Wyoming Administrative Rules 021 — Audit, Dept. of

48 Banking Board

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0001.1.11241999 General Provisions

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE STATE BANKING BOARD

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL PROVISIONS

Section 1. Authority.

(a) Generally, these Regulations are promulgated pursuant to Chapter 2 of the Banking Statutes and pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Administrative Regulation Review Act. Particular Chapters are also promulgated pursuant to specific statutory au- thority.

(b) Chapter 1 is specifically promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1-606.

(c) Chapter 2 is specifically promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1-606 and 16-3-102(a)(i) of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(d) Chapter 3 (with the applicable provisions of Chapter 2) is specifically promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1-606 (generally), W.S. 13-2-212 (banks), W.S. 13-5-104 (trust companies) and W.S. 13-6-101 (savings and loan associations) and pursuant to W.S. 16-3-102(a)(i) of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(e) Chapter 4 (with the applicable provisions of Chapter 2) is specifically promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1-606 and 16-3-102(a)(i) of the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

Section 2. Purpose and Scope.

(a) These Regulations are generally intended to govern the operations of the Board in discharge of its duties set forth in article 6 of chapter 1 of the Banking Statutes.

(b) Chapter 2 contains provisions that are generally applicable to both applications under Chapter and petitions under Chapter 4. It is intended to provide a simpler, harmonious foundation upon which other Chapters may be built and to reduce duplication of basic concepts.

(c) Chapter 3 (with the applicable provisions of Chapter 2) is intended to provide a uniform, efficient and fair procedure for, and to govern, (i) chartering banks, interim banks, trust companies and savings and loan associations under the Banking Statutes and (ii) conducting hearings before the Board on the applications for such charters.

(d) Chapter 4 (with the applicable provisions of Chapter 2) is intended to provide a uniform, efficient, and fair procedure for, and to govern, conducting hearings before the Board on petitions to review the orders of the Commissioner issued under the Banking Statutes.

Section 3. Special Notices Required for Promulgation of Rules.

(a) In addition to the general notice requirements of W.S. 16-3-103, the Board shall endeavor to provide notice of the proposed promulgation, amendment or rescission of these Regulations:

(i) to each financial institution located in Wyoming that has made written request to the Commissioner to be given such notices;

(ii) to federal financial institution regulatory authorities operating within the state; and

(iii) to all others who have made written request to the Commissioner to be given such notices.

(b) The Board shall endeavor to publish notice of the proposed promulgation, amendment or rescission of these Regulations once each week for two consecutive weeks in such newspapers of broad circulation in the state as the Board may from time to time determine. The first insertion of such notice shall be published before the effective date of the proposed promulgation, amendment or rescission.

Section 4. Definitions.

(a) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, this Section applies to all Chapters of these Regulations. If a term is defined in this Chapter and in another Chapter, the meaning given such term in the other Chapter shall control over the meaning given in this Chapter in the manner and to the extent provided in such other Chapter.

(b) Excluding any terms that are otherwise defined in this or any other Chapter, the definitions set forth in W.S. 16-3-101, are incorporated into this Chapter by this reference.

(c) Because the several chapters of the Banking Statutes contain differing definitions of the same terms, this Chapter intentionally does not wholly incorporate by reference the definitions found in the Banking Statutes.

(d) When used in these Regulations, the following terms have the indicated meanings:

(i) "Bank" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-2-201.

(ii) "Banking Regulations" means the Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner.

(iii) "Banking Statutes" means title 13 of the Wyoming Statutes. Use of such term is not intended to imply that such statutes are solely related to the topic of banking and is intended only as abbreviated method of referring to all of such statutes as a unit.

(iv) "Board" means the State Banking Board created under W.S. 13-1-604.

(v) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board.

(vi) "Commissioner" means the State Banking Commissioner appointed pursuant to W.S. 13-1-601 and serving as the administrator of the Division.

(vii) "Controlling interest" is defined in W.S. 13-9-202.

(viii) "Department" means the Department of Audit created under W.S. 9-2-2003(a), which is one of the principal administrative operating units of the state government.

(ix) "Depository institution" has the meaning given such term in Section 1813(c)(1) of title 12 of the United States Code.

(x) "Division" means the Division of Banking, which is an agency and a principal operating unit of the Department pursuant to W.S. 9-2-2003(d).

(xi) "Division counsel" means the person or persons, if any, assigned or otherwise designated by the Attorney General to provide legal advice, counsel and/or representation to or for the Board, the Commissioner and/or the Division.

(xii) "Examination" includes investigation.

(xiii) "Executive officer" is defined in W.S. 13-1-101.

(xiv) "Financial entity" means a bank, an interim bank, a trust company or a savings and loan association.

(xv) "FDIC" means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(xvi) "FRB" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

(xvii) "Holding company" means a corporation or individual that owns the controlling interest of a bank and is subject to examination under article 2 of chapter 9 of the Banking Statutes. A "holding company" is also commonly referred to as a "bank holding company".

(xviii) "Home county" means (A) in the case of an individual officer or director of a financial entity or an individual that is a holding company, the county in Wyoming in which the financial entity with which he is affiliated has its principal place of business, (B) in the case of a financial entity, a non-individual that is a holding company or a proposed institution, the county in Wyoming in which it has or will have its principal place of business or (C) in the case of any other non- individual person, the county in which it has its principal place of business. If a person does not have home county, its home county shall be Laramie County.

(xix) "Individual" means a natural person.

(xx) "Interim bank" means a bank that (A) does not operate independently, (B) does not conduct banking business, (C) is organized pursuant to W.S. 13-2-212 and (D) exists only to serve as a vehicle to facilitate a merger and change of ownership of an existing bank in accordance with W.S. 13-4-108.

(xxi) "Legal holiday" is defined in W.S. 13-1-101 and includes Saturdays. Such defini- tion expressly includes Sundays and indirectly includes Saturdays, on which day of the week federal reserve banks are not open for business. For purposes of a date on or by which a item must have been filed with, served upon or otherwise delivered to the Commissioner or the Board, the term "legal holiday" also includes a day on which weather or other unavoidable conditions have made the offices of the Division inaccessible.

(xxii) "Newspaper of general circulation" means a newspaper that is normally published at least weekly and is otherwise described in W.S. 18-3-519(a).

(xxiii) "OCC" means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

(xxiv) "Party" is defined in of Chapter 2.

(xxv) "Person", "adult person" and "natural person", as used respectively in W.S. 13-5- 102, 13-2-201 and 13-6-102(a), and in other related Sections, have the same meaning as given to the term "incorporator" in of Chapter 2, and such terms do not have the meaning given to the term "per- son" in W.S. 16-3-101(b)(vii). The term "person", as used in these Regulations, is defined in W.S. 8-1- 102.

(xxvi) "Personal or private interest" is defined in W.S. 9-13-106(a).

(xxvii) "Protected material" means any document, matter or other information that is privileged or confidential or is otherwise not required, in the applicable circumstances, to be made available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act, including trade secrets and personal financial information.

(xxviii) "Qualified foreign attorney" means a person (i) who has been admitted to practice before the highest court of any state (as defined in W.S. 13-2-802), (ii) who has associated with a Wyoming attorney for purposes of representing a client before the Board, and (iii) who is accom- panied by his associated Wyoming attorney in, at and throughout all proceedings, whether formal or informal, before the Board.

(xxix) "Regulations" means these Rules and Regulations of the Board.

(xxx) "Savings and loan association" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-6-101 and 13-6-102.

(xxxi) "Secretary" means the employee of the Division designated by resolu- tion of the Board pursuant to Section 6(a).

(xxxii) "Special mail" means certified mail delivered by the U.S. Postal Ser- vice, with return receipt request, postage prepaid.

(xxxiii) "Trust company" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-5- 101.

(xxxiv) "Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act" means W.S. 16-3-101 through 16-3-115.

(xxxv) "Wyoming Administrative Regulation Review Act" means W.S. 28-9- 101 through 28-9-108.

(xxxvi) "Wyoming attorney" means a person who has been admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in all courts of the State of Wyoming and who is an active member in good standing of the Wyoming State Bar.

(xxxvii) "Wyoming Public Records Act" means W.S. 16-4-201 through 16-4-205.

Section 5. Rules of Construction.

(a) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, this Section applies to all Chapters of these Regulations.

(b) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, these Regulations shall be construed by the following rules:

(i) Words and phrases shall be taken in their ordinary and usual sense, but technical words and phrases having a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law or in the banking industry shall be understood according to their technical import.

(ii) Reference to "the Wyoming Statutes" or the abbreviation "W.S." means the Wyoming Statutes as published from time to time and, pending reduction to published form and subject to applicable effective dates, all supplements, additions and other modifications enacted by the Legis- lature of the State of Wyoming. Reference to a named act or rule shall be treated correspondingly.

(iii) Words in the present tense include the future tense.

(iv) Words in the plural form include the singular, and words in the singular form include the plural.

(v) If any provision or the application of any such provision to any person or cir- cumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application. To this end, the provisions are severable.

(vi) This subsection (b) is derived substantially from W.S. 8-1-103 and shall be con- strued consistently with such Section.

(c) To aid readability, these Regulations use the masculine gender when referring to individuals and use the neuter gender when referring to non-individuals. Words expressed using one gender in- clude the other genders.

(d) Reference to a particular Section without indication of the Chapter in which it is found refers to the applicable Section in the same Chapter as the reference is found.

(e) Reference to a particular Chapter without indication of the body of regulations in which it is found refers to the applicable Chapter in these Regulations.

(f) Use of the words "includes" or "including" means that the list of items is not exhaustive but instead is illustrative.

(g) Reference to any particular rule (whether of practice, procedure or otherwise), section, code or act means such rule, section, code or act (whether statutory, regulatory or otherwise) as the same may be amended, recodified, relocated or otherwise modified from time to time.

Section 6. Service; Use of Overnight Couriers.

(a) The Board by resolution shall designate an employee of the Division to serve as its secretary or shall instruct the Commissioner to make such designation. The secretary shall be the agent of the Board and of the Chairman for service of process and delivery of all other materials to the Board or to the Chairman. All matters to be served on or delivered to the Board or the Chairman shall be served on or delivered to the secretary and shall not require service or delivery on the Chairman personally or on any other member of the Board. The secretary shall serve at the pleasure of the Board and shall have such other duties as the Board shall by resolution designate. Should no person at a given time be serving as secretary, service and delivery shall be on the Commissioner.

(b) Should an applicant under Chapter 3 be comprised of a group of incorporators, the applica- tion shall be accompanied with a designation by all incorporators of one of them to serve as agent for service of process and delivery of materials. All matters to be served on or delivered to the applicant shall be served on or delivered to the designated agent and shall not require service or delivery on all incorporators. Should the applicant be a single individual, service and delivery shall be made upon him.

(c) Service upon or delivery to any party shall be made on the counsel for the party and not on the party itself, if but only if the party is represented by counsel who has filed a notice of appearance in accordance with .

(d) Service on the Commissioner shall be made upon him personally.

(e) Unless expressly provided otherwise in the Banking Statutes, these Regulations or the Bank- ing Regulations, any notice or other written communication may be delivered by special mail or by any reputable, nationwide overnight courier service that obtains the signature of the person to whom deliv- ery is made and that retains records of delivery.

Section 7. Confidentiality.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 13-3-701(e), W.S. 9-1-512 and W.S. 16-4-203(a)(i), reports issued by the Commissioner, materials relating to examinations and reports and other records required of a financial entity are not public records and are not open for public inspection, subject to the exceptions provided in W.S. 16-4-203(a) and 13-2-807. In the special case of applications under Chapter 3, the information obtained by or provided to the Commissioner and/or the Board is confidential both because the Commissioner's and the Board's future ability to obtain the information necessary to discharge their duties to investigate, examine and evaluate a proposed institution in light of the public interest would be substantially and irretrievably impaired and because, given the nature of the information gained by the Commissioner and/or the Board, its public release would cause substantial harm to the competitive positions of the persons providing the information, of the applicant and of the proposed institution.

(b) Upon written request to the Commissioner, any person may inspect public records pos- sessed by the Division, subject to and only to the extent permitted under the Wyoming Public Records Act. Information that is not subject to public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act shall not be made available for public inspection.

(c) Inspection of public records shall take place in the Division's offices during regular busi- ness hours. Only the Commissioner or other Division employees may remove public records from the Division's offices. A person desiring photocopies of all or part of a public record shall make such request in writing and, as required by W.S. 16-4-204, shall pay the Division's then-prevailing charges for such copies and for the services of Division employees in complying with such request and super- vising such compliance.

Section 8. Computation of Time. In computing any time period prescribed by these Regulations, the day of the act or event from which the time period begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a legal holiday. When the period is less than eleven (11) days, legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

Section 9. Quorum. A majority of the Board constitutes a quorum. The Board shall not act upon an application unless a quorum of the Board participates in the final decision on the application. Any member of the Board who was absent from the hearing may participate in the Board's final determination on an appli- cation or a petition after reading and considering the transcript of the hearing, together with the other evidence contained in the record.

Section 10. Recusal.

(a) A Board member shall recuse himself from all proceedings relating to a matter if he has a personal or private interest in the matter. The member shall recuse himself by serving a written notice of recusal upon the Chairman, who shall deliver copies of the notice to all other members of the Board, to the Commissioner and to any parties involved in the matter. On and after the date of recusal, the recused member shall not participate in any deliberations, decisions or other actions of the Board relat- ing to the matter.

(b) A recused Board member may attend hearings and other proceedings related to a recused matter as a member of the public. He may also attend any Board meeting at which topics relating to the matter arise and participate in the deliberations, decisions and other actions of the Board relating to topics unrelated to the matter.

Section 11. Representation before the Board; Notice of Appearance.

(a) A person may represent itself, or may be represented either by a Wyoming attorney or by a qualified foreign attorney, in proceedings before the Board.

(b) Each Wyoming attorney and each qualified foreign attorney shall file with the Commis- sioner a notice of appearance before representing a party in connection with a hearing on an application or on a petition. In the case of a qualified foreign attorney, the notice of appearance shall have no meaning or effect unless and until his associated Wyoming attorney shall have also filed with the Commissioner a notice of appearance. All notices of appearance shall set forth all facts necessary to determine that the attorney is either a Wyoming attorney or a qualified foreign attorney and is autho- rized to represent his client under this Section.

(c) Division counsel shall not be required to file a notice of appearance.

(d) If an attorney has filed a notice of appearance in connection with related proceedings before the Commissioner, the attorney is not required to file a separate notice of appearance with the Board.

History

• Effective 1999-11-24

Chapter 3 Application Hearings

Wyo. Code R. 021.0001.3.11241999 Application Hearings

CHAPTER 3

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR APPLICATION HEARINGS

Section 1. Application Required.

To organize a financial entity, the incorporators shall submit to the Commissioner an applica- tion.

Section 2. Competitive Applications.

Should two or more applications be filed contemporaneously for financial entities to be lo- cated in the same home county, the Board shall hear the applications in the order of their acceptance dates. The Board, in its discretion, may conduct a consolidated hearing on any or all such competitive applications.

Section 3. Consolidated Hearings.

(a) If the Board determines that two or more applications are closely related, and the matters of evidence and proof at the hearings would be similar in nature, the Board may consolidate the hearings into a single hearing.

(b) The order of procedure set forth in of shall govern the consolidated hearing, except that the parties shall present their cases in the order of their acceptance dates.

Section 4. Confidentiality.

All materials delivered to the Chairman or any other member of the Board shall be delivered to the Commissioner for inclusion in the case, correspondence or confidential files, as he may deter- mine, under Section 65 of Chapter 3 of the Banking Regulations.

Section 5. Board to Set Hearing; Waiver for Interim Banks.

(a) Within seven (7) days after the acceptance date, the Chairman shall notify the applicant in writing of the time, date and place within the home county for the hearing. The Chairman shall select, as the hearing date, a day which is at least sixty (60) but not more than one hundred twenty (120) days after the acceptance date.

(b) The Board may waive the public hearing requirement for an application for an interim bank, as provided in W.S. 13-2-212(c).

Section 6. Contents of Public Notice.

(a) After its receipt of the hearing notice, the applicant shall cause notice of the filing of the application and of the hearing to be published in the manner prescribed in . The published notice shall include the following information:

(i) The acceptance date;

(ii) The date, time, place and nature of the hearing to be held on the applica- tion;

(iii) The legal authority and jurisdiction under which the hearing is to be held;

(iv) The street address of the location of the principal place of business of the proposed institution;

(v) The names of all incorporators;

(vi) The nature of the activities to be conducted by the proposed institution;

(vii) The date by which persons must file a motion with the Commissioner to be added as a party to the hearing; and

(viii) The date by which persons must submit written comments on the appli- cation.

Section 7. Publication Requirements.

(a) The public notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation that is gener- ally available in the home county.

(b) The public notice shall be published within thirty (30) days after the applicant's receipt of the hearing notice and on the same day of the week in each of the next two (2) following weeks. The applicant shall exercise reasonable diligence in ensuring that the required insertions are published on the required dates. If the newspaper cannot publish an insertion on the required date because it is not published on that date, the insertion shall be published on the next date on which the newspaper is published. If an insertion is not published on the required date due solely to the newspaper's error and the applicant has exercised reasonable diligence in discovering the error, the insertion shall be pub- lished on the next date that is available in light of the newspaper publication schedule, but in no event after the hearing date.

(c) The public notice shall be printed in the same type size that the newspaper uses in regular classified advertising columns, provided that such type size shall be no larger than nine (9) point with spacing between lines not exceeding one-half (½) point leading. The date, time and place of the hearing must be in boldface. The public notice shall be entitled "Notice of Application and Public Hearing". Such title and the case caption shall be set forth in all capital letters and in boldface.

(d) The applicant shall pay all direct and indirect expenses associated with publication of the public notice.

(e) This Section is intended to implement and be consistent with the requirements of W.S. 1-6-201 through 1-6-203, which provide minimum requirements for public notices.

Section 8. Additional Parties.

(a) Upon written motion, a person may be added as a party to the hearing, provided that the movant claims a substantial interest relating to the application and claims that the disposition of the application may adversely affect his ability to protect that interest. The motion shall state in detail why the person seeks to become a party to the hearing and shall be filed with the Commissioner at least fourteen (14) days before the hearing date. The Commissioner shall promptly deliver a copy of the motion to the Chairman and to the presiding officer. The movant shall serve a copy of the motion on all other parties contemporaneously with the filing of the motion.

(b) Each party may file a written response to the motion with the Commissioner within two (2) days after the date on which the motion was served on such responding party. The Commissioner shall promptly deliver a copy of the response to the Chairman and to the presiding officer. Each re- sponding party shall serve a copy of the response on all other parties.

(c) As soon as reasonably practicable, but at least twenty-four (24) hours before the prehearing conference, the presiding officer shall notify the parties in writing of his decision. No oral argument is permitted.

(d) If the presiding officer grants the motion, the movant becomes a party to the hearing with the right, to the same extent as the applicant and fully subject to these Regulations, to participate in the prehearing conference, to receive formal notices, to appear, argue and be heard at the hearing, to submit documentary and other evidence, to produce and cross-examine witnesses at the hearing and to file a brief on relevant issues.

(e) This Section does not limit a person's right to attend and participate in a hearing as a member of the public.

Section 9. Written Comments.

A person may file written comments on an application with the Commissioner during the comment period. The applicant may respond to the Board in writing to any comments at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.

History

• Effective 1999-11-24

Chapter 4 Hearings

Wyo. Code R. 021.0001.4.11241999 Hearings

CHAPTER 4

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE FOR PETITION HEARINGS

Section 1. Petition Required.

To request that the Board review and either dismiss or modify a proposed order, the petitioner shall file with the Commissioner a petition. Each petition shall be in writing and include the information set forth in Section 2. The petitioner shall serve the petition on the Commissioner, as provided in Section 81 of Chapter 3 of the Banking Regulations. Filing a petition shall not stay or otherwise affect the full and immediate legal operation and effect of a temporary order.

Section 2. Content.

(a) Each petition shall contain the following:

(i) The petitioner's signature;

(ii) If the petitioner is represented by counsel, execution by the Wyoming attorney and/or the qualified foreign attorney in a manner consistent with Rule 11 of the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure;

(iii) The petitioner's verification of the truth and accuracy of the matters set forth in the petition;

(iv) A copy of the notice of intent, including the proposed order and all other attachments to the notice, or a description of the notice of intent sufficient for its identification among the records of the Commissioner;

(v) A request that the Board review the notice of intent and the proposed order and dismiss the same because grounds do not exist under the enforcement article for issuing the order;

(vi) A statement of facts supporting the dismissal of the proposed order; and

(vii) If the proposed order requires payment of a civil penalty and the petitioner contests the amount or the assessment of such penalty, a statement of facts supporting the modification of the assessment.

Section 3. Board to Set Hearing; Extensions.

(a) Promptly after service of the petition, the Commissioner shall deliver a copy of the petition to the Chairman and the other members of the Board. Within five (5) days after service of the petition upon the Commissioner, the Board shall set the hearing date.

(b) Unless extended pursuant to subsection (d), the hearing date shall be a date within fifteen (15) days after the petition is served on the Board.

(c) The Chairman shall give prompt notice to the petitioner of the date, time and place of the hearing. The form of the notice shall comply with W.S. 16-3-107(a) and 16-3-107(b).

(d) Upon timely written request from the petitioner and for good cause shown, the Chairman shall extend the hearing date to such later date as the Board may determine.

Section 4. Other Notices.

(a) At least three (3) days before the hearing, the Board shall give written notice to all applicable affected persons. Failure to give such notice shall not have any effect on the Board's jurisdiction over the petition nor upon any actions taken by it pursuant to a petition.

(b) As required by W.S. 16-4-404(b), the Chairman shall give notice of the hearing to each newspaper of general circulation and each radio and television station that has requested in writing that it be given notice of special meetings of the Board. Such notice shall specify the date, time and place of the hearing and the business expected to be transacted at the hearing.

(c) Persons notified under this Section are not parties under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and shall have no right to participate in the pre-hearing conference, to receive formal notices, to appear, argue or be heard at the hearing, to submit documentary or other evidence, to produce or cross-examine witnesses at the hearing, nor to file a brief on relevant issues.

(d) This Section shall not limit an affected person's right to attend and participate in a hearing as a member of the public.

Section 5. Confidentiality.

(a) All matters and proceedings arising out of or related to a petition shall be confidential, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

(b) At the hearing, the Board shall convene in executive session not open to the public to consider or receive any protected material. To the extent that information is disclosed at a public hearing, such information shall not be confidential.

(c) After the Board has rendered its final determination, the written report of such decision shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

(d) Nothing in this Section is intended to limit or constrain in any way any right of the petitioner to seek or to obtain appellate review of the decisions of the Board and of the Commissioner, provided that such review is otherwise in accordance with applicable law.

History

• Effective 1999-11-24

49 Banking Division

Chapter 1 General Matters and Definitions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.1.04182014 General Matters and Definitions

CHAPTER 1 – GENERAL MATTERS AND DEFINITIONS

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

(a) Generally, these Regulations are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1- 603(c)(v) and pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act.

(b) This Chapter provides for matters that apply generally to all financial institutions and supplies general information that is basic and common to the balance of these Regulations.

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) When used in these Regulations, the following terms have the indicated meanings:

(i) "Adult" is defined in W.S. 8-1-102(a)(i).

(ii) "Application" means the completed application prescribed in Section 11, including all exhibits and other materials attached to or otherwise filed simultaneously with the application form, together with all other information required by the Commissioner under Section 12.

(iii) "Bank" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-2-201.

(iv) "Banking Statutes" means title 13 of the Wyoming Statutes. Use of such term is not intended to imply that such statutes are solely related to the topic of banking and is intended only as a abbreviated method of referring to all of such statutes as a unit.

(v) "Board" means the State Banking Board created under W.S. 13-1- 604.

(vi) "Board Regulations" means the Rules and Regulations of the Board, as amended from time to time.

(vii) To "certify" means to represent and warrant, under penalties of perjury, that the certified matters are true, accurate and correct and are not misleading in any material way.

(viii) "Chairman" means the Chairman of the Board.

(ix) "Commissioner" means the State Banking Commissioner appointed pursuant to W.S. 13-1-601 and serving as the administrator of the Division.

(x) "Controlling interest" is defined in 12 U.S.C. 1841(a)(2).

(xi) "Department" means the Department of Audit created under W.S. 9- 2-2003(a), which is one of the principal administrative operating units of the state government.

(xii) "Depository institution" has the meaning given such term in 12 U.S.C. 1813(c)(1).

(xiii) "Determination Date" means the date on which the Commissioner informs a bank that he has determined that its proposed relocation may be desirable or a trust company that he has determined that any ground for suspending or revoking a trust company's charter set forth in W.S. 13-5-111 might exist.

(xiv) "Division" means the Division of Banking, which is an agency and a principal operating unit of the Department pursuant to W.S. 9-2-2003(d).

(xv) "Division counsel" means the person or persons, if any, assigned or otherwise designated by the Attorney General to provide legal advice, counsel and/or representation to or for the Board and/or the Commissioner. In the event that the Attorney General designates separate counsel for the Commissioner and for the Board, then "division counsel" refers only to the counsel designated for the Commissioner.

(xvi) "Enforcement article" means Article 2 of Chapter 10 of the Banking Statutes.

(xvii) "Examination" includes investigation.

(xviii) "Executive officer" is defined in W.S. 13-1-101.

(xix) "Financial institution" is defined in W.S. 13-1-101, and for purposes of these rules shall include an interim bank.

(xx) "FDIC" means the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

(xxi) "FRB" means the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

(xxii) "Hearing" means the public hearing held by the Commissioner on an application under Chapter 12 or on a suspension or revocation under Chapter 13.

(xxiii) "Holding company" means a corporation or individual that owns a controlling interest of a bank and is subject to examination under article 2 of chapter 9 of the Banking Statutes. A "holding company" is also commonly referred to as a "bank holding company."

(xxiv) "Home county" means

(A) in the case of an individual officer or director of a financial institution or in the case of an individual that is a holding company, the county in Wyoming in which the financial institution with which he is affiliated has its principal place of business,

(B) in the case of a financial institution, a non-individual that is a holding company or a proposed institution, the county in Wyoming in which it has or will have its principal place of business or

(C) in the case of any other non-individual person, the county in Wyoming in which it has its principal place of business. If a person does not have a home county, its home county shall be Laramie County.

(xxv) "Individual" means an adult.

(xxvi) "Interim bank" means a bank that

(A) does not operate independently,

(B) does not conduct banking business,

(C) is organized pursuant to W.S. 13-2-212 and

(D) exists only to serve as a vehicle to facilitate a merger and change of ownership of an existing bank in accordance with W.S. 13-4-108.

(xxvii) "Legal holiday" is defined in W.S. 13-1-101 and includes Saturdays. For purposes of a date on or by which an item must have been filed with, served upon or otherwise delivered to the Commissioner or the Board, the term "legal holiday" also includes a day on which weather or other unavoidable conditions have made the offices of the Division inaccessible.

(xxviii) "Newspaper of general circulation" means a newspaper that is normally published at least weekly and is otherwise described in W.S. 18-3-519(a).

(xxix) "OCC" means the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, an agency of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.

(xxx)  "Out-of-state bank" means a depository institution organized or formed under the laws of a state other than Wyoming and having its principal place of business in a state other than Wyoming.

(xxxi) "Party" is defined in W.S. 16-3-101(b)(vi).

(xxxii) The term "person", as used in these Regulations, is defined in W.S. 8-1-102. "Person", "adult person" and "natural person", as used respectively in W.S. 13-5-102, 13-2-201 and 13-6-102(a), and in other related sections, have the same meaning as given to the term "incorporator" in Chapter 11 Section 2.

(xxxiii) "Personal or private interest" is defined in W.S. 9-13-106(a).

(xxxiv) "Protected material" means any document, matter or other information that is privileged or confidential or is otherwise not required, in the applicable circumstances, to be made available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act, including trade secrets and personal financial information.

(xxxv) "Qualified foreign attorney" means a person

(A) who has been admitted to practice before the highest court of any state (as defined in W.S. 13-2-802),

(B) who has associated with a Wyoming attorney for purposes of representing a client before the Board, and

(C) who is accompanied by the associated Wyoming attorney in, at and throughout all proceedings, whether formal or informal, before the Commissioner.

(xxxvi) "Regulations" means these Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner.

(xxxvii) "Relocation" means a change in a bank's place of business from one location within Wyoming to any municipality within Wyoming pursuant to W.S. 13-4-101.

(xxxviii) "Remote electronic terminal" is defined in W.S. 13-1-501(a)(v).

(xxxix) "Savings and loan association" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-6-101 and 13-6-102.

(xl) "Secretary" means the employee of the Division designated by resolution of the Board pursuant to Section 6(a) of Chapter 1 of the Board Regulations.

(xli) "Trust company" means a corporation organized pursuant to W.S. 13-5-101.

(xlii) "Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act" means as defined by W.S. 16-3-101.

(xliii) "Wyoming Administrative Regulation Review Act" means as defined by W.S. 28-9-101.

(xliv) "Wyoming attorney" means a person who has been admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in all courts of the State of Wyoming and who is an active member of the Wyoming State Bar.

(xlv) "Wyoming Insurance Code" means title 26 of the Wyoming Statutes.

(xlvi) "Wyoming Public Records Act" means as defined by W.S. 16-4- 201.

(b) Excluding any terms that are otherwise defined in this or any other Chapter, the definitions set forth in W.S. 16-3-101 are incorporated into this Chapter by this reference.

(c) Because the Banking Statutes contain differing definitions of the same terms, this Chapter intentionally does not wholly incorporate by reference the definitions found in the Banking Statutes.

Section 3. Service of Process; Delivery of Other Materials; Use of Overnight Couriers.

(a) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to the Commissioner, such service, filing or delivery shall be made upon him personally.

(b) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to the Board or any member of the Board, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in accordance with the Board Regulations.

(c) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on or otherwise delivered to a party in connection with proceedings before the Commissioner, such service or delivery shall be made upon:

(i) If such party is represented by counsel who has filed a notice of appearance in accordance with Section 2 of Chapter 8, then upon such counsel;

(ii) If such party is an entity or a group of individuals and is not represented by counsel, then upon the agent designated by such party for service of process; or

(iii) In all other circumstances, upon such party.

