This morning, I attended a meeting of the Joint Legislative Study Commission on the Modernization of North Carolina Banking Laws at the General Assembly.

 

The members of this committee are state Senators and Representatives who have been selected to take on the task of revamping our state’s banking laws. The Committee has been meeting about once a month for several months to study each section of the long and detailed statute. Paul Stock, Legal Specialist from the office of North Carolina Commissioner of Banks, put it this way: “This committee is undergoing the tedious task of reviewing every banking law in North Carolina.”

 

Representative Harold Brubaker and Senator Harry Brown are co-chairs of this committee. “This is the first time in about 50 years that the General Assembly has taken this close of a look at banking laws,” noted Brubaker.  The technological improvements over the past half-century are too many to name and there have been numerous changes in lending and mortgage practices.

 

At today’s meeting, two specific changes were proposed. One would require holding companies of banks to be registered with the Commissioner of Banks within 180 days of becoming a company and the other would amend laws regarding liquidation and dissolution of banks.

 

“The goal is to get a leaner, cleaner and more modern banking statute,” said Stock.

 

The committee members believe they are well on their way to meeting that goal and are expected to make a report to the 2012 Regular Session of the 2011 General Assembly prior to May 1, 2012. Committee member Sen. Tom Apodaca said, “This is the kind of committee I like. I like the fact that government and industry participants are working together to address things and move forward in the right way.”

 

Of course this is just a small piece of everything that’s been discussed by the committee over the past few months, and there’s still quite a way to go. I’ll be keeping an eye on this process.

 

 

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