Arkansas Administrative Code
Agency 210 - State Bank Department
Rule 210.00.07-002 - Section 7 - Trust Powers
Current through Register Vol. 49, No. 9, September, 2024
47-701.1 - ACTIVITIES NOT REQUIRING TRUST POWERS (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
A bank acting as escrow holder under an ordinary escrow contract, where the bank has no power to invest the escrowed funds, does not require trust powers. A state bank without trust powers may act as paying agent under a bond or note issue but it may not act as trustee thereunder.
47-701.2 - FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION AND FEDERAL RESERVE APPROVAL (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
A non-member insured bank may not adopt trust powers without Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation approval. A state member bank must obtain Federal Reserve approval.
47-701.3 - TITLE TO TRUST SECURITIES IN NAME OF A NOMINEE (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
A bank or trust company in the administration of a trust may place title to trust securities in the name of a nominee. If there is a co-trustee, consent must be obtained. But a bank or trust company in such a situation, will be absolutely responsible for any loss occasioned by the act of the nominee.
47-701.4 - COMMON TRUST FUND (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
47-701.5 - INDIVIDUAL RETIREMENT ACCOUNT (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
Section 26 U.S.C. 408 et seq. establishes Individual Retirement Accounts. A bank that has trust powers may accept deposits into Individual Retirement Accounts and may, depending on the arrangement between the depositor and the bank, exercise discretion in the investment of such account. If a bank does not have trust powers, it may accept such deposits on a "custodial" arrangement only. However, reference should be made to the above cited federal law and the regulations and rulings promulgated thereunder for the administration of such accounts.
47-701.6 - KEOGH PLAN (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
A bank's activities as trustee or custodian under a Keogh Plan is governed by Section 26. U.S.C. 404(e).
47-705.1 - TRUST DEPOSITS AWAITING INVESTMENT OR DISTRIBUTION
(Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-705)
All Trust Deposits awaiting investment or distribution which are determined to be eligible under A.C.A. § 28-69-206 for pledging of government securities to the deposit, may be secured by a blanket pledging of eligible securities to those eligible trust deposits subject to the following requirements:
47-701.7 - BANK AS TRUSTEE; VOTING OF OWN SHARES (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
The trust department of a state bank is theoretically subject to the dominion of the board of directors; and the trust department conceivably might in some situations be called upon to vote the bank's own shares for proposals more calculated to benefit the individual directors than the bank. Under the National Banking Act (Section 12 U.S.C. 61) a national bank cannot vote its own shares in the election of directors of the bank unless under the terms of the trust the manner in which the shares shall be voted may be determined by a donor or beneficiary of the trust and unless such donor or beneficiary actually directs how such shares shall be voted. Moreover, if the national bank has a co-trustee, the shares may be voted by the co-trustee. The above stated national bank rule shall be applicable with respect to voting any shares of the bank held by the trust department in the election of the bank's directors. On all other proposals, the trust department is urged to weigh carefully the issues presented and any conflicts of interest which are present before deciding whether to vote or how to vote the shares.
47-701.8 - TRUST POLICIES (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
All state banks exercising trust powers shall adopt a trust policy setting forth, at a minimum, trust department investment practices, including investments in the obligations of the bank and its affiliates, voting practices and procedures concerning the banks stock and the stock of any affiliates of the bank, and trust account administration policies and procedures.
FIDUCIARY POWERS OF STATE BANKS
47-701.9 - FIDUCIARY POWERS OF STATE BANKS (Reference A.C.A. § 23-47-701)
"Account" means the trust, estate or other fiduciary relationship which has been established with a bank;
"Custodian under a Uniform Gifts to Minors Act" means an account established pursuant to a state law which is substantially similar to the Uniform Gifts to Minors Act as published by the America Law Institute and with respect to which the bank operating such account has established to the satisfaction of the Secretary of the Treasury that it has duties and responsibilities similar to duties and responsibilities of a trustee or guardian.
"Fiduciary" means a bank undertaking to act alone or jointly with others primarily for the benefit of another in all matters connected with its undertaking and includes trustee, executor, administrator, registrar of stocks and bonds, guardian of estates, assignee, receiver, committee of estates of incompetents, managing agent and any other similar capacity;
"Fiduciary powers" means the power to act in any fiduciary capacity as authorized by Arkansas state law or any applicable federal law;
"Fiduciary records" means all matters which are written, transcribed, recorded, received or otherwise come into possession of a bank and are necessary to preserve information concerning the acts and events relevant to the fiduciary activities of a bank;
"Guardian" means the guardian or committee by whatever name employed by local law, of the estate of an infant, an incompetent individual, an absent individual, or a competent individual over whose estate a court has taken jurisdiction, other than under bankruptcy or insolvency laws;
"Investment authority" means the responsibility conferred by action of law or a provision of an appropriate governing instrument to make, select or change investments, review investment decisions made by others, or to provide investment advice or counsel to others;
"Local law" means the law of the state or other jurisdiction governing the fiduciary relationship;
"Managing agent" means the fiduciary relationship assumed by a bank upon the creation of an account which names the bank as agent and confers investment discretion upon the bank;
"State bank" means any bank, trust company, savings bank, or other banking institution, which is not a national bank and the principal office of which is located in the District of Columbia, any state, commonwealth, or territorial possession of the United States;
"Trust department" means that group or groups of officers and employees of a bank organized under the supervision of officers or employees to whom are designated by the board of directors the performance of the fiduciary responsibilities of the bank, whether or not the group or groups are so named;
Each state bank exercising investment discretion (as defined in Section 12 C.F.R. 12.2(c)) with respect to an account shall adopt and follow written policies and procedures intended to ensure that its brokerage placement practices comply with all applicable laws and regulations. Among other relevant matters, such written policies and procedures should address, where appropriate,
A committee of directors, exclusive of any active officers of the bank, shall at least once during each calendar year make suitable audits of the trust department or cause suitable audits to be made by auditors responsible only to the board of directors and at such time shall ascertain whether the department has been administered in accordance with law, applicable regulations and sound fiduciary principles. The board of directors may elect, in lieu of such periodic audits, to adopt an adequate continuous audit system. A report of the audits and examination required under this section, together with the action taken thereon, shall be noted in the minutes of the board of directors.
Whenever the local law requires corporations acting as fiduciary to deposit securities with the state authorities for the protection of private or court trusts, every state bank in that state authorized to exercise fiduciary powers shall, before undertaking to act in any fiduciary capacity, make a similar deposit with the state authorities. If the state authorities refuse to accept such a deposit, the securities shall be deposited with the Federal Reserve Bank of the district in which such state bank is located, and such securities shall be held for the protection of private or court trusts with like effect as though the securities had been deposited with the state authorities.
Any state bank which has been granted the right to exercise fiduciary powers and which desires to surrender such right shall file with the Commissioner a certified copy of the resolution of its board of directors signifying such desire. Upon receipt of such resolution, the Commissioner shall make an investigation and if satisfied that the bank has been discharged from all fiduciary duties which it has undertaken, shall issue a certificate to such bank certifying that it is no longer authorized to exercise fiduciary powers.
COLLECTIVE INVESTMENT FUNDS
Collective Investment. (Common Trust Funds as in A.C.A. § 28-69-202)