(d) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to any other person, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(e) Unless expressly provided otherwise in the Banking Statutes or these Regulations, any notice or other written communication may be delivered by certified mail or by any reputable, nationwide overnight courier service that obtains the signature of the person to whom delivery is made and that retains records of delivery.

Section 4. Public and Confidential Records.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 13-3-701(e), W.S. 9-1-512 and W.S. 16-4-203(a)(i), reports issued by the Commissioner, materials relating to examinations and reports and other records required of a financial institution are not public records and are not open for public inspection, subject to the exceptions provided in W.S. 16-4-203(a) and 13-2-807. In connection with proceedings under Chapter 8, 9 and 10 the information obtained by or provided to the Commissioner and/or the Division is confidential both because the Commissioner's future ability to obtain the information necessary to discharge his statutory duties in light of the public interest would be substantially and irretrievably impaired and because, given the nature of the information gained by the Commissioner, its public release would cause substantial harm to the competitive positions of the persons providing the information, of the applicant and of the proposed institution.

(b) Upon written request to the Commissioner, any person may inspect public records possessed by the Division, subject to and only to the extent permitted under the Wyoming Public Records Act. Information that is not subject to public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act shall not be made available for public inspection

(c) Inspection of public records shall take place in the Division's offices during regular business hours. Only the Commissioner or other Division employees may remove public records from the Division's offices. A person desiring photocopies of all or part of a public record shall make such request in writing and, as required by W.S. 16- 4-204, shall pay the Division's then-prevailing charges for such copies and for the services of Division employees in complying with such request and supervising such compliance.

Section 5. Computation of Time.

In computing any time period prescribed by these Regulations, the day of the act or event from which the time period begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a legal holiday. When the period is less than eleven (11) days, legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 2 Miscellaneous Bank Matters

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.2.10022001 Miscellaneous Bank Matters

CHAPTER 2 – MISCELLANEOUS BANK MATTERS

Section 1. Authority.

This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to W.S. 13-1-603(c)(v) and 13-2-101(a)(xiii).

Section 2. Surplus Accounts.

The Surplus Account of a bank shall be considered as permanent capital and shall not be de- creased except to sustain a loss in excess of its undivided profits or reserve for loan losses or conver- sion to paid-up capital stock, and then only when authorized by the Commissioner.

Section 3. Lease Financing.

A bank may become the owner and lessor of personal property acquired upon the specific request and for the use of a customer, and may incur such additional obligations as may be incident to becoming the owner and lessor of such property. The aggregate of such leases to any one person shall not exceed fifteen percent (15%) of the bank's available capital. The total amount of all leases made under this Section plus all indebtedness permitted under W.S. 13-3-402 shall not exceed twenty percent (20%) of the bank's available capital.

Section 4. Indemnification of Directors and Officers of Financial institutions; Authority to Indemnify; Reserved Powers of the Commissioner.

(a) A bank, an interim bank and a savings and loan association may include in its articles of incorporation a provision permitting the board of directors to indemnify directors and officers to the fullest extent permitted under 12 CFR 359.

(b) A trust company may include in its articles of incorporation a provision permitting the board of directors to indemnify Directors, officers and employees to the fullest extent permitted under Title 17, Chapter 16, Article 8, Subarticle E, of the Wyoming Statutes.

(c) A financial institution may elect to afford indemnification to an extent less than the maximum permitted under this Section and may elect not to indemnify any of its personnel at all.

(d) The Commissioner may order any financial institution to cease and desist from any actual or proposed indemnification permitted under this Chapter if he determines that the same poses a threat to the safety and soundness of the financial institution. The Commissioner may also order a financial institution to modify or eliminate any indemnification provisions included or proposed to be included in its articles of incorporation if he determines that such inclusion is inconsistent with appli- cable federal or Wyoming law.

History

• Effective 2001-10-02

Chapter 3 Fees

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.3.05132021 § 1 Authority; Scope

This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute ("W.S.") 13-1-603(d) (fees generally), W.S. 13-3-702 (bank supervisory fee), W.S. 13-5-410 (powers of the Commissioner regarding supervised trust companies), W.S. 13-7-603 (savings and loan association supervisory fee), W.S. 13-12-111(c) (special purpose depository institution charter application fee), W.S. 13-12-119(c) and (d) (special purpose depository institution examination and supervisory fees), W.S. 13-12-126 (special purpose depository institution rules) and W.S. 34-29-104(n) (digital asset custody).

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.3.05132021 § 2 Bank and Savings and Loan Association Supervisory Fees

(a) Except as otherwise provided by subsection (e) of this section, the Commissioner shall collect from every bank for supervision of such bank and every savings and loan association for supervision of such association an amount determined by the total resources of such bank and savings and loan association, as of reports of condition at the end of June and December of each year. The fees for all banks and saving and loan associations shall be based upon the total resources as follows:

(i) $0 to $1,500,000: 0.0013328 of total assets.

(ii) $1,500,001 to $15,000,000: $1,999.20, plus 0.0001666 of the excess over $1,500,000.

(iii) $15,000,001 to $25,000,000: $4,248.33, plus 0.000159936 of the excess over $15,000,000.

(iv) $25,000,001 to $50,000,000: $5,847.69, plus 0.00013328 of the excess over $25,000,000.

(v) $50,000,001 to $75,000,000: $9,179.69, plus 0.000119952 of the excess over $50,000,000.

(vi) $75,000,001 to $150,000,000: $12,178.49, plus 0.00009996 of the excess over $75,000,000.

(vii) $150,000,001 to $1,000,000,000: $19,675.49, plus 0.0000733040 of the excess over $150,000,000.

(viii) $1,000,000,001 to $3,000,000,000: $81,983.86, plus 0.0000659736 of the excess over $1,000,000,000.

(ix) $3,000,000,001 to $5,000,000,000: $213,931.06, plus 0.0000659736 of the excess over $3,000,000,000.

(x) $5,000,000,001 and over: $324,106.97, plus 0.000055022 of the excess over $5,000,000,000.

(b) Except as otherwise provided by this section, not later than the last day of January and July in each year, every bank and savings and loan association shall:

(i) Compute the semi-annual supervisory fee based upon the report of condition next preceding, on forms established by the Commissioner, and

(ii) Submit to the Commissioner such report of condition together with payment of the semi-annual fee as so computed.

(c) Miscellaneous bank fees:

(i) Bank charter application: $15,000.

(ii) Emergency bank charter application: $4,000.

(iii) Interim charter for which a public hearing is waived: $4,000.

(iv) Branch application: $1,000.

(v) Out-of-state acquisition of a Wyoming bank: $7,500.

(vi) Operating subsidiary application: $700.

(vii) Additional examination fee when examined more than twice per year: $50.00/examiner/day.

(viii) Change in place of business: $2,500.

(ix) Merger or conversion into state bank application: $2,500.

(x) Each additional bank established by merger or consolidation application: $1,250.

(xi) Acquisition of bank by bank holding companies: $4,500.

(d) The following fees are applicable to special purpose depository institutions:

(i) Bank charter application: $50,000.

(ii) Examination costs: $35 per examiner hour, plus per diem or actual travel expenses, as determined by the Commissioner.

(iii) Application for certificate of dissolution: $1,000.

(iv) Overdue report: $250 per business day in which the report is late.

(e) The supervisory fee established in subsection (a) of this section shall exclude off-balance sheet digital assets. If a bank pays the supervisory fee established by W.S. 34-29-104(n) or subsection (g) of this section and that fee, on its own, is:

(i) Greater than the fee established by subsection (a) of this section, the fee established by subsection (a) is waived.

(ii) Less than the fee established by subsection (a) of this section, the supervisory fee paid under W.S. 34-29-104(n) or subsection (g) of this section shall be added to the fee payable under subsection (a).

(f) To ensure consistency with existing bank fee payment schedules, the two tenths of one mill on the dollar ($.0002) supervision fee established by W.S. 34-29-104(n) shall be paid as follows:

(i) One-tenth of one mill on the dollar ($.0001) of off-balance sheet digital assets as of December 31 of each year, payable by the following January 31; and

(ii) One-tenth of one mill on the dollar ($.0001) of off-balance sheet digital assets as of June 30 of each year, payable by the following July 31.

(g) Each bank that administers off-balance sheet digital assets, but which does not pay the fee established by W.S. 34-29-104(n), shall pay a supervision fee of one-tenth and eighty-six hundredths of one mill on the dollar ($0.000186) of off-balance sheet digital assets. To ensure consistency with existing bank fee payment schedules, this supervision fee shall be paid as follows:

(i) Ninety-three hundredths of one mill on the dollar ($.000093) of off-balance sheet digital assets as of December 31 of each year, payable by the following January 31; and

(ii) Ninety-three hundredths of one mill on the dollar ($.000093) of off-balance sheet digital assets as of June 30 of each year, payable by the following July 31.

(h) Other fees established by subsection (c) of this section shall apply to special purpose depository institutions.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.3.05132021 § 3 Trust Company Fees

(a) The Commissioner shall collect from every supervised trust company an amount determined by the total assets of the company as of December 31 of each year as follows:

(i) For a company with total assets less than three million dollars ($3,000,000), a supervisory fee of $7,500 shall be paid no later than January 31 each year.

(ii) For a company with total assets greater than three million dollars ($3,000,000), a supervisory fee of $12,500 shall be paid no later than January 31 of each year.

(b) The Trust Company Resolution Fund shall be funded with twenty-five percent (25%) of the annual supervisory fee paid by each supervised trust company.

(i) The amount shall be paid in each year until the Resolution Fund reaches a balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000).

(ii) Once the Resolution Fund reaches a balance of one million dollars ($1,000,000), the Commissioner may lower the supervisory fee, at his discretion, that each supervised trust company pays by the portion of the fee designated for the Resolution Fund.

(c) A supervised family trust company may apply to the Commissioner to establish a trust service office. A fee of one thousand dollars ($1,000) shall accompany the application.

(d) A person may apply to the Commissioner for a letter of assurance relating to the proper establishment of a private family trust company, compliance with applicable Wyoming law and a determination that the company is not required to apply for a public or family trust company charter based on the activities it intends to conduct. The Commissioner shall provide a letter of assurance if the private family trust company has complied with the requirements of W.S. 13-5-701. The application shall be accompanied by a fee of two hundred fifty dollars ($250). A letter of assurance shall be supplemental to the requirements to provide a waiver to the Commissioner under W.S. 13-5-701(d).

(e) Miscellaneous trust company fees:

(i) Public and family trust company charter application: $15,000.

(ii) Voluntary dissolution of trust company: $1,500.

(iii) Conversion from public trust company to chartered family trust company: $10,000.

(iv) Fee for failure to submit required reports: $25/day overdue.

(v) Merger application: $1,500.

(vi) Out-of-state acquisition of a Wyoming trust company: $7,500.

(f) The fee established in subsection (a) of this section shall exclude off-balance sheet digital assets. Each supervised trust company that administers off-balance sheet digital assets shall pay a supervision fee of one-tenth and eighty-six hundredths of one mill on the dollar ($0.000186) of off-balance sheet digital assets as of December 31 of each year, payable by the following January 31. If a supervised trust company pays the supervisory fee established by this subsection and that fee, on its own, is:

(i) Greater than the fee established by subsection (a) of this section, the fee established by subsection (a) is waived.

(ii) Less than the fee established by subsection (a) of this section, the supervisory fee established by this subsection shall be added to the fee payable under subsection (a).

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Chapter 4 Records Retention

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.4.10022001 Records Retention

CHAPTER 4– RECORDS RETENTION

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

(a) This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-3-505.

(b) This Chapter specifies periods for which records of banks and trust companies must retain certain records. Under federal law, it also applies to national banks.

Section 2. Reproduction of Records; Electronic Retention of Records.

(a) Any bank or trust company subject to this rule may cause records in its custody to be reproduced by the micro-photographic or other equivalent process. Any reproduction shall have the same force and effect as the original and shall be admissible into evidence as if it were the original.

(b) Electronic retention of records is acceptable provided the records accurately reflect the original document and remain accessible for the prescribed periods.

Section 3. Classification of Records; Minimum Periods of Retention.

Each bank and trust company shall retain and preserve the records classified and described in this Section for the applicable minimum period set forth in this Section. Specific record descriptions not listed are to be retained consistent with prudent business practices and with the bank or trust company's policies.

History

• Effective 2001-10-02

Chapter 5 Charter Applications

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 1 Authority; Scope

This Chapter provides for matters that apply generally to the Commissioner's involvement in application proceedings before the Board. Because the Commissioner is directly and intrinsically involved in such proceedings, this Chapter must be read in the context of Chapter 3 of the Board Regulations.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 2 Special Definitions

(a) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Acceptance date" means the date of the acceptance notice.

(ii) "Acceptance notice" means the notice required under Section 3(c)(i) Section 3(c)(ii), as the case may be.

(iii) "Applicant" means the single incorporator or the group of incorporators named in an application. All financial institutions shall have at least five (5) incorporators, except for a trust company, which shall have at least one (1) incorporator.

(iv) "Application" means the completed application prescribed in Section 3(a), including all exhibits and other materials attached to or otherwise filed simultaneously with the application form, together with all other information required by the Commissioner under Section 3.

(v) "Commencement date" means, as the context may require, the acceptance date in the case of an application, the receipt date in the case of a petition, or the date of the hearing notice in the case of a submission.

(vi) "Comment period" means the period of time that begins on the commencement date and ends on that date which is ten (10) days before the hearing.

(vii) "FDIC application" means the application of a proposed institution for insurance of deposits by FDIC.

(viii) "Hearing" means the public hearing by the Board on an application, as provided in the Board Regulations.

(ix) "Incorporator" means an adult individual of sound mind who intends singly or with others to incorporate or organize a financial institution.

(x) "Presiding officer" means the person designated by the Board to serve as the presiding officer of a hearing.

(xi) "Proposed institution" means the financial institution that the applicant proposes to organize.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 3 Application Required; Filing; Incomplete Application; Extension

(a) To organize a financial institution, the incorporators shall submit to the Commissioner an application. Each application shall be in writing and contain the information required in Section 4. In the case of a trust company, the application shall name and be executed by at least one (1) incorporator; in all other cases, the application shall name and be executed by at least five (5) incorporators.

(b) The applicant shall submit its application with the Commissioner for evaluation. The Commissioner shall keep and maintain the application as provided in Section 8.

(c) Within thirty (30) days after the date on which an application is submitted to

the Commissioner for evaluation, he shall give written notice to the applicant either:

(i) that the application is in order and has been accepted for filing; or

(ii) that deficiencies exist in the information required to be included in the application and identifying each with reasonable particularity.

(d) If the Commissioner notifies the applicant of deficiencies in the application, the applicant shall correct the identified deficiencies and resubmit the application within ninety (90) days after the date of the notice of the deficiencies. If the applicant fails to submit a corrected application within such 90-day period, the applicant shall be deemed for all purposes to have withdrawn the application as of 5:00 p.m., Cheyenne, Wyoming local time, on the last day of such 90-day period.

(e) Within thirty (30) days after the date on which a corrected application is submitted to the Commissioner for further evaluation, he shall give written notice to the applicant either:

(i) that the application is in order and has been accepted for filing; or

(ii) that the application is rejected as incomplete.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 4 Content; Electronic Media

(a) To be accepted for filing, each application shall be comprised of the following information:

application;

(i) The signatures of all incorporators, verifying the contents of the

(ii) Three (3) duplicate originals of the articles of incorporation satisfying the requirements of Section 5;

(iii) The by-laws proposed for adoption either by the incorporators simultaneously with incorporation or by the board of directors of the proposed institution at its first meeting, indicating which method will be used to adopt the by-laws;

(iv) Evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner that the proposed institution has paid-in capital stock as required by the Banking Statutes;

(v) A complete, true and accurate copy of the proposed institution's completed FDIC application or, in the case of a trust company, the proposed institution's completed application on the form prescribed from time to time by resolution of the Commissioner;

(vi) The name, proposed title and residence post-office address of each individual proposed to serve as an executive officer of the corporation during any part of the corporation's first year of existence;

(vii) A statement with supporting evidence, demonstrating that the conditions in the community in which the proposed institution would transact business afford reasonable promise of successful operation;

(viii) A statement with supporting evidence, demonstrating that the proposed capital and surplus are adequate in light of current and prospective conditions;

(ix) A statement with supporting evidence, demonstrating that the proposed executive officers and proposed directors have sufficient experience, ability and standing to afford reasonable promise of successful operation;

(x) As to each depository institutions and trust companies then open for business in the home county, a list of the name of the entity, its president (and branch managers, if the local presence is a branch), its local street address, and its local telephone and fax numbers such financial institutions and trust companies;

(xi) A copy of any bonds obtained in accordance with W.S. 13-6-206;

(xii) If applicable, the designation of an agent for service of process described in Section 7; and

(xiii) Any other information required by these Regulations or as requested by the Commissioner.

(b) The obligation to provide the information required for an application is a

continuing obligation. The applicant shall supplement the application promptly when, but only to the extent that, significant information in the application changes materially and should its FDIC application change in any way.

(c) The applicant shall also deliver the application to the Commissioner on electronic media. The Commissioner shall reasonably assist applicants and reasonably cooperate with them in assuring substantial compliance with this subsection.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 5 Filing Fee; Withdrawn Applications

(a) At the same time as it submits an application to the Commissioner for evaluation, the applicant shall pay to the Commissioner a fee in the amount of $15,000 or, in the case of an interim bank, $4,000.

(b) If an application is withdrawn at any time before the hearing, the filing fee shall be refunded to the applicant, reduced by the amount of all expenses authorized by W.S. 13-2-208.

(c) If an application is rejected, it shall be treated under this Section as if it were withdrawn as of 5:00 p.m., Cheyenne, Wyoming local time, on the last day of the 30-day time period described in Section 3(e).

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 6 Articles of Incorporation

(a) The articles of incorporation for a proposed institution shall include the following information:

(i) The name of the proposed institution;

(ii) The objects for which the corporation is organized, together with a statement that the corporation is organized for no other purpose than the accomplishment of legitimate and lawful objects;

incorporators:

(iii) A statement that the articles of incorporation are made to enable the

(A) In the case of a bank, to avail themselves of the advantages of the banking laws and regulations of the State of Wyoming;

(B) In the case of an interim bank, to avail themselves of the advantages of the banking laws and regulations of the State of Wyoming but only to the extent necessary to serve as a vehicle to facilitate a merger and change of ownership of an existing bank in accordance with W.S. 13-4-108;

(C) In the case of a savings and loan association, to avail themselves

of the advantages of the savings and loan laws and regulations of the State of Wyoming;

(D) In the case of trust companies, to avail themselves of the advantages of the trust company laws and regulations of the State of Wyoming and the general corporation laws of the State of Wyoming; or

(E) In the case of a bank or a savings and loan association that also desires to engage in the trust business in this state, to avail themselves of the advantages of the trust company laws and regulations of the State of Wyoming;

(iv) The object for which the corporation is organized; (v) In the case of an interim bank, a statement that it

(A) shall not operate independently,

(B) shall not conduct banking business, and

(C) shall exist only so long as is necessary to serve as a vehicle to facilitate a merger and change of ownership of an existing bank in accordance with W.S. 13-4-108;

(vi) In the case of a trust company, such other matters as may be required under the Wyoming Business Corporation Act;

(vii) The term of its existence, which may be perpetual, except that, in the case of an interim bank, its term of existence shall not be longer than is necessary to serve as a vehicle to facilitate a merger and change of ownership of an existing bank in accordance with W.S. 13-4-108;

located;

(viii) The street address at which its principal place of business will be

(ix) The amount and par value of each class of its common capital stock and the number of shares in each class authorized to be issued (in the case of a savings and loan association, common stock must have a par value of at least $100 per share and be issued as a single class);

(x) Except for a savings and loan association, the amount and par value of each class of preferred capital stock and the number of shares in each class authorized to be issued, specifying all rights, powers and incidents of each class of such stock;

(xi) The amount of capital actually paid in;

(xii) The name, residence post-office address and occupation of each

shareholder subscribing for more than ten percent (10%) of the capital stock of the corporation and the number and class of shares subscribed for;

(xiii) The number of directors (which shall be five (5) or more, in the case of a bank, an interim bank or a savings and loan association, or any number, in the case of a trust company);

(xiv) The names, residence post-office address and occupation of each member of the board of directors that is expected to serve during any part of the corporation's first year of existence;

(xv) The name, occupation and residence post-office address of each incorporator; and

(xvi) The number of shares of capital stock, by class, for which each incorporator has subscribed.

(b) The articles of incorporation for a trust company may also include such matters as are permitted under the Wyoming Business Corporation Act.

(c) The articles of incorporation for any proposed institution may include an indemnification provision consistent with Chapter 2, Section 4.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 7 Designation of Agent for Service of Process

Should the applicant be comprised of a group of incorporators, the application shall be accompanied with a designation by all incorporators of one of them to serve as agent on behalf of each and all of them for service of process and delivery of materials. All materials to be served on or delivered to the applicant shall be served on or delivered to the designated agent and shall not require service or delivery on all incorporators.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 8 Confidentiality

(a) To reduce the possibility of disclosure of protected material that is in the Division's possession in connection with an application, the Commissioner shall maintain a case file, a correspondence file and a confidential file for each application.

(b) The case file shall consist only of the following documents: (i) the public portions of the application;

(ii) the acceptance notice;

(iii) the proof of publication submitted by the applicant;

(iv) all formal notices, motions, public hearing transcripts and other documents filed with, served on, delivered to or issued by the Board, by the Commissioner or by the presiding officer in connection with the hearing and other similar records.

(c) The correspondence file shall include all documents produced or received in connection with an application, except for those documents required to be kept in the case file or the confidential file.

(d) The confidential file shall consist of materials that contain information that is protected material.

(e) Only those portions of the case file and the correspondence file that are subject to public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act shall be available for public inspection.

(f) Discussions held between the Division and an applicant before an application is accepted for filing and while an application is pending, including any materials relating to these discussions, shall be confidential.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 9 Investigation and Examination by Commissioner

Promptly after the acceptance date, the Commissioner shall make a careful investigation and examination, as described in W.S. 13-2-211.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.5.05132021 § 10 Written Comments

A person may file written comments on an application with the Commissioner during the comment period. The Commissioner shall promptly deliver to the Chairman and to all parties copies of all comments received by him, although he may determine to deliver comments on a weekly or other periodic basis. The applicant may respond in writing to any comments at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Chapter 6 Bank Relocation Applications

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.6.04182014 Bank Relocation Applications

CHAPTER 6

BANK RELOCATION APPLICATIONS

Section 1. Application Required. To obtain the Commissioner's approval of a relocation, a bank shall submit to the Commissioner an application. The application shall be in writing and contain the information required in Section 2.

Section 2. Content of Application.

(a) The application shall contain the information required in W.S. 13-4-101(a) and the following:

(i) The bank's verification of the truth and accuracy of the matters set forth in the application; and

(ii) A request that the Commissioner approve the relocation;

(b) An application shall not be considered to have been received by the Commissioner unless and until it is complete.

Section 3. Commissioner to Set Hearing; Extensions.

(a) The Commissioner shall inform the bank, in writing, of his determination as to whether the proposed relocation may be desirable, within thirty (30) days after his receipt of the application.

(b) Within five (5) days after the determination date, the Commissioner shall set the hearing date. Unless extended pursuant to subsection (c), the hearing date shall be a date within thirty (30) days after the determination date. The Commissioner shall give prompt notice to the bank of the date, time and place of the hearing. The notice shall be in a form comparable to a hearing notice relating to a petition.

(c) Upon timely written request from the bank and for good cause shown, the Commissioner may extend the hearing date to such later date as he may determine to be in the public interest.

Section 4. Contents of Public Notice.

(a) After its receipt of the hearing notice, the bank shall cause notice of the hearing to be published in the manner prescribed in Section 5. The published notice shall include the following information:

(i) The name of the bank; and

(ii) The date, time, place and nature of the hearing to be held on the application;

(iii) A caption or other statement to the effect that the hearing is to be held before the Commissioner pursuant to W.S. 13-4-101;

(iv) The street address of the existing place of business;

(v) The street address of the proposed, relocated place of business; and

(vi) The date by which persons must submit written comments.

Section 5. Publication Requirements.

(a) The public notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation in all municipalities affected by the proposed relocation.

(b) The public notice shall be published on the same day of the week as that of the hearing date, in each of the three (3) calendar weeks immediately preceding the hearing date. The bank shall exercise reasonable diligence in ensuring that the required insertions are published on the required dates.

(i) When the public notice will be published in a newspaper published less often than daily,

(A) the public notice is not required to be published on the same day of the week as the hearing date but instead shall be published on the newspaper's regular publication date in the same week that is nearest to such day of the week;

(B) the last insertion shall be published within seven (7) days before the hearing date and (iii) not more then seven (7) days shall elapse between each insertion.

(ii) If an insertion is not published on the required date due solely to the newspaper's error and the bank has exercised reasonable diligence in discovering the error, the insertion shall be published on the next date that is available in light of the newspaper publication schedule, but in no event after the hearing date.

(c) The public notice shall be printed in the same type size that the newspaper uses in regular classified advertising columns, provided that such type size shall be no smaller than nine (9) point with spacing between lines not exceeding one-half (½) point leading. The date, time and place of the hearing must be in boldface. The public notice shall be entitled "Notice of Public Hearing." Such title and the case caption shall be set forth in all capital letters and in boldface.

(d) The bank shall pay all expenses associated with publication of the public notice.

(e) The bank shall deliver to the Commissioner at or before the hearing a satisfactory publisher's affidavit of publication in accordance with this Section.

(f) This Section is intended to implement and be consistent with the requirements of W.S. 1-6-201 through 1-6-203, which provide minimum requirements for certain public notices.

Section 6. Final Determination.

(a) The Commissioner's final determination relating to an application shall be in writing, shall be based solely on the record and shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law separately stated. Findings of fact shall be based exclusively on the evidence received at the hearing, the application, written comments received by the Commissioner and matters officially noticed. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings.

(b) In his final determination, the Commissioner must find that the relocation is desirable and is in the best interests of the bank and the municipality to which the bank proposes to move.

(c) The Commissioner shall deliver a copy of his final determination to each party.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 7 Suspension or Revocation of Trust Company Charter

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.7.04182014 Suspension or Revocation of Trust Company Charter

CHAPTER 7

SUSPENSION OR REVOCATION OF TRUST COMPANY CHARTER

Section 1. Commissioner to Set Hearing; Extensions.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 13-5-111, the Commissioner may suspend or revoke the charter of a trust company.

(b) If the Commissioner determines that any ground for suspending or revoking a trust company's charter set forth in W.S. 13-5-111 might exist, he shall inform the trust company of such determination in writing.

(c) Within five (5) days after the determination date, the Commissioner shall set the hearing date. Unless extended pursuant to subsection (d), the hearing date shall be a date within thirty (30) days after the determination date. The Commissioner shall give prompt notice to the trust company of the date, time and place of the hearing. The notice shall be in a form comparable to a hearing notice relating to a petition.

(d) Upon timely written request from the trust company and for good cause shown, the Commissioner may extend the hearing date to such later date as he may determine to be in the public interest.

Section 2. Final Determination.

(a) The Commissioner's final determination relating to a suspension or revocation shall be in writing, shall be based solely on the record and shall include findings of fact and conclusions of law separately stated. Findings of fact shall be based exclusively on the evidence received at the hearing and matters officially noticed. Findings of fact, if set forth in statutory language, shall be accompanied by a concise and explicit statement of the underlying facts supporting the findings.

(b) In the event that the Commissioner determines to suspend the trust company's charter, his final determination shall also set forth the duration of and/or the conditions that must be satisfied to lift such suspension. In his final determination, the Commissioner must find that one or more of the grounds for suspending or revoking the trust company's charter set forth in W.S. 13-5-111 exist. The Commissioner shall deliver a copy of his final determination to each party.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 8 Practice and Procedure

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.8.04182014 Practice and Procedure

CHAPTER 8

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Section 1. Authority. This Article is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 16-3-102(a)(i) (mandate to promulgate rules of practice and procedure).

Section 2. Representation before the Commissioner; Notice of Appearance.

(a) A person may represent itself, or may be represented either by a Wyoming attorney or by a qualified foreign attorney, in proceedings before the Commissioner.

(b) Each Wyoming attorney and each qualified foreign attorney shall file with the Commissioner a notice of appearance before representing a party in connection with a hearing under this Article. In the case of a qualified foreign attorney, the notice of appearance shall have no meaning or effect unless and until his associated Wyoming attorney shall have also filed with the Commissioner a notice of appearance. All notices of appearance shall set forth all facts necessary to determine that the attorney is either a Wyoming attorney or a qualified foreign attorney and is authorized to represent his client under this Section.

(c) Division counsel shall not be required to file a notice of appearance.

(d) If an attorney has filed a notice of appearance in connection with related pro- ceedings before the Board, the attorney is not required to file a separate notice of appearance with the Commissioner.

Section 3. Ex Parte Communication. Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, the Commissioner shall not consult directly or indirectly with any party regarding a submission, except as allowed under W.S. 16-3-111. A request for status of a proceeding is not an ex parte communication.

Section 4. Transcripts of Hearings

(a) If a person desires a copy of those portions of the recording of a hearing that are available for public inspection, it shall request the same in writing. Such request shall be delivered to the Commissioner, along with a fee that the Commissioner shall determine on a case-by-case basis to recoup to the Division the total cost of services and materials necessary to make the copy, including any editing necessary to prevent the disclosure of protected material. Upon receipt of the request and the required fee, the Commissioner shall provide such copy to the requesting party as soon as practicable.

(b) If a party desires that a hearing be transcribed by court reporter, it must so inform the Commissioner and the presiding officer in writing and make the necessary arrangements and pay all associated costs related to the same. In each such case, the court reporter shall not record protected material nor any proceedings that the party providing the court reporter is not permitted to attend.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 9 Contested Cases

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.9.04182014 Contested Cases

CHAPTER 9

CONTESTED CASES

Section 1. Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (WAPA).

