Every such association shall have the following general powers:
1. General corporate power. To sue and be sued, complain and defend in any court of law or equity; to purchase, acquire, hold, and convey real and personal estate consistent with its objects and powers; to mortgage, pledge, or lease any real or personal estate owned by the association and to authorize a pledgee to repledge the property; to take property by gift, devise, or bequest; to have a corporate seal, which may be affixed by imprint, facsimile, or otherwise; to appoint officers, agents, and employees as its business requires and allow them suitable compensation; to provide for life, health, and casualty insurance for its officers and employees and to adopt and operate reasonable bonus plans and retirement benefits for the officers and employees to enter into payroll savings plans; to adopt and amend bylaws; to insure its accounts with the savings association insurance fund of the federal deposit insurance corporation and qualify as a member of a federal home loan bank; to become a member of, deal with, or make contributions to any organization to the extent that the organization assists in furthering or facilitating the association's purposes or powers and to comply with conditions of membership; to accept savings as provided in this chapter together with other powers otherwise expressly provided for in this chapter, together with implied powers as reasonably necessary for the purpose of carrying out the express powers granted in this chapter.
2. Fiscal agent. Any such association which is a member of a federal home loan bank shall have power to act as fiscal agent of the United States and, when designated for the purpose by the secretary of the treasury, it shall perform under such regulations as the secretary may prescribe all such reasonable duties as fiscal agent of the United States as the secretary may require, and shall have power to act as agent for any United States government instrumentality. An association may also handle travelers checks and money orders.
3. Lock boxes. Any association may own and rent to its members lock boxes for storage or safekeeping of securities and valuables.
4. Power to borrow. Except as provided by its articles of incorporation, an association may borrow not more than an aggregate amount equal to its savings liability on the date of borrowing. A subsequent reduction of savings liability shall not affect in any way outstanding obligations for borrowed money. All loans and advances may be secured by property of the association. In addition to the above unsecured or secured borrowing, an association may issue notes, bonds, debentures and other obligations or securities approved by the superintendent, and if authorized by the regulations of the federal home loan bank. However, the obligations and securities are subject to the priority of the rights of the owners of the savings and deposits of the association.
5. Service corporations. Any association may organize and own, alone or with any other similar corporation, a service corporation for the mutual good of the associations. The superintendent shall have the right to examine service corporations.
6. Limited trust powers. An association incorporated under this chapter may act as trustee for trusts which are created or organized in the United States, and which form part of a stock bonus, pension, or profit sharing plan which qualifies for special tax treatment under section 401(d) or subsection (a) of section 408 of the Internal Revenue Code, as amended, or as trustee with no active fiduciary duties, if the funds of the trust are invested only in savings accounts or deposits in the association or in obligations or securities issued by the association. All funds held in such a fiduciary capacity by an association may be commingled for appropriate purposes of investment, but individual records shall be kept by the fiduciary for each participant and shall show in proper detail all transactions engaged in under the authority of this subsection.
The superintendent is authorized to grant by special permit to an association the right to act as trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, or in any other fiduciary capacity. However, this authority is available only for periods of time when federally chartered savings and loan associations operating in this state are granted similar authority, and the state authorization is subject to the rights and limitations established in rules adopted by the superintendent, which shall be consistent with the rights and limitations for federally chartered associations engaged in this type of activity.
7. Tax and loan accounts. To act as depository for receipt of payments of federal or state taxes and loan funds from persons other than the state or subdivisions, agencies or instrumentalities of the state, and satisfy any federal or state statutory or regulatory requirements in connection therewith, including pledging of assets as collateral, payment of earnings at prescribed rates and, notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, issuing such accounts subject to the right of immediate withdrawal.
8. Leasing of personal property. To acquire, upon the specific request of and for the use of a customer, and lease, personal property pursuant to a binding arrangement for the leasing of the property to the customer upon terms requiring payment to the association, during the minimum period of the lease, of rentals which in the aggregate, when added to the estimated tax benefits to the association resulting from the ownership of the leased property plus the estimated residual market value of the leased property at the expiration of the initial term of the lease, will be at least equal to the total expenditures by the association for, and in connection with, the acquisition, ownership, maintenance, and protection of the property. A lease made under authority of this section shall have the prior approval of the superintendent or be made pursuant to personal property lease guidelines approved by the superintendent for use by the lessor association or pursuant to a personal property lease guideline rule of general applicability for use by all associations.
9. Electronic transactions. Engage in any transaction otherwise permitted by this chapter and applicable law, by means of either the direct transmission of electronic impulses to or from the association or the recording of electronic impulses or other indicia of a transaction for delayed transmission to the association. Subject to the provisions of chapter 527, an association may utilize, establish or operate, alone or with one or more other associations, banks incorporated under the provisions of chapter 524 or federal law, credit unions incorporated under the provisions of chapter 533 or federal law, corporations licensed under chapter 536A, or third parties, the satellite terminals permitted under chapter 527, by means of which the association may transmit to or receive from any member electronic impulses constituting transactions pursuant to this subsection. However, such utilization, establishment or operation shall be lawful only when in compliance with chapter 527. Nothing in this subsection shall be construed as authority for any association or other person to engage in transactions not otherwise permitted by applicable law, nor shall anything in this subsection be deemed to repeal, replace or in any other way affect any applicable law or rule regarding the maintenance of or access to financial information maintained by any association.
10. Automatic authorization. Any association may have the right to participate in any new or additional powers or activities hereafter granted to such association under this chapter immediately upon the effective date of such additional authority, if authorized by the articles of incorporation of such association.
[C73, § 1185, 1186; C97, § 1898, 1899; S13, § 1898; C24, 27, 31, § 9329, 9331, 9340; C35, § 9329, 9340; C39, § 9329, C46, 50, 54, 58, 62, 66, 71, 73, 75, 77, 79, 81, § 534.19; 81 Acts, ch 175, § 3, 4, 8; 82 Acts, ch 1253, § 13, 14, 44(3)]
84 Acts, ch 1112, § 5 ~IC85, § 534.103 ~I87 Acts, ch 171, § 29; 91 Acts, ch 92, § 4; 92 Acts, ch 1163, § 103
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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