Title 32, Title 32

(1) The board of directors of a mutual association shall require bonding for all officers and employees of the mutual association whose duty includes the handling of money, notes, bonds, credits, and cash items and whose duties include bookkeeping or the making of entries in rela…

(1) Unless the commissioner provides written consent: (a) a person who has been convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty or a breach of trust or money laundering or who has agreed to enter into a pretrial diversion or similar program in connection with a prosecution f…

(1) A director, officer, or employee of a mutual association may not, directly or indirectly, for the person's account, for the person, or as the partner or agent of others sell or transfer or cause to be sold or transferred to the mutual association of which the person is a dire…

(1) A mutual association organized under the provisions of this chapter may purchase, hold, or convey real estate that: (a) is for its accommodation in the transaction of its business, but the mutual association may not invest an amount exceeding 100% of its paid-up capital in th…

A director, officer, agent, or other employee of a mutual association may not, directly or indirectly for the person's own benefit, purchase, sell, or be interested in the purchase or sale of any obligation of the mutual association or of any assets of the mutual association for …

A director, executive officer, agent, or employee of a mutual association is guilty of a felony if that person: (1) knowingly receives or takes possession of any mutual association property, except in payment for a just demand, and with intent to defraud: (a) fails to make or fai…

(1) A director, officer, or employee of a mutual association who is found by the department, after examination, to be negligent, dishonest, reckless, or incompetent or to have violated 32-2-821, 32-2-935, 32-2-938, or 32-2-939 must be removed from office by the board of directors…

An officer or employee of a mutual association doing business in this state who, except in the manner authorized by law or the contract of the parties, pledges or in any way alienates any notes, stocks, bonds, mortgages, securities, or any other property coming into the officer's…

An officer or employee of a mutual association who intentionally conceals from the directors of the association, or from a committee of the mutual association when the directors have delegated authority, any discount or loan made by the corporation or from its assets between the …

A director, officer, or employee of a mutual association who fraudulently appropriates or abstracts or misapplies any of the money, funds, credits, or property of the mutual association when owned by it or held in trust or who issues or puts forth any certificate of deposit, draw…

A person who makes a statement, knowing it to be false, for the purpose of obtaining for that person or for any other person, firm, corporation, or association a loan of money from a mutual association or for the purpose of gaining an extension of time for the payment of any debt…

In addition to emergency closings authorized by 32-2-1030 through 32-2-1034, a mutual association in the state may remain closed and refrain from doing business on those legal holidays designated in 1-1-216.

No law of this state may 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 mutual association in this state because it was done or performed during any time other t…

A mutual association and a federal savings association incorporated or organized under the laws of the United States or a federal reserve bank may, at its election, remain closed and refrain from the transaction of business on Saturdays. Any Saturday on which a mutual association…

A mutual association may provide for its business hours or business days by giving reasonable notice to the public and providing a copy of the notice to the department.

When, by the terms of any note or obligation, interest is payable to a mutual association on any Saturday on which a mutual association is closed pursuant to the authority of 32-2-943 through 32-2-945, interest payable to the mutual association on that Saturday may be paid in the…

(1) Mutual associations are required to preserve or keep their records of customer accounts for at least 8 years after January 1 of the year following the time that the records are made. However, records showing unpaid balances in favor of depositors of a mutual association may n…

(1) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions apply: (a) "Electronic storage" or "electronically stored" means the recording, storage, retention, maintenance, and reproduction of documents using microfiche, data processing, computers, or other electronic process…

Any photostatic, photographic, or microfilm reproductions, including enlargements, of any original records or files of a mutual association, whether in the form of an entry or entries in a book or any other form of record, are admissible in evidence in any court of competent juri…

Destruction in the regular course of business includes destruction at any time after making reproductions. Reproductions made in the regular course of business include reproductions made at any time prior to the destruction of the original, in each case, if done in good faith and…

The provisions of 32-2-950 through 32-2-954 are applicable to all records in existence on February 23, 1951, and to all records originating after that date and apply to all mutual associations organized under the laws of the state and to all federal savings associations located i…

(1) The department of administration may impose a fine not exceeding $50,000 on a director, an executive officer, an agent, or an employee of a credit union who willfully and knowingly: (a) makes or subscribes a false statement of facts, statement of account, or report; or (b) ma…