The WAPA as defined by W.S. 16-3-115 is incorporated herein by reference.

Section 2. Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure (WRCP).

The WRCP insofar as they are applicable and not inconsistent with the WAPA are incorporated herein by reference.

Section 3. Confidentiality.

(a) All matters and proceedings arising out of or related to an application or a suspension or revocation shall be confidential, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

(b) All materials delivered to the Commissioner in connection with an application or a revocation shall be handled in a manner analogous to that for an application under Chapter 11 of these Regulations, including segregation of such materials in case, correspondence and confidential files.

(c) At the hearing, the hearing officer may adjourn the public portion of the hearing at any time to consider or receive any protected material in a session that is not open to the public. To the extent that information is disclosed at public portions of the hearing, such information shall not be confidential.

(d) The hearing officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law and report and recommendation to the Commissioner shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

(e) After the Commissioner has rendered his final decision after the hearing, any written report of such decision shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

Section 4. Appointment of Hearing Officer.

The Commissioner may appoint a hearing officer to preside at any proceeding before the Commissioner. The hearing officer shall be an employee of the Division of Banking or an employee of another agency designated by the Commissioner to act as presiding officer.

Section 5. Discovery and Depositions.

(a) Until ten (10) days before the hearing, discovery and the taking of depositions shall be available to the parties as provided in W.S. 16-3-107.

(b) The Commissioner is subject to the discovery provisions of this Section but neither the Commissioner nor any employee of the Division shall be required to disclose protected material, nor shall any of them be compelled to testify or give a deposition. Discovery sought from any employee of the Division initially shall be by written application to the Commissioner. If the Commissioner refuses to allow discovery in whole or in part, the aggrieved party may apply to the district court for the district in which the hearing is to be conducted for an order directed to the appropriate person to compel discovery.

Section 6. Pre-hearing Conference; Agenda.

(a) At least five (5) days before the hearing, the hearing officer shall conduct a pre- hearing conference to consider the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. All parties shall attend the conference. The hearing officer may require each party to submit a memorandum to address the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. The conference may be conducted by telephone conference call or other suitable means by which all persons who are part of the conference may actively participate in the conference and can be heard by all other persons who are part of the conference.

(b) The Commissioner, after consultation with the hearing officer, may delegate the responsibility for conducting the pre-hearing conference to the deputy banking commissioner, to division counsel or to such other employee of the Division as he may deem appropriate.

(c) The hearing officer shall give each party at least five (5) days' notice of the date, time and place for the pre-hearing conference.

(d) The following matters shall be considered at the pre-hearing conference:

(i) The names and addresses of witnesses whom each party intends to call to testify at the hearing, together with a detailed summary of the testimony expected from each witness;

(ii) The documentary evidence each party intends to introduce at the hearing;

(iii) The number, description, and purpose of all demonstrative exhibits each party intends to use at the hearing;

(iv) Material facts, if any, of which the Commissioner will be requested to take official notice pursuant to W.S. 16-3-108(d);

(v) Stipulations of fact and documentary evidence to be admitted into the record; and

(vi) Matters requiring consideration or submission to the Commissioner in executive session;

(vii) The length of time to be devoted to presentation of cases and delivery of opening and closing statements;

(viii) Any other matters that will simplify the issues or otherwise allow the hearing to be conducted more efficiently and quickly; and

(ix) A determination as to whether briefs are to be filed.

(e) At the hearing, the hearing shall admit into the record all facts, evidence and other matters to which the parties stipulated at the conference. The Commissioner also shall identify those matters of which he will take official notice.

(f) The hearing officer shall prepare an agenda that sets forth the order of business to come before him during the hearing, and the witnesses to be called, the documentary evidence to be introduced, and the exhibits to be used at the hearing. Before the hearing, the Commissioner shall provide a copy of the agenda to each party. The agenda will govern the order of business during the hearing unless modified by the Commissioner.

(g) The hearing officer shall exclude from the hearing on, and from the record of, an application any economic feasibility study and all testimony and other evidence derived from it, unless the party offering the study shall have, at least ten (10) days before the hearing, filed the study with the Commissioner and delivered a copy of the study to all other parties.

Section 7. Right to Appear at Hearing; Public Comment.

(a) Only parties may appear before the hearing officer at a hearing. Whether for himself or in a representative capacity, any individual may testify provided that he is called by a party or by the hearing officer.

(b) The hearing officer, in his discretion, may permit persons in attendance at the hearing to present oral comments at the conclusion of the hearing. The Commissioner and the parties may ask questions of any person who presents oral comments at the hearing.

Section 8. Open Hearing; Executive Session.

(a) The hearing shall be open to the public. If a person disrupts a hearing or otherwise renders unfeasible the orderly conduct of the hearing, the Commissioner shall remove the person from the hearing and continue in session, or he may recess the hearing.

(b) At any time during the hearing, the Commissioner may adjourn and reconvene in executive session to consider protected material. Executive sessions of the hearing shall not be open to the public.

Section 9. Order of Procedure.

(a) The hearing shall be conducted substantially as follows:

(i) The hearing officer shall call the hearing to order and call the case to be heard;

(ii) The hearing officer shall address any motions or preliminary matters to be heard, including introduction of exhibits, stipulated facts and evidence, and matters to be noticed officially by the Commissioner;

(iii) The hearing officer shall administer to all witnesses an oath or affirmation in substantially the manner prescribed in W.S. 1-12-114;

(iv) Each party may make an opening statement, in the same order as evidence is to be presented, as set forth in this Section.

(v) The bank or the trust company shall present its case.

(vi) All other parties shall present their respective cases in the order prescribed by the Commissioner.

(vii) All parties shall be accorded a reasonable amount of time to cross- examine witnesses presented by another party.

(viii) All parties may present rebuttal evidence, if any, in the order and within the time limits prescribed by the hearing officer.

(ix) Each party may make a closing statement. Closing statements shall be made in the reverse order as cases were presented. The hearing officer shall determine the amount of time for each party to make its closing statement.

(b) The hearing officer may ask questions of any party or witness.

Section 10. Nature of Hearing; Presentation of Evidence.

(a) The purpose of the hearing is to obtain a full and true disclosure of all relevant and material facts so that the findings, decisions and orders of the hearing officer are rendered upon information as complete and trustworthy as is practicable. Hearings are not intended to be adversarial in nature.

(b) The taking of evidence shall be governed by W.S. 16-3-108. Documentary and other physical evidence submitted for the Commissioner's consideration shall be marked as exhibits. Upon such marking, such evidence shall become part of the record.

(c) The hearing officer shall exercise reasonable control over the manner and order of questioning witnesses and presenting other evidence so as to:

(i) make more effective the ascertainment of the truth and a full and true disclosure of relevant and material facts;

(ii) avoid needless consumption of time;

(iii) avoid presentation of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence;

(iv) avoid the public disclosure of protected material;

(v) protect the witness from harassment and undue embarrassment; and

(vi) maintain an orderly and efficient hearing.

(d) Cross-examination shall be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters relating to the credibility of the witness. The hearing officer may permit additional inquiry into matters as if on direct examination.

(e) No relevant information shall be excluded solely because it is hearsay.

Section 11. Reopening of Hearing.

Upon reasonable notice to all parties, the hearing officer may reopen the hearing at any time prior to the issuance of his findings of fact, his conclusions of law and his decision and/or order relating to the hearing. To the extent possible, a reopened hearing shall be held in the same community and at the same location as the initial hearing.

Section 12. Records of Hearing and Executive Sessions.

(a) The record of the hearing shall include:

(i) all formal and informal notices, pleadings, motions and intermediate rulings;

(ii) evidence received or considered, including matters officially noticed;

(iii) questions and offers of proof, objections and rulings on the same; and

(iv) any opinion, findings, conclusions, decision or order of the Commissioner.

(b) Portions of the record that contain evidence, testimony, deliberations or other matters presented in executive session shall be deemed to be matters described in W.S. 16-4-203(d) and in W.S. 9-1-512 and shall not be subject to public inspection.

Section 13. Recording of Hearings.

The hearing shall be recorded verbatim steno graphically, or by court reporter, videotape, audiotape or any other means of verbatim recording as may be determined by the Commissioner.

Section 14. Written Comments.

A person may file written comments on an application with the Commissioner during the comment period. The respondent may respond in writing to any comments at any time before the conclusion of the hearing.

Section 15. Briefs.

Each party may file with the Commissioner a brief on issues relevant to the hearing. Briefs must be filed within five (5) days after the hearing. Each brief shall become a part of the record. A party who files a brief shall serve a copy on all other parties. A party may file only (1) brief in connection with a hearing.

Section 16. Findings and Conclusions.

In any proceeding before the Commissioner:

(a) The parties have a right to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a proposal for decision. The hearing officer shall set reasonable deadlines for submission of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(b) Proposed findings of fact submitted under this section must be supported by concise and explicit statements of underlying facts developed from the record with specific reference to where in the record the facts appear.

(c) The Commissioner may direct the hearing officer to write proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Commissioner may also direct the hearing officer to write a recommended decision.

(d) All parties shall have an opportunity to file objections to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and orders submitted by any party or by the hearing officer.

(e) The hearing officer shall establish deadlines for the filing of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and orders.

(f) After the expiration of time for filing objections, the Commissioner shall consider the proposal for decision. The Commissioner may:

(i) adopt the proposal for decision, in whole or in part;

(ii) decline to adopt the proposal for decision, in whole or in part; or

(iii) direct the hearing officer to give further consideration to the proceeding with or without reopening the hearing.

(g) Parties shall be given an opportunity to file exceptions, replies and briefs in the event a decision is remanded for further consideration.

(h) If on remand additional evidence is received which results in a substantial revision of the proposal for decision, a new proposal for decision shall be prepared, unless the Commissioner, on remand, has heard the case or read the record. A new proposal for decision must be clearly labeled as such and all parties of record are entitled to file exceptions, replies and briefs.

Section 17. Unclaimed Exhibits.

Within sixty (60) days after the expiration of all periods within which an appeal of a final determination must be filed, the parties shall retrieve all exhibits. After that time, the Commissioner may dispose of any exhibits not so retrieved.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 10 Orders and Petitions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.10.04182014 Orders and Petitions

CHAPTER 10

ORDERS AND PETITIONS

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

This Chapter provides for matters that apply generally to the Commissioner's involvement in petition proceedings before the Board. Because the Commissioner is directly and intrinsically involved such proceedings, this Chapter must be read in the context of Chapter 4 of the Board Regulations.

Section 2. Special Definitions.

(a) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Actor" means a financial institution or holding company, or a director, officer, employee or agent of a financial institution or holding company.

(ii) "Affiliated entity" means the financial institution or holding company for which a director or officer serves.

(iii) "Appeal period" means the period of seven (7) days after the date on which an ordered person receives a notice of intent.

(iv) "Cease and desist order" means an order that instructs an actor to cease and desist from proscribed activity.

(v) "Notice date" means the date on which the petitioner is served with a notice of intent, which shall conclusively be the date shown on the return receipt or other reliable report of service.

(vi) "Order" means an order issued by the Commissioner under the enforcement article, including a penalty order and a temporary order.

(vii) "Ordered person" means a person who or which is the subject of an order and upon whom or which the order is to operate directly.

(viii) "Penalty order" means an order, or such portion of an order, that imposes a civil monetary penalty.

(ix) "Petition" means the request for hearing that a petitioner may file pursuant to W.S. 13-10-201 through 13-10-209.

(x) "Petitioner" means a person who files a petition. A petitioner may be a financial institution, a holding company, or an officer or director of a financial institution or a holding company.

(xi) "Principal actor" means a financial institution or holding company, or a director or an officer of a financial institution or holding company.

(xii) "Proscribed activity" means, as determined by the Commissioner, any action or inaction that:

(A) in the case of a financial institution,

(I) is or is about to become a violation of any state statute or rule relating to financial institutions;

(II) is or is about to become an unsafe and unsound practice; or

(III) is or is about to become an unauthorized practice;

(B) in the case of a holding company,

(I) is or is about to become a violation of any federal statute or rule relating to holding companies;

(II) is or is about to become an unsafe and unsound practice relating to a financial institution that it owns or controls; or

(III) is or is about to become an unauthorized practice relating to a financial institution that it owns or controls; or

(C) in the case of an actor who is an individual, constitutes

(I) in the course of performing his duties, a violation of any state statute or rule relating to financial institutions;

(II) the engagement or participation in any unsafe and unsound practice in performing his duties; or

(III) his being convicted of, or pleading guilty or nolo contendere to, a crime involving dishonesty or breach of trust.

(xiii) "Receipt date" means the date on which the Commissioner is served with a petition.

(xiv) "Temporary order" means an order issued pursuant to W.S. 13-10-204 or W.S. 13-10-206.

Section 3. Issuance of Orders.

(a) The Commissioner is empowered to issue orders under the enforcement article. All orders shall be in writing.

(b) All orders shall be delivered to the ordered person;

(i) by certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the ordered person, as shown on the records of the Division, or

(ii) in the manner provided for service of process under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

(c) Each order, other than a temporary cease and desist order, shall be accompanied by a notice of intent.

(d) Temporary orders and penalty orders shall be issued only upon principal actors.

Section 4. Content of Notices of Intent and Orders.

(a) A notice of intent shall include the following:

(i) The name and street mailing address of each ordered person.

(ii) If the ordered person is an officer or director of a financial institution or a holding company, the name and street mailing address of the financial institution or a holding company with which he is affiliated.

(iii) The effective date of the order, unless specified in the proposed order.

(iv) If the order includes a penalty order or is issued simultaneously with a penalty order, a statement as to the amount of the civil penalty for each proscribed activity and the total amount of the civil penalty to be assessed (which total may be expressed as a maximum amount that will accrue daily for so long as the proscribed activity continues).

(v) A statement of the grounds for issuing the order, including citation to the statute or rule involved, if any.

(vi) A statement of the facts in support of the allegations contained in the grounds for issuing the order.

(vii) A statement informing the ordered person that it has the right to a hearing on the order before the Board in accordance with the Board Regulations and these Regulations and that failure to request a hearing within the appeal period will result in the order becoming final.

(viii) A copy of the proposed order.

(b) An order shall include:

(i) The name of the ordered person, identified with reasonable particularity, such as by residence address, social security number or employment status.

(ii) A brief statement, explaining the basis for the issuance of the order.

(iii) If applicable, the effective date of the order, which may be immediately upon issuance.

(iv) In the case of a cease and desist order, a statement directing the actor to discontinue the proscribed activity, directing it to correct the effects of or the steps leading to the proscribed activity, or both.

(v) In the case of a removal order, a statement describing the proscribed activity that requires the removal of the actor.

(vi) In the case of a temporary order, the determination by the Commissioner that the proscribed activity described in the proposed order poses an immediate threat to the safety and soundness of the financial institution or to the interests of the depositors, creditors or shareholders of the financial institution.

(vii) In the case of a penalty order, the determination by the Commissioner:

(A) that the actor has engaged in a proscribed activity or that the actor violated or failed to comply fully with any provision of a lawful order, and

(B) as to his consideration of the factors listed in W.S. 13-10-207(c).

Section 5. Final Orders.

(a) A proposed order shall become effective upon the later to occur of

(i) the date specified in the order;

(ii) the date of the order, if no effective date is specified in the order;

(iii) the date on which the order is delivered to the ordered person, if no effective date is specified in the order and the order is undated; or

(iv) the date specified by the Board, if any.

(b) A proposed order shall be final upon the last to occur of

(i) in the case of an order for which the ordered person has petitioned the Board for review within the applicable deadline, the date upon which the order, containing any modifications required by the Board, is delivered to the ordered person in accordance with Section 3(b); or

(ii) in all other cases, upon the expiration of the appeal period.

Section 6. Petition Required; Service on Commissioner; Redelivery to Board; Filing Not a Stay.

(a) To request that the Board review and dismiss or modify a proposed order, the petitioner shall file with the Commissioner a petition. Each petition shall be in writing and include the information set forth in Section 1 of Chapter 4 of the Board Regulations.

(b) The petitioner shall serve the petition on the Commissioner by certified mail within seven (7) days after the notice date.

(c) Promptly after the receipt date, the Commissioner shall deliver a copy of the petition to the Chairman and the other members of the Board.

(d) Filing a petition shall not stay or otherwise affect the full and immediate legal operation and effect of a temporary order.

Section 7. Service of the Final Order after Board Decision on a Petition.

In the case of a petition regarding an order confirmed by the Board or a penalty order not modified by the Board, the Commissioner shall serve the final order in accordance with W.S. 13-10-208.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 11 Establishment of Intrastate Branches

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.11.09082017 § 1 Authority; Scope

(a) This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-2-702.

(b) This Chapter applies only to banks. It does not apply to the establishment of a de novo interstate branch of a national bank or an out-of-state bank, as such topics are governed by article 7 of chapter 2 of the banking statutes. It also does not apply to intrastate branching by a national bank or an out-of-state bank that has its main office or any branch in Wyoming, as such topics are governed by federal law or by the other state's law. The Commissioner has determined that banks should be authorized to purchase Wyoming branch banks from other depository institutions by means of purchase and assumption transactions to ensure that banks may maintain an equal competitive position with national banks.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.11.09082017 § 2 Special Definitions

(a) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Bank" means a "Wyoming state bank," as defined in W.S. 13-2- 802(a)(xvi).

(ii) "Branch" means a "branch," as defined in W.S. 13-2-702(a)(i), that commenced operations prior to July 1, 1991.

(iii) "Initial branch license" means the first branch license obtained by the bank for a branch.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.11.09082017 § 3 Application to Establish an Intrastate Branch; Contents; Filing Fee

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 13-2-702(a), a bank shall not establish or operate a branch at any location in Wyoming unless it shall have obtained the prior approval of the Commissioner. Obtaining this approval is in addition to the requirement to obtain an initial branch license.

(b) A written application to establish an intrastate branch shall be filed with the Commissioner in the form prescribed by the Commissioner. The Commissioner may combine, into one form, the forms for an application to establish an intrastate branch and the form for an application for an initial branch license.

(c) Each application to establish an intrastate branch shall include the information specified in W.S. 13-2-702(b) and the amendment to the bank's articles of incorporation required under W.S. 13-2-703.

(d) For purposes of W.S. 13-2-702(b)(v), the term "well capitalized" has the meaning set forth 12 C. F. R. 325.103.

(e) Each application to establish an intrastate branch shall be accompanied by the requisite application fee set forth in Chapter 3.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Chapter 12 Branch Licensing

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.12.09082017 § 1 Authority; Scope

(a) This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-2-702.

(b) This Chapter applies to banks, as defined in this Part. This Chapter does not apply to branches that commenced operations prior to July 1, 1991.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.12.09082017 § 2 Special Definitions

As used in this chapter "Bank" means an "insured bank," under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.12.09082017 § 3 Application for Initial Branch License; Contents; Filing Fee

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 13-2-702(g), before operating, engaging in or conducting a banking business at a branch, a bank shall obtain from the Commissioner a branch license for such branch if the branch

(i) is located in Wyoming and

(ii) began operations on or after July 1, 1991. The requirement for an initial branch license is in addition to the approval required under Chapter 11 and under W.S. 13-2- 702(a).

(b) A written application for an initial branch license shall be submitted to the Commissioner in the form prescribed by the Commissioner.

(c) Each application for an initial branch license shall be accompanied by the requisite application fee set forth in Chapter 3.

History

• Effective 2017-09-08

Chapter 13 Acquisition of a Wyoming Branch Bank

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.13.04182014 Acquisition of a Wyoming Branch Bank

CHAPTER 13

ACQUISITION OF A WYOMING BRANCH BANK

Section 1. Special Definitions.

As used in this Chapter:

(a) "Acceptance date" means the date of the notice required under Section 3(e).

(b) "Applicant" means either the buyer or the seller, as the context may require. "Applicants" means, collectively, both the seller and the buyer.

(c) "Acquisition application" means an application submitted to the Commissioner under this Chapter to acquire a Wyoming branch bank.

(d) "Buyer" means the bank proposing to acquire by means of a purchase and assumption transaction assets and liabilities of a Wyoming branch bank.

(e) "Purchase and assumption transaction" means a transaction in which the acquiring bank purchases some, but not all, of the assets and assumes some, but not all, of the liabilities of the selling bank.

(f) "Seller" means the depository institution proposing to transfer a Wyoming branch bank to a buyer by means of a purchase and assumption transaction.

(g) "Wyoming branch bank" means a branch licensed under Chapter 12.

Section 2. Acquisition of a Wyoming Branch Bank.

With the approval of the Commissioner, a bank may acquire, by means of a purchase and assumption transaction, the assets and liabilities of a Wyoming branch bank owned and operated by any depository institution. Upon approval of the acquisition application, the Commissioner shall transfer the branch license from the seller to the buyer.

Section 3. Application to Acquire a Wyoming Branch Bank.

(a) The buyer and the seller shall jointly submit an acquisition application to the Commissioner. The acquisition application shall include:

(i) The name of the seller;

(ii) The name and address of the Wyoming branch bank to be sold;

(iii) The name of the buyer;

(iv) The address where the Wyoming branch bank will be maintained and operated; and

(v) Such additional information regarding the assets being sold and the liabilities being assumed as the Commissioner may require to determine that the purchase and assumption transaction will not adversely affect the public interest or the capital structure, financial stability or safety and soundness of the buyer.

(b) The acquisition application shall be accompanied by:

(i) A resolution of the boards of directors of the applicants, duly adopted and certified, evidencing approval by the respective boards of the proposed purchase and assumption transaction, including the transfer of the Wyoming branch license;

(ii) A resolution of the board of directors of the buyer, duly adopted and certified, ensuring that the customers and clients of the Wyoming branch bank to be sold will be held harmless from any cost or expense resulting from acquisition of the Wyoming branch bank, including obtaining new checks, document transfers or substitutions, and fees for changing accounts;

(iii) A copy of the proposed amended articles of incorporation if required by W.S. 13-4-102, together with satisfactory evidence that all amendments have been approved by the applicable board of directors and, if required, stockholders;

(iv) A copy of the application to the FRB or FDIC for approval of the proposed purchase and assumption transaction;

(v) A certified copy of the proposed purchase and assumption agreement; and

(vi) The fee required under Section 4.

(c) The corporate secretaries of the buyer and seller shall certify that the resolutions and copies required under subsection (b) are true, correct and complete copies of the original documents and, in the case of resolutions, that the same were adopted at duly called and convened meetings of the boards of directors and/or stockholders in accordance with the bylaws of the applicable depository institution.

(d) The Commissioner shall review the acquisition application to determine whether the applicants have submitted all of the required information. If the applicants have not provided all of the required information, the Commissioner shall notify the applicants in writing and request the information needed to complete the application. If any information is needed to complete the application, the applicants shall deliver the same to the Commissioner within ten (10) days after the date of his notice of such deficiencies. If the applicants do not furnish the information requested within such period, the application shall be deemed withdrawn as of 5:00 p.m., Cheyenne, Wyoming local time, on the last day of such 10-day period.

(e) When the applicants have provided all of the required information, the Commissioner shall notify the applicants in writing that the application has been accepted for filing. The date of such notice shall be deemed for all purposes to be the date on which the Commissioner accepted the application for filing.

Section 4. Application Fee; No Refunds for Withdrawn Applications.

The applicants shall pay the total cost incurred for examinations and other costs of processing an acquisition application. A fee of two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for each license to be transferred shall be paid when the application is filed. If the total cost incurred by the Commissioner exceeds the application fee, the additional cost will be billed to the applicants in equal amounts, which shall be immediately due and payable. No part of the application fee shall be refunded in the case of withdrawn applications nor in any other case.

Section 5. Notice to Customers.

(a) Within thirty (30) days after the acceptance date, the seller shall provide written notice of each proposed purchase and assumption transaction to each customer having an account with each Wyoming branch bank to be sold. The notice shall be mailed to each customer at the address listed for the account in the seller's records.

(b) The seller shall certify that the notice required in (a) has been mailed to each customer of the Wyoming branch bank to be sold. The certification and a copy of the notice shall be filed with the Commissioner within ten (10) days after such notices have been mailed.

Section 6. Public Notice.

(a) Within fifteen (15) days after the acceptance date, the applicants shall cause notice of the proposed license transfer to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the home county of the Wyoming branch bank to be sold. The notice shall be published at least once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in substantially the same manner as provided for relocations under Section 5 of Chapter 6.

(b) The notice shall state:

(i) The name and location of the Wyoming branch bank to be sold;

(ii) The name and main office location of the seller;

(iii) The name and main office location of the buyer;

(iv) The general purpose of the purchase and assumption transaction; and

(v) That any person wishing to comment on the proposed purchase and assumption transaction may submit written comments to the Commissioner within forty- five (45) days after the acceptance date.

(c) Within ten (10) days after the last insertion of the notice required under this Section, the applicants shall file with the Commissioner satisfactory proof of publication of such notice.

Section 7. Approval of Transfer.

(a) The Commissioner shall approve an acquisition application if he finds:

(i) After consummation of the purchase and assumption transaction, the buyer will maintain an adequate capital structure, including surplus, in relation to the assets acquired and the deposits and other liabilities assumed, and in relation to the banking activities to be assumed or expanded;

(ii) The customers of the Wyoming branch bank being sold are protected against cost or adverse impact from the purchase and assumption transaction;

(iii) The purchase and assumption transaction is not contrary to the public interest; and

(iv) The applicants have complied with this Chapter.

(b) The Commissioner shall approve or disapprove an acquisition application within fifteen (15) days after the expiration of the comment period provided for in Section 6 (b)(v).

(c) If the Commissioner disapproves the application, the reasons for the disapproval shall be given to the buyer and the seller in writing. The applicants may correct the deficiencies within fifteen (15) days after the date of the Commissioner's disapproval. If the Commissioner does not receive such corrections by 5:00 p.m., Cheyenne, Wyoming local time, on the last day of that 15-day period, then the application shall be considered to have been withdrawn as of that time.

(d) Approval of the acquisition application and the transfer of each branch bank license may be contingent upon receipt of amended articles of incorporation if required by W.S. 13-4-102.

Section 8. Extensions of Time.

Except for comment period provided for in Section 6(b)(v), the Commissioner may extend any time period set forth in this Chapter upon the request of either applicant or if he determines the same to be in the public interest. The Commissioner shall notify the applicants in writing of any such extension.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 14 Bank Sales of Securities, Insurance and Annuities

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.14.04182014 Bank Sales of Securities, Insurance and Annuities

CHAPTER 14

BANK SALES OF SECURITIES, INSURANCE AND ANNUITIES

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

(a) This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-2-101(a)(xi) (sell insurance or annuities) and (xiii) (authorized bank activities).

(b) This Chapter applies only to banks. It authorizes banks to engage in activities in which national banks may engage, that being to provide brokerage services, act as agent for any insurance company, and to sell annuities. The Commissioner has determined that banks should be authorized to engage in such activities to ensure that banks may maintain an equal competitive position with national banks. This Chapter provides minimum requirements for banks providing brokerage services, acting as agents for an insurance company, or in selling annuities. Brokerage activities, sales of insurance, and sales of annuities must be conducted in such a manner as to avoid misleading or confusing customers and must be consistent with safe and sound banking practices.

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Annuity" is defined in W.S. 26-1-102, and includes any insurance or endowment policy or annuity contract under which an insurance company promises to pay money either in a lump sum or periodically for life or for some other specified period.

(ii) "Appropriate banking regulatory authority" means

(A) as to a federally-chartered depository institution, the appropriate Federal banking agency as defined in 12 U.S.C. 1813(q);

(B) as to an out-of-state bank, the State banking supervisor, as defined in 12 U.S.C. 1813(r); or

(C) as to banks, the Commissioner.

(iii) "Bank-related sale of insurance" means and includes the sale of insurance or annuities by a covered agent occurring on or from bank premises, or any sale solicited on or from bank premises, or any sale resulting from referral of a bank customer for which the bank or a bank employee receives a benefit or compensation;

(iv) "Bank-related sale of securities" means and includes the sale of any security directly by a bank employee, or by a dual employee, occurring on bank premises, or any sale solicited by mail from bank premises, or any sale resulting from referral of a bank customer for which the bank or a bank employee receives a benefit or compensation;

(v) "Bank insurance agent" means a bank employee who is a properly licensed agent qualified to sell insurance in Wyoming and who sells insurance or annuities on or from bank premises on behalf of a bank serving as an insurance agent.

(vi) "Broker" means a person or entity registered, licensed and qualified under the laws of the United States and of the State of Wyoming, and the regulations of the appropriate federal and state regulatory agencies, to act as a broker or a broker-dealer in the purchase and sale of securities;

(vii) "Brokerage service" means providing investment advice and executing customer purchase and sale orders for securities, without recourse, solely upon the order of the customer and for the customers account;

(viii) "Contract agent" means a person properly licensed and qualified to sell insurance and annuities in Wyoming that has entered into an agreement with a bank to sell insurance and/or annuities to bank customers on or from bank premises.

(ix) "Covered agent" means a bank serving as an insurance agent, a bank insurance agent, a shared employee or a contract agent.

(x) "Dual employee" means a person who engages in activities or performs services for customers for both a bank and a broker;

(xi) "Insurance" is defined in W.S. 26-1-102.

(xii) "Insurance Agent" means a person registered, licensed and qualified under the Wyoming Insurance Code, and the regulations of the appropriate state regulatory agencies, to act as an agent in the sale of insurance and/or annuities;

(xiii) "Insurance laws" means the Wyoming Insurance Code, the Rules and Regulations of the Insurance Commissioner, and all other applicable state and federal laws, rules and regulations.

(xiv) "Insurer" is defined in W.S. 26-1-102 and includes a provider or other underwriter of insurance and/or annuities and excludes bank insurance agents.

(xv) "Insurance Commissioner" means the insurance commissioner appointed pursuant to W.S. 26-2-102(b) to serve as the chief officer of the state department of insurance, as created and existing under W.S. 26-2-101.

(xvi) "Rules of Fair Practice" means the Rules of Fair Practice of the National Association of Securities Dealers, Inc.

