Title 11, Finance and Taxation

There shall be a Commissioner of Banking and Insurance who shall be appointed by I Maga’lahen Guåhan (the Governor of Guam), with the advice and consent of I Liheslatura (the Legislature), and who shall serve under the direction of the Director of Revenue and Taxation. (a) The Co…

(a) There is hereby established in the Office of the Commissioner of Banking and Insurance, a Banking and Insurance Board that shall supersede the Banking Board, which shall consist of the Commissioner and nine (9) members. The Commissioner shall be Chairman. (b) The nine (9) mem…

(a) In addition to other powers conferred by this Title, the Board shall have the power to: (1) Regulate its own procedures and practices in accordance with the Administrative Adjudication Act. (2) Implement by regulation not inconsistent with law, any provision of this Title, an…

(a) Any finding, decision, or order of the Commissioner shall be effective only when in writing and signed by the Commissioner. Orders shall be filed in the Division of Insurance, Securities and Banking of the Department of Revenue and Taxation. (b) Every such order shall state: …

Within ten (10) days after the serving of notice of any order by the Commissioner, any person adversely and directly affected thereby may request a hearing on the subject of the order before the Commissioner. A final order shall be made within ten (10) days after the close of suc…

If any person fails to comply with an order that has become final, the Commissioner may apply for the enforcement of the order to the Superior Court of Guam. If the Court determines that the order was made and served in accordance with the law and that such person failed to compl…

Any person aggrieved and directly affected by an order of the Board may appeal to the Superior Court of Guam, within thirty (30) days after issuance of the order. The filing of a petition for review shall not stay enforcement of an order, but the Court may order a stay upon such …

All officers and employees of the Division of Insurance, Securities and Banking, other than the Commissioner, shall be in the classified service. The Commissioner may delegate to any officer or employee of the Division any of his or her powers and may designate any officer or emp…

Employees. (a) No employee of the Division shall be an officer, director, trustee, attorney, owner, shareholder, partner, broker, agent, solicitor, employee or representative of any bank or insurance company, or, except as hereinafter provided, receive, directly or indirectly, an…

(a) The Commissioner shall be bonded with a good and sufficient surety, as the Board shall determine and shall fix, conditioned that he or she shall faithfully account for and dispose of any funds and securities received into his or her custody or control, in accordance with appl…

No member of the Board or officer or employee of the Division shall be liable in any civil action for damages for any act done or omitted in good faith in performing the functions of his or her office.

(a) The Commissioner shall charge an examination fee based on cost per hour per examiner, plus travel, per diem and other related expenses for all institutions examined by him/her or his/her staff. (b) The Board may implement by regulation not inconsistent with law additional fee…

(a) The Commissioner shall report to I Maga=lahi and I Liheslatura annually, within sixty (60) days after the end of each fiscal year. His/her report shall include: (1) The text of all rules of the Division of general application adopted or altered since his/her last previous rep…

(a) The Commissioner need not examine or cause to be examined any financial institution that is regulated by the FDIC, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve Bank, or the Office of the Comptroller of Currency, so long as the financial institution has received a satisfactor…

(a) Information from the records of the Division shall not be revealed to any person other than members of the Board, except with the consent of the Commissioner and shall not be subject to subpoena, unless otherwise permitted by territorial, state or Federal law, rule or regulat…

(a) Every territorial bank and insurance company shall retain its business records for such periods as are or may be prescribed by or in accordance with the terms of this Title. (b) Each territorial bank shall retain permanently the minute books of meetings of its stockholders an…

The Board and the Commissioner, in the exercise of the power to make rules and issue regulations pursuant to this Title, shall act in the interests of promoting and maintaining sound banking and insurance systems, the security of deposits and depositors and other customers, the p…

Except as otherwise expressly provided by law, no person directly or indirectly shall enter into any contract, understanding or combination with any insurer or manager, agent or representative thereof for the purpose of, nor shall any such persons or insurers jointly or severably…

Enforcement Fund. There is hereby established, separate and apart from other funds of the government of Guam, a special fund known as the ‘Banking and Insurance Enforcement Fund’ (hereinafter the 'Fund'). The Fund shall not be commingled with the General Fund or any other fund of…

(a) Every entity shall obtain a license issued by the Department for each automated teller machine (>ATM=) owned, operated, maintained or deployed. For the purpose of this Chapter, >Entity= means and includes individuals, organizations, businesses and other persons acquiring, dep…

It shall be a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not more than Twenty-Five Thousand Dollars ($25,000) if any entity does any of the following: (a) Conducts business in Guam without being licensed pursuant to this Chapter. (b) All penalties, fines and licensing fees collected und…

(a) The Department may submit fingerprint images and related information to the U. S. Department of Justice with respect to the license application of an individual defined under § 104101(a) as an entity, for the purpose of obtaining information as to the existence and nature of …

A bank may maintain deposit accounts and pay interest on balances therein at rates which need not be uniform. The Board may by general regulations fix maximum rates of interest and prohibit the payment of interest on demand accounts. SOURCE: GC § 30030.

