Section 5-5A-18.1 Banks and Trust Companies to Have Power of Federally Chartered or Regulated Financial Institution.

In addition to all other rights and powers provided under this title, banks and trust companies chartered by this state and supervised by the superintendent and banks or trust companies chartered by any other state which are doing business or proposing to conduct any bank or trust company activities in this state and each of their subsidiaries, subject to the prior approval of the superintendent, may make any loan or investment , exercise any power, and engage in any activity which they could make , exercise, or engage in if incorporated or operating as a federally chartered or regulated financial institution and they shall be entitled to all rights, privileges, and protections granted or available to federally chartered or regulated financial institutions. In addition to other conditions determined at the superintendent’s discretion, any approval granted under this section to a bank or trust company chartered by another state or to subsidiaries of a bank or trust company chartered by another state may be conditioned upon the existence of reciprocal authority from the other state for Alabama state banks and trust companies or their subsidiaries to exercise the same power or engage in the same activity in the other state. The provisions of this section shall take priority and be given effect over any other general or specific provisions of Alabama law to the contrary. Except in the case of a natural disaster or other emergency, in determining whether to issue an approval of an activity, right, privilege, or protection under this section, the superintendent shall consider the importance of maintaining a competitive dual banking system and whether such an approval is contrary to the public interest. In the event of a natural disaster or other national, regional, state, or local emergency, the superintendent may temporarily waive or suspend requirements for bank and trust company compliance with any other general or specific provisions of this title. At the discretion of the superintendent, an approval issued under this section to any bank, trust company, or subsidiary of a bank or trust company may apply to all banks, trust companies, and their subsidiaries. Approvals granted under this section shall not exempt the applicant or its subsidiary from applicable licensure and regulatory requirements of Articles 1, 2, and 4 of Chapter 27 of Title 34, except where a national bank or its subsidiary would not be subject to the licensure or regulatory requirements of Articles 1, 2, and 4 of Chapter 27 of Title 34. For the purposes of this section, the term federally chartered financial institution means any bank, savings bank, limited purpose bank, savings and loan association, other institution whose deposits are federally insured, or trust company chartered by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency or the Office of Thrift Supervision, or their successor agencies, and any subsidiary of such institutions.