(xvii) "Securities" means and includes any mutual fund or other debt or equity instrument qualified for issuance and sale under the securities laws of the United States and the State of Wyoming, and authorized for purchase and sale for customer accounts by the appropriate banking regulatory authority.

(xviii) "Shared employee" means a bank employee who is also an insurance agent engaged by a contract agent to make bank-related sales of insurance to bank customers.

Section 3. Authorization to Provide Brokerage Services, Sell Insurance, or Sell Annuities.

(a) A bank is authorized to provide brokerage services to its customers, on bank premises, subject to full compliance with all state and federal laws, rules, regulations and regulatory conditions applicable to the bank-related sale of securities.

(b) Brokerage services may be provided directly by the bank through the employees of the bank or under a contract for services with a broker.

(c) A bank is authorized to act as an agent for any fire, life or other insurance company, subject to full compliance with all state and federal laws, rules and regulations applicable to a bank-related sale of insurance.

(d) A bank is authorized to sell annuities, subject to full compliance with all state and federal law, rules and regulations applicable to a bank-related sale of insurance.

(e) A bank may make bank-related sales of insurance but only through the services of a covered agent.

(f) All bank-related sales of insurance and annuities shall be in accordance with the insurance laws applicable to bank-related sales of insurance.

(g) Before engaging in bank-related sales of insurance, a bank must file with the Commissioner a notice that

(i) states the bank's intent to engage in such services,

(ii) indicates whether such services will be provided by the bank serving as an insurance agent, by a bank insurance agent, by a shared employee or by a contract agent, and

(iii) provides such additional information as the Commissioner may request.

(h) A bank shall not be an insurer and shall not underwrite insurance products or pay insurance claims.

Section 4. Tying Prohibited.

(a) A covered agent shall not engage in any practice that would lead a customer to believe that the purchase of insurance or annuities offered by the covered agent was:

(i) a prerequisite to obtaining credit,

(ii) a prerequisite to offering a banking product or service, or

(iii) offering a banking product or service on different terms or conditions because the customer agrees to obtain insurance or annuities from the covered agent or any particular insurer.

(b) A bank or other covered agent may inform a bank customer that insurance is required to obtain a loan or that loan approval is contingent on the customer obtaining acceptable insurance and that such insurance is available from a covered agent. If a covered agent provides such information to a bank customer, the covered agent also shall inform the customer:

(i) That he or she need not purchase the insurance from the covered agent or from any particular insurer or agent thereof;

(ii) That insurance is available through brokers or agents other than the covered agent; and

(iii) That the customer's choice of insurer will not affect the banks credit decision or credit terms in any way.

(c) A covered agent shall maintain written documentation of the information and disclosures provided to a customer under Section 4(b).

Section 5. Brokerage Services by Bank and Sale of Insurance or Annuities by Bank Employees; Responsibility of Directors; Written Procedures.

(a) If the bank provides brokerage services directly, the Directors shall adopt written policies and procedures for evaluating comparative risks posed by offered securities and for ensuring that the investment offered and the attendant risks are suitable for the customer. Before a bank insurance agent or shared employee makes any bank- related sales of insurance, the Directors shall adopt written policies and procedures for evaluating comparative risks posed by offered insurance or annuities and for ensuring that the insurance and annuities offered are suitable for the bank customer.

(b) The bank procedures shall require that any bank employee who performs brokerage service activities or executes brokerage transactions shall obtain sufficient information to make a reasoned judgment about the suitability of investment products for each customer. Also, policies and procedures shall require that any bank insurance agent or shared employee shall obtain sufficient information to make a reasoned judgment about the suitability of insurance and annuities for each customer. At a minimum, before making recommendations, and consistent with the Rules of Fair Practice, inquiries shall be made and responses documented concerning the customer's financial status, investment objectives and specific investment instructions, or coverage objectives and instructions.

(c) Bank procedures shall include a system for monitoring compliance with investment risk evaluations and suitability for customer investment goals and instructions. The bank may sell a security to a customer at the customer's request, even if the investment is inconsistent with the banks recommendation, but the bank shall document its recommendation. Bank policies and procedures shall include a system for monitoring compliance with customer coverage objectives and instructions. A bank insurance agent or a shared employee may make a bank-related sale of insurance to a bank customer at the customer's request, even if the insurance or annuity is inconsistent with the bank insurance agents or shared employees recommendation, but the bank insurance agent or shared employee shall document the recommendation.

(d) If a bank insurance agent or shared employee makes a bank-related sale of insurance, the bank insurance agent or shared employee shall forward any customer complaints arising from any bank-related sale of insurance to the Insurance Commissioner, the Commissioner, and the bank.

Section 6. Brokerage Services by Contract with Broker or Sale of Insurance or Annuities by Contract with Agent; Contents of Contract.

(a) The bank may lease a portion of the bank premises to a broker to provide brokerage services to bank customers. The brokerage services may be provided exclusively by employees of the broker or by dual employees.

(b) Bank-related sales of insurance may be made exclusively by the contract agent or by a shared employee. No such contract shall be effective unless and until approved by the banks board of directors.

(c) If brokerage services are provided on or from bank premises by contract with a broker, the contract shall be in writing and, at a minimum, shall provide:

(i) A description of the duties and responsibilities of the bank and the broker;

(ii) A description of permissible activities by the broker on the bank's premises, and the terms and conditions of use of the banks space, personnel and equipment;

(iii) That all representatives of the broker engaged in providing brokerage services on the bank premises, including any dual employees, shall be properly licensed and qualified as required by all applicable laws and regulations;

(iv) That the broker shall exercise exclusive supervisory and management control over dual employees when engaged in providing brokerage services and shall determine precisely the standardized investment advice to be provided to bank customers;

(v) That the broker shall recommend and the bank's board of directors shall adopt, distribute and enforce written policies and procedures stating prohibited and permissible activities for the bank's employees that are not dual employees;

(vi) That dual employees shall have written contracts, which shall not become effective unless and until approved by the bank;

(vii) That the bank shall pay the salaries of dual employees;

(viii) That the bank may monitor and periodically review the activities and transactions of the broker and its sales representatives to ensure compliance with the agreement;

(ix) That the bank and the appropriate banking regulatory authority shall have access to such records of the broker as are necessary or appropriate to evaluate compliance with the agreement; and

(x) That the broker shall indemnify the bank and save it harmless from any liability, cost or damages resulting from actions and omissions of the broker in providing brokerage services.

(d) If bank-related sales of insurance are permitted on or from bank premises by a contract agent, the contract shall be in writing and, at a minimum, shall provide:

(i) A description of the duties and responsibilities of the bank, the contract agent and any shared employees;

(ii) A description of permissible activities by the contract agent on or from bank premises;

(iii) The terms and conditions of use of the bank premises, personnel and equipment;

(iv) That all representatives of the contract agent engaged in selling insurance or annuities on or from bank premises, including any shared employees, shall be properly licensed under the insurance laws;

(v) That the contract agent shall provide written policies and procedures for evaluating comparative risks posed by offered insurance or annuities and for ensuring that the insurance and annuities offered are suitable for the bank customer;

(vi) That the contract agent shall provide written policies and procedures stating the standardized advice that shared employees must provide to bank customers;

(vii) That the contract agent shall recommend and the bank's board of directors shall adopt, distribute and enforce written policies and procedures stating prohibited and permissible activities for the bank's employees that are not dual employees;

(viii) That shared employees shall have written employment contracts with the contract agent, which shall not become effective unless and until approved by the bank's board of directors;

(ix) The compensation arrangements for shared employees;

(x) That the bank may monitor and periodically review the activities and transactions of the contract agent and its representatives to ensure compliance with the contract;

(xi) That the bank, the appropriate banking regulatory authority, the Commissioner, the Insurance Commissioner and the Wyoming department of insurance shall have access to such records of the contract agent and its representatives as are necessary or appropriate.

(A) to evaluate compliance with the contract and the insurance laws; and

(B) to establish that the assets and records of the bank and the contract agent are segregated;

(xii) That the contract agent shall indemnify the bank and save it harmless from any liability, cost or damages resulting from actions or omissions of the contract agent and its representative arising out of all sales of insurance and annuities on or from bank premises, including all bank-related sales of insurance; and

(xiii) That the contract agent shall forward any customer complaints arising from any bank-related sale of insurance to the Insurance Commissioner, the Commissioner, and the bank.

(e) At a minimum, before making recommendations to a bank customer, a contract agent or shared employee shall make inquiries and document responses concerning the customer's coverage objectives and instructions. A contract agent or shared employee may make a bank-related sale of insurance to a bank customer at the customer's request, even if the insurance or annuity is inconsistent with the contract agent's or shared employee's recommendation, but the contract agent or shared employee shall document the recommendation.

(f) If the bank receives or learns of any complaint arising out of a bank-related sale of insurance made by a contract agent or a shared employee, the bank shall forward the complaint to the Insurance Commissioner and to the Commissioner.

Section 7. Compensation for Leased Premises.

(a) If the bank leases a portion of the bank's premises to a broker, the bank may negotiate whatever terms are usual and customary in the leasing of commercial office space. The bank may be compensated by a percentage share of commissions or revenue earned from the brokerage transactions conducted at the leased premises, provided the compensation is for services performed or for rent of space and equipment provided.

(b) A bank may contract to lease a portion of bank premises to a covered agent to make bank-related sales of insurance to bank customers. If the bank leases a portion of bank premises to a covered agent, the bank may negotiate whatever terms are usual and customary in the leasing of commercial office space. The bank may be compensated from revenue earned from insurance or annuities sales made at or from the leased premises (including sales that are not bank-related sales of insurance), provided the compensation is for services performed or for rent of space and equipment provided and is not commission-sharing in violation of W.S. 26-9-132.

(c) The method of compensation must not result in a partnership or joint venture relationship between the bank and the broker, or make the bank a guarantor of, or liable for, operating costs, losses or debts of the covered agent. If the compensation agreement provides for a percentage of revenues after deduction of losses resulting from failure of bank customers to perform their obligations, the loss deductions may not exceed the amount of revenues accruing to the bank's credit after the losses are incurred.

Section 8. Segregation of Securities, Insurance, and Annuities Sales.

The place where the bank or a broker provides brokerage services to bank customers, or where bank-related sales of insurance are made, shall be located in an area of the bank clearly distinguishable from the areas in which banking business is conducted.

Section 9. Disclosure Required for Brokerage Services and for Insurance and Annuities Sales.

(a) Either the bank or the broker on bank premises must provide a complete and accurate disclosure when selling, advertising or marketing any security. A covered agent who makes bank-related sales of insurance must provide a complete and accurate disclosure when selling, advertising or marketing any insurance or annuities. The disclosure shall be designed to ensure that customers of either the bank, the broker, or the covered agent are advised that the security, insurance or annuity:

(i) Is not insured by the FDIC;

(ii) Is not an obligation of the bank;

(iii) Is not guaranteed by the bank; and

(iv) May involve investment risks, including the possible loss of capital or principal.

(b) The disclosure required by subsection (a) shall be made by posting the same in conspicuous places where it may be readily seen by the customers of both the bank and the broker or covered agent.

(c) The disclosure required by subsection (a) shall also be given in writing to each customer

(i) at the time a securities account is opened by the bank or the broker and before any security purchase or sale is executed. or

(ii) (including customers who are not bank customers) at the time a bank-related sale of insurance is made by a covered agent and before any such sale is executed.

(iii) A written acknowledgment of receipt of the disclosure statement shall be signed by the customer and retained by the bank, the broker, or the covered agent in the customer's account file.

(d) The disclosure statement shall be printed or featured conspicuously in all written or oral sales presentations, advertising and promotional materials used by the bank or the broker in conducting brokerage business on or from bank premises or those premises used by a covered agent. For brokerage services, a prospectus prepared in compliance with requirements of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is not advertising, sales or promotional material within the meaning of this subsection.

(e) Any disclosures regarding particular insurance or annuity products shall identify clearly

(i) the identity of the insurer and

(ii) that the bank is not the insurer.

(f) Advertisement of any insurance guaranty association coverage is prohibited by W.S. 26-42-116.

(g) If applicable, either the bank or the broker conducting the brokerage business shall disclose:

(i) The existence of any advisory or other relationship between the bank or broker and any affiliate involved in providing, underwriting or marketing the security; and

(ii) The existence of any early withdrawal or cancellation penalties, surrender charges or penalties, deferred sales charges, or any cost or expense to which the customer may be subjected as a result of purchasing the security.

(h) If applicable, a covered agent shall disclose:

(i) The existence of any advisory or other relationship between or among the bank, the covered agent, and any affiliate involved in providing or marketing the insurance policy or annuity contract; and

(ii) The existence of any deferred sales charges or other cost or expense to which the customer may be subjected as a result of purchasing the insurance policy or annuity contract.

(i) Shared employees shall clearly and fully disclose the nature of their agency relationship to bank customers so that the customers will know the identity of the insurer.

Section 10. Bank Employee Education and Training Program.

(a) A bank which provides brokerage services directly shall provide for a continuing education program to ensure that all bank personnel who provide brokerage services or who execute brokerage transactions are properly qualified to represent the interests of the customers. The program shall include training in the nature of mutual funds, debt and equity securities and any security marketed on or from bank premises, their differences, their comparative risks, and how they may be used to serve the different needs of the customer, as well as training and education in proper sales practices.

(b) A bank shall provide to all bank insurance agents and shared employees a continuing education program pursuant to the insurance laws.

(c) Any bank employee who performs brokerage services shall be licensed and qualified as required by applicable law or regulation.

(d) All bank insurance agents and shared employees shall be insurance agents.

Section 11. Conflict of Interest Prohibited; Use of Fiduciary and Discretionary Funds Restricted.

(a) A bank shall comply with all applicable state and federal restrictions to prevent a conflict of interest in

(i) transactions involving the purchase of securities with funds held by the bank in a trust, fiduciary or discretionary account by the use of brokerage services provided by the bank or by a broker which compensates the bank. or

(ii) bank-related sales of insurance.

(b) The bank shall not execute securities transactions involving funds or securities held by the bank as fiduciary, with its own brokerage service or with a broker which compensates the bank, unless such transactions are authorized by the instrument creating the fiduciary relationship, by state statute or by court order.

(c) The bank shall not execute securities transactions involving funds held by the bank in a discretionary account, with its own brokerage service or with a broker which compensates the bank, unless the transaction is authorized by the beneficial owner of the account.

(d) The compensation of bank employees or dual employees based on commissions for brokerage transactions executed could provide an incentive for the employee to sell securities unsuitable to the customer, or to sell securities rather than bank deposit investments. Such a method of compensating employees, while not a conflict of interest per se, may be subject to criticism and correction upon examination.

Section 12. Examination; Unsound and Unauthorized Practice; Remedy.

(a) The brokerage activities of a bank and the bank's relationship with a broker on bank premises are subject to examination by the Commissioner. Violation of any state or federal law, or violation of a regulation of the Commissioner or any state or federal agency with jurisdiction over the sale of securities, or a regulation of the FRB or the FDIC governing the sale of securities by member or nonmember state banks, or any act or omission in the performance of brokerage services which places the bank at risk of liability for losses, penalties or damages, may constitute an unsound and unauthorized practice. The Commissioner may invoke such remedies as provided by law for any such violation.

(b) The transactions of a bank and its relationship with a covered agent is subject to examination by the Commissioner for compliance with all state and federal laws applicable to depository institutions.

(c) Transactions involving bank-related sales of insurance are subject to examination by the Insurance Commissioner for compliance with the insurance laws.

(d) Violation of any state or federal laws or regulations applicable to bank- related sales of insurance, or any act or omission in the performance of bank-related sales of insurance which places the bank at risk of liability for losses, penalties or damages, may constitute an unsafe, unsound and unauthorized practice. For any violation found, the Commissioner may invoke such remedies under the Banking Statutes or these Regulations, and the Insurance Commissioner may invoke such remedies under the insurance laws.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 15 Community Development Investments

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.15.04182014 Community Development Investments

CHAPTER 15

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT INVESTMENTS

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

(a) This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-2-101(a)(xiii)(authorized bank activities) and W.S. 13-3-404(a)(ii).

(b) This Chapter applies only to banks. It authorizes banks to engage in an activity in which national banks may engage, that being to promote the public welfare through investments in community development projects for low- or moderate-income families. The Commissioner has determined that banks should be authorized to engage in such activities to ensure that banks may maintain an equal competitive position with national banks. This Chapter does so while ensuring that such investments do not endanger the safety and soundness of the bank and are consistent with all requirements of law.

Section 2. Definitions.

As used in this Chapter:

(a) "Area in which the housing project is located" means the smallest geographical subdivision surrounding the site of the qualified housing project for which state income statistics are available. The "area" may be the city or town, county or the state if income statistics for a smaller area adjacent to the qualified housing project are not available.

(b) "Lower income" means income that is less than or equal to the median income in the area in which the qualified housing project is located.

(c) "Qualified housing project" means residential real estate intended to primarily benefit lower income persons throughout the period of the bank's investment, including:

(i) A project eligible for the low income housing tax credit under section 42 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time; or

(ii) A residential real estate project in which fifty percent (50%) or more of the housing units are occupied or to be occupied by lower income persons.

(d) "Real estate limited partnership" means a limited partnership that

(i) has as its sole purpose the direct or indirect investment in the acquisition, rehabilitation, new construction, management, selling or renting of a qualified housing project and

(ii) satisfies all of the requirements of Section 4.

Section 3. Investment Authorized.

A bank may invest as a limited partner in a real estate limited partnership.

Section 4. Investment Restrictions.

(a) The real estate limited partnership in which a bank invests as a limited partner shall meet the following criteria:

(i) The limited partnership must operate in the assessment areas delineated by the bank in compliance with 12 C.F.R. 228.41 or 12 C.F.R. 345.41;

(ii) The limited partnership must be structured to limit the bank's liability to an amount not exceeding the bank's capital investment and any specific contingent liabilities, to avoid bank participation in the control of the business of the partnership, and to reflect steps taken by the bank to strictly limit its activities within the partnership, consistent with state law, so that the bank clearly maintains its limited partner status;

(iii) The activities of the limited partnership must be restricted to acquiring, developing, rehabilitating, managing and selling or renting qualified housing projects.

(b) A bank may not invest in shares or equities of a corporation in violation of W.S. 13-3-202.

Section 5. Investment Limitation.

The investment in a real estate limited partnership may not exceed five percent (5%) of the bank's available capital and reserves, and the bank's aggregate investment in all such partnerships may not exceed ten percent (10%) of its available capital and reserves. Legally binding commitments shall be included as part of the bank's investment.

Section 6. Examination.

The community development investments of a bank are subject to examination by the Commissioner. All reports, agreements and documentation necessary to ensure compliance with state and federal laws and regulations shall be provided upon request as provided by W.S. 13-3-701(d).

Section 7. Remedial Action.

A community development investment which violates any state or federal law or regulation, or which is inconsistent with safe and sound operation of the bank, or which poses a significant risk of impairment of the bank's available capital, is an unsafe, unsound and unauthorized practice.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 16 Certain Obligations Exempt from Bank Debt Limitations

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.16.04182014 Certain Obligations Exempt from Bank Debt Limitations

CHAPTER 16

CERTAIN OBLIGATIONS EXEMPT FROM BANK DEBT LIMITATIONS

Section 1. Authority.

This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 13-2-101(a)(xiii) (authorized bank activities) and W.S. 13-3-404(a)(ii)(indebtedness limitations).

Section 2. Certain obligations exempt from debt limitations.

Notwithstanding the provisions of W.S. 13-3-402, a person is permitted to become indebted to a bank if, but only to the extent that, the repayment of the principal indebtedness and the interest accrued thereon is:

(a) A general obligation of a state or a political subdivision of a state; or

(b) An obligation issued by any of the following:

(i) the Federal National Mortgage Association;

(ii) the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation;

(iii) the Federal Farm Credit Bank;

(iv) the Student Loan Marketing Association;

(v) the Federal Home Loan Bank;

(vi) the Financing Corporation, which is also known as FICO;

(vii) the Resolution Funding Corporation; or

(viii) the Tennessee Valley Authority.

(c) A limited obligation bond, revenue bond, and obligations that satisfy the requirements of 26 USC 142(b)(1) issued by or on behalf of any State or political subdivision of a State, including any municipal corporate instrumentality of 1 or more States, or any public agency or authority of any State or political subdivision of a State.

Section 3. Safe and Sound Banking Practices.

A bank shall adhere to safe and sound banking practices in conducting any activity described in this Chapter. The bank shall consider, as appropriate, the market, credit, liquidity and operational risks presented by a proposed activity. Each bank shall maintain records available for examination purposes adequate to demonstrate that it complies with this Chapter.

History

• Effective 2014-04-18

Chapter 19 Enhanced Digital Asset Custody Framework

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 1 Authority and Scope

(a) These rules are promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute ("W.S.") 13-1-603(c)(v) and W.S. 34-29-104(o).

(b) This chapter governs banks, as defined in W.S. 13-1-101(a)(i), that elect to opt into enhanced regulatory requirements for digital asset custodial services under W.S. 34-29-104.

(c) If an examination conforming to the requirements of section 8 is not feasible because of the inability of any reasonably available auditor to comply with all provisions of subsection (s), the bank may voluntarily opt into all of the remaining provisions of this chapter.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 2 Definitions

(a) As used in this chapter:

(i) "Bailment" means a legal circumstance when a customer has entrusted possession or control of a digital asset to a bank for a specific purpose, pursuant to an express agreement that the purpose shall be faithfully executed and that possession or control of the digital asset will be returned when the specific purpose is accomplished or when the customer requests return of the asset, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104. This term means a change in possession or control but not a change of title, and may be carried into effect through the exercise of fiduciary and trust powers or on a purely contractual basis;

(ii) "Control" means as defined in W.S. 34-29-103(e);

(iii) "Custody" or "custodial services" means as defined in W.S. 34-29-104(p)(iii) and other applicable federal laws, including those federal laws governing commodities as necessary, and means the possession or control and safekeeping of customer currency and digital assets. This term includes fund administration, the execution of customer instructions and custodial services customary in the banking industry, provided that the Commissioner may rely on guidance from foreign, federal or state agencies to determine customary custodial services. Custody consisting of non-discretionary asset safekeeping activities is generally non-fiduciary and an activity incidental to the business of banking. This term may include the exercise of fiduciary and trust powers to the extent the bank is exercising discretion in managing customer assets as well as providing safekeeping;

(iv) "Fungible" means a characteristic of a digital asset which makes the asset commercially interchangeable with digital assets of the same kind;

(v) "Independent public accountant" means a public accountant that meets the standards described in 17 C.F.R. 210.2-01, as incorporated herein by reference on July 1, 2019;

(vi) "Multi-signature arrangement" means as specified in W.S. 34-29-103(e)(ii);

(vii) "Nonfungible" means a characteristic of a digital asset which makes the asset unique and not commercially interchangeable with digital assets of the same kind for monetary, commercial or other intrinsic reasons;

(viii) "Omnibus account" means a commingled account in which a bank that provides custodial services does not strictly segregate digital assets for each customer or beneficial owner, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(d)(ii);

(ix) "Private key" means as defined in W.S. 34-29-103(e)(iii);

(x) "Reasonable efforts" means providing written notice to a customer, but shall not require customer acknowledgement or consent;

(xi) "Rehypothecation" means the simultaneous reuse or repledging of a digital asset that is already in use or has already been pledged as collateral to another person;

(xii) "Source code version" means the version of the software that enforces block validation rules that enable consensus and define a digital asset.;

(xiii) "Possession" means as defined in W.S. 34-29-103(e);

(xiv) "Fiduciary and trust powers" means the discretionary authority customarily exercised by state and national banks in either a fiduciary or trust relationship.

(b) The term "blockchain" shall encompass any other form of distributed ledger appropriate for the context in which the term is used. Any reference in these rules to a technological process, system or other form of technology shall also include any other process or technology which is a substantially similar analogue, as determined by the Commissioner. For example, a "blockchain" is a form of "distributed ledger." The Commissioner shall adhere to the purposes and standards of this Chapter in analyzing any substantially similar analogue.

(c) The term "person" shall include a digital asset wallet possessed or controlled by a person for the purposes of any applicable commercial law, if agreed to by a bank and a customer.

(d) In classifying a digital asset within the categories of W.S. 34-29-101 for the purposes of this Chapter, the Commissioner shall use a predominant characteristics test and examine the substance of the asset over its form, consistent with federal law.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 3 Opt-In Procedure; Form of Notice

(a) Consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(a), a bank may provide custodial services upon providing sixty (60) days written notice to the Commissioner.

(b) Written notice under subsection (a) shall contain the following information:

(i) A complete, detailed outline of the proposed custodial services, including measures which will be taken to comply with W.S. 34-29-104 and risk mitigation activities;

(ii) Verification that the bank is currently in compliance with all applicable state and federal statutes and rules, and will, unless a change in law occurs, be in compliance with all applicable state and federal statutes and rules while providing custodial services;

(iii) Reasons why the proposed custodial services will likely not impair the solvency or the safety and soundness of the bank, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(m); and

(iv) The signatures of the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer of the bank or the equivalent officers, verifying the true and complete nature of the written notice.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 4 Digital Asset Custodial Services; Permissible Transactions; Customer Funds

(a) A bank providing custodial services under W.S. 34-29-104 may serve as a "qualified custodian," as specified by 17 C.F.R. § 275.206(4)-2, as incorporated by reference on July 1, 2019 or as a custodian authorized by the United States commodity futures trading commission or other law. A "qualified custodian" shall maintain customer digital assets, funds and other securities which are not digital assets:

(i) In a separate account for each customer under that customer's name; or

(ii) In accounts that contain only customer digital assets, funds and other securities which are not digital assets, under the bank's name as agent or trustee for customers.

(b) A bank shall maintain possession or control over each digital asset while in custody. If a customer makes an election under W.S. 34-29-104(d)(ii), a bank maintains possession or control under this subsection by entering into an agreement with the counterparty to a transaction which contains a time for return of the asset.

(c) Consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(d) and subsection (d) of this section, before providing custodial services to a customer, a bank shall require the customer to elect, via a written agreement with the bank, one (1) of the following relationships for each digital asset account, or class of digital assets, for which custodial services will be provided:

(i) Custody under a bailment as a nonfungible or fungible asset, dependent on the nature and quality of the asset. Assets held under this paragraph shall be strictly segregated from other assets; or

(ii) Custody pursuant to subsection (d) of this section for the purpose of conducting fiduciary and trust activities, which may include a securities intermediary relationship under title 34.1, article 8, Wyoming statutes (Uniform Commercial Code).

(d) If a customer makes an election under W.S. 34-29-104(d)(ii) and paragraph (c)(ii) of this section, the bank may, based solely on customer instructions, undertake transactions with a digital asset authorized under subsection (e) of this section on behalf of the customer. The bank shall not act, and may not use its discretion, unless explicitly granted such authority by the customer. As used in this chapter, "customer instructions":

(i) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (e)(ii) of this section, mean a distinct, written authorization from a customer to undertake transactions specified under subsection (e) of this section, and need not include all or a majority of the aspects of the transaction, or all requirements customary to be provided to a directed custodian, as long as the intent of the customer regarding the type of transaction and understanding of potential risks is clearly apparent in the written authorization;

(ii) May include all information customarily provided to a directed custodian with respect to a transaction, and may provide for the bank to serve only as a directed custodian for that transaction;

(iii) May include a form the bank provides to a customer, whether solicited or unsolicited, listing a range of options from which a customer may choose, provided that the role of the bank shall be limited to setting forth the potential benefits and risks of a transaction in a straightforward manner.

(e) In accordance with customer instructions as specified under subsection (d) of this section and subject to applicable federal law, a bank may undertake the following transactions with digital assets in any market in which the transaction is not prohibited by law:

(i) Buying and selling digital assets;

(ii) Participating in staking pools for proof-of-stake-type digital assets, in masternodes, voting for delegates in delegated proof-of-stake protocols, leased proof-of-stake arrangements, locked stability fee arrangements, or similar revenue-generating arrangements characterized by higher gains accruing to larger pools of assets for the purpose of providing economic incentives for customers to pool assets. Banks may share in gains accruing to such pools but only if the terms through which the custodian may share in the gains, as well as the benefits and risks from participation in the pools, are fully disclosed to customers and customers expressly agree;

(iii) Regulated commodities activities, including derivatives, consistent with safe and sound banking practices;

(iv) Exchange services from digital assets to any official currency of a jurisdiction or other type of digital asset and vice versa. To the extent practicable, services under this paragraph shall be based on existing standards and best practices for foreign exchange transactions;

(v) Lending of digital assets, excluding rehypothecation, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(k) and section 12 of this chapter;

(vi) Securities activities, including those specified by 17 C.F.R. 218.100, consistent with safe and sound banking practices;

(vii) Other classes of transactions approved by the Commissioner in writing in advance including exchange-traded derivative contracts defined by an exchange and over-the-counter derivative contracts. The role of the Commissioner under this paragraph shall not include consideration of the merits of a proposed class of transactions brought under this paragraph, but rather is limited to ensuring that the proposed class of transactions is clearly defined so that the boundaries of the approval are clear and that the solvency, safety and soundness of the bank is not likely to be impaired by participating in the proposed class of transactions.

(f) Consistent with section 2 of this chapter, custodial services includes providing services to mutual funds and investment managers, retirement plans, bank fiduciary and agency accounts, bank marketable securities accounts, insurance companies, corporations, endowments and foundations and private banking customers based on the following:

(i) Core custodial services: Control of customer assets, settlement of trades, investment or allocation of cash balances as directed, collection of income (including ancillary and subsidiary benefits), processing of corporate actions, pricing assets, providing recordkeeping, reporting services, fund administration, performance measurement, risk measurement, compliance monitoring and transactions based on customer instructions, consistent with subsections (d) and (e) of this section;

(ii) Global custodial services: Custodial services for cross-border transactions, executing foreign exchange transactions and processing tax reclaims and other tax-based transactions;

(g) A bank shall not provide custodial services under this chapter in a manner that would likely impair the solvency or the safety and soundness of the bank, as determined by the Commissioner after considering the nature of custodial services customary in the banking industry.

(h) A bank may act as a fiduciary or trustee while providing custodial services or may provide custodial services on a purely contractual basis.

