General Laws of Massachusetts - Chapter 167 Supervision of Banks - Section 15B Inclusion in list of investments of securities not otherwise eligible

Section 15B. The list of legal investments prepared pursuant to section fifteen A may include securities not otherwise eligible for investment under the provisions of that section; provided, however, that such securities are approved for investment in accordance with the following conditions, limitations and requirements of this section:

1. Classes of Securities. — The securities eligible for approval for investment under this section may include (a) interest bearing obligations of any state, county, city, town or district or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof, and of any toll bridge, toll road, turnpike or other authority established under the laws of the United States or any state, county, town or district, including obligations of any of the foregoing payable from specified revenues, (b) interest bearing obligations of any corporation organized under the laws of the United States or any state and of any association, the business of which is conducted or transacted by trustees under a written instrument or declaration of trust, having its principal place of business in the commonwealth, and (c) preferred and common stock of any corporation described in the foregoing clause (b). Obligations to be eligible pursuant to clauses (a) and (b) shall have an initial offering of at least fifty million dollars and be rated at least a single A.

2. Application. — Upon application by ten credit unions, each with assets of more than ten million dollars to the Massachusetts Credit Union Share Insurance Corporation, hereinafter in this section referred to as said corporation, submitted in such form and under such conditions as the board of directors thereof may require, requesting authority to invest their deposits and the income derived therefrom in any of the interest bearing obligations or stocks referred to in paragraph 1 of this section, said board may request the commissioner, in such form and under such conditions as in his discretion he may require, to authorize, notwithstanding any other provisions of law, the investment of deposits and income derived therefrom in any such interest bearing obligations or stocks. Any expense incurred by said corporation in connection with the consideration of such application shall be a proper expense to be incurred and paid by it.

3. Commissioner’s Approval. — If the commissioner grants such authority he shall forthwith send written notice thereof to said board of directors and to each credit union, and shall add the name of such investment to the list provided for in section fifteen B. At any time thereafter the commissioner may, on his own initiative or at the written request of said directors, revoke such authority, in which event he shall forthwith send written notice of such revocation to said directors and to each credit union.

4. Refunding Bonds. — If the commissioner shall have authorized investment in an issue of bonds in accordance with any of the provisions of this section, and if thereafter but before such authorization shall have been revoked the issuer shall issue bonds the proceeds of which are to be used solely to refund the issue previously authorized for investment or another issue of equal or shorter maturity and of equal or prior security, and if such new bonds shall be of equal security with the previously authorized issue and of equal or shorter maturity, the commissioner may authorize investment in such refunding bonds, and thereafter may revoke such authority on his own initiative or at the written request of said corporation. If the commissioner shall have authorized investment in an issue of bonds in accordance with any of the provisions of this section, and if thereafter but before such authorization shall have been revoked the issuer shall issue bonds of which at least ninety per cent of the proceeds are to be used to refund the issue previously authorized for investment or another issue of equal or prior security, and if, in the judgment of the board of directors of said corporation, the security for the new bonds is not less than that for the previously authorized issue then said board of directors may, on its own initiative, request the commissioner to authorize investment in such new bonds and the commissioner may authorize such investment and thereafter may revoke such authority on his own initiative or at the request of said corporation.

5. Expert Assistance. — In determining that any investments authorized under the provisions of this section should be included in the list of legal investments or deleted from said list, the commissioner may employ such expert assistance as he deems proper or may rely upon information contained in publications which he deems authoritative in reference to such matters.

6. Liability of Corporation. — Said corporation, its officers, directors and agents, shall be in no way held responsible or liable for failure to take action upon any such application or to make any such request of the commissioner.

7. Investment Limitations. — Not more than ten per cent of the shares and deposits of any such credit union shall be invested in interest bearing obligations authorized for investment under this section. Not more than four per cent of its shares and deposits shall be invested in stocks so authorized and authorized by chapter one hundred and seventy-one; provided, however, that in addition to such four per cent an amount equivalent to one per cent of its deposits may be invested in stocks of Massachusetts corporations or companies with substantial employment in the commonwealth which are on the list of legal investments prepared by the banking commissioner and which have pledged to the commissioner that such monies will be used for further development within the commonwealth. Not more than one-half of one per cent of its deposits shall be so invested in the securities of any one obligor, but the foregoing limitations shall not apply to obligations of telephone companies, of companies engaged primarily in the distribution and sale of electricity or gas, or both, or of railroad companies other than terminal companies.

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Last modified: September 11, 2015