Marvin Mandel, Governor                           763

Section 1. Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Maryland,
That Sections 39 (a) and 54 of Article 11 of the Annotated Code
of Maryland (1968 Replacement Volume), title "Banks and Trust
Companies," subtitles "Savings Institutions," and "Trust Com-
panies," be and they are hereby repealed and re-enacted, with amend-
ments, to read as follows:

39.

(a) An association for carrying on the business of savings bank-
ing may be formed by any number of persons, not less than fifteen,
citizens of the United States, and citizens of this State, who shall
enter into articles of association which shall specify the object for
which the association is formed and shall state: The name by which
the savings institution is to be known, the village, town or city and
county where such institution is to be located, the names and
residences of the members thereof, the date on which it is proposed
to commence operations, the number of directors proposed to manage
the associations' affairs, which shall not be less than five nor more
than thirty, who must be members of the association, and the names
and residences of the directors who shall serve the first year. The
articles of association shall be executed in triplicate by the persons
joining therein before any officer authorized to take acknowledg-
ments, and then filed with the Commissioner for examination. The
Commissioner shall thereupon ascertain from the best sources of
information at his command, and by such investigation as he may
deem necessary, whether the said articles are framed in accordance
with existing laws, whether the character, responsibility and general
fitness of the person or persons, named in such certificate, are such
as to command confidence and warrant belief that the business of the
proposed corporation will be honestly and efficiently conducted in
accordance with the intent and purpose of this article, and whether
the public convenience and advantage will be promoted by allowing
such proposed corporation to engage in business. After the Com-
missioner shall have satisfied himself by such investigation whether
it is expedient, and desirable to permit such proposed corporation
to engage or continue in business, he shall have power to require
such changes in said certificate as he may deem necessary. He shall
within six (6) months after the date of the filing of such certificate
for examination, endorse upon each of the triplicates thereof, over
his official signature, the word "approved" or the word "refused"
with the date of such endorsement. In case of refusal he shall return
one of the triplicates so endorsed to the proposed incorporates. In
case of approval, the triplicates shall be returned to the proposed in-
corporators. One copy shall then be filed for record in the office of the
clerk of the circuit court in the county in which the institution is to
be located, or in the office of the clerk of the Superior Court of Balti-
more City, when to be located in said city, and one copy shall be
filed with the Commissioner, who shall issue his certificate therefor,
and one copy shall be filed with the State Tax Commission. The cor-
poration so formed shall have no legal existence until all copies of
the articles of association shall have been filed for record as herein
directed. The fee for filing such articles of incorporation with the
Commissioner shall be [twenty ($20.00) dollars] five hundred dollars
($500.00), and for filing amendments to the articles of incorporation,
[ten ($10.00) dollars] twenty dollars ($20.00) and new branch
applications fifty dollars ($50.00), all such fees to be collected by