Legal Seminar

Section 11-102-104(5) C.R.S. grants the Banking Board the discretion to allow a state bank to engage in otherwise unauthorized “banking activity,” but only as state law permits. The Banking Code contains a “wild card” statute that allows the Banking Board to grant permission to a state bank to “to engage in any banking activity in which state banks could engage were they operating as national banks.” § 11-102-104(5) C.R.S. Colorado’s wild card statute, like that of most states, requires approval before a bank can engage in activity that would be permitted to a national bank. The Banking Board may approve such activity “ so long as such activity is not prohibited elsewhere in this code .” While some states’ wild card statutes allow for the regulatory approval of a banking activity that would contradict state law, § 11-102- 104(5) C.R.S. does not. Even though the Banking Board may authorize a state bank to take an action that a national bank could, the Board is limited by the rest of the Banking Code.