RCW 33.12.010 Powers in general.

An association shall have the same capacity to act as possessed by natural persons. An association has authority to perform such acts as are necessary or proper to accomplish its purposes.

In addition to any other power an association may have, an association has authority:

(1) To have and alter a corporate seal;

(2) To continue as an association for the time limited in its articles of incorporation or, if no such time limit is specified, then perpetually;

(3) To sue or be sued in its corporate name;

(4) To acquire, hold, sell, dispose of, pledge, mortgage, or encumber property, as its interests and purposes may require;

(5) To conduct business in this state and elsewhere as may be permitted by law and, to this end, to comply with any law, regulation, or other requirements incident thereto;

(6) To acquire capital in the form of deposits, shares, or other accounts for fixed, minimum or indefinite periods of time as are authorized by its bylaws, and may issue such passbooks, statements, time certificates of deposit, or other evidence of accounts;

(7) To pay interest;

(8) To charge reasonable service fees for services provided as part of its business;

(9) To borrow money and to pledge, mortgage, or hypothecate its properties and securities in connection therewith;

(10) To collect or protest promissory notes or bills of exchange owned or held as collateral by the association;

(11) To let vaults, safes, boxes, or other receptacles for the safekeeping or storage of personal property, subject to the laws and regulations applicable to and with the powers possessed by safe deposit companies; and to act as escrow holder;

(12) To act as fiscal agent for the United States of America; to purchase, own, vote, or sell stock in, or act as fiscal agent for any federal home loan bank, the federal housing administration, home owners' loan corporation, or other state or federal agency, organized under the authority of the United States or of the state of Washington and authorized to loan to or act as fiscal agent for associations or to insure savings accounts or mortgages; and in the exercise of these powers, to comply with any requirements of law or rules or orders promulgated by such federal or state agency and to execute any contracts and pay any charges in connection therewith;

(13) To procure insurance of its mortgages and of its accounts from any state or federal corporation or agency authorized to write such insurance and, in the exercise of these powers, to comply with any requirements of law or rules or orders promulgated and to execute any contracts and pay any premiums required in connection therewith;

(14) To loan money and to sell any of its notes or other evidences of indebtedness, together with the collateral securing the same;

(15) To make, adopt, and amend bylaws for the management of its property and the conduct of its business;

(16) To deposit moneys and securities in any other association or any bank or savings bank or other like depository;

(17) To dissolve and wind up its business;

(18) To collect or compromise debts due to it and, in so doing, to apply to the indebtedness the accounts of the debtors, and to receive, as collateral or otherwise, other securities, property or property rights of any kind or nature;

(19) To become a member of, deal with, or make reasonable payments or contribution to any organization to the extent that such organization assists in furthering or facilitating the association's purposes, powers or community responsibilities, and to comply with any reasonable conditions of eligibility;

(20) To sell money orders, travelers checks and similar instruments as agent for any organization empowered to sell such instruments through agents within this state and to receive money for transmission through a federal home loan bank;

(21) To service loans and investments for others;

(22) To sell and to purchase mortgages or other loans, including participating interests therein;

(23) To use abbreviations, words or symbols in connection with any document of any nature and on checks, proxies, notices and other instruments which abbreviations, words, or symbols shall have the same force and legal effect as though the respective words and phrases for which they stand were set forth in full for the purposes of all statutes of the state and all other purposes;

(24) To conduct a trust business under rules adopted by the director pursuant to chapter 34.05 RCW;

(25) To exercise the powers and authorities of a state commercial bank to engage in trust business under RCW 30A.08.150 upon application to and approval by the director and subject to requirements and conditions that the director may establish by rule; and

(26) To exercise, by and through its board of directors and duly authorized officers and agents, all such incidental powers as may be necessary to carry on the business of the association.

The powers granted in this section shall not be construed as limiting or enlarging any grant of authority made elsewhere by this title.

[ 2014 c 37 § 602; 1994 c 92 § 435; 1982 c 3 § 22; 1969 c 107 § 3; 1963 c 246 § 2; 1945 c 235 § 29; Rem. Supp. 1945 § 3717-148. Prior: 1939 c 98 §§ 6, 7; 1935 c 171 § 1; 1933 c 183 §§ 47, 48, 55, 59.]

NOTES:

Legislative declarations—Effective date—2014 c 37: See RCW 30A.04.005 and 30A.04.902.

Severability—1982 c 3: See note following RCW 33.04.002.