(j) A special purpose depository institution, as chartered under W.S. 13-12-101 through 13-12-126, may, based on customer instructions consistent with this section, undertake all transactions specified under subsection (e) of this section while providing custodial services. Consistent with W.S. 13-12-103(b) and (c) and section 3, 2019 Wyoming Session Laws, chapter 91, the lending prohibition in W.S. 13-12-103(c) shall not apply to custodial services provided by a special purpose depository institution as a result of the customer assuming all risk of loss for custodial service transactions. This prohibition is intended to ensure the solvency of the special purpose depository institution's banking business, as defined in W.S. 13-1-101(a)(ii).

(k) A bank may execute all components of a transaction within the bank or as otherwise agreed by the bank and the customer if that execution is in the best interests of the affected customer. Unless a bank and a customer have entered into an agreement for transactions to be executed with a specific person or by the bank, the bank shall provide best execution and seek the most favorable terms for the contemplated transaction reasonably available under the circumstances. A bank may tailor execution based on the nature of the legal relationship with the customer. Public availability of pricing shall adhere to existing securities or commodities market practices for banks. Best execution shall not require that the lowest possible commission be obtained or be executed within a set period of time different from customer instructions. Banks shall establish procedures to evaluate and demonstrate that transactions are executed in accordance with these rules and customer instructions using the following standards:

(i) The selection of a person to complete a transaction, as well as all aspects of the transaction, shall comply with federal and state standards and, as reasonably possible, industry best practices. For purposes of this subsection, "person" may include broker-dealers, digital asset exchanges or digital asset lenders; and

(ii) Banks shall conduct reasonable research, under the circumstances, regarding best price, speed of execution, certainty of execution, counterparty risk, security practices, conflicts of interest, recordkeeping capabilities and the commission rate or spread.

(l) Banks shall provide custodial services for customer funds consistent with safe and sound banking practices, and as otherwise required by applicable securities or commodities laws.

(m) As an incidental activity, a bank may provide non-custodial key management services, including key services for multi-signature arrangements and smart contracts, transaction verification, signature services, oracle functions, dispute or emergency resolution and other services incidental to multi-signature arrangements or smart contracts which may be performed by a trusted third-party. A bank which provides such non-custodial key management services under this paragraph shall not be considered to have custody of an asset.

(n) A bank may provide safekeeping services for a device containing digital asset private keys. Unless otherwise agreed to by the bank, the bank shall not have a duty to provide power and monitoring services relating to the device.

(o) A bank may issue, use or participate in innovative payment instruments and networks, including independent node verification networks and stablecoins, consistent with applicable law and safe and sound banking practices.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 5 Customer Protections; Requirements for Customer Agreements

(a) A bank and a customer shall agree in writing regarding the source code version the bank will use for each digital asset, and the treatment of each asset under the Uniform Commercial Code, title 34.1, Wyoming statutes, if necessary. Any ambiguity under this subsection shall be resolved in favor of the customer.

(b) A bank may periodically determine whether to implement a source code version that uses block validation rules different than those of the source code version specified in the customer agreement under subsection (a) of this section, including in circumstances where is not possible to predict in advance whether utilization of the different source code version will be in the best interests of the customer. Additionally, the nature of proposed changes to source code versions from time to time may require the bank to consider the potential effects resulting from third-party actors (a person not a party to the agreement between the bank and its customer), who may create different source code versions resulting in new networks that could create economic value for the customers of the bank. Banks shall not be required to support digital assets and source code versions which the bank has not entered into an agreement with customers to support. Banks shall not capriciously redefine the digital assets under their custody, and the Commissioner shall have discretion to determine whether a redefinition is capricious. In communicating with customers regarding the situations set forth in this subsection, banks shall have a duty to provide higher standards of customer notice and acknowledgement if there is likely to be a material impact on the economic value of the customer's digital asset. Customer agreements and notifications shall clearly describe the consequences of hard forks without replay protection, as required by the Commissioner, and how that may cause the transfer of assets that were previously in bank custody without explicit instructions to the bank, accounting for the fact that some forks allow valid transactions from another distributed ledger to also be valid on the fork. In the event of a replay protection attack by a new hard fork, the bank may pause withdrawals and investigate appropriately. As used in this paragraph, "replay protection" means, in the case of a digital asset fork, the ability to duplicate a transaction made on one fork of a distributed ledger to another fork. When changes to source code versions occur that use different block validation rules than those of the source code version specified in the customer agreement, the following customer notice and acknowledgement rules shall apply:

(i) If the bank chooses not to continue to support the original source code version agreed upon with the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, it shall receive written affirmative consent from the customer as provided in this paragraph. Notice and affirmative consent are only required under this paragraph when the conditions in subparagraphs (A) through (C) occur:

(A) The bank seeks to implement a source code version that uses a consensus rule that differs from the original, as defined by the source code version specified in the customer agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;

(B) The bank will not continue support for the original source code version; and

(C) The original source code version continues to exist, or is reasonably expected to continue to exist.

(D) The following examples apply to this paragraph:

(I) A hard fork of virtual currency "B" created a new source code version, "New B." Consequently, if a bank stopped supporting B but did choose to support New B, then the notice and affirmative consent requirements of this subsection would apply. For illustrative purposes, "New B" and "B" could be considered as similar to the virtual currencies "Bitcoin Cash" and "Bitcoin," respectively.

(II) A hard fork of virtual currency "E" created a new source code version, "New E," and followed the block validation rule change contained in the newly created source code version. The original source code version of E did not change but was renamed "E-Classic" and continued to follow the original block validation rules. Consequently, if a bank supported New E but no longer supported E-Classic, then the notice and affirmative consent requirements of this subsection would apply. For illustrative purposes, "New E" and "E-Classic" could be considered as similar to the virtual currencies "Ethereum" and "Ethereum Classic," respectively.

(ii) If the bank continues to support the original source code version agreed upon with the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, and the bank seeks to implement a source code version that uses a consensus rule that differs from the original, the bank shall make reasonable efforts to inform the customer, as provided in this paragraph. Notice under this paragraph is only required when all of the following occur:

(A) The bank seeks to implement a source code version that uses a consensus rule that differs from the original, as defined by the source code version specified in the customer agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;

(B) The bank will continue to support the original source code version specified in the customer agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and

(C) The original source code version continues to exist, or is reasonably expected to continue to exist.

(iii) If the original source code version no longer exists, or is not reasonably expected to continue to exist, the bank shall make reasonable efforts to inform the customer regarding source code changes from the original source code version agreed upon with the customer pursuant to subsection (a) of this section, as provided in this paragraph. Notice under this paragraph is only required when all of the following occur:

(A) The bank seeks to implement a source code version that uses a consensus rule that differs from the original, as defined by the source code version specified in the customer agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this section;

(B) The bank will not continue to accommodate the source code version specified in the customer agreement pursuant to subsection (a) of this section; and

(C) The original source code version no longer exists, or is not reasonably expected to continue to exist.

(iv) In all other circumstances, the bank shall make reasonable efforts to notify the customer regarding source code version changes and act in a manner that the bank reasonably believes will be of economic benefit to the customer.

(v) Notice requirements under this subsection shall not apply to security vulnerabilities or other emergencies, as reasonably determined by the bank. After a source code version change relating to a security vulnerability or other emergency which would affect block validation rules, the bank shall provide written notice of the change to each customer as soon as practicable to minimize the security risk to customer assets.

(vi) In the case of customers who have not maintained current contact information with the bank, a bank shall be deemed to meet the notice requirement if it provides notice through its website and other media routinely used by the bank.

(c) As applicable, the bank shall provide customers with clear notices of the following:

(i) The heightened risk of loss from transactions under subsections (d) and (e) of section 4. For asset pooling arrangements, including proof-of stake digital assets, masternodes or similar arrangements, a bank shall additionally describe the security measures the bank will undertake to manage risk of loss;

(ii) That some risk of loss as a pro rata creditor exists as the result of custody as a fungible asset or custody under paragraph (c)(ii) of section 4;

(iii) That custody under paragraph (c)(ii) of section 4 may not result in the digital assets of the customer being strictly segregated from other customer assets; and

(iv) That the bank is not liable for losses suffered as the result of transactions under subsection (e) of section 4, except for liability consistent with the bank's fiduciary and trust powers.

(d) A bank and a customer shall agree in writing to a time period within which the bank must return a digital asset held in custody. If a customer makes an election under paragraph (c)(ii) of section 4, the bank and the customer may also agree in writing to the form in which the digital asset shall be returned.

(e) All ancillary or subsidiary proceeds relating to digital assets held in custody, commonly known as forks, airdrops, staking gains or similar proceeds from offshoots, including interest, shall accrue to the benefit of the customer, except as specified by a written agreement with the customer. The bank may elect not to collect certain ancillary or subsidiary proceeds, as long as the election is disclosed in writing. A customer who makes an election under paragraph (c)(i) of section 4 may withdraw the digital asset in a form that permits the collection of the ancillary or subsidiary proceeds.

(f) A bank shall enter into a written agreement with a customer, if desired by the customer, regarding the manner in which to invest ancillary or subsidiary proceeds or other gains attributable to digital assets held in custody.

(g) A bank shall not authorize or permit rehypothecation of digital assets under its custody. The bank shall not engage in any activity to use or exercise discretionary authority relating to a digital asset except based on customer instructions.

(h) To promote legal certainty and greater predictability of digital asset transactions, a bank and a customer shall define in writing the terms of settlement finality for all transactions, as specified by subsection (j) of this section. The following components apply to all such agreements unless the parties contract otherwise:

(i) Wyoming law applies to all transactions and the venue for disputes is in the courts of Wyoming;

(ii) Transactions are deemed to have occurred in Wyoming, consistent with W.S. 34-29-103(g); and

(iii) Digital assets are deemed to be located in Wyoming, consistent with W.S. 34-29-103(g).

(j) Agreements entered into between a bank and a customer relating to settlement finality under subsection (h) shall also address the following issues:

(i) The conditions under which a digital asset may be deemed fully transferred, provided that these legal conditions may diverge from operational conditions under which digital assets are considered transferred, owing to the distributed and probabilistic nature of digital assets;

(ii) The exact moment of transfer of a digital asset; and

(iii) The discharge of any obligations upon transfer of a digital asset.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 6 Standard of Custodial Services

(a) If a bank is subject to the requirements of the United States Securities and Exchange Commission's "Customer Protection Rule" for digital securities as specified by 17 C.F.R. 240.15c3-3, as incorporated by reference on July 1, 2019, the bank may be considered to have satisfied the requirement for a satisfactory control location if the bank has control of the digital security, consistent with supervisory manuals adopted by the Commissioner.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 7 Risk Management and Operations

(a) In conducting supervision activities, the Commissioner shall determine whether a bank providing custodial services under this chapter has adequate systems in place to identify, measure, monitor and manage risks. Such systems include policies, procedures, internal controls and management information systems governing custodial services.

(b) A bank shall have a clearly documented and audited operational risk management program. The program shall include the following:

(i) Developing strategies to identify, assess, monitor and manage operational risk;

(ii) Defining procedures concerning operational risk management;

(iii) Defining an operational risk assessment methodology; and

(iv) Managing a risk reporting system for operational risk.

(c) If an incident occurs relating to a breach of the operational risk management program, a report shall be prepared by an officer of the bank documenting the following:

(i) Known causes, if any, of the incident;

(ii) Impact of the incident;

(iii) A timeline of the incident, including duration of time to resolve the incident; and

(iv) Corrective action, if necessary.

(d) The report under subsection (c) of this section shall be disclosed to all officers of the bank, senior employees and the Board of Directors, and referenced for future revisions to the operational risk management procedure. In the event an incident results in revisions or additions to these procedures, the officer in charge of operational risk management shall establish a timeline for complying with the necessary changes and shall document compliance in a timely manner.

(e) Operational risk management procedures shall be revisited on a recurring basis by the bank to ensure all reasonably foreseeable scenarios have been considered. A bank shall demonstrate that its scope of scenario planning has taken into consideration current industry risks and practices and reflects possible high-severity and plausible risks. Scenario planning should also be undertaken with consideration of the bank's contingency planning and business continuity plans.

(f) At all times, a bank shall have in place a business continuity plan based on the following:

(i) Personnel redundancy;

(ii) Standards for triggering the business continuity plan;

(iii) Procedures to mitigate operational impacts or transfer operational functions;

(iv) An alternate site location sufficient to recover and continue operations for a reasonable period of time. A bank should be able to demonstrate that the alternate site has appropriate distance between it and the primary custody location to mitigate environmental and technical interruptions at both sites and which adheres to all criteria of these rules; and

(v) A recovery plan for the restoration of normal operations after interruption.

(g) A bank shall adopt procedures for providing customers with perpetual access to all digital assets in custody in the event the bank ceases to operate or cannot fulfill its custodial services agreement. This may include a formal disbursement or custody transfer process. This requirement may be satisfied by the adoption of a recovery or resolution plan by a special purpose depository institution.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 8 Business Requirements

(a) A bank providing custodial services under this chapter shall have verified mechanisms in place to assess its liquidity needs, including sums required for the execution of transactions. These mechanisms shall inform the bank's customer private key storage policy for custodial services. Unless otherwise demonstrated to be no longer best practices:

(i) The customer private key storage policy should require that the method of digital asset storage (e.g., hot versus cold storage) be conducted on a risk-focused basis; and

(ii) The mechanism and thresholds for transfer between hot, cold and other forms of storage must be well documented and subject to rigorous internal controls and auditing. To ensure sufficient liquidity and the protection of customer assets, a bank shall be able to timely execute a withdrawal of all digital assets.

(b) As a component of the bank's private key storage policy under subsection (a) of this section, a bank shall take into account its ability to obtain insurance or other forms of risk mitigation.

(c) A bank may generate a new data address, as defined in W.S. 17-16-140(a)(xlvii), for each transaction to ensure a customer's privacy, security and confidentiality. Before adopting such a policy, a bank shall consider potential business cases where traceability of address activity is desirable, especially to ensure compliance with federal customer identification, anti-money laundering, sanctions and beneficial ownership requirements. A bank shall exercise appropriate judgment in determining a data address strategy based on the use case of its customers.

(d) Each digital asset type may have a different protocol for its wallet functionality. Regardless of protocol differences, a bank shall demonstrate its ability to manage a similar level of compliance related to safekeeping, recording and transaction handling. A bank shall demonstrate compliance with the standards outlined in these rules for every asset type in its custody.

(e) A bank shall develop a protocol for fraud detection and adherence to federal customer identification, anti-money laundering, sanctions and beneficial ownership requirements. This should include a detection system for identifying suspicious transactions as well as a procedure for reviewing and reporting identified transactions.

(f) A bank shall disclose to the Commissioner, upon request, the methodology and data related to its asset valuation calculations and, if possible, use recognized benchmarks or observable, bona-fide, arms-length market transactions. A bank may provide a summary of its methodology to customers or the public which does not disclose proprietary data. A bank shall exercise due care where the current market value of a digital asset is a conditional element of the transaction being executed. A bank shall ensure adherence to its customer agreement and industry best practices relating to the execution of exchange, derivatives, lending and other transactions. A bank shall also disclose in advance the source of the asset valuation to the customer and all signatories of the transaction.

(g) A bank shall have established roles and responsibilities for custodial service operations and custody operational risk management. Responsibility for manually executed (non-automated) core functions of custodial services should be performed by employees who have been subject to appropriate background screenings.

(h) A bank shall provide industry-leading information technology security training on a regular basis to all employees and monitor its employees compliance with established procedures. This training shall include potential attacks that are specifically applicable to digital assets. Two training programs may be produced, one for information technology staff and one for non-information technology staff.

(j) A bank shall have appropriate numbers of staff who are trained and competent to discharge their duties effectively. The bank shall ensure that the responsibilities and authority of each staff member are clear and appropriate given the staff member's qualifications and experience, and that staff members receive the necessary training appropriate for their respective roles.

(k) A bank shall review and document the adequacy of its training programs at least annually, along with any relevant elements after the occurrence, or near occurrence, of material risk incidents. Policies and procedures must also provide for appropriate disciplinary measures for employees who violate policies and procedures.

(l) For any outsourced services or integrated partnerships, a bank shall demonstrate that proper due diligence was done in vetting the partner, whether an affiliate, vendor or supplier, regarding information security, operational risk and financial solvency. Although a bank may outsource such services, responsibility for compliance with applicable laws and rules shall remain with the bank. A bank shall also have sufficient governance mechanisms in place to monitor the outsourced party's continued compliance. To the extent possible under this chapter, bank policies on outsourcing or partnerships shall be consistent with the bank's existing processes for outsourcing or partnerships.

(m) A bank shall regularly assess the risk of information technology systems or software integrations with external parties, particularly as they relate to the risk of malicious intrusion, unauthorized access or theft of customer assets in custody, and ensure that appropriate safeguards are implemented to mitigate the risk. A bank shall engage a qualified, independent third party to conduct penetration testing annually. Results of such penetration tests shall be documented and retained for at least five years in a manner that allows the reports to be provided to the Commissioner upon request.

(n) For any third-party supplier of equipment that enables core functions of custodial services (e.g. steel storage, cold storage wallets, etc.), a demonstrated redundancy strategy shall exist that allows the bank to maintain service level agreements in the event of primary equipment or supplier failure.

(o) A bank shall provide to the Commissioner written verification that assets under custody carry appropriate insurance or other financial protections, as determined by the Commissioner, to cover or mitigate potential loss exposure.

(p) A bank shall maintain documented policies and procedures related to customer identification, anti-money laundering, sanctions and beneficial ownership requirements, which shall be as reasonably consistent as possible with existing processes, for both jurisdiction and asset types. A bank shall comply with all applicable federal laws relating to anti-money laundering, customer identification, sanctions and beneficial ownership, which may include enhanced compliance measures or procedures necessary to comply with these laws. A bank shall, upon request by the Commissioner, demonstrate its protocols for compliance with these laws, including its practice of new customer identity verification process as well as any required ongoing screenings and transaction-specific screenings.

(q) A bank shall comply with the following requirements:

(i) If applicable, a bank shall provide customer account statements as required by 17 C.F.R. § 275.206(4)-2(a)(3), as incorporated by reference on July 1, 2019, including a timeframe of statement activity, all digital asset transactions specific to each account with dates and transaction amounts of corresponding transactions, balances for each type of digital asset and valuation of assets for each digital asset type, including the method used to create the valuation, consistent with subsection (f) of section 8.

(ii) Disclose all service level agreements for custodial services to customers; and

(iii) Disclose its responsibilities with respect to processing of corporate actions, pricing assets, providing recordkeeping, reporting services, fund administration, performance measurement, risk measurement and compliance monitoring.

(r) Consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(c), regular examinations of both customer currency and digital assets shall be completed by an independent public accountant if required. Any examination shall include, if feasible, independent and cryptographically verifiable control of all digital assets under custody or a random sample selected by the auditor. A proof of reserve scheme may be used, if feasible, but only if customer privacy is protected by disclosing the total balance, data addresses or keys to the independent public accountant on a confidential basis. The examination conducted by the independent public accountant under this subsection shall proceed as follows, unless otherwise directed by the Commissioner for good cause:

(i) A bank shall provide the independent public accountant with all public data addresses used and shall sign messages demonstrating possession or control of private keys for those addresses. A hash of the most recent block of an agreed-upon distributed ledger at the time of signature shall be included in the signed message in order for messages to serve as a timestamp for when the signature was made. The signatures of those shall be verified by the accountant. The accountant shall use the distributed ledger to extract the total amount available at those addresses at a certain point in time;

(ii) The accountant shall determine to his satisfaction that a bank has control of the public data addresses provided in the signed message by requiring a signed message of the accountant's choosing using the private key to any of the public addresses provided by a bank. A bank shall not provide the accountant with a private key to any digital asset under custody;

(iii) A bank shall provide the digital asset balances, per asset, of each customer to the accountant and generate a Merkle tree, or in the determination of the Commissioner, any substantially similar analogue. The accountant shall publicly publish the root node hash, and affirm if true, that the total holdings represented by the root hash closely approximates the value that the accountant has verified in the wallet of the bank relating to the distributed ledger. The accountant shall ensure that the bank is not attempting to obfuscate or conceal material issues in the nodes that lead to the root node; and

(iv) A bank shall provide customers with the digital asset balances reported to the accountant, as well as the nodes and adjacent nodes from their account to the root which matches the root node hash published by the accountant. A bank shall disclose the hashing method used to generate the hash for the bank's node to customers, so that customers can verify that the node accurately represents the balance that is claimed, enabling customers to independently prove that their account was included in the data verified by the independent public accountant.

(s) The Commissioner may conduct an examination of custodial services provided by a bank at any time, with or without notice to the bank.

(t) A bank shall designate a method for the public to responsibly disclose critical vulnerabilities or other potential exploits and security risks by protocol developers. A bank shall designate at least one employee to be responsible for handling inbound communication regarding critical security vulnerabilities or other security sensitive matters.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 9 Technology Controls and Custody Safekeeping

(a) Consistent with this section, procedures shall be in place to ensure digital assets are securely created, stored and maintained to ensure uninterrupted availability appropriate for the circumstances.

(b) If applicable, a seed relating to a digital asset shall be created using a National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) compliant deterministic random bit generator, secure non-deterministic key generation mechanism, or other method approved by the Commissioner. A bank shall create safeguards in the seed and subsequent key generation process that demonstrates resistance to supposition and potential collusion. The seed or private key shall have, as a minimum, random sequence 256-bit entropy. The result shall be at least a 256-bit entropy input that is encoded into a mnemonic phrase. A bank shall then utilize a hashing function to generate a 512-bit value. Unless determined by the Commissioner not to be feasible in a particular instance, a bank shall use a passphrase as part of a seed which can be used as an additional measure of security and leveraged as a defense in brute force attacks, if the bank chooses to use mnemonic seed word phrases. The phrase referenced in this subsection shall be considered the backup seed because it can be utilized to regenerate a seed.

(c) A bank shall utilize at least three officers or employees to perform the process of creating entropy in the creation and production of the seed, with no single person ever possessing the entirety of the seed, private key or backup mnemonic word phrase. When a private key or single seed is produced for a signatory, the signatory shall not be involved in the production of the public and private keys. None of the seed, private key or entropy creators shall be permitted to participate in the act of cryptographically signing or have access to the systems that enable malicious activity.

(d) A bank shall comply with an industry-standard method of generating asymmetric private and public key combinations. Permissible industry-standard methods include those established by NIST.

(e) A bank shall have in place secure deletion and destruction mechanisms to ensure unwanted artefacts from seed, key and wallet generation, consistent with industry best practices.

(f) A bank shall adopt industry best practices utilizing strong encryption and secure device storage for customer private keys that are not in use. A bank shall ensure the keys stored online or in any one physical location are insufficient to conduct a digital asset transaction, unless appropriate controls are in place to render physical access insufficient to conduct a transaction. Key/seed backups shall be stored in a separate location from the primary key/seed.

(g) Key/seed backups shall be stored with strong encryption equal or superior to that used to protect the primary key. The key/seed backup shall be protected by access controls to prevent unauthorized access. For the storage of critical seeds, keys and key parts relating to the internal core cryptographic systems, hardware security modules that are at least Federal Information Processing Standard 140-2 Level 3 certified shall be used, or any other means which provides equal or superior protection, as determined by the Commissioner.

(h) If applicable, a bank shall ensure that once a mnemonic backup seed phrase has been generated, it is broken into at least two or more parts. A bank shall ensure that a sufficient number of backup seed phrases that could be used to facilitate a transaction are not stored within any single point of access.

(j) A bank shall use physical storage facilities which are appropriate for the risk profile of the bank. A bank shall ensure that all physical storage areas in use are monitored on an uninterrupted basis and shall include reinforced vaults equipped with alarms, locks, and other appropriate security devices and be resistant to fire, flood, heat, earthquakes, tornadoes and other natural disasters. Access to the physical storage facility shall be limited to authorized persons through multifactor identity verification, which shall be annually verified by the independent public accountant, consistent with industry best practices.

(k) A bank shall ensure that a regular and recurring internal audit of backup seeds is performed on storage devices to ensure that no backups were modified, copied or removed. The audit shall occur no less than quarterly. All audits of seeds and subsequent results shall be well documented, with any risk incidents noted and necessary corrective action taken. All audit records shall be retained for at least five years in a manner that can be made available to the Commissioner upon request.

(l) A bank shall develop a documented protocol in the event there is reasonable belief that a wallet, private key or seed is compromised or subject to a security risk. The protocol shall be protected against adverse events including, but not limited to, the compromise of the whole seed, partial seed or a key derived from a seed, or any other potential security risk. In this event, if the underlying seed is believed to be compromised or at risk, the bank shall create a new wallet and migrate the digital assets. If a key is compromised or is at risk, a risk event shall be documented and investigated.

(m) Strict access management safeguards shall be in place to manage access to keys. Upon departure of a signatory from employment that had access to a wallet key or multi-signature arrangement key, a formal assessment shall be conducted to determine whether a new key ceremony and accompanying migration of digital assets is required. An audit trail shall record every change of access including who performed the change.

(n) A bank shall adopt procedures for the immediate revocation of a signatory's access. Key generation shall be performed in a manner in which a revoked signatory does not have access to the backup seed or knowledge of the phrase used in the creation. All keys shall be encrypted in a manner preventing a compromised signatory from recovering the seed. Procedures shall follow the standard protocol around removing user access without the need to create a new wallet. Quarterly internal audits shall be performed by the bank on the removal of user access by reviewing user access logs and verifying access as appropriate. A bank shall have a written checklist/procedure document that is followed for on- and off-boarding of employees. The checklist shall outline every permission to grant/revoke for every role in the bank's key management systems. All grant and revoke requests must be made via an authenticated communication channel which was transmitted using an encrypted protocol.

(o) A bank may place digital assets in an omnibus account if the customer elects a custodial relationship under W.S. 34-29-104(d)(ii) and paragraph (c)(ii) of section 4, consistent with federal law and industry best practices. Proper accounting shall be in place to accurately allocate each digital asset to a customer. The bank shall document and implement measures to demonstrate that the level of security achieved is commensurate with custody under W.S. 34-29-104(d)(i) and paragraph (c)(i) of section 4.

(p) For cold storage of digital assets, a bank shall have physical security that requires at least two authorized key holders with security badges and at least two of the following multi-factor authentication methods:

(i) Personal knowledge, which shall include login credentials;

(ii) A tangible device or computer program, which shall include a hardware or software token or access card; or

(iii) Biometric data, which shall include fingerprints or eye scans.

(q) Physical security under subsection (r) of this section shall also include:

(i) Segmented access safeguards from primary workspaces;

(ii) A facility access logging system which maintains access records and security camera video for a minimum of one year on-site and for three years at an off-site location;

(iii) Security cameras which are hardened against attack and clearly show the entire body of a person upon access in and out of the vault; and

(iv) Documentation and use of principles of least privilege when assigning access controls. This documentation shall be made available to the Commissioner upon his request.

(r) A bank shall have procedures for required actions, customer notifications and notifications to the Commissioner in any situation whereby the bank has a reasonable belief that a digital asset under custody has been compromised or is subject to a security risk. These procedures shall be reviewed and audited annually and may include a velocity limit, freeze or circuit breaker actions designed to protect digital assets in an emergency.

(s) Within twenty-four (24) hours of forming a reasonable belief that any act has occurred that resulted in, or is likely to result in, unauthorized access to, disruption or misuse of the bank's electronic systems or information stored on such systems, a senior officer of the bank shall provide the following information to the Commissioner:

(i) The nature of the incident, including the categories and approximate number of digital assets involved;

(ii) The time of the incident;

(iii) An identification of the means by which the incident is likely to have occurred;

(iv) A description of the likely consequences of the incident, including any communications to customers which have been sent or are planned by the bank; and

(v) A summary of all mitigation actions the bank has taken in response to the incident.

(t) Within fourteen (14) days of a notification to the Commissioner under subsection (s) of this section, the senior executive shall furnish the Commissioner with a written report establishing all of the available details of the incident, as required by the Commissioner. The incident report shall also contain a root-cause analysis and impact analysis.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 10 Transaction Handling

(a) To ensure that all transactions are subject to appropriate safeguards, a bank shall put in place secure and trusted measures to prevent fraud. Transactions shall be recorded in system audit records.

(b) A bank shall consider the use of multi-signature arrangements, as defined in W.S. 34-29-103(e)(ii), in all appropriate transactions. The Commissioner may require a bank to use multi-signature arrangements in specific situations.

(c) All individuals with authorized access to any secured location or system shall utilize individually named accounts to allow for auditing of access. Where a bank has various multi-signature arrangement procedures that vary depending on the risks of the transaction, including the value of a transaction, type of wallet risk, type of customer, the procedures of the bank shall be well-documented and audited.

(d) A bank shall adopt a method for managing a signing process that prevents a quorum of individuals from acting in bad faith to collude or manipulate automated systems. This may be achieved by separation of duties of different quorums over different subsystems, but does not require that quorums must not be used to protect individual subsystems. The bank shall use a system in which customer instructions for transactions may be authenticated or verified as genuine, and subsequently audited, to reduce the risk of theft and collusion. The risk of collusion and other malicious acts shall be addressed as part of recurring operational risk assessments. Collusion mitigation may be accomplished in the following ways:

(i) Safeguards including oversight and/or separation of duties that prevent a linear ability to create, approve, sign transactions and broadcast to distributed ledger networks;

(ii) Use of automated systems to create, approve, sign transactions and broadcast to distributed ledger networks;

(iii) Distribution of signatories with differing incentives, including customers, custodians, trustees, other financial institutions, counterparties, and other third parties;

(iv) Concealment of the identities of signatories among each other; and

(v) Rotation of signatories, signing times or signing locations.

