§ 396. Change of location; change of designation of principal office;
maintenance of branch office. 1. Any savings and loan association may
make a written application to the superintendent, such application to be
accompanied by an investigation fee as prescribed pursuant to section
eighteen-a of this chapter, for leave to change its place or one of its
places of business to another place in the state or for leave to change
the designation of its principal office to a branch office and to change
the designation of one of its branch offices to its principal office.
The application shall state the reasons for such proposed change. Such
change may be made upon the written approval of the superintendent. If
the superintendent shall grant his or her certificate authorizing the
change of location, the association may, upon or after the day specified
in the certificate, remove its property and effects to the location
designated therein.

2. (a) A savings and loan association may open and occupy one or more
branch offices at any location in the state. In addition, a savings and
loan association may open and occupy a branch office or branch offices
in one or more places located without the state of New York.

(b) Except for the city or village in which its principal office is
located, no branch office may hereafter be opened and occupied pursuant
to paragraph (a) of this subdivision in any city or village with a
population of less than thirty thousand and in which is already located
the principal office of a bank, trust company or national banking
association, other than a bank holding company, if such bank holding
company is a banking institution, or a banking subsidiary of a bank
holding company, as such terms "bank holding company", "banking
institution" and "banking subsidiary" are defined in section one hundred
forty-one of this chapter except that the definition of "bank holding
company" is modified to change the phrase "a banking institution"
wherever it appears therein to "two or more banking institutions" and
the definition of "banking institution" is modified to add a national
banking association, the principal office of which institution is
located in this state.

(c) Before any branch office shall be opened and occupied pursuant to
this subdivision two, the superintendent shall have given his written
approval.

(d) The term "village" as used in this section shall mean either an
incorporated or an unincorporated village.

3. (a) A savings and loan association may, if the merger or asset
acquisition agreement so provides, and if such merger or asset
acquisition is permitted by law, maintain as a branch office or branch
offices the place or places of business of any savings and loan
association, savings bank, federal savings bank, federal savings and
loan association, bank, trust company, national bank, or out-of-state
bank (as such term is defined in section two hundred twenty-two of this
chapter) which it has received into itself pursuant to the provisions of
this chapter which were in existence at the time the merger or asset
acquisition becomes effective, including any branch office of the
savings and loan association, savings bank, or bank or trust company
with which it has merged or from which it has acquired assets, which has
been approved pursuant to paragraph (c) of subdivision two of this
section or subdivision three of section two hundred forty or subdivision
two of section one hundred five of this chapter, even if such branch
office is not in operation at the time the merger or asset acquisition
becomes effective and may maintain, as its principal office rather than
as a branch office, the principal office of such institution with which
it has merged or from which it has acquired assets (so long as the
principal office is located in this state), in which event the former
principal office of the receiving savings and loan association may be
maintained as a branch office.

(b) Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in paragraph (a) of this
subdivision, any public accommodation office of a savings and loan
association, savings bank, or bank or trust company, which has been
merged or had assets acquired in an asset acquisition transaction,
including any such office which has been approved pursuant to section
one hundred ninety-one of this chapter but which is not in operation at
the time said merger or asset acquisition becomes effective, may be
maintained by the receiving savings and loan association as a public
accommodation office only.

3-a. Notwithstanding anything to the contrary in subdivisions two and
three of this section, a savings and loan association may, if so
provided in an agreement made pursuant to section six hundred one-c of
this chapter, maintain as a branch office or offices the place or places
of business of any savings bank or savings and loan association which it
has acquired pursuant to such agreement.