Legal Seminar

The proposed sale posed several issues. First, the relevant Colorado Banking Code statutory provision for the sale of a bank, § 11-103-709, C.R.S., specifies that a state bank may sell its assets to “any other bank. ” The definition of “bank” in the statute does not encompass credit unions, which are defined in another article of Title 11. Second, the parties propose liquidating the bank under the provisions of § 11-103-801, C.R.S., with the credit union simultaneously acquiring all of the bank’s assets. Because § 11-103-801, C.R.S. requires that deposits and the contents of the bank safety deposit boxes must be returned to depositors during a liquidation, and all creditors must be paid off, the credit union cannot simply take control of these assets. Bank’s counsel contended that a Colorado credit union’s acquisition of a Colorado bank is allowed by § 11-102-104(5), C.R.S., which gives the Banking Board the discretion to authorize a state bank to engage in any banking activity that a national bank may engage in, so long as the banking activity is not prohibited elsewhere in the Banking Code.