(e) For a transaction, each signatory shall record their reasoning or evidence for the decision to authorize or reject the transaction. Reasoning or evidence to approve or reject a transaction shall be based on a set procedure and determined with the same diligence and with the same required information for each occurrence, without regard to customer identity or transaction value unless otherwise approved by the Commissioner. Transaction reasoning or evidence under this subsection shall be retained and available for review upon request by a customer, with a chain of custody evidencing every access attempt, but which may not disclose actual employee identities. The following shall also apply:

(i) The reasoning or evidence required for each signatory to prove true in order to authorize a transaction shall be contractually agreed upon by all signatories in the customer agreement. In the event approval signing and transaction signing are abstracted, transaction approvers shall have access and appropriate expertise to evaluate required reasoning or evidence prior to an authorized signing ceremony;

(ii) Each approver or signatory shall be required to provide proof of the evidence referenced for an authorization;

(iii) Each transaction and signature action associated with a transaction shall have a specific time duration tracked against each option for any transaction where the conditions of the evidence are time-based;

(iv) A bank shall store all reasoning or evidence internally and the evidence shall be reviewed at multiple levels within a transaction. A minimum of four separate individuals shall perform reviews around a specific request. Evidence shall be collected based on a set checklist of necessary documentation based on the role the signatory is representing. A bank shall establish safeguards around the processes that shall be evaluated on a periodic basis and adjusted as necessary;

(v) A bank shall maintain a full audit trail of all transaction activities. A bank shall conduct timely reconciliation of all transactions in its records. This includes specific information about each transaction, including the:

(A) Date and time of transaction;

(B) Transaction event type;

(C) Jurisdiction in which the customer is located;

(D) Relevant signatories; and

(E) Account balances and the value of the transaction.

(f) Each quarter, a bank shall extract a sample of transactions for internal audit in order to ensure that internal processes are functioning in conformity with established procedures. Banks shall take corrective action as needed in the event faults are discovered. Safeguards shall be in place to ensure that records and audit trails cannot be changed.

(g) A bank shall maintain a detailed policy covering data sanitization requirements, procedures and validation steps for every media type used by the bank. The bank shall inform officers and employees of how data may remain on digital media after deletion, how to securely wipe data and when secure wiping should be used.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 11 Custody Operations

(a) A bank shall ensure that information technology operational safeguards are subject to industry best practices to ensure a secure and stable custody operating environment is in place. These safeguards shall include the following:

(i) A bank shall ensure that technology measures consistent with industry best practices are in place to protect all systems, which may include "defense in depth." A bank may adopt the ISO 27001 information technology standard, but if the bank chooses not to adopt this standard, it shall implement as many components of this standard as appropriate. The Commissioner may require the adoption of additional technology safeguards or standards. Particular rigor shall be applied to ensure that all internet-facing systems are hardened and secure; and

(ii) Access to systems and data shall only be granted to individuals with a demonstrated business need that cannot be achieved through other means. Safeguards shall be in place to ensure identification, authorization and authentication of the individual. A current list of access rights shall be maintained along with documented procedures for assigning and revoking access privileges. A log of all access changes shall be maintained to demonstrate proof of proper access rights management.

(b) A bank shall perform the following:

(i) Internal information technology security testing of both infrastructure and applications on a regular basis;

(ii) At least annually, penetration tests by an independent and qualified testing company. Any new internet facing services or significant changes to existing services shall be subject to internal penetration testing and hardened before being presented online as live services;

(iii) At least quarterly, internal system vulnerability audits; and

(iv) At least monthly, external system vulnerability audits.

(c) Decentralized applications shall be subject to a software development life cycle based on industry best practices.

(d) Proof of tests and audits conducted under subsection (b) of this section and corresponding results shall be documented and made available in an examination conducted by an independent public accountant or the Commissioner. Testing and audits shall include participation by both employees and external parties. Banks shall ensure external parties have a key role in testing and audits. Testing standards shall adhere to best industry practices. Recurring testing and audits under subsection (b) shall include:

(i) Wallet integrity audits;

(ii) Key and seed generation procedures;

(iii) Completed transactions, to ensure compliance of proof of evidence protocols;

(iv) Suspicious transaction handling;

(v) Migration of storage devices, including cold to hot storage; and

(vi) Random verification of digital asset balances and control of digital assets.

(e) A bank may, in its discretion, employ risk mitigation tools designed to automate a core function, including transaction signatures that have received and passed a demonstrated risk assessment performed by a qualified third party. Corresponding operational risk procedures shall be documented. The bank shall implement risk monitoring mechanisms to identify failures in automation if they occur.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.19.05132021 § 12 Digital Asset Lending Based on Customer Instructions

(a) Based only on customer instructions and authority, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104 and section 4 of this chapter, a bank may undertake digital asset lending. Digital asset lending shall exclude rehypothecation of digital assets, consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(k) and subsection (g) of section 5 of this chapter.

(b) Digital asset lending shall be restricted solely to the department of the bank providing custodial services and shall not extend to any other functions of the bank which are not required for custodial services.

(c) Bank-owned assets or customer depository accounts shall not be involved in digital asset lending, except that the bank may accept deposits of customer funds related to digital asset lending.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Chapter 20 Special Purpose Depository Institutions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.20.05132021 Special Purpose Depository Institutions

Chapter 20 Special Purpose Depository Institutions

Section 1. Authority; Scope; Applicability of Other Rules; Federal Law.

(a) This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute ("W.S.") 13-12-126.

(b) This Chapter governs special purpose depository institutions, as defined in W.S. 13-1-101(a)(xvi).

(c) The rules of the Board and the Division, except as provided in this subsection and to the extent not inconsistent with W.S. 13-12-101 through 13-12-126, shall apply to special purpose depository institutions. The term "bank" or "financial institution" in other rules shall be reasonably construed to include special purpose depository institutions, as determined by the Commissioner. Chapter 4, §§ 5 and 6 of the Rules of the Division shall not apply to special purpose depository institutions.

(d) Consistent with W.S. 13-12-107, a special purpose depository institution is shall be subject to all applicable federal laws relating to insured depository institutions which are consistent with the powers, limitations and other characteristics specified by W.S. 13-12-101 through 13-12- 126 and this Chapter, as determined by the Commissioner. Reference to a particular federal law or rule in this Chapter shall not be construed to imply that other laws or rules not referenced are inapplicable.

(e) A special purpose depository institution may request the Commissioner to provide guidance on the applicability of a specific federal law under subsection (d) of this section.

Section 2. Capital and Surplus/Operating Expenses.

(a) Consistent with W.S. 13-12-110(b) and subsection (d) of this section, a special purpose depository institution shall have initial capital, subscribed for as fully paid stock, which is commensurate with the risk profile and proposed activities of the institution, as determined by the Commissioner. A special purpose depository institution shall also maintain a capital plan analyzing capital needs based on initial requirements, projected growth and the availability of capital from identified sources. The plan may include a moratorium on the payment of dividends during a specified future period. The initial capital required by this subsection shall be subscribed and fully paid in at the time the institution applies for a certificate of authority under W.S. 13-12- 116, but prior to this time, as part of the charter application of the institution, the incorporators shall present evidence that the required capital will be available if a charter is granted, which may include letters of commitment, as required by the Commissioner.

(b) After a special purpose depository institution has commenced operations, the Commissioner may require the institution to modify its capital levels based on the size, risk profile or activities of the institution. To the extent possible, the Commissioner will give the institution a sufficient period to implement a modified capital requirement. The Commissioner retains the authority to require a modification of capital within sixty (60) days, consistent with W.S. 13-4- 203, if conditions warrant.

(c) A special purpose depository institution shall have a paid-up surplus fund of not less than three (3) years of operating expenses prior to applying for a certificate of authority under W.S. 13-12-116.

(d) In establishing a capital requirement under this section, the Commissioner shall consider the following factors holistically, accounting for the non-leveraged nature of the institution and the impact of operational risk and impact on earnings:

(i) Peer institutions of the special purpose depository institution, which may include custodial banks and national trust banks;

(ii) The activities and risks posed by the business plan and financial projections of the special purpose depository institution;

(iii) The prompt corrective action tier 1 leverage ratio;

(iv) The non-leveraged nature of deposits related to custodial, fiduciary and trust accounts administered by the institution, consistent with 12 C.F.R. § 217.10 as of October 1, 2020, and the treatment of custodial, fiduciary and trust deposits under the supplementary leverage ratio for custodial banks;

(v) Current market conditions, including capital requirements of recently-chartered de novo banks; and

(vi) Potential costs of a receivership, as specified by § 5 of this Chapter.

(e) As used in this Chapter, "custodial bank" means a depository institution predominantly engaged in custody, safekeeping, and asset servicing activities, consistent with the Economic Growth, Regulatory Relief and Consumer Protection Act (132 Stat. 1296, 1359).

Section 3. Application Requirements.

(a) To be accepted for filing, a special purpose depository institution charter application shall be comprised of the following information:

(i) The signatures of all incorporators, verifying the contents of the application;

(ii) The articles of incorporation of the institution plus any filing fee required by the Secretary of State, or existing incorporation documents as required by the Commissioner;

(iii) The final bylaws or draft bylaws proposed for adoption either by the incorporators simultaneously with incorporation or by the board of directors of the proposed special purpose depository institution at its first meeting, indicating which method will be used to adopt the bylaws;

(iv) The capital plan of the institution;

(v) Evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner that the proposed special purpose depository institution will be able to obtain private insurance as specified by W.S. 13-12-

119(e) upon chartering, including coverage types, coverage limits and any conditions relating to payment of claims;

(vi) The name, proposed title, physical address and biographical sketch of each individual proposed to serve as an executive officer or director of the institution during the first year of operations, demonstrating sufficient experience, ability and standing to afford the institution a reasonable promise of successful operation, to the extent reasonably possible;

(vii) A detailed business plan, which shall include:

(A) All proposed activities of the special purpose depository institution, including identification of likely customers, a marketing plan and business projections based on statistical data or other accepted business methods;

(B) A business risk assessment, consistent with subparagraphs (A) and (C) of this paragraph;

(C) A comprehensive estimate of operating expenses for the first three (3) years of operation, consistent with subparagraph (A) of this paragraph;

(D) A complete proposal for compliance with this Chapter, W.S. 13-12-101 through 13-12-126 and all other applicable state and federal laws; and

(E) Other information material to the investigation and report of the Commissioner and the decision of the Board.

(viii) Evidence satisfactory to the Commissioner regarding the availability of a surety bond under W.S. 13-12-118(a), or a statement that the special purpose depository institution will irrevocably pledge assets to the Commissioner, as specified by W.S. 13-12-118(b);

(ix) If applicable, the designation of an agent for service of process which is described in Chapter 5, § 7 of the Rules of the Division;

(x) Information relating to corporate partnerships or affiliations, including a description of corporate interests and activities and the most recent financial statement of a person with a proposed controlling interest in the special purpose depository institution, as defined in § 5(a) of this Chapter;

(xi) Identification of all prospective investors in the proposed institution, and other information as the Commissioner may require, including information regarding non-United States citizens;

(xii) Information relating to government agencies or self-regulatory organizations which the proposed special purpose depository institution may be subject to, whether state, federal or foreign, including activities which the agency or organization regulates or supervises, as well as license numbers, license expiration dates and agency contact persons;

(xiii) Information sufficient to conduct a background investigation on proposed directors, officers and shareholders who control ten percent (10%) or more of the voting securities of the institution, in the manner required by the Commissioner; and

(xiv) Any other information required by law or requested by the Commissioner or Board which is material to the charter application or the future operation of the institution.

(b) The incorporators shall provide truthful and complete information in a charter application, in all accompanying materials and in communications relating to an application. The application and all accompanying materials shall be attested to under penalty of perjury pursuant to Wyo. Stat. §§ 6-5-301 and 6-5-303. The incorporators shall supplement an application, accompanying materials or any communication promptly when information in the application, materials or communication changes materially or if an error or omission is discovered.

(c) If an application is withdrawn at any time before a hearing of the Board, the filing fee shall be refunded to the applicant, reduced by the amount of all expenses authorized by W.S. 13-2-208.

(d) If a charter application is rejected by the Board, it shall be treated as if it were withdrawn at 5:00 p.m. Mountain Time on the last day of the thirty (30) day time period described in Chapter 5, § 3(e), Rules of the Division.

(e) As appropriate and consistent with safe and sound banking practices, the capital structure of a special purpose depository institution shall favor common stock.

Section 4. Recovery/Resolution Planning.

(a) Not later than six (6) months after a special purpose depository institution commences operations, a draft recovery and resolution plan shall be submitted to the Commissioner for review.

(b) A draft recovery and resolution plan shall generally encompass the requirements of a national bank recovery plan and the "targeted resolution plan" specified by 12 C.F.R. § 243.6, as of June 1, 2020. The plan shall outline potential recovery actions to address significant financial or operational stress that could threaten the safe and sound operation of the institution, as well as and strategies for orderly disposition of the institution without the need for the appointment of a receiver, including actions under § 5 of this Chapter. A plan shall also identify at least two (2) business entities that could potentially acquire the special purpose depository institution, or any component of the institution, in the event of financial distress, receivership or another contingency warranting use of the plan. The plan shall include a procedure for quickly and safely transferring all assets of the institution to another entity and a procedure for liquidating the assets of the institution.

(c) The Commissioner, in consultation with the officers of the special purpose depository institution, shall review the draft recovery and resolution plan and determine whether it appropriately addresses the risks inherent in a potential recovery or resolution scenario. The institution shall amend the draft plan as reasonably required by the Commissioner to protect the

interests of the customers of the institution and to protect the financial system from material risks. The board of directors of the institution shall review the draft plan and approve a final plan within sixty (60) days of submission of a plan by the officers. After approval, the chief executive officer of the special purpose depository institution shall file the plan with the Commissioner.

(d) After filing under subsection (c) of this section, the board of directors of a special purpose depository institution shall annually review and amend the recovery and resolution plan of the institution to account for material changes in each of the following areas:

(i) Critical operations or core business lines, including information technology;

(ii) Corporate structure, including interconnections and interdependencies with other business entities, management and succession planning;

(iii) Deposits and assets under custody, assets under management or similar relationships;

(iv) Funding, liquidity or capital needs or sources;

(v) Changes in law or regulation; and

(vi) Any other area determined to be relevant by the Commissioner.

(e) A plan amended under subsection (d) of this section shall be filed with the Commissioner within thirty (30) days of approval by the board of directors. In addition to the requirements of subsection (d) of this section, the Commissioner may, at any time, require the board of directors of a special purpose depository institution to review and amend its recovery and resolution plan.

(f) A recovery and resolution plan, or draft plan, filed with the Commissioner shall be confidential. A recovery and resolution plan may be disclosed in a confidential format to other governmental agencies, self-regulatory organizations or persons assisting with the recovery or resolution of an institution, as deemed appropriate by the Commissioner.

Section 5. Supervision of Controlling Interests; Affiliate Relationships.

(a) As used in this Chapter, "controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution" means a circumstance when a person, directly or indirectly, or acting through or in concert with one or more persons:

(i) Owns, controls, or has the power to vote 25 percent or more of any class of voting securities of the institution;

(ii) Controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors of the institution;

(iii) Have the power to exercise a controlling influence over the management or policies of the institution.

(b) A person with a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution shall:

(i) Submit annual audited financial statements, and as otherwise reasonably required by the Commissioner;

(ii) Provide a description of all affiliated or parent entities and their relationships with the institution, including annual updates;

(iii) Serve as a source of strength for the institution, which may include capital plans, maintenance agreements or agreements for resource-sharing, as required by the Commissioner.

(c) The Commissioner may require a legal entity with a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution to execute a tax allocation agreement with the institution that expressly states that an agency relationship exists between the person and the institution with respect to tax assets generated by the institution, and that these assets are held in trust by the person for the benefit of the institution and will be promptly remitted to the institution. The tax allocation agreement may also provide that the amount and timing of any payments or refunds to the institution by the person should be no less favorable than if the institution were a separate taxpayer.

(d) A person who meets the definition of a "commercial firm" under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (124 Stat. 1376, 1596-97), shall not obtain a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution.

(e) If the Commissioner finds that it is in the public interest and has reasonable cause to believe it is necessary to protect the customers of a special purpose depository institution, the Commissioner may:

(i) Conduct an examination of a legal entity with a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution or otherwise require information from the person;

(ii) Require a person with a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution to divest or sever their relationship with the institution, if necessary to maintain safety and soundness.

(f) If a person with a controlling interest in a special purpose depository institution is subject to supervision by another state or federal banking regulator, the Commissioner may reasonably exempt the person from this section to facilitate coordinated supervision as appropriate.

(g) Consistent with § 1(d) of this Chapter, 12 C.F.R. § 223.1 et seq., as of October 1, 2020, shall apply to special purpose depository institutions.

(h) As used in this section, "person" means as defined in Wyo. Stat. § 8-1-102(a)(vi).

Section 6. Receivership.

(a) Subject to court supervision as otherwise required by law, the Commissioner is the receiver and resolution official for special purpose depository institutions, consistent with Wyo. Stat. 13-12-122 and 11 U.S.C. § 109(b)(2). As used in this Chapter, "receivership" means a liquidation conducted under W.S. 13-12-122.

(b) In the event of financial distress or another contingency warranting use of the resolution plan created under § 4 of this Chapter, the Commissioner shall, to the extent appropriate under the circumstances, use the plan for the resolution of the institution.

(c) If appropriate, the Commissioner may retain such staff and enter into contracts for professional services as are necessary to carry out a receivership. The Commissioner may retain services on a continuing retainer or on an as-needed basis.

(d) Persons who have claims against the special purpose depository institution may present claims, along with supporting documentation, for consideration by the Commissioner. The Commissioner shall determine the validity and approve the amounts of claims. All claims against the institution shall be fixed when the Commissioner takes possession of the institution and the Commissioner shall stand in the place of the institution. Constructive notice provided by the filing made under W.S. 13-4-303(a) shall be deemed to satisfy the knowledge requirement of subsection (b) of that section.

(e) The Commissioner shall establish a date by which any person seeking to present a claim against the institution must present their claim for determination. The Commissioner shall also mail notice to creditors as required by W.S. 13-4-402 and other applicable law.

(f) The Commissioner shall allow any claim against the institution received on or before the deadline for presenting claims, if the claim is established to the Commissioner's satisfaction by the information on the institution's books and records or as otherwise submitted. The Commissioner may disallow any portion of any claim by a creditor or claim of a security interest, preference, set-off or priority which is not established to the satisfaction of the Commissioner.

(g) Wyoming law relating to the nature of digital assets under title 34.1, Wyoming statutes and W.S. 34-29-101 through 34-29-103, including security interests, shall govern claims made under this section, as well as the receivership of the institution.

(h) If a person with a claim against a special purpose depository institution also has an obligation owed to the institution, the claim and obligation shall be set-off against the other and only the net balance remaining after set-off shall be considered as a claim, if the set-off is otherwise legally valid.

(j) The Commissioner shall pay expenses and claims in the following priority order:

(i) Administrative expenses of the Commissioner, as defined in subsection (k) of this section, to the extent those expenses exceed pledged capital or a surety bond;

(ii) Customer claims relating to deposits, custodial, fiduciary and trust assets, as well as any claims of the Federal Reserve System;

(iii) Claims of secured creditors and any preferences which may be required by W.S. 13-4-502;

(iv) Unsecured creditors of the institution, including secured creditors to the extent any claim exceeds a valid and enforceable security interest;

(v) Creditors of the institution, if any, whose claims are subordinated to general creditor claims; and

(vi) Shareholders of the institution.

(k) "Administrative expenses" mean those costs incurred by the Commissioner under W.S. 13-4-501 in maintaining institution operations, preserving assets, resolving the affairs of the institution and other related activities. Expenses include pre-receivership and post-receivership obligations that the Commissioner determines are necessary and appropriate to facilitate the orderly liquidation and resolution of the institution. Expenses shall also include:

(i) Expenses of the Commissioner and the costs of contracts entered into by the Commissioner for professional services relating to the receivership, including audit, accountancy, information technology, legal, fiduciary, trust and real estate services, except for the cost of any continuing retainer paid by the Commissioner for professional services related to receivership that is not directly related to the receivership of a specific institution;

(ii) Expenses necessary for the continued operations of an institution during the receivership, including wages and salaries of employees, expenses for professional services, contractual rent pursuant to an existing lease or rental agreement and payments to third-party or affiliated service providers that, in the opinion of the Commissioner, are of benefit to the receivership until the date the Commissioner repudiates, terminates, cancels or otherwise discontinues the applicable contract.

(m) Subject to court supervision as otherwise required by law, in resolving the affairs of a special purpose depository institution, the Commissioner may:

(i) Take possession of the books, records, property and assets of the institution, including the value of collateral pledged by the institution, to the extent it exceeds a valid and enforceable security interest of a claim;

(ii) Collect all debts, dues and claims belonging to the institution, including claims remaining after set-off;

(iii) Sell or compromise all bad or doubtful debts, including fraudulent transfers;

(iv) Sell the real and personal property of the institution;

(v) Deposit all receivership funds collected from the liquidation of the institution with a Wyoming bank or trust company;

(vi) Avoid fraudulent transfers or other transfers made in contemplation or in close proximity to the receivership, and recover these assets as provided by law; and

(vii) Take other necessary actions to efficiently and prudently complete a receivership.

(n) The Commissioner may exercise other rights, privileges and powers authorized by law, including the common law of receiverships as applied by courts to bank receiverships. The Commissioner shall follow the procedure for bank receiverships used by the Federal Deposit

Insurance Corporation. To carry out this section, the Commissioner may employ all rights, privileges and powers exercised by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under federal law and the common law of receiverships as applied by courts to banks, when not inconsistent with this Chapter and Wyoming law.

(o) Subject to W.S. 13-4-506 and subsection (j) of this section, the Commissioner may make ratable dividends from available funds, based on the claims that have been proved to the Commissioner's satisfaction.

(p) Consistent with W.S. 34-29-104(d), assets held by a special purpose depository institution off-balance sheet in a custodial, fiduciary or trust capacity are not part of the institution's general assets and liabilities held in connection with its other business and shall not be a source for payment of unrelated claims of creditors and other claimants if the following requirements are met:

(i) Appropriate segregation from institution assets;

(ii) Appropriate recordkeeping relating to custodial, fiduciary and trust accounts;

(iii) The structure of the custodial, fiduciary or trust relationship generally meets all other applicable legal requirements.

(q) Immediately upon taking possession of a special purpose depository institution, the Commissioner shall transfer the institution's custodial, trust or fiduciary appointments and accounts to successor custodians or fiduciaries, or if not practical, close the bank's fiduciary and custodial appointments and accounts and return assets to customers. The Commissioner shall conduct transfers under this subsection as quickly as possible to prevent or minimize disruption to customers.

(r) The Commissioner, to the extent reasonably possible, shall act to recover missing, unavailable or pledged deposits, custodial or fiduciary assets for the benefit of customers or the receivership.

(s) The Commissioner shall conclude a receivership as provided by W.S. 13-4-701.

Section 7. Anti-Money Laundering, Customer Identification and Sanctions Compliance.

(a) A special purpose depository institution shall maintain a written compliance program covering the topics set forth in subsection (a) of this section, commensurate with the risk profile of the institution, as determined by the Commissioner. The program shall:

(i) Be approved initially by the board of directors and reviewed on an annual basis by the board for potential updates;

(ii) Require annual, written risk assessments, which shall be approved by the board and noted in the minutes of the board; and

(iii) Establish a written training program, which shall include annual training for directors, officers, and other key personnel which are in a position to promote institutional compliance.

(b) The board of directors of a special purpose depository institution shall approve all new products and services before launch, and assess material risks and the means by which the institution can satisfy compliance obligations with respect to each product and service.

(c) The board of directors shall also establish and update clear risk appetite standards for special purpose depository institution activities each year, with periodic reporting of antimony laundering, customer identification and sanctions key risk indicators, key performance indicators, remedial action status, evolving regulatory issues and industry best practices.

(d) A special purpose depository institution shall conduct annual independent testing by qualified personnel with respect to its anti-money laundering, customer identification and sanctions controls, unless granted an exemption by the Commissioner.

(e) In the event of the discovery of any violation of state or federal law relating to antimony laundering, customer identification or sanctions, a special purpose depository institution shall immediately inform the Division and the appropriate federal agency on a confidential basis relating to the circumstances of the violation, irrespective of whether disclosure is otherwise required under federal law.

(f) If engaged in digital asset activities, a special purpose depository institution shall maintain a digital asset analytics provider to assist with anti-money laundering, customer identification and sanctions compliance. Alternatively, an institution may develop an in-house solution that is comparable to available third-party solutions if approved by the Commissioner.

(g) A special purpose depository institution shall conduct a source of funds review for each customer using a risk-focused approach.

(h) Special purpose depository institutions may provide digital asset transfers to external, non-custodial addresses from institution accounts. As used in this subsection, "noncustodial" means not held by a supervised financial institution in the United States or a foreign jurisdiction that has an effective anti-money laundering framework. Non-custodial transfers shall occur as follows:

(i) In the context of transfers from a customer account with an institution to a non-custodial address held by an institution customer, each institution shall appropriately screen for ownership of the counterparty address, with auditable processes in place to recreate the methods through which the bank conducted screening, and appropriate escalation processes in the event that the bank identifies a change in ownership of the wallet address.

(ii) In the context of transfers from a customer account with an institution to anon-custodial address held by a non-customer, the institution shall employ a risk-based approach, which may include pre-authorization and appropriate screening before the transfer shall take place.

(j) The Commissioner shall conduct transaction testing of the digital asset transactions of a special purpose depository institution on a regular basis, commensurate with the activities of the institution and supervisory manuals, policies and procedures.

Section 8. Directors; Officers; Operations in Wyoming.

(a) A special purpose depository institution shall be managed by not less than five (5) directors, consistent with W.S. 13-2-401. An institution shall maintain the following executive officers, or functional equivalents, to manage its operations:

(i) Chief executive officer/president;

(ii) Chief operations officer;

(iii) Chief compliance officer;

(iv) Chief financial officer;

(v) Chief technology/information security officer; and

(vi) Any other officers deemed appropriate.

(b) As used in W.S. 13-12-103(d) and this section, "principal operating headquarters" means the location or locations in Wyoming where the chief executive officer/president of the special purpose depository institution and at least one (1) of the other officers listed in paragraphs (a)(ii) through (a)(v) of this section directs, controls and coordinates the activities of the institution for a majority of a calendar year.

Section 9. Investments and Liquid Assets.

(a) Consistent with W.S. 13-12-105(b)(iii) and this section, a special purpose depository institution may, in addition to Federal Reserve Bank balances, maintain unencumbered liquid assets through investments in the following asset classes:

(i) Obligations of the U.S. Treasury or other federal agencies;

(ii) Obligations of a U.S. state or U.S. municipal government which are investment grade;

(iii) Securities issued by a U.S. federal or state government agency or government sponsored enterprise which are investment grade;

(iv) Investments specified by W.S. 13-3-202;

(v) Other investments which are determined by the Commissioner to be substantially similar to the assets described in this subsection or permissible under safe and sound banking practices.

(b) The investments specified by subsection (a) of this section shall be level 1 high-quality liquid assets, as defined in 12 C.F.R. § 249.20, as of October 1, 2020, unless otherwise approved by the Commissioner.

(c) In the event of an emergency, the Commissioner may, after consulting with affected institutions, reasonably restrict special purpose depository institutions from investing in one or more of the asset classes described in subsection (a) of this section, or may reasonably modify the manner in which investments may take place. As used in this subsection, "emergency" means:

(i) Illiquid or otherwise abnormally functioning markets, excluding digital asset markets, which pose a substantial and specific risk to an institution;

(ii) An unsafe or unsound condition, as defined in § 11(e)(ii) of this Chapter.

(d) The Commissioner shall ensure generally that the duration of investments specified by subsection (a) of this section matches the duration of deposit liabilities of the special purpose depository institution. An institution shall ensure the investments specified by subsection (a) of this section are managed prudently, consistent with safe and sound banking practices, in a manner that:

(i) Addresses interest rate risk, including repricing, basis, yield curve and option risk;

(ii) Prevents mismatching; and

(iii) Accounts for potential stress scenarios.

(e) A special purpose depository institution shall maintain a comprehensive policy on investments, liquidity risk, interest rate risk and other related issues that is reviewed during each examination.

(f) After consulting with a special purpose depository institution, the Commissioner may use real-time supervisory technology that permits monitoring of the investments and liquidity position of the institution.

Section 10. Material Communications with Governmental Agencies; Agreements.

(a) A special purpose depository institution, or the incorporators of a proposed institution, shall promptly disclose to the Commissioner in a confidential format any material communications with other governmental agencies or self-regulatory organizations, whether state, federal or foreign, which relate to the chartering, operation, licensure, activities, condition or legal compliance of the institution. The Commissioner shall maintain any communications received under this section in a confidential format.

(b) The Commissioner may enter into information sharing, branching, joint supervision or other agreements with government agencies or self-regulatory organizations relating to special purpose depository institutions or digital asset activities more generally. Information subject to an information sharing agreement with another government agency shall remain confidential and shall be only used for the purposes specified in the agreement.

Section 11. Safety and Soundness.

(a) The Commissioner retains the authority to take action under applicable state or federal law to address unsafe or unsound conditions, deficient capital levels, violations of law or

conditions that may negatively impact the operations of the institution, customers of the institution or the financial system.

(b) To mitigate legal and contractual risk to the institution, a special purpose depository institution shall ensure that the following contracts exclusively apply Wyoming law and applicable federal law, with the venue of any litigation also in Wyoming:

(i) All customer agreements;

(ii) Any agreement governing a transaction that involves customer deposits, custodial, trust or fiduciary assets, including qualified financial contracts, as defined in 12 U.S.C. § 1821(e)(8)(D), and transactions made under § 5, Chapter 19, Rules of the Division.

(c) Agreements under subsection (b) should generally include provisions specifying that the parties agree that, for the purposes of title 34.1, Wyoming statutes and W.S. 34-29-101 through 34-29-103, digital assets are located in Wyoming and that, if applicable, a possessory security interest exists. The Commissioner may make exceptions to the requirements of this subsection or subsection (b) of this section as necessary.

