BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES 423

An. Code, 1924, sec. 53A. 1935, ch. 510.

67. Any bank or trust company, heretofore incorporated under any
general or special law of this State, and any bank or trust company here-
after incorporated under this Article, is authorized and empowered to
participate in industrial loans, which are being furthered by the United
States Government, on the same basis and with the same safeguards and
restrictions as state member banks of the Federal Reserve System and
National Banking Associations.

An. Code. 1924, sec. 54. 1912, sec. 54. 1910, ch. 219, sec. 53 (p. 24). 1918, ch. 33, sec. 54.

1931, ch. 294, sec. 54.

68. Any bank, savings institution or trust company, heretofore incor-
porated under any general or special law of this State, and any bank,
savings institution or trust company, hereafter created under this Article,
may amend its charter, articles of incorporation or association, in any
manner not inconsistent with the provisions of law, at any. time, and in
the case of banking institutions having capital stock such amendment shall
be by a vote of its stockholders, representing two-thirds of the capital
stock, such vote to be taken at a meeting called for that purpose. Such
amendment, certified by the president and cashier, or treasurer, shall be
executed, approved, filed and recorded as required for articles of
incorporation.

Unless the required surplus will permit, no increase of capital shall be
valid until the amount thereof has been subscribed, and actually paid in
in the manner required by this sub-title for subscriptions to original stock.
'No stock dividend shall be declared by any banking institution unless the
remaining surplus funds of the institution shall be entirely sufficient to
take care of all losses, and in addition thereto, leave sufficient surplus
funds as required by Section 95 of this Article. No reduction of capital
shall be made to a less amount than is required under the provisions of
this Article for capital, nor be valid nor warrant the cancellation of stock
certificates, or diminish the personal liability of stockholders, until such
reduction has been approved by the Bank Commissioner. Such approval
must be based upon a finding by him that the remaining assets of the
bank or trust company, after such proposed reduction of its capital stock,
will be entirely sufficient for the payment of the claims of existing cred-
itors. The provisions of this section shall be construed retrospectively as
well as prospectively.

It was legally competent for Baltimore Trust Co. to purchase stock of another
banking institution and for the stockholders to increase its capital stock and to
provide that increased stock be used for acquisition of all the capital stock of a
bank, the surplus of the Trust Co. being largely in excess of new stock to be issued
without impairing its capital. Thom v. Baltimore Trust. Co., 158 Md. 352.

Cited but not construed in Nagel v. Ghingher, 166 Md. 241.

An. Code, 1924, sec. 54A. 1933, ch. 485, sec. 54A. 1937, ch. 312.

69. Any banking institution having capital stock may, with the ap-
proval of the Bank Commissioner, and by vote of stockholders owning
a majority of its capital stock upon not less than five days' notice, given
by registered mail pursuant to action taken by its Board of Directors, issue
preferred stock in such amount and with such par value as shall be approved
by said Bank Commissioner, and make such amendments to its Charter
or Articles of Incorporation as may be necessary for this purpose; but in
the case of any newly organized banking institution which has not yet