(a) The Legislature finds and declares:

(1) That it is necessary to increase job opportunities in real estate development and construction and to provide additional housing and commercial facilities in this state.

(2) That within the commercial banking community there exists the expertise and ability to promote and assist in expansion of real estate development projects in this state.

(3) That it is proper and appropriate to utilize that expertise and ability by authorizing commercial banks to engage in real estate development and management on an entrepreneurial basis.

(b) As used in this section, “real property investment” means all forms of investing in real property, whether direct or in the form of partnerships, joint ventures, or other methods of investment. It includes, but is not limited to, the purchasing, subdividing, and developing of real property or any interest therein, the building of residential housing or commercial improvements, and the owning, renting, leasing, managing, operating for income, or selling of that property.

(c) A commercial bank may acquire and hold stock of one or more corporations the primary activities of which are engaging in real property investment, in which event the sum of (1) investments made by a commercial bank pursuant to the authority of this subdivision, (2) any loans and guarantees extended by a commercial bank to, or for the benefit of, corporations whose stock it holds pursuant to the authority of this subdivision, and (3) real property investments made pursuant to the authority of subdivision (d), unless a higher percentage is approved by the commissioner in writing, shall not exceed 10 percent of the total assets of the bank.

(d) A commercial bank may engage in real property investment. The total of all real property investments made pursuant to the authority of this subdivision, unless a higher percentage is approved by the commissioner in writing, shall not exceed the total shareholders’ equity of the bank.

(e) Prior to initially engaging in real property investment activities authorized by this section, a commercial bank shall make application with the commissioner for approval of its general plan of real property investment. The application for approval shall be in letter form, shall contain a copy of the general plan for real property investment as approved or adopted by the board of directors of the bank, which shall include a brief description of either the activities of the corporations the bank will invest in or the activities the bank will engage in, or both, the approximate amount to be invested, the extent, if any, of diversification of those activities or investment, and the approximate date of the initial investment, and shall be signed by the chief executive officer of the bank. Unless the commissioner finds (1) that the capital, assets, management, earnings, and liquidity of the commercial bank are, on a composite basis, not satisfactory, or (2) that the plan for the commercial bank to engage in real property investment or to acquire and hold the stock of one or more real property investment corporations is unsafe or unsound, the commissioner shall approve the application. An application for approval shall be deemed approved on the 46th day after the application is filed with the commissioner, unless the commissioner earlier makes a final decision on the application or extends the period for approving or denying the application. For purposes of this subdivision, an application for approval shall be deemed to be filed with the commissioner on the date when the application, substantially in compliance with the requirements of this subdivision, is received by the commissioner. Upon the filing of the application for approval, the applicant shall pay to the commissioner a filing fee of five hundred dollars ($500).

(f) The legality of any investment lawfully made pursuant to this section as it read prior to the amendment of this section shall not be affected by the existing form of this section, nor shall this section be construed to require the changing of any investments heretofore lawfully made.

(Added by Stats. 2011, Ch. 243, Sec. 3. (SB 664) Effective January 1, 2012.)