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The 193rd General Court of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts

AN ACT RELATIVE TO THE MASSACHUSETTS CREDIT UNION SHARE INSURANCE CORPORATION

     Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same as follows:
     Chapter 294 of the acts of 1961 is hereby amended by adding the following section:- 
     Section 16. In addition to the powers and privileges otherwise conferred by law, the corporation may:
     (i) hold, purchase, convey, mortgage or lease real or personal property or any interest therein utilized for its premises or convenient for the exercise of its powers and the performance of its duties pursuant to this act;
     (ii) invest, subject to the approval of the commissioner and under such limitations or conditions as the commissioner may impose, in the capital stock or shares of 1 or more subsidiary corporations, limited liability companies or trusts or such other forms of organization permitted by the commissioner, organized and operated solely to perform the functions that the corporation itself is empowered to perform directly or as authorized by the commissioner;
     (iii) invest individually or with 1 or more credit unions or federal credit unions up to 5 per cent of its assets in 1 or more credit union service organizations engaging in activities or providing services authorized by law; provided, however, that for purposes solely related to the investment of credit unions in credit union service organizations pursuant to this clause, the corporation shall be deemed a credit union; and 
     (iv) upon a 2/3 vote of its board of directors and having established that such activity will not adversely affect its safety and soundness and having adequate policies and procedures to ensure such investments governing the performance of the corporation and its employees, to minimize any credit, market, liquidity, operations, legal and reputation risks to the corporation, may apply to the commissioner to make investments under the “prudent person” authority, as follows:
          (1)  in shares of stock registered on a national securities exchange as provided in the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, 15 U.S.C. 78a or for which quotations are available through the financial industry regulatory authority or any comparable service designated by the commissioner;
          (2)  interest bearing obligations of any state, county, city, town or district or any subdivision or instrumentality thereof and of any authority established under the laws of the United States or any state, county, town or district, including obligations of any of the foregoing payable from specified revenues;
          (3)  interest bearing obligations of any corporation organized under the laws of the United States or any state and of any association the business of which is conducted or transacted by trustees under a written instrument or declaration of trust having its principal place of business in the commonwealth; and
          (4)  preferred and common stock of any corporation described in subclause (3).
          Obligations to be eligible pursuant to subclauses (1) and (2) shall have an initial offering of at least $50,000,000 and be rated at least a single A.
          Any such approval granted by the commissioner shall be subject to such conditions and limitations as the commissioner may impose.  The corporation may apply to invest up to 20 per cent of its assets under the authority granted in this section. The percentage of such assets authorized shall be determined by the commissioner.  The commissioner may increase, modify, curtail or rescind or otherwise limit the corporation’s authority to make such investments.

Approved, August 6, 2014.