Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any bank and any trust company holding securities in a fiduciary capacity or while engaged in a trust business, or while acting in any capacity under a court or private trust, or while acting in that capacity with one or more persons as cofiduciary or cofiduciaries, unless the instrument creating the trust contains a provision to the contrary, is authorized to deposit or arrange for the deposit of the securities in a securities depository, as defined in Section 30004, which is licensed under Section 30200 or exempted from licensing thereunder by Section 30005 or 30006. When securities are so deposited, they may be held in the custody of the securities depository in which they are deposited or in the custody of any other securities depository so licensed or exempted and in which the securities depository in which the securities were deposited maintains an account, or in the custody of any bank or trust company with authority to accept custody of the securities, that accepts custody of the securities on behalf of a securities depository. The securities may be held in the name of the nominee of the securities depository in which they are deposited, or in the name of the nominee of any other securities depository with which the securities depository in which they are deposited maintains an account. The custodian of securities so deposited may merge certificates representing securities of the same class of the same issuer and may hold those certificates in bulk with any other securities deposited in any securities depository by any person regardless of the ownership of the securities, and certificates of small denomination may be merged into one or more certificates of larger denomination. Any bank or trust company that deposits or arranges for the deposit of the securities in a securities depository shall maintain records that at all times show the ownership of the deposited securities. A bank or trust company depositing securities pursuant to this section shall be subject to such rules and regulations as in the case of state chartered institutions, the commissioner and, in the case of national banking associations, the Comptroller of the Currency may from time to time issue. This section shall apply to securities now held or hereafter held by a bank or trust company in the above designated capacities. A bank or trust company may, but shall not be required to, own capital stock of a securities depository in which it deposits securities pursuant to this section.

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