(a) Filing application. An application for the Board's prior approval under § 238.11 shall be governed by the provisions of this section and shall be filed with the appropriate Reserve Bank on the designated form.
(b) Request for confidential treatment. An applicant may request confidential treatment for portions of its application pursuant to 12 CFR 261.15.
(c) Public notice—(1) Newspaper publication—(i) Location of publication. In the case of each application, the applicant shall publish a notice in a newspaper of general circulation, in the form and at the locations specified in § 262.3 of the Rules of Procedure (12 CFR 262.3) in this chapter;
(ii) Contents of notice. A newspaper notice under this paragraph shall provide an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the proposal for a period of at least 30 calendar days;
(iii) Timing of publication. Each newspaper notice published in connection with a proposal under this paragraph shall be published no more than 15 calendar days before and no later than 7 calendar days following the date that an application is filed with the appropriate Reserve Bank.
(2) Federal Register Notice—(i) Publication by Board. Upon receipt of an application, the Board shall promptly publish notice of the proposal in the Federal Register and shall provide an opportunity for interested persons to comment on the proposal for a period of no more than 30 days;
(ii) Request for advance publication. An applicant may request that, during the 15-day period prior to filing an application, the Board publish notice of a proposal in the Federal Register. A request for advance Federal Register Notice publication shall be made in writing to the appropriate Reserve Bank and shall contain the identifying information prescribed by the Board for Federal Register Notice publication.
(3) Waiver or shortening of notice. The Board may waive or shorten the required notice periods under this section if the Board determines that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action on the proposal, or if the Board finds that immediate action is necessary to prevent the probable failure of an insured depository institution.
(d) Public comment—(1) Timely comments. Interested persons may submit information and comments regarding a proposal filed under this subpart. A comment shall be considered timely for purposes of this subpart if the comment, together with all supplemental information, is submitted in writing in accordance with the Board's Rules of Procedure and received by the Board or the appropriate Reserve Bank prior to the expiration of the latest public comment period provided in paragraph (c) of this section.
(2) Extension of comment period—(i) In general. The Board may, in its discretion, extend the public comment period regarding any proposal submitted under this subpart.
(ii) Requests in connection with obtaining application or notice. In the event that an interested person has requested a copy of a notice or application submitted under this subpart, the Board may, in its discretion and based on the facts and circumstances, grant such person an extension of the comment period for up to 15 calendar days.
(iii) Joint requests by interested person and applicant. The Board will grant a joint request by an interested person and the applicant for an extension of the comment period for a reasonable period for a purpose related to the statutory factors the Board must consider under this subpart.
(3) Substantive comment. A comment will be considered substantive for purposes of this subpart unless it involves individual complaints, or raises frivolous, previously-considered or wholly unsubstantiated claims or irrelevant issues.
(e) Hearings. The Board may order a formal or informal hearing or other proceeding on the application, as provided in § 262.3(i)(2) of this chapter. Any request for a hearing (other than from the primary supervisor) shall comply with § 262.3(e) in this chapter.
(f) Accepting application for processing. Within 7 calendar days after the Reserve Bank receives an application under this section, the Reserve Bank shall accept it for processing as of the date the application was filed or return the application if it is substantially incomplete. Upon accepting an application, the Reserve Bank shall immediately send copies to the Board and to the primary banking supervisor of the savings association to be acquired and to the Attorney General, and shall request from the Attorney General a report on the competitive factors involved. The Reserve Bank or the Board may request additional information necessary to complete the record of an application at any time after accepting the application for processing.
(g) Action on applications—(1) Action under delegated authority. Except as provided in paragraph (g)(4) of this section, unless the Reserve Bank, upon notice to the applicant, refers the application to the Board for decision because action under delegated authority is not appropriate, the Reserve Bank shall approve an application under this section:
(i) Not earlier than the third business day following the close of the public comment period; and
(ii) Not later than the later of the fifth business day following the close of the public comment period or the 30th calendar day after the acceptance date for the application.
(2) Board action. The Board shall act on an application under this section that is referred to it for decision within 60 calendar days after the acceptance date for the application, unless the Board notifies the applicant that the 60-day period is being extended for a specified period and states the reasons for the extension. The Board may, at any time, request additional information that it believes is necessary for its decision.
(3) Approval through failure to act—(i) Ninety-one day rule. An application shall be deemed approved if the Board fails to act on the application within 91 calendar days after the date of submission to the Board of the complete record on the application. For this purpose, the Board acts when it issues an order stating that the Board has approved or denied the application or notice, reflecting the votes of the members of the Board, and indicating that a statement of the reasons for the decision will follow promptly.
(ii) Complete record. For the purpose of computing the commencement of the 91-day period, the record is complete on the latest of:
(A) The date of receipt by the Board of an application that has been accepted by the Reserve Bank;
(B) The last day provided in any notice for receipt of comments and hearing requests on the application or notice;
(C) The date of receipt by the Board of the last relevant material regarding the application that is needed for the Board's decision, if the material is received from a source outside of the Federal Reserve System; or
(D) The date of completion of any hearing or other proceeding.
(4) Expedited reorganization—(i) In general. The Board or the appropriate Reserve Bank shall act on an application of a reorganization that meets the requirements of § 238.15(f):
(A) Not earlier than the third business day following the close of the public comment period; and
(B) Not later than the fifth business day following the close of the public comment period, except that the Board may extend the period for action under this paragraph (g)(4) for up to 5 business days.
(ii) Acceptance of notice in event expedited procedure not available. In the event that the Board or the Reserve Bank determines that an application filed pursuant to § 238.15(f) does not meet one or more of the requirements of § 238.15(f), paragraph (g)(4) of this section shall not apply and the Board or Reserve Bank will act on the application according to the other provisions of paragraph (g) of this section.