(d) A special purpose depository institution may, based on customer instructions or the scope of authority granted by a customer under W.S. 34-29-104 or § 4, Chapter 19, Rules of the Division, conduct custodial, trust, fiduciary or related transactions with customer digital assets in a safe and sound manner, including lending of digital assets. A customer bears all risk of loss from these transactions, except for any liability of the special purpose depository institution relating to its fiduciary and trust powers. Consistent with W.S. 13-12-103(b) and (c) and § 3, 2019 Wyoming Session Laws, ch. 91 and W.S. 34-29-104, the lending prohibition in W.S. 13-12-103(c) shall not apply to custodial and fiduciary transactions undertaken by a special purpose depository institution to the extent that a transaction undertaken by the institution does not subject to the institution, as opposed to the customer, to credit risk.

(e) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Failed" or "failure" means, consistent with W.S. 13-12-122(b), a circumstance when a special purpose depository institution has not:

(A) Complied with the requirements of W.S. 13-12-105;

(B) Maintained a contingency account, as required by W.S. 13-12-106;

(C) Paid, in the manner commonly accepted by business practices, its legal obligations to customers on demand or to discharge any certificates of deposit, promissory notes, negotiable instruments or other indebtedness when due.

(ii) "Unsafe or unsound condition" means, consistent with W.S. 13-12-122(b), a circumstance relating to a special purpose depository institution which is likely to:

(A) Cause the failure of the institution, as defined in paragraph (e)(i);

(B) Cause a substantial dissipation of assets or earnings;

(C) Substantially disrupt the services provided by the institution to customers;

(D) Prejudice the interests of customers in any potential receivership, including through:

(I) Failure to maintain clear, appropriate segregation of custodial, trust and fiduciary assets from institution assets; and

(II) Failure to ensure that all custodial, trust and fiduciary accounts and other aspects of the customer relationship meet all legal requirements.

(E) Result in non-compliance with applicable state, federal or foreign law;

(F) Otherwise substantially impact the operations of the institution, the interests of customers or the state or national financial system in a negative manner, in the determination of the Commissioner.

Section 12. Reports and Examinations.

(a) Consistent with § 1(d) of this Chapter, a special purpose depository institution shall generally be supervised in the same manner as other state and national banks engaged in deposit taking, custodial, trust and fiduciary activities.

(b) A special purpose depository institution shall submit electronic reports relating to the condition of the institution, in the manner and frequency required by the Commissioner.

(c) The Commissioner shall conduct a full-scope, on-site examination of every special purpose depository institution not more frequently than every twelve (12) months, unless an unsafe or unsound condition exists.

(d) The Commissioner shall develop and maintain manuals and procedures, including necessary ratings and policies, to ensure legal compliance, safe and sound operations and to set expectations for examinations and ongoing supervision.

Section 13. Operations and Activities.

(a) Consistent with W.S. 13-12-103(b) and subject to the approval of the Commissioner, a special purpose depository institution may engage in all activities permitted to state and national banks which are consistent with the safe and sound operation of the institution, with the exception of lending activities prohibited by W.S. 13-12-103(c) which subjects the institution to credit risk.

(b) A special purpose depository institution shall consult with the Commissioner and seek any necessary approval, before engaging in a new substantial activity or line of business.

(c) A special purpose depository institution shall maintain policies and conduct appropriate market surveillance to prevent, detect and combat manipulative or illegal trading practices in traditional and digital asset markets

(d) A special purpose depository institution shall not engage in a narrowly focused business model that involves taking deposits from institutional investors and investing all or substantially all of the proceeds in balances within the Federal Reserve System or similar means as a pass-through investment entity. The following apply:

(i) As used in this subsection, "narrowly focused business model" means a circumstance in which custodial, fiduciary, trust or other financial activities (as defined in 12 U.S.C. § 1843(k)(4), excluding the pass-through investment activities described above), do not constitute a substantial majority of the business model of the special purpose depository institution.

(ii) The Commissioner shall interpret this provision in the same manner as custodial banks, which are authorized under federal law not to provide the same range or scale of traditional commercial or retail banking products as are provided by other banking organizations.

History

• Effective 2021-05-13

Chapter 30 Open Banking

Wyo. Code R. 021.0002.30.06262024 Open Banking

Chapter 30

Open Banking

Section 1. Authority and Scope.

(a) These rules are promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute ("W.S.") 13-1-802(c).

(b) This chapter governs banks, as defined in W.S. 13-1-101(a)(i), that participate in and provide for open banking.

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) As used in this chapter:

(i) "Notice" means the written notice provided from a bank to a customer regarding the collection use or disclosure of customer data for the purposes of open banking.

Section 3. Notice, Use, and Disclosure Requirements.

(a) The Notice must include the following:

(i) Sufficient information such that the customer can identify the third-party that is requesting the customer's data;

(ii) A brief description of the customer data that is being requested from the third-party; and

(iii) Instructions on how a customer may revoke their consent for their data to be shared.

(b) A bank participating in open banking shall limit the accessible customer data to that which is reasonably necessary for the customer to receive a product or service from the third-party financial service provider.

(c) Prior to participating in open banking, a bank shall conduct due diligence on the third-party financial services provider to ensure that the bank is operating in a safe and sound manner and in compliance with all applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

(d) A bank shall only provide access to the customer data that was disclosed in the Notice and only to the third-party that was disclosed in the Notice.

Section 4. Revocation of Consent.

(a) A customer may revoke their consent at any time.

(b) Once a customer revokes consent, the bank must immediately cease providing that third-party's access to the customer's data.

Section 5. Records Requirements.

(a) Banks must retain a record of the third-parties to which each customer has given consent to share his or her data and what data is being shared.

(b) Banks must, upon request from a customer, provide to the customer records of all third-parties with access to that customer's data and what data is being shared.

History

• Effective 2024-06-26

397 Financial Technology Sandbox

Chapter 1 Financial Technology Sandbox

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 1 Authority; Scope; Applicability of Other Rules; Definition

(a) This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute ("W.S.") 40-29-109(a).

(b) This Chapter governs activities relating to the financial technology sandbox, as defined by W.S. 40-29-102(a)(v).

(c) All rules adopted by the Board and the Division, to the extent not waived by the Commissioner under W.S. 40-29-103(a), apply to activities relating to the financial technology sandbox.

(d) As used in this Chapter, "sandbox participant" means a person who makes an innovative financial product or service available to consumers in the financial technology sandbox.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 2 Waiver of Statutes/Rules by the Commissioner; Standards

(a) Of the statutes in W.S. 40-29-103(a), the Commissioner administers and may waive the following statutes and rules, or portions of these statutes and rules:

(i) W.S. 13-1-101 through 13-2-904 (Banks), including the following rules:

(A) Chapters 1, 3 and 4, Rules of the Board;

(B) Chapters 1 through 16, Rules of the Division.

(ii) W.S. 13-5-301 through 13-5-703 (Trust Companies), including the following rules:

(A) Chapters 1, 3 and 4, Rules of the Board;

(B) Chapters 1 through 16, Rules of the Division.

(iii) W.S. 40-14-101 through 40-14-702 (Uniform Consumer Credit Code), including Chapters 0 through 5, Uniform Consumer Credit Code Rules;

(iv) W.S. 40-22-101 through 40-22-129 (Money Transmitters), including Chapters 1 through 7, Money Transmitter Rules;

(v) W.S. 40-23-101 through 40-23-133 (Residential Mortgages), including Chapters 1 through 5, Residential Mortgage Practices Rules.

(b) Consistent with W.S. 40-29-103(a), a waiver granted by the Commissioner shall be no broader than necessary to accomplish the purposes and standards set forth in the Financial Technology Sandbox Act, which includes the following objectives:

(i) The testing of innovative financial products and services;

(ii) Analysis of appropriate regulatory, supervisory and consumer protection approaches to financial technology; and

(iii) Identification of potential amendments to existing law and rules that enable responsible innovation.

(c) A financial technology sandbox application shall describe in detail the specific provisions of statute or rule which are necessary to test the innovative financial product or service and how the waiver is not broader than necessary to accomplish the purposes set forth in this subsection and the Financial Technology Sandbox Act. The burden of establishing that a waiver of a statute or rule is necessary lies with a prospective sandbox participant.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 3 Initial and Extension Applications

(a) The Commissioner may consult with prospective sandbox participants before an application is filed in order to learn about the business model of the participant and determine whether the innovative financial product or service is appropriate for the sandbox. Consultations under this subsection shall be confidential.

(b) A prospective sandbox participant shall complete and submit a sandbox application to the Commissioner. The application shall be on a form posted on the Division's website and may be electronic. The application shall be verified under penalty of perjury pursuant to W.S. 6-5-301.

(c) The ninety (90) day period in W.S. 40-29-104(f) begins on the date a complete application is received by the Commissioner. The Commissioner may to refuse to accept an incomplete application.

(d) A sandbox participant may request an extension under W.S. 40-29-108 by completing a sandbox extension application. The application shall be on a form posted on the Division's website and may be electronic. A fee in the amount of two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00) shall accompany an extension application.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 4 Verification of In-State Presence Requirement; Records

(a) The Commissioner shall verify compliance with the in-state presence requirements relating to sandbox participants which are set forth in W.S. 40-29-104(b) before approving a sandbox application.

(b) Sandbox participants shall maintain the following records under W.S. 40-29-106(d) for five (5) years after the conclusion of the sandbox period:

(i) All consumer contact information;

(ii) All agreements, contracts and subscription records;

(iii) All correspondence between the participant and a consumer;

(iv) All bank records, investment statements and other financial records; and

(v) A copy of all advertisements used to market the innovative financial product or service in Wyoming and elsewhere.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 5 Consumer Protection Bond

(a) The consumer protection bond required by W.S. 40-29-104(h) shall be in place before an innovative financial product or service may be made available to consumers.

(b) The Commissioner may restrict a sandbox participant from making an innovative product or service available to additional consumers until the consumer protection bond is increased as required by the Commissioner, commensurate with the risk profile of the product or service.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 6 Conclusion of the Sandbox Period

(a) A sandbox participant shall provide the Commissioner with a copy of the written notification regarding the conclusion of the sandbox period which is sent to consumers under W.S. 40-29-106(f).

(b) In addition to the actions authorized by W.S. 40-29-106(f)(i) and (ii), a person may carry out all activities reasonably necessary to wind down operations in a prudent manner, including the sale of assets.

(c) Consistent with W.S. 40-29-103(a), if legal authority outside of the sandbox becomes available to make an innovative financial product or service available to consumers during a sandbox period and the sandbox participant obtains any necessary license or authorization, issuance of the license or authorization by the Commissioner relating to the product or service shall be deemed to terminate the participant's sandbox period as of the date of the license or authorization. If no license or authorization is required after legal authority outside of the sandbox becomes available during a sandbox period, the Commissioner may, after consultation with the participant, terminate the sandbox period unless the participant and Commissioner agree that continuing the sandbox period is appropriate for the purposes of determining the future scope of supervision.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 7 Disclosure of Material Communications with Governmental Agencies; Information Sharing Agreements

(a) A sandbox participant shall promptly disclose to the Commissioner in a confidential format any material communications with other governmental agencies or self-regulatory organizations, whether state, federal or foreign, which relate to an innovative financial product or service. The Commissioner shall maintain any communications received under this section in a confidential format.

(b) The Commissioner may enter into information sharing agreements with government agencies or self-regulatory organizations to carry out this section, or for any other purpose relating to the financial technology sandbox.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

Wyo. Code R. 021.0008.1.04092020 § 8 Applicability of Certain Procedural Provisions

(a) Consistent with W.S. 40-29-109(c), existing administrative procedure laws and rules which are applicable to a particular program or body of law shall continue to apply, to the extent not inconsistent with the Financial Technology Sandbox Act and these rules. For illustration, if a sandbox participant has obtained a waiver of a statutory provision of the Uniform Consumer Credit Code, and the Commissioner intends to take enforcement action relating to the activities of the sandbox participant, the procedures set forth in Chapter 4, Uniform Consumer Credit Code Rules would apply to the enforcement action.

(b) If a sandbox participant obtains a waiver of statutes or rules in two or more distinct programs or bodies of law, the Commissioner shall use the procedural laws and rules most applicable to the provision at issue.

History

• Effective 2020-04-09

50 General Agency, Board or Commission Rules

Chapter 11 General Auditing Rules and Procedures

Wyo. Code R. 021.0003.11.03122014 General Auditing Rules and Procedures

The document referenced in the rules database link is not available in an electronic format. If you are in need of this rule, please contact the Secretary of State's Office at: Rules Registrar Wyoming Secretary of State's Office Ph. 307.777.7378 Email: Rules@wyo.gov

History

• Effective 2014-03-12

Chapter 12 Confidential Information

Wyo. Code R. 021.0003.12.07201989 Confidential Information

CHAPTER XII

CONFIDENTIAL INFORMATION

Section 1. Claim Files Confidential. The claim files maintained by the risk manager shall be considered privileged and confidential and shall be for the use of the risk manager and the advisory board only.

History

• Effective 1989-07-20

51 Money Transmitters

Chapter 1 General Matters and Definitions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0004.1.11162021 General Matters and Definitions

CHAPTER 1 GENERAL MATTERS AND DEFINITIONS

Section 1. Authority; Scope.

(a) Generally, these Regulations are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 40-22-129(a) and pursuant to the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act and the Wyoming Administrative Regulation Review Act. Some Chapters are also promulgated pursuant to other, more specific statutory authority, as specified in such Chapters.

(b) This Chapter provides for matters that apply generally to money transmission and supplies general information that is basic and common to the balance of these Regulations.

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) When used in the Wyoming Money Transmitters Act and these Regulations, the following terms have the indicated meanings:

(i) "Change in control," for the purposes of filing for a new license, means a transfer that results in one (1) or more persons owning or controlling fifty percent (50%) or more of the controlling equity interests of the licensee, unless such person(s) owned or controlled fifty percent (50%) or more of such controlling equity interests as of the date of the most recent filed application.

(ii) "Department" means the Department of Audit created under W.S. 9- 2-2003(a), which is one of the principal administrative operating units of the state government.

(iii) "Division counsel" means the person or persons, if any, assigned or otherwise designated by the Attorney General to provide legal advice, counsel and/or representation to the Commissioner.

(iv) "Hearing" means the public hearing held by the Commissioner on an application under Chapter 6 or on a suspension or revocation under Chapter 7.

(v) "Qualified foreign attorney" means a person

(A) Who has been admitted to practice before the highest court of any state;

(B) Who has associated with a Wyoming attorney for purposes of representing a client before the Commissioner; and

(C) Who is accompanied by the associated Wyoming attorney in, at and throughout all proceedings, whether formal or informal, before the Commissioner.

(vi) "Regulations" means these Rules and Regulations of the Commissioner.

(vii) "Security Device" means a surety bond, irrevocable letter of credit or other similar security device.

(viii) "Total yearly volume" means the combined dollar value of money transmission conducted by the licensee, including its authorized delegates and subdelegates, during the preceding year (July 1 through June 30) with Wyoming residents.

(ix) "Unsafe or unsound manner" can result from either action or lack of action by management to include but is not limited to the following considerations by the Commissioner:

(A) Failure to provide adequate supervision and direction over authorized delegates;

(B) Failure to keep accurate books and records;

(C) Failure to account properly for transactions;

(D) Failure to make payment upon outstanding payment instruments;

(E) Operating without adequate liquidity;

(F) Operating without adequate internal controls; or

(G) Failure to comply with federal reporting laws.

(x) "Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act" means as defined by W.S. 16-3-101.

(xi) "Wyoming Administrative Regulation Review Act" means as defined by W.S. 28-9-101.

(xii) "Wyoming attorney" means a person who has been admitted to practice as an attorney and counselor at law in all courts of the State of Wyoming and who is an active member of the Wyoming State Bar.

(xiii) "Wyoming Public Records Act" means as defined by W.S. 16-4-201.

(b) Excluding any terms that are otherwise defined in this or any other Chapter, the definitions set forth in W.S. 40-22-102 are incorporated into this Chapter by this reference.

Section 3. Service of Process; Delivery of Other Materials; Use of Overnight

Couriers.

(a) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to the Commissioner, such service, filing or delivery shall be made upon him personally, or in the absence of the Commissioner, upon the acting Commissioner.

(b) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on or otherwise delivered to a party in connection with proceedings before the Commissioner, such service or delivery shall be made:

(i) If such party is represented by counsel who has filed a notice of appearance in accordance with Section 2 of Chapter 5, then upon such counsel;

(ii) If such party is an entity or a group of individuals and is not represented by counsel, then upon the agent designated by such party for service of process; or

(iii) In all other circumstances, upon such party.

(c) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to any other person, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(d) Unless expressly provided in the Wyoming Money Transmitters Act or these Regulations, any notice or other written communication may be delivered by certified mail or by any reputable, nationwide overnight courier service that obtains the signature of the person to whom delivery is made and that retains records of delivery.

Section 4. Public and Confidential Records.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-22-117, W.S. 9-1-512 and W.S. 16-4-203(a)(i), reports issued by the Commissioner, materials relating to examinations and reports and other records required of a money transmitter are not public records and are not open for public inspection, subject to the exceptions provided in W.S. 16-4-203(a) and W.S. 40-22- 117(b). In connection with proceedings under Chapters 5, 6 and 7, the information obtained by or provided to the Commissioner and/or the Division is confidential both because the Commissioner's future ability to obtain the information necessary to discharge his statutory duties in light of the public interest would be substantially and irretrievably impaired and because, given the nature of the information gained by the Commissioner, its public release would cause substantial harm to the competitive positions of the persons providing the information, of the applicant and of the proposed institution.

(b) Upon written request to the Commissioner, any person may inspect public records possessed by the Division, subject to and only to the extent permitted under the Wyoming Public Records Act. Information that is not subject to public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act shall not be made available for public inspection.

(c) Inspection of public records shall take place in the Division's offices during regular business hours. Only the Commissioner or other Division employees may remove public records from the Division's offices. A person desiring photocopies of all or part of a public record shall make such request in writing and, as required by W.S. 16- 4-204, shall pay the Division's then-prevailing charges for such copies and for the services of Division employees in complying with such request and supervising such compliance.

Section 5. Computation of Time.

In computing any time period prescribed by these Regulations, the day of the act or event from which the time period begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a legal holiday. When the period is less than eleven (11) days, legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

Section 6. Rules of Construction.

(a) Unless the content clearly indicates otherwise, this Chapter applies to all Chapters.

(b) To aid readability, these Regulations use the masculine gender when referring to individuals and use the neuter gender when referring to non-individuals. Words expressed using one gender include the other genders.

(c) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, these Regulations shall be construed by the following rules:

(i) Words and phrases shall be taken in their ordinary and usual sense, but technical words and phrases having a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law or in the money transmitter industry shall be understood according to their technical import.

(ii) Reference to "the Wyoming Statutes" or the abbreviation "W.S." means the Wyoming Statutes as published from time to time and, pending reduction to published form and subject to applicable effective dates, all supplements, additions and other modifications enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming. Reference to a named act or rule shall be treated correspondingly.

(iii) These rules shall be construed consistently with W.S. 8-1-103.

(d) Reference to a particular Section without indication of the Chapter in which it is found refers to the applicable Section in the same Chapter as the reference is found.

(e) Reference to a particular Chapter without indication of the body of regulations in which it is found refers to the applicable Chapter in these Regulations.

(f) Use of the term "includes" or "including" means that the list of items is not exhaustive but instead is illustrative.

(g) Reference to any particular rule (whether of practice, procedure or otherwise), section, code or act means such rule, section, code or act (whether statutory, regulatory or otherwise) as the same may be amended, re-codified, relocated or otherwise modified from time to time.

History

• Effective 2021-11-16

Chapter 2 Fees, Bonds and Security

Wyo. Code R. 021.0004.2.11162021 Fees, Bonds and Security

CHAPTER 2 FEES, BONDS AND SECURITY

Section 1. Authority.

This chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 40-22-109, Application fee, W.S. 40-22-111(a), Renewal of license and annual report, and W.S. 40-22-114(c), Changes in control of licensee.

Section 2. Application fee.

The Commissioner shall collect from every applicant a nonrefundable application fee in the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00).

Section 3. Annual renewal fee.

In addition to any fees assessed by the registry, the Commissioner shall collect from every licensee an annual renewal fee in an amount determined as follows:

(a) $500.00 annual renewal fee if the licensee's total yearly volume is $0.00.

(b) $2,500.00 annual renewal fee if the licensee's total yearly volume is at least $0.01 and less than $1,000,000.00.

(c) $5,000.00 annual renewal fee if the licensee's total yearly volume is at least $1,000,000.00 and less than $10,000,000.00.

(d) $10,000.00 annual renewal fee if the licensee's total yearly volume is at least $10,000,000.00 and less than $50,000,000.00.

(e) $15,000.00 annual renewal fee if the licensee's total yearly volume is $50,000,000.00 or more.

Section 4. Change in control.

Whenever there is a change in control pursuant to W.S. 40-22-114, a licensee shall submit an application for a new license including a fee in the sum of two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00).

Section 5. Determining surety bond or security amount.

The licensee shall submit annually with the renewal application, the appropriate bond or other security device required under W.S. 40-22-106 based on the average daily balance of the licensee's outstanding payment instruments for Wyoming residents for the preceding year (July 1 through June 30).

History

• Effective 2021-11-16

Chapter 5 Practice and Procedure

Wyo. Code R. 021.0004.5.07212003 Practice and Procedure

CHAPTER 5

PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE

Section 1. Authority.

This Article is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. 16-3-102(a)(i) (mandate to promulgate rules of practice and procedure).

Section 2. Representation before the Commissioner; Notice of Appearance.

(a) A person may represent itself, or may be represented either by a Wyoming attorney or by a qualified foreign attorney, in proceedings before the Commissioner.

(b) Each Wyoming attorney and each qualified foreign attorney shall file with the Commissioner a notice of appearance before representing a party in connection with a hearing under this Article. In the case of a qualified foreign attorney, the notice of appearance shall have no meaning or effect unless and until his associated Wyoming attorney shall have also filed with the Commissioner a notice of appearance. All notices of appearance shall set forth all facts necessary to determine that the attorney is either a Wyoming attorney or a qualified foreign attorney and is authorized to represent his client under this Section.

(c) Division counsel shall not be required to file a notice of appearance.

Section 3. Ex Parte Communication.

Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, the Commissioner shall not consult directly or indirectly with any party regarding a submission, except as allowed under W.S. 16-3-111.

Section 4. Transcripts of Hearings.

(a) If a person desires a copy of those portions of the recording of a hearing that are available for public inspection, it shall request the same in writing. Such request shall be delivered to the Commissioner, along with a fee that the Commissioner shall determine on a case-by-case basis to recoup to the Division the total cost of services and materials necessary to make the copy, including any editing necessary to prevent the disclosure of protected material. Upon receipt of the request and the required fee, the Commissioner shall provide such copy to the requesting party as soon as practicable.

(b) If a party desires that a hearing be transcribed by court reporter, it must so inform the Commissioner and the presiding officer in writing and make the necessary arrangements and pay all associated costs related to the same. In each such case, the court reporter shall not record protected material nor any proceedings that the party providing the court reporter is not permitted to attend.

History

• Effective 2003-07-21

Chapter 6 Contested Cases

Wyo. Code R. 021.0004.6.07212003 Contested Cases

CHAPTER 6

CONTESTED CASES

Section 1. Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act (WAPA).

The WAPA as defined by W.S. 16-3-115 is incorporated herein by reference.

Section 2. Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure (WRCP).

The WRCP insofar as they are applicable and not inconsistent with the WAPA are incorporated herein by reference.

Section 3. Confidentiality.

(a) All matters and proceedings arising out of or related to an application or a suspension or revocation shall be confidential, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

(b) At the hearing, the hearing officer may adjourn the public portion of the hearing at any time to consider or receive any protected material in a session that is not open to the public. To the extent that information is disclosed at public portions of the hearing, such information shall not be confidential.

(c) The hearing officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law and report and recommendation to the Commissioner shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

(d) After the Commissioner has rendered his final decision after the hearing, any written report of such decision shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

Section 4. Appointment of Hearing Officer.

The Commissioner may appoint a hearing officer to preside at any proceeding before the Commissioner. The hearing officer shall be an employee of the Division of Banking or an employee of another agency designated by the Commissioner to act as presiding officer. As used in this Chapter "hearing officer" includes the Commissioner if presiding at a hearing allowed under these rules.

Section 5. Discovery and Depositions.

(a) Until ten (10) days before the hearing, discovery and the taking of depositions shall be available to the parties as provided in W.S. 16-3-107.

(b) The Commissioner is subject to the discovery provisions of this Section but neither the Commissioner nor any employee of the Division shall be required to disclose protected material, nor shall any of them be compelled to testify or give a deposition. Discovery sought from any employee of the Division initially shall be by written application to the Commissioner. If the Commissioner refuses to allow discovery in whole or in part, the aggrieved party may apply to the district court for the district in which the hearing is to be conducted for an order directed to the appropriate person to compel discovery.

Section 6. Pre-hearing Conference; Agenda.

(a) At least five (5) days before the hearing, the hearing officer shall conduct a pre-hearing conference to consider the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. All parties shall attend the conference. The hearing officer may require each party to submit a memorandum to address the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. The conference may be conducted by telephone conference call or other suitable means by which all persons who are part of the conference may actively participate in the conference and can be heard by all other persons who are part of the conference.

(b) The Commissioner, after consultation with the hearing officer, may delegate the responsibility for conducting the pre-hearing conference to the deputy banking commissioner, to division counsel or to such other employee of the Division as he may deem appropriate.

(c) The hearing officer shall give each party at least five (5) days' notice of the date, time and place for the pre-hearing conference.

(d) The following matters shall be considered at the pre-hearing conference:

(i) The names and addresses of witnesses whom each party intends to call to testify at the hearing, together with a detailed summary of the testimony expected from each witness;

(ii) The documentary evidence each party intends to introduce at the hearing;

(iii) The number, description, and purpose of all demonstrative exhibits each party intends to use at the hearing;

(iv) Material facts, if any, of which the hearing officer will be requested to take official notice pursuant to W.S. 16-3-108(d);

(v) Stipulations of fact and documentary evidence to be admitted into the record;

(vi) Matters requiring consideration or submission to the hearing officer in executive session;

(vii) The length of time to be devoted to presentation of cases and delivery of opening and closing statements;

(viii) Any other matters that will simplify the issues or otherwise allow the hearing to be conducted more efficiently and quickly; and

(ix) A determination as to whether briefs are to be filed.

(e) At the hearing, the hearing officer shall admit into the record all facts, evidence and other matters to which the parties stipulated at the conference. The hearing officer also shall identify those matters of which he will take official notice.

(f) The hearing officer shall prepare an agenda that sets forth the order of business to come before him during the hearing, and the witnesses to be called, the documentary evidence to be introduced, and the exhibits to be used at the hearing. Before the hearing, the hearing officer shall provide a copy of the agenda to each party. The agenda will govern the order of business during the hearing unless modified by the hearing officer.

Section 7. Right to Appear at Hearing; Public Comment.

(a) Only parties may appear before the hearing officer at a hearing. Whether for himself or in a representative capacity, any individual may testify provided that he is called by a party or by the hearing officer.

(b) The hearing officer, in his discretion, may permit persons in attendance at the hearing to present oral comments at the conclusion of the hearing. The hearing officer and the parties may ask questions of any person who presents oral comments at the hearing.

Section 8. Open Hearing; Executive Session.

(a) The hearing shall be open to the public. If a person disrupts a hearing or otherwise prevents the orderly conduct of the hearing, the hearing officer shall remove the person from the hearing and continue in session, or he may recess the hearing.

(b) At any time during the hearing, the hearing officer may adjourn and reconvene in executive session to consider protected material. Executive sessions of the hearing shall not be open to the public.

Section 9. Order of Procedure.

(a) The hearing shall be conducted substantially as follows:

(i) The hearing officer shall call the hearing to order and call the case to be heard;

(ii) The hearing officer shall address any motions or preliminary matters to be heard, including introduction of exhibits, stipulated facts and evidence, and matters to be noticed officially by the hearing officer;

(iii) The hearing officer shall administer to all witnesses an oath or affirmation in substantially the manner prescribed in W.S. 1-12-114;

(iv) Each party may make an opening statement, in the same order as evidence is to be presented, as set forth in this Section;

(v) The applicant or licensee shall present its case;

(vi) The Division shall present its case;

(vii) All parties shall be accorded a reasonable amount of time to cross- examine witnesses presented by another party;

(viii) All parties may present rebuttal evidence, if any, in the order and within the time limits prescribed by the hearing officer; and

(ix) Each party may make a closing statement. Closing statements shall be made in the reverse order as cases were presented. The hearing officer shall determine the amount of time for each party to make its closing statement.

(b) The hearing officer may ask questions of any party or witness.

Section 10. Nature of Hearing; Presentation of Evidence.

(a) The purpose of the hearing is to obtain a full and true disclosure of all relevant and material facts so that the findings, decisions and orders of the hearing officer are rendered upon information as complete and trustworthy as is practicable. Hearings are not intended to be adversarial in nature.

(b) The taking of evidence shall be governed by W.S. 16-3-108. Documentary and other physical evidence submitted for the hearing officer's consideration shall be marked as exhibits. Upon such marking, such evidence shall become part of the record.

(c) The hearing officer shall exercise reasonable control over the manner and order of questioning witnesses and presenting other evidence so as to:

(i) Make more effective the ascertainment of the truth and a full and true disclosure of relevant and material facts;

(ii) Avoid needless consumption of time;

(iii) Avoid presentation of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence;

(iv) Avoid the public disclosure of protected material;

(v) Protect the witness from harassment and undue embarrassment; and

(vi) Maintain an orderly and efficient hearing.

(d) Cross-examination shall be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters relating to the credibility of the witness. The hearing officer may permit additional inquiry into matters on re-direct examination, if necessary.

(e) No relevant information shall be excluded solely because it is hearsay.

Section 11. Reopening of Hearing.

Upon reasonable notice to all parties, the hearing officer may reopen the hearing at any time prior to the issuance of his findings of fact, his conclusions of law and his decision and/or order relating to the hearing. To the extent possible, a reopened hearing shall be held in the same community and at the same location as the initial hearing.

Section 12. Records of Hearing and Executive Sessions.