(1) The department of administration may impose the penalty described in subsection (2) if a director, an executive officer, an agent, or an employee of a credit union: (a) (i) knowingly receives or takes possession of any credit union property, except in payment for a just deman…

(1) The following conditions are considered theft for which the offender, upon conviction, is to be imprisoned in a state correctional facility for a term not exceeding 20 years and fined by the department of administration an amount not to exceed $50,000: (a) fraudulent appropri…

(1) An officer or employee of a credit union who intentionally conceals from the directors or a committee of the directors any of the actions under subsection (2) may be charged with a misdemeanor, and upon being found guilty or pleading guilty is subject for each offense to a te…

An individual may be fined by the department of administration not more than $1,000 for each false statement made: (1) to obtain for the individual or for another person, a firm, a corporation, or an association a loan of money from a credit union; (2) to gain an extension of tim…

This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Montana Credit Union Act".

(1) A director, an officer, or an employee of a credit union who is found by the department of administration, after examination, to be negligent, dishonest, reckless, or incompetent or to have violated the provisions of this part must be removed from office by the supervisory co…

(1) The purposes of a credit union are to: (a) encourage thrift among its members; (b) create a source of credit at a fair and reasonable rate of interest; and (c) provide an opportunity for the credit union's members to use and control their own money in order to improve their e…

(1) The name of any credit union organized under this chapter must include the phrase "credit union". A credit union may not adopt a name either identical to the name of any other credit union doing business in this state or so similar as to be misleading or to cause confusion. (…

(1) A credit union may change its place of business within this state upon written notice to the department of administration. (2) A credit union may share office space with one or more credit unions and contract with any person or corporation to provide facilities or personnel. …

The fiscal year of each credit union organized under this chapter shall end on December 31.

Credit unions may establish a school financial institution, as defined in 32-1-115 and in accordance with 32-1-115.

(1) The department of administration shall administer the laws of this state relating to credit unions. The department may appoint or employ special assistants, deputies, examiners, or other employees that are necessary for the purpose of administering or enforcing this chapter. …

(1) Credit unions organized under this chapter shall report to the department of administration annually on or before February 1 on forms supplied by the department for that purpose. Additional reports may be required. (2) A fine of $5 for each day a report is in arrears must be …

(1) The department of administration shall examine or cause to be examined each credit union on a schedule determined by the department. Each credit union and all of its officers and agents shall give representatives of the department full access to all books, papers, securities,…

(1) A credit union shall maintain all books, records, accounting systems, and procedures in accordance with rules that the department of administration prescribes. In prescribing rules, the department shall consider the relative size of a credit union and its reasonable capabilit…

(1) The department of administration may issue cease and desist orders after having determined, from competent and substantial evidence, that a credit union: (a) is engaged or is about to engage in an unsafe or unsound practice; or (b) is violating or has violated a material prov…

Upon written application to the department of administration, a credit union may engage in any activity in which a credit union could engage if it were operating as a federal chartered credit union at the time the authority is granted. The activities include but are not limited t…

(1) (a) Any report of examination issued under 32-3-203, any report made by a credit union under 32-3-202, and any other credit union documentation maintained by the department of administration, other than those reports that are required to be published, must be considered confi…

(1) In conjunction with a suspension order or if the department of administration's examination has been obstructed or impeded, the department may appoint itself or appoint any other competent person as conservator to immediately take possession and control of the business and as…

The department of administration may initiate the involuntary merger of a credit union that is insolvent or in danger of insolvency with any other credit union or may authorize a credit union to purchase any of the assets of or assume any of the liabilities of any other credit un…

(1) A credit union chartered under the laws of another state or territory of the United States may conduct business as a credit union in this state with the approval of the department of administration, provided that credit unions incorporated under this chapter are allowed to do…

(1) A credit union chartered under this chapter may conduct business outside of this state in other states or territories where it is permitted to conduct business as a credit union, under conditions substantially similar to the provisions of this chapter. (2) If another state or…

(1) Any seven or more residents of this state who are of legal age and who have a common bond, as described in 32-3-304, may organize a credit union and become charter members of the credit union by complying with this section. (2) The subscribers shall execute articles of incorp…

In order to simplify the organization of credit unions, the department of administration shall prepare a form of articles of incorporation and a form of bylaws, consistent with this chapter, that may be used by credit union incorporators for their guidance. The articles of incorp…