So long as the balance in any account subject to withdrawal by or upon the order of a depositor shall equal or exceed the amount of any item presented for payment, a bank may select from items which in the aggregate exceed the balance, the items to be paid in any order convenient…

A bank shall pay interest at a rate not less than that paid on regular passbook savings accounts as calculated by the individual banks on Guam on home mortgage escrow accounts. SOURCE: GC § 30030.1. Added by P.L. 15-093:1 (Jan. 17, 1980).

Nothing in any law of Guam shall in any manner whatsoever affect the validity of, or render void or voidable, the payment, certification, or acceptance of a check or other negotiable instrument or any other transaction by a bank because done or performed on any holiday or half-ho…

(a) A bank may operate a deposit account in the name of a minor or in the names of two or more persons, one or more of whom are minors, with the same effect upon its liability as if such minors were of full age. (b) Subject to such regulations as the Board may prescribe for the p…

(a) When a deposit has been made or shall hereafter be made, in any bank in the names of two persons, payable to either, or payable to either or survivor, such deposit, or any part thereof, or any interest or COL 2025-04-22 dividend thereon, may be paid to either of said persons,…

(a) Whenever any deposit shall be made in any bank by any person in trust for another, and no other or further notice of the existence and terms of a legal and valid trust shall have been given in writing to the bank; in the event of the death of the trustee, the same, or any par…

(a) When a statement of account has been rendered by a bank to a depositor accompanied by vouchers, if any, which are the basis for debit entries in such account, or the depositor’s passbook has been written up by the bank showing the condition of the depositor’s account and deli…

Notice to any bank of an adverse claim to a deposit standing on its books to the credit of any person shall not be effectual to cause said bank to recognize said adverse claimant unless said adverse claimant shall also either procure a restraining order, injunction or other appro…

(a) A bank may continue to recognize the authority of an attorney authorized in writing to operate, in whole or in part, the account of a depositor, until it receives written notice of the revocation of his authority. (b) Written notice of the death or adjudication of incompetenc…

(a) Where no executor or administrator of a deceased depositor has qualified and given notice of his qualifications to the bank, it may in its discretion and at any time after 30 days from the death of the COL 2025-04-22 depositor pay out of all accounts maintained with it by him…

(a) Any bank may accept money for transmissions and may transmit money. (b) Any bank may buy and sell foreign exchange to the extent necessary to meet the needs of customers. SOURCE: GC § 30046.

(a) Savings Account. In the event there has been no activity of deposits or withdrawals, and no contact has been made by the account holder of a savings account with the bank for ten (10) years, a bank shall transfer the balance of such account to the Treasurer of Guam for the ac…

As used in this Subarticle: (a) “Lessee” means a person contracting with a lessor for the use of a safe deposit box. (b) “Lessor” means a bank, trust company, or subsidiary renting safe deposit facilities, and includes a safe deposit company organized and operating under the juri…

(a) Subject to such regulations as the Board may prescribe, a bank, trust company or safe deposit company may maintain and lease safe deposit boxes and may accept property or documents for safekeeping if, except in the case of night depositories, it issues a receipt therefor. (b)…

Where a safe deposit box is made available by a lessor to one or more persons acting as fiduciaries, the lessor may, except as otherwise expressly provided in the lease or the writings pursuant to which such fiduciaries are acting, allow access thereto as follows: (a) By any one …

Where a lessor without knowledge of the death or of an adjudication of legal incompetence of the lessee, deals with his agent pursuant to a written power of attorney signed by such lessee, the transaction binds the lessee’s estate and the lessee. SOURCE: GC § 30103.

A bank may lease a safe deposit box to, and in connection therewith deal with, a minor with the same effect as if leasing to and dealing with a person of full legal capacity. SOURCE: GC § 30104.

A lessor shall permit the person named in a court order for the purpose, or if no order has been served upon the lessor, the spouse, a parent, an adult descendant or a person named as an executor in a copy of a purported will produced by him, to open and examine the contents of a…

(a) An adverse claim to the contents of a safe deposit box, or to property held in safekeeping, is not sufficient to require the lessor to deny access to its lessee unless: (1) The lessor is directed to do so by a court order issued in an action in which the lessee is served with…

(a) If the rental due on a safe deposit box has not been paid for one year, the lessor may send a notice by registered mail to the last known address of the lessee stating that the safe deposit box will be opened and its contents stored at the expense of the lessee unless payment…

(a) It shall be a criminal offense against this Title for a bank to act as fiduciary unless it is authorized by its charter to exercise trust powers and has qualified by depositing with the Commissioner evidences of indebtedness acceptable to him which: (1) Are payable to bearer …

No oath or bond shall be required of a bank to qualify upon appointment as a fiduciary, unless the instrument creating a fiduciary position expressly otherwise provides. SOURCE: GC § 30201.