CS for CS for SB 1950 - Financial Institutions

• Allows foreign nationals applying for financial institution licenses to appear by video conference at required hearings, with failure to appear grounds for denial of the application.

• Prohibits third-party entities from charging consumers fees for online audit verification of financial institution accounts, establishing this as a violation of the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act.

• Revises state financial institution examination requirements from every 36 months to every 18 months, with authority for the Office of Financial Regulation to delay examinations by 90 days if federal agencies suspend scheduled examinations.

• Changes asset acquisition thresholds from "all or substantially all" to "50 percent or more" for financial institutions acquiring assets or liabilities of other institutions, and requires calculation of percentages based on most recent quarterly reporting data.

• Modifies bank and trust company charter application approvals to consider "target market" conditions alongside primary service area, and removes the requirement that proposed presidents/CEOs have specific financial institution experience within the last 5 years.