205 ILCS 610/ Banking Emergencies Act.

(205 ILCS 610/0.01) (from Ch. 17, par. 1000)

Sec. 0.01. Short title. This Act may be cited as the Banking Emergencies Act.

(Source: P.A. 86-1324.)

(205 ILCS 610/1) (from Ch. 17, par. 1001)

Sec. 1. Definitions. As used in this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) "Commissioner" means the officer of this State designated by law to exercise supervision over banks and trust companies, and any other person lawfully exercising such powers, except that beginning on the effective date of this amendatory Act of the 96th General Assembly, all references in this Act to the Commissioner of Banks and Real Estate are deemed, in appropriate contexts, to be references to the Secretary of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(2) "Bank" includes commercial banks, savings banks, savings and loan associations, trust companies, and any branch thereof lawfully carrying on the business of banking and, to the extent that the provisions hereof are not inconsistent with and do not infringe upon paramount Federal law, also includes national banks and federal savings banks.

(3) "Officers" means the person or persons designated by the board of directors, to act for the bank in carrying out the provisions of this Act or, in the absence of any such designation or of the officer or officers so designated, the president or any other officer currently in charge of the bank or of the office or offices in question.

(4) "Office" means any place at which a bank transacts its business or conducts operations related to its business.

(5) "Emergency" means any condition or occurrence which may interfere physically with the conduct of normal business operations at one or more or all of the offices of a bank, or which poses an imminent or existing threat to the safety or security of persons or property, or both at one or more or all of the offices of a bank. Without limiting the generality of the foregoing, an emergency may arise as a result of any one or more of the following: natural disasters; civil strife; power failures; computer failures; interruption of communication facilities; robbery or attempted robbery.

(6) "Division" means the Division of Banking within the Department of Financial and Professional Regulation.

(Source: P.A. 96-1365, eff. 7-28-10.)

(205 ILCS 610/2) (from Ch. 17, par. 1002)

Sec. 2. Power of Commissioner.

(a) Whenever the Commissioner is notified by any officer of a bank or by any other means becomes aware that an emergency exists, or is impending, he may, by proclamation, authorize all banks in the State of Illinois to close or alter the hours at any or all of their offices, or if only a bank or banks, or offices thereof, in a particular area or areas of the State of Illinois are affected by the emergency or impending emergency, the Commissioner may authorize only the affected bank, banks, or offices thereof, to close. The office or offices so closed may remain closed until the Commissioner declares, by further proclamation, that the emergency or impending emergency has ended, or until an earlier time when the officers of the bank determine that the office or offices so closed should reopen, and, in either event, for the further amount of time reasonably necessary to reopen. The Commissioner during an emergency or while an impending emergency exists, which affects, or may affect, a particular bank or banks, or a particular office or offices thereof, but not banks located in the area generally of the said county or municipality, may authorize the particular bank or banks, or office or offices so affected, to close. The office or offices so closed shall remain closed until the Commissioner is notified by a bank officer of the closed bank that the emergency has ended, or until an earlier time when the officers of the bank determine that the office or offices so closed should reopen, and, in either event, for the further amount of time reasonably necessary to reopen.

(b) Whenever the Secretary becomes aware that an emergency exists, or is impending, he or she may, by proclamation, waive any requirements to the notices, applications, or reports required to be filed and authorize any bank organized under the laws of this State, of another state, or of the United States, to open and operate offices in this State, notwithstanding any other laws of this State to the contrary. Any office or offices opened in accordance with this subsection may remain open until the Commissioner declares, by further proclamation, that the emergency or impending emergency has ended. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may adopt rules to implement this subsection (b).

(c) When the officers of a bank are of the opinion that an emergency exists, or is impending, which affects or may affect the bank's offices, they shall have the authority, in the reasonable exercise of their discretion, to determine not to open any of the bank's offices on any day or, if having opened, to close an office during the continuation of the emergency, even if the Commissioner does not issue a proclamation. The office closed shall remain closed until the time that the officers determine the emergency has ended, and for the further amount of time reasonably necessary to reopen. No bank office shall remain closed for more than 48 consecutive hours, excluding legal holidays and other days on which the bank is permitted to remain closed under the Promissory Note and Bank Holiday Act, without the prior approval of the Commissioner.

(Source: P.A. 102-553, eff. 1-1-22.)

(205 ILCS 610/3) (from Ch. 17, par. 1003)

Sec. 3. Notice to Commissioner and the public. A bank closing an office or offices under Section 2 of this Act shall give as prompt notice of its action as conditions will permit and by any means available, to the Commissioner, or in the case of a national bank, to the Comptroller of the Currency. In addition the bank shall post notice of the temporary closing and the authorization for the closing on the main entrance doors of the office or offices affected.

(Source: P.A. 102-553, eff. 1-1-22.)

(205 ILCS 610/4) (from Ch. 17, par. 1004)

Sec. 4. Effect of closing. Any day on which a bank, or any one or more of its offices, is closed during all or any part of its normal banking hours under Section 2 of this Act shall be, with respect to such bank or, if not all of its offices are closed, then with respect to any office or offices which are closed, a legal holiday for all purposes with respect to any banking business of any character. No liability, or loss of rights of any kind, on the part of any bank, or director, officer, or employee thereof, shall accrue or result by virtue of any closing authorized by this Act.

