who control the holding company.