The provisions of this Act shall be construed and applied as being in addition to, and not in substitution for or limitation of, any other law of this State or of the United States, authorizing the closing of a bank or excusing the delay by a bank in the performance of its duties and obligations because of emergencies or conditions beyond the bank's control, or otherwise.

(Source: P.A. 102-553, eff. 1-1-22.)

(205 ILCS 610/5)

Sec. 5. Year 2000 Consumer Protections.

(a) For the purposes of this Section:

(1) the term "Illinois financial institution" means:

(A) a State bank, a national bank, or an out-of-state bank, as those terms are defined in the Illinois Banking Act, or any subsidiary of a State bank, a national bank, or an out-of-state bank;

(B) a foreign banking corporation, as that term is defined in the Foreign Banking Office Act, or any subsidiary of a foreign banking corporation;

(C) a corporate fiduciary, as that term is defined in the Corporate Fiduciary Act, or any subsidiary of a corporate fiduciary;

(D) a savings bank organized under the Savings Bank Act, an out-of-state savings bank chartered under the laws of a state other than Illinois, a territory of the United States, or the District of Columbia, or a federal savings bank organized under federal law, or any subsidiary of a savings bank, an out-of-state savings bank, or a federal savings bank;

(E) an association or federal association, as those terms are defined in the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985, or any subsidiary of an association or federal association;

(F) an out-of-state savings and loan association chartered under the laws of a state other than Illinois, a territory of the United States or the District of Columbia, or a federal savings and loan association organized under federal law whose principal business office is located outside of Illinois, or any subsidiary of an out-of-state savings and loan association or federal savings and loan association whose principal business office is located outside of Illinois;

(G) a credit union, as defined in the Illinois Credit Union Act, or any subsidiary of a credit union; or

(H) a network owned by one or more financial institutions, as those terms are defined in the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

(2) the term "consumer" means an individual person; and

(3) the term "Year 2000 failure" means any failure by any device or system (including, without limitation, any computer system and any microchip or integrated circuit embedded in another device or product), or any software, firmware, or other set or collection of processing instructions, however constructed, in processing, calculating, comparing, sequencing, displaying, storing, transmitting, or receiving date-related data during the years 1999 and 2000 or from, into, or between the twentieth century and the twenty-first century, or the failure to recognize or accurately process any specific date, or the failure to accurately account for the status of the year 2000 as a leap year.

(b) A financial institution shall stay an action for the collection of a debt from a consumer for 30 days if the consumer's default, failure to pay, breach, omission, or other violation of the agreement that is the basis of the collection action was caused by a Year 2000 failure on the part of any person, provided the consumer notifies the financial institution in writing of his or her inability to meet the debt obligation within 30 days of discovering the inability to meet the obligation due to the Year 2000 failure, and the notice sets forth:

(1) the identity of the person experiencing the Year 2000 failure;

(2) the reason such person's Year 2000 failure caused the consumer's inability to meet the obligation; and

(3) the name and telephone number of a representative of the person experiencing the Year 2000 failure who the financial institution may call for purposes of verification.

This subsection shall not be applied more than once in connection with the same debt of a consumer, nor shall it otherwise affect the consumer's underlying debt obligation, the accrual of any interest on the debt obligation, or the calculation of any period of delinquency for the debt obligation.

(c) A financial institution shall not charge a late fee on a consumer debt obligation, or if already charged shall waive such late fee, if the consumer's failure to timely pay under the agreement that provides the basis for the late fee was caused by a Year 2000 failure on the part of any person, provided the consumer notifies the financial institution in writing of his or her inability to make timely payment within 30 days of discovering the inability to make timely payment due to the Year 2000 failure, and the notice sets forth:

(1) the identity of the person experiencing the Year 2000 failure;

(2) the reason such person's Year 2000 failure caused the consumer's inability to make timely payment; and

(3) the name and telephone number of a representative of the person experiencing the Year 2000 failure who the financial institution may call for purposes of verification.

This subsection shall not be applied more than once in connection with the same debt of a consumer, nor shall it otherwise affect the consumer's underlying debt obligation, the accrual of any interest on the debt obligation, or the calculation of any period of delinquency for the debt obligation.

(d) A consumer may dispute directly with a credit reporting agency operating in this State any negative credit information reported in connection with the consumer resulting from a Year 2000 failure on the part of any person other than the consumer. If requested by the consumer pursuant to this subsection, the credit reporting agency shall include a statement prepared by the consumer of no more than 100 words in the consumer's file explaining the negative credit information relating to such Year 2000 failure, and the credit reporting agency shall include the individual's statement in any report it provides to any person or entity regarding the consumer. The credit reporting agency shall not charge the consumer a fee for the inclusion of this statement in the consumer's credit file.

(Source: P.A. 91-645, eff. 8-20-99.)

(205 ILCS 610/6)

Sec. 6. Rulemaking. The Department of Financial and Professional Regulation may adopt rules to address the closing or alteration of hours by banks at one or more of their offices when affected by an emergency or impending emergency.

(Source: P.A. 102-553, eff. 1-1-22.)