(a) The record of the hearing shall include:

(i) All formal and informal notices, pleadings, motions and intermediate rulings;

(ii) Evidence received or considered, including matters officially noticed;

(iii) Questions and offers of proof, objections and rulings on the same; and

(iv) Any opinion, findings, conclusions, decision or order of the Commissioner.

(b) Portions of the record that contain evidence, testimony, deliberations or other matters presented in executive session shall be deemed to be matters described in W.S.16-4-203(d) and in W.S. 9-1-512 and shall not be subject to public inspection.

Section 13. Recording of Hearings.

The hearing shall be recorded verbatim steno graphically, or by court reporter, videotape, audiotape or any other means of verbatim recording as may be determined by the hearing officer.

Section 14. Briefs.

Each party may file with the hearing officer a brief on issues relevant to the hearing. Briefs must be filed within five (5) days after the hearing. Each brief shall become a part of the record. A party who files a brief shall serve a copy on all other parties. A party may file only one (1) brief in connection with a hearing.

Section 15. Findings and Conclusions.

In any proceeding before the hearing officer:

(a) The parties have a right to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a proposal for decision. The hearing officer shall set reasonable deadlines for submission of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(b) Proposed findings of fact submitted under this section must be supported by concise and explicit statements of underlying facts developed from the record with specific reference to where in the record the facts appear.

(c) The Commissioner may direct the hearing officer to write proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law. The Commissioner may also direct the hearing officer to write a recommended decision.

(d) All parties shall have an opportunity to file objections to proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and orders submitted by any party or by the hearing officer.

(e) The hearing officer shall establish deadlines for the filing of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law and orders.

(f) After the expiration of time for filing objections, the Commissioner shall consider the proposal for decision. The Commissioner may:

(i) Adopt the proposal for decision, in whole or in part;

(ii) Decline to adopt the proposal for decision, in whole or in part; or

(iii) Direct the hearing officer to give further consideration to the proceeding with or without reopening the hearing.

(g) Parties shall be given an opportunity to file exceptions, replies and briefs in the event a decision is remanded for further consideration.

(h) If on remand additional evidence is received which results in a substantial revision of the proposal for decision, a new proposal for decision shall be prepared unless the Commissioner, on remand, has heard the case or read the record. A new proposal for decision must be clearly labeled as such and all parties of record are entitled to file exceptions, replies and briefs.

Section 16. Unclaimed Exhibits.

Within sixty (60) days after the expiration of all periods within which an appeal of a final determination must be filed, the parties shall retrieve all exhibits. After that time, the Commissioner may dispose of any exhibits not so retrieved.

History

• Effective 2003-07-21

Chapter 7 Orders and Petitions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0004.7.07212003 Orders and Petitions

CHAPTER 7

ORDERS AND PETITIONS

Section 1. Special Definitions.

(a) As used in this Chapter:

(i) "Appeal period" means the period of seven (7) days after the date on which an ordered person receives a notice of intent.

(ii) "Notice date" means the date on which the petitioner is served with a notice of intent, which shall conclusively be the date shown on the return receipt or other reliable report of service.

(iii) "Order" means any order issued by the Commissioner under the authority of the Wyoming Money Transmitters Act including a penalty order and a temporary order.

(iv) "Ordered person" means a person who or which is the subject of an order and upon whom or which the order is to operate directly.

(v) "Penalty order" means an order, or such portion of an order, that imposes a civil monetary penalty.

(vi) "Petition" means the request for hearing that a petitioner may file pursuant to W.S. 40-22-111(c) and W.S. 40-22-128.

(vii) "Petitioner" means a person who files a petition. A petitioner may be a an applicant for license, a license holder or an authorized delegate.

(viii) "Receipt date" means the date on which the Commissioner is served with a petition.

(ix) "Temporary order" means an order issued pursuant to W.S. 40-22- 122.

Section 2. Issuance of Orders.

(a) The Commissioner is empowered to issue orders under the enforcement article. All orders shall be in writing.

(b) All orders shall be delivered to the ordered person;

(i) By certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the ordered person, as shown on the records of the Division, or

(ii) In the manner provided for service of process under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

(c) Each order, other than a temporary cease and desist order, shall be accompanied by a notice of intent.

(d) Temporary orders and penalty orders shall be issued only upon principal actors.

Section 3. Content of Notices of Intent and Orders.

(a) A notice of intent shall include the following:

(i) The name and street mailing address of each ordered person.

(ii) If the ordered person is an officer or director of a financial institution or a holding company, the name and street mailing address of the financial institution or holding company with which he is affiliated.

(iii) The effective date of the order, unless specified in the proposed order.

(iv) If the order includes a penalty order or is issued simultaneously with penalty order, a statement as to the amount of the civil penalty for each proscribed activity and the total amount of the civil penalty to be assessed (which total may be expressed as a maximum amount that will accrue daily for so long as the proscribed activity continues).

(v) A statement of the grounds for issuing the order, including citation to the statute or rule involved, if any.

(vi) A statement of the facts in support of the allegations contained in the grounds for issuing the order.

(vii) A statement informing the ordered person that it has the right to a hearing on the order before the Board in accordance with the Board Regulations and these Regulations and that failure to request a hearing within the appeal period will result in the order becoming final.

(viii) A copy of the proposed order.

(b) An order shall include:

(i) The name of the ordered person, identified with reasonable particularity, such as by residence address, social security number or employment status.

(ii) A brief statement, explaining the basis for the issuance of the order.

(iii) If applicable, the effective date of the order, which may be immediately upon issuance.

(iv) In the case of a cease and desist order, a statement directing the actor to discontinue the proscribed activity, directing it to correct the effects of or the steps leading to the proscribed activity, or both.

(v) In the case of a removal order, a statement describing the proscribed activity that requires the removal of the actor.

(vi) In the case of a temporary order, the determination by the Commissioner that the proscribed activity described in the proposed order poses an immediate threat to the safety and soundness of the financial institution or to the interests of the depositors, creditors or shareholders of the financial institution.

(vii) In the case of a penalty order, the determination by the Commissioner:

(A) That the actor has engaged in a proscribed activity or that the actor violated or failed to comply fully with any provision of a lawful order, and

(B) As to his consideration of the factors listed in W.S. 13-10- 207(c).

Section 4. Final Orders.

(a) A proposed order shall become effective upon the later to occur of

(i) The date specified in the order;

(ii) The date of the order, if no effective date is specified in the order;

(iii) The date on which the order is delivered to the ordered person, if no effective date is specified in the order and the order is undated.

History

• Effective 2003-07-21

52 Public Funds

Chapter 1 Authority, Scope, Definitions ( Financial Reports for All Public Funds)

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.1.01042023 Authority, Scope, Definitions ( Financial Reports for All Public Funds)

CHAPTER 1

CHAPTER 1

AUTHORITY, SCOPE, DEFINITIONS

(FINANCIAL REPORTS FOR ALL PUBLIC FUNDS)

Section 1. Authority. The Director of the Department of Audit is required by law to supervise the books, financial accounts, and financial records of all state agencies and institutions, counties, school districts, municipalities, and special districts in Wyoming. The Director must require correction of faulty or erroneous systems of accounting, and provide instruction in proper accounting procedures to county and municipal officers. The Director may require reports of books and accounts, and may perform audits or specified procedures when necessary. The Director is responsible for ensuring compliance with audit requirements imposed by the Uniform Municipal Fiscal Procedures Act. These rules implement procedures necessary to permit the Director to fulfill statutory obligations, including the determination of financial reports to be filed, when audits and specified procedures shall be required, and to establish the format for additional reporting by local governments. [Wyoming Statutes 9-1-507, 16-4-122, 16-4-123]

Section 2. Scope. These rules establish a system of reporting financial activities and accounting procedures to enable the Director of the Department of Audit to ensure that public funds are being uniformly and properly accounted for, that accounting systems are adequate, and that erroneous or faulty accounting systems are properly corrected. To the extent possible, reports made by the reporting entities for other purposes will be utilized to avoid duplication of effort. This Chapter will apply to all public entities described in W.S. 9-1-507 (a)(i) and (iii) unless exempted for good cause by the Director and to those public entities described in W.S. 9-1-507 (a)(iii), (vii), and (viii).

Section 3. Purpose. Accurate and uniform reporting of financial information is necessary to determine the level of supervisory oversight necessary for local governments. The Department is required to provide financial information to the legislature and to other state, federal, and private agencies, regarding the cost of operating and maintaining state and local government, special districts, and specific government programs. The reports and reporting methods required by these rules are to ensure uniformity and accuracy in reporting revenues, expenditures, and financial activities by the reporting entities in order for the Department to fulfill its supervisory and audit responsibilities.

Section 4. Definitions. As used in the Department of Audit, Public Funds rules:

(a) "AICPA" means the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants;

(b) "Annual Report Summary" means the checklist on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website which requires certification by two authorized representatives of the entity. The checklist shall contain a certification statement. The authorized representatives shall verify under oath the information contained in the report, as well as the census report are a true, accurate, and complete presentation of the financial activities of the reporting entity. All entities required to submit a census report form to the Department are required to certify their submission with the annual report summary;

(c) "Audit" means an examination performed under the requirements of state statutes, Government Auditing Standards, or standards established by the AICPA;

(d) "Bank reconciliation" means a specified procedure to determine if all cash assets shown on the financial records reconcile and agree with the amounts reported by the financial institutions holding such assets;

(e) "CPA" means a certified public accountant licensed or authorized to practice in the state of Wyoming;

(f) "Department" means the state Department of Audit;

(g) "Director" means the Director of the state Department of Audit;

(h) "Electronic Budget Form" means the form and instructions used to complete reporting as required by W.S. 9-1-507(a)(viii). The electronic budget form is available on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website;

(i) "Entity," unless expressly limited in these rules, means and includes any state agency or institution, municipality, incorporated city or town having a population of four thousand (4,000) inhabitants or less, special purpose district, joint powers board or any public administrative body receiving funds from any municipality;

(j) "Fiscal year" means the period beginning July 1 and ending June 30;

(k) "Government auditing standards" means the most current standards published by the Comptroller General, United States Government Accountability Office;

(l) "Independent auditor" means a CPA who follows the government auditing standards;

(m) "Independent third party" means a person having a basic understanding of the purpose of the reporting entity and the nature of its business, with sufficient knowledge of bookkeeping or accounting to understand the financial transactions of the entity, but who does not have authority to issue or sign checks or warrants of the entity;

(n) "Internal control evaluation" means and includes:

(i) A documented analysis of the procedures established by the reporting entity to assure that financial transactions are properly recorded;

(ii) Tests of the system sufficient to determine whether the system, and compliance with its procedures, provides reasonable assurance that the entity's assets are safeguarded and that liabilities are accounted for; to test that public funds are used in accordance with laws, regulations and policies, and that resources are safeguarded against waste, loss or misuse; and that reliable data are obtained, maintained and fairly disclosed in reports, contracts, grant agreements, in internal control;

(iii) A written report of deficiencies in internal controls that are significant in context to the objectives of the audit;

(iv) For the internal control self-evaluation of those entities not required to have an independent audit or review, the Internal Control Evaluation Worksheet as provided by the Department and updated on an annual basis, may be used to fulfill this requirement.

(o) "Local Government" means cities and towns, counties, school districts, joint powers boards, public entities, community college districts, special districts and their governing bodies, all political subdivisions of the state, and their agencies, instrumentalities and institutions;

(p) "Municipality" has the same meaning as defined in W.S. 16-4-102 (a)(xiv);

(q) "Officer" or "Official" means the chief administrative officer of a state institution or state agency, an elected or appointed member of a public board or commission, or the city manager or the mayor or a council member of an incorporated city or town, or the treasurer of the special district or chairman of the official board.

(r) "Oversight" means and includes the reports, procedures and processes established by rules and regulations of the Department to ensure that the Director may comply with the statutory requirement to supervise the financial accounting by public entities in this state;

(s) "Proof of cash" means a procedure more extensive and detailed than a bank reconciliation used to verify the entity's records are in agreement with the cash transactions which have been recorded by the bank. The form is available on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website. This procedure shall be performed by an independent third party;

(t) "Revenue" for the purpose of reporting, means and includes all revenues from all outside sources, as well as, all grants received during the reporting fiscal year. If the entity normally reports on a cash basis, the report will conform to cash revenues received. If the entity normally reports on an accrual or modified accrual basis the report will be consistent with whichever accounting basis is normally used;

(u) "Review level engagement" means a review as defined by the AICPA professional standards. Footnotes to financial statements shall disclose all known commitments as of the date of the financial statements that are material to the financial statements, including construction commitments;

(v) "Self audit" means an analysis conducted internally by any official not involved in the daily transactions of the entity or by an independent third party, with the assistance of the entity, and certified to by an officer, to verify the correctness of transaction recording and to provide management with reasonable assurance that assets are adequately safeguarded;

(w) "Special district" means any entity as described in W.S. 16-4-125(c) as well as entities listed in W.S. 16-12-202 (a);

(x) "Specified procedures" means a procedure which complies with the AICPA professional standards, as well as, other procedures which may be required or approved by the Director.

Section 5. Guidance. Manuals, handbooks, and worksheets are available on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website.

Section 6. Annual Census Report Information.

(a) To avoid duplication of effort, the annual census report currently being filed with the federal bureau of the census, or with the Department, by all entities required to report to the Department, will be utilized by the Department to the extent possible to obtain the required revenue, expenditure, and financial activity information. The Department will seek approval from the appropriate federal authority for modification of the annual census report form, if necessary, to provide the information required by the Department. However, refusal of the federal authority to modify the census report form shall not alter the obligation of the reporting entity to provide the Department with the required information;

(b) The Department will make available reporting forms, upon request, to any entity which is not required to file an annual census report but which is required to report to the Department.

Section 7. Report Format.

(a) Informational (census) report forms may include, but are not limited to:

(i) County Treasurer's Abstract Statement (F-66)(WY-l)

(ii) County Clerk's Abstract Statement (F-66)(WY-la)

(iii) Annual City and Town Financial Report (F-66)(WY-2)

(iv) Special Purpose Districts

(A) Special Agencies (F-32)

(B) Major Special Agencies (F-66-WY-4)

(v) Survey of County Board Finances (PF-1-02)

(b) The report format may include additional or supplemental information as required by the Director, such as the following:

(i) Annual Report Summary;

(ii) Internal Controls Evaluation or Self audit;

(iii) Proof of Cash; and

(iv) A copy of the contract or Engagement Letter with an Independent Auditor for a CPA Audit or CPA Review.

(c) The Department shall make the necessary forms for uniform reporting available on its website (https://audit.wyo.gov/public-funds).

Section 8. Instructions for Reporting; Compliance Required.

(a) It is recognized that reported census financial data may not always agree with audited financial statements or with accounting entries made in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP);

(b) To ensure that financial data reported to the Department is uniformly identified, grouped, and reported, the Director shall provide specific instructions for completion of each reporting form. The reporting entity must comply with the Director's instructions, even though compliance requires modification of internal accounting programs, procedures, or reports. [W.S. 9-1-510 (a)]

Section 9. Time for Filing Reports. The required reports shall be filed in the office of the Director of the Department no later than September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported. The reports included in this section are identified in section 7 of this chapter of these rules. Copies of publications of hearings relevant to the reports shall be included in these filings.

Section 10. Certification of Report. Each census report, regardless of risk assessment level, shall be certified by completing the Annual Report Summary form, which is signed by the appointed or elected chairman or president and the treasurer in the case of a special district; the clerk and the treasurer for a county; or the mayor and the treasurer for a city or town; or the officials for a state agency or institution. The certificate shall verify under oath that, to the best of their knowledge, the information contained in the report is a true, accurate, and complete presentation of the financial activities of the reporting entity.

History

• Effective 2023-01-04

Chapter 3 Financial Control Reporting

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.3.01042023 Financial Control Reporting

CHAPTER 3

CHAPTER 3

FINANCIAL CONTROL REPORTING

Section 1. Application. The rules for reporting apply to those entities described in Wyoming Statute 9-1-507 (a)(iii).

Section 2. Risk Assessment. The entities required to report under this Chapter shall be classified according to their relative risk assessment. The total revenues received by the entity in a fiscal year, or the total expenditures, if greater shall determine the level of risk assessment. The level of risk assessment shall determine the type of oversight or supervision required of the entity, unless special audit requirements imposed by other state or federal laws, rules, regulations, contracts or agreements require a different type or level of oversight or supervision. The level of risk assessment for each entity shall be determined each fiscal year.

Section 3. Levels of Risk Assessment.

(a) Using the reports required under this Chapter as a basis for assessment, and using the greater of total revenue or total expenditures, there shall be two levels of risk assessment for entities subject to this Chapter, as follows:

(i) Level A - $100,000 or more; and

(ii) Level B - Under $100,000.

Entities shall include federal and state grants in revenues for the fiscal year, in which the grant is received, for purposes of determining the assessed level of risk. Debt proceeds and repayments shall be excluded in revenues and expenditures for purposes of determining the assessed level of risk.

(b) Level A is the highest risk assessment and requires the highest level of supervision and oversight. Level B is the lowest level of risk assessment and requires the lowest level of supervision and oversight.

(c) An entity classified at Level A shall complete level B requirements and have a self audit procedure performed by an official not involved in the daily transactions of the entity, or by an independent third party under the direction of such officials. In addition, the officials shall complete a self- assessment of internal control procedures and an independent third party shall perform bank reconciliation. Documentation of all procedures performed shall be made and retained. The officials of the entity shall certify that, to the best of their knowledge, the reconciliation was performed in accordance with the documented procedures, and a report made to the Director of the Department of Audit.

(d) An entity classified at Level B shall have a proof of cash made by an independent third party. Documentation of the procedures followed in performing the proof of cash shall be made and retained. The officials of the entity shall certify that, to the best of their knowledge, the proof of cash was performed in accordance with the documented procedures, and a report made to the Director of the Department of Audit.

Section 4. Procedures required annually; certification.

(a) Each entity is required to perform the level of procedures required for their respective risk level at the close of each fiscal year. Procedures performed by an independent certified public accountant which equal or exceed the procedures required for an entity's risk level may be accepted by the Director in lieu of the procedures specified in this Article. Completion of the procedures performed shall be documented in a report, certified under oath by the officials of the entity, and submitted to the Director of the Department of Audit;

(b) The Local Government Annual Report Summary will be due in the Department of Audit no later than September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported.

Section 5. Special oversight procedures; approval. A request for special procedures or relief from required procedures of oversight shall be made to the director, in writing, within sixty (60) days after the close of the entity's fiscal year. A separate request shall be made each year the special procedures or relief is requested. Each request shall be evaluated and determined on an individual basis, and approved or disapproved by the director within thirty days (30) after receipt of the request. A record of the request and the disposition made shall be kept on file in the department, subject to disposal as provided by law for public records.

History

• Effective 2023-01-04

Chapter 4 Special District Financial Reporting General

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.4.01042023 Special District Financial Reporting General

CHAPTER 4

SPECIAL DISTRICTS FINANCIAL REPORTING GENERAL

Section 1. Application. These rules apply to all special districts having authority to levy taxes or impose assessments, or receiving funds from special districts, municipalities, or towns. Sections 2 and 3 apply to those special districts listed in Wyoming Statute 16-12-202(a) where the principal act governing those entities are silent or unclear on submission of budgets. The specific provisions of a principal act are effective or controlling to the extent they conflict with these rules. Sections 2 and 3 do not apply to special districts created by and subject to administration by the courts. The Department shall provide forms, guidance, and direction for special districts requesting assistance.

Section 2. Instructions for Reporting Budget Form.

(a) The reporting entity shall comply with the electronic budget form and associated instructions found on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website. The format shall include at least a budget message, budget summary, statements of cash available, revenue forecasts, expenditure plan, names of board members and end date of their term, location of where the minutes of board meetings are available for public review, a description of how and where

notices of meetings are posted for the public, and the location of public meetings. The Director shall provide specific instructions for completion of the online budget reporting form. The reporting entity shall submit electronically the proposed electronic budget form and the date of the budget hearing to the Department and the county clerk of the county where the special district is located. The reporting entity shall also submit electronically the adopted (final)

electronic budget form, the date of the budget hearing, and the date of the budget approval to the

Department and the county clerk of the county where the special district is located;

(b) If a special district or other specified entity operates in multiple counties, the special district or other specified entity has the option to either post the proposed budget conspicuously on its website or file the proposed budget with each county clerk of the counties in which the special district or other specified entity operates;

(c) Each special district shall submit to the Department and respective county clerk(s)

one budget for the entire entity, regardless of the number of funds used by the entity.

Section 3. Deadline for Filing Electronic Budget.

(a) The proposed budget shall be filed electronically with the Department and to the county clerk of the county where the special district is located by June 1st of each year;

(b) The adopted budget shall be filed electronically with the Department and to the county clerk of the county where the special district is located by July 31st of each year;

(c) For the public meeting(s) where the district reviews and considers its budget, the district shall submit to the Department proof of publication of the public notice.

Section 4. Use of Annual Census Report Information. To avoid duplication of effort, the annual census report currently being filed with the federal bureau of the census, or with the Department, by all entities required to report to the Department, shall be utilized by the Department to the extent possible to obtain the required revenue, expenditure, and financial activity information. The Department shall seek approval from the appropriate federal authority for modification of the annual census report form, if necessary, to provide the information required by the Department. However, refusal of the federal authority to modify the census report form shall not alter the obligation of the reporting entity to provide the Department with the required information.

Section 5. Census Report Forms.

(a) The census report form to be used is the Survey of Local Government Finances. Single purpose special districts shall use the online form F-32, and multi-purpose districts shall complete and return the census form for major special agencies, the online form F-66-WY4.

(b) If the Director requires additional or supplemental information, the Department shall provide the necessary forms for uniform reporting.

Section 6. Instructions for Reporting.

(a) It is recognized the reported census financial data may not always agree with audited financial statements or with accounting entries made in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP);

(b) The Director shall provide specific instructions for completion of each reporting form to ensure financial data reported to the Department is uniformly identified, grouped, and reported. The reporting entity shall comply with the Director's instructions, even though compliance requires modification of internal accounting programs, procedures, or reports. The Department shall provide information and assistance to the reporting entities.

Section 7. Deadline for Filing Census Reports. The required census reports shall be submitted online to the Department by September 30 for the prior fiscal year.

Section 8. Risk Assessment. The entities, whose financial accounts and records are subject to supervision by the Director, shall be classified according to their relative risk assessment. The higher of the total revenues received, or total expenditures made, by the district during the fiscal year under review, subject to the limitations set forth in W.S. 9-1-507 (a)(iii)(A- D), shall determine the level of risk assessment. The level of risk assessment shall determine the type of oversight or supervision required of the entity, unless special audit requirements imposed by other state or federal laws, rules, regulations, contracts, or agreements require a different type or level of oversight or supervision. The level of risk assessment for each entity shall be determined each fiscal year.

Section 9. Levels of Risk Assessment.

(a) Using the required reports as a basis for assessment and depending upon the higher of the total revenues received, or total expenditures made, by the district during the fiscal year under review subject to the limitations set forth in W.S. 9-1-507(a)(iii)(A-D), there shall be a total of five levels for special districts. There are three levels with oversight prescribed in the statutes and two additional levels between $100,000 and $1,000,000 for special districts, with oversight as defined in these rules. The complete list is as follows:

(i) Level A - $1,000,000 and over;

(ii) Level B - $500,000 to $999,999.99;

(iii) Level C - $100,000 to $499,999.99;

(iv) Level D - $25,000.01 to $99,999.99;

(v) Level E - $25,000 or less.

(b) Level A is the highest risk assessment level and requires the highest level of supervision and oversight. Level E is the lowest level of risk assessment and requires the lowest level of supervision and oversight.

(c) Federal and state grants shall be included in revenues for the fiscal year in which the grant is received, for purposes of determining the assessed level of risk.

(d) An entity classified at Level A shall have a CPA audit in accordance with Government Auditing Standards. Any management letter or other written correspondence submitted to the audited entity regarding the results of the audit shall also be submitted to the Department as an accompaniment to the auditor's report.

(e) An entity classified at Level B shall have a review level engagement, or a higher level of audit service, such as an audit, at the special district's option, as well as other procedures which may be required or approved by the Director and are identified prior to the

commencement of the engagement. Any management letter or other written correspondence submitted to the reviewed/audited entity regarding the results of the review/audit shall also be submitted to the Department as an accompaniment to the auditor's report.

(f) An entity classified at Level C shall have an internal control evaluation and a self-audit and a proof of cash and shall submit them to the Department.

(g) An entity classified at Level D shall have a proof of cash and shall submit it to the

Department.

9(i).

(h) An entity classified as Level E shall provide documentation as stated in Section

(i) All entities, regardless of risk level, shall submit an annual report summary to the Department.

Section 10. Procedures Required Annually. Each entity is required to perform the level of procedures required for their respective risk level, or a greater level of assurance (at their option) at the close of each fiscal year. Completion of the procedures performed shall be certified under oath by the officials of the entity on the annual report summary. The annual report summary shall be filed with the Department no later than September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported. The annual report summary form is available on the Department of Audit, Public Funds website.

Section 11. Certification. Each annual report summary shall contain a certificate, signed by the appointed or elected chairman or president and the treasurer of the special district. The certificate shall verify under oath that, to the best of their knowledge, the information contained in the census report and the risk level procedures performed is a true, accurate, and complete presentation of the financial activities of the reporting entity.

Section 12. Deadline For Filing Additional Procedures. All applicable reporting shall be due to the Department based on risk level assessment.

(a) Additional procedures for risk levels A and B are due to the Department by

December 31st for the prior fiscal year being reported. A copy of the contract for or engagement letter with an independent auditor for a CPA Audit or Review is due to the Department by September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported.

(b) Additional procedures for risk levels C through E are due to the Department by

September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported.

(c) The annual report summary is due, regardless of the entity's risk assessment level, to the Department by September 30th for the prior fiscal year being reported.

History

• Effective 2023-01-04

Chapter 7 First Lien Mortgages As Collateral To Secure Public Funds

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.7.09042007 First Lien Mortgages As Collateral To Secure Public Funds

DEPARTMENT OF AUDIT, PUBLIC FUNDS

CHAPTER 7

FIRST LIEN MORTGAGES AS COLLATERAL TO SECURE PUBLIC FUNDS

Section 1. Authority. The basis for these rules is W.S. 9-4-821 (a)(vi) which provides that banks and/or savings and loan associations may offer as security for deposits of public funds, conventional real estate first mortgages at a ratio of one and one-half to one (1.5:1) of the value of public funds secured thereby. The purpose of these rules is to set forth the procedures for pledging such conventional real estate first mortgages and to provide reporting requirements with a view to assure the protection of uninsured deposits of public moneys with the banks and savings and loan associations in this state.

Section 2. Collateral. It shall be the duty and responsibility of the proper public entity treasurer to receive and verify the adequacy of the collateral, with the prior approval of the proper governing board, at such time as the funds are placed upon deposit with the depository financial institution and in such amount as to insure adequacy in the required ratio for the term of the deposit. When it is determined by the municipality that conventional real estate mortgages are to be accepted as security for its deposit of public funds, the following alternatives for evidencing such collateralization may be accepted and conditions relating thereto shall be followed:

(a) Collateral may be held in custody by the trust department of the depository when such trust department is formally organized and established pursuant to the authority of the proper bank regulatory authority, or a trust company chartered by the State of Wyoming, or any third party financial institution (bank or savings and loan association) authorized to hold property in escrow, and provided that the collateral shall include:

(i) The original note.

(ii) Copy of title insurance policy or legal opinion.

(iii) Delivery to the proper public fund treasurer, joint-custody receipt and/or escrow agreement identifying the collateral as set forth in the reports of this regulation.

(b) In lieu of the above, the collateral may be held by the proper treasurer who shall be responsible as provided by W.S.9-4-808 in which case the collateral shall contain the following:

(i) Original note.

(ii) Title insurance policy or legal opinion.

(iii) Assignment of mortgage filed and recorded.

(iv) Copy of payment schedule reflecting principal balance at time of pledge.

(c) Depository institutions having offered and delivered conventional real estate mortgages as collateral for public fund deposits shall identify the copies of notes and mortgages remaining in the institution's files so as to evidence to officers, employees and regulatory examiners that such assets are in fact pledged. All supporting documentation ordinarily contained in the individual real estate files will be retained for review by the examiners.

(d) Collateral held, safekeeping receipts, joint-custody receipts and escrow agreements held by the proper public fund treasurer shall be released by said treasurer promptly upon return of public funds to his (her) custody with copies for both depository institution and the escrow agent or trustee. Any assignment which may have been filed shall likewise be released promptly.

Section 3. Reports of Significant Changes of Eligible Collateral. Upon acquiring knowledge of any significant deficiency adversely affecting the eligibility of collateral, the depository institution shall immediately report such change to the proper public fund treasurer and shall promptly replace the deficient collateral with an acceptable pledge. A significant deficiency in collateral shall include a default in payment for more than forty-five (45) days or any decrease in the value to the property less than the value initially tendered.

Section 4. Substitutions. Substitutions may be made by the depository institution to the trustee provided notice is given to the proper treasurer at the time of substitution.

Section 5. Property Value. It shall be the responsibility of the depository institution to provide the proper governing board such evidence as it may require as to the value of the collateral offered.

Section 6. Violation - Penalty. Willful violation of any of these regulations shall be grounds for cancellation, suspension or revocation of authority to act as an eligible depository.

History

• Effective 2007-09-04

Chapter 10 Public Officer Training

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.10.09182024 § 1 Authority

This Chapter is promulgated pursuant to Wyoming Statute 9-1-510(a).

History

• Effective 2024-09-18

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.10.09182024 § 2 Alternate Degree or Certificate Programs

A public officer having obtained one or more of the following graduate degrees or professional certification programs shall be considered by the Department of Audit as having met the instruction requirements:

(i) Bachelors degree in accounting or finance;

(ii) Masters degree in accounting or finance;

(iii) Certified Public Accountant (CPA);

(iv) Certified Internal Auditor (CIA);

(v) Certified Management Accountant (CMA); and

(vi) Certified Government Financial Manager (CGFM);

History

• Effective 2024-09-18

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.10.09182024 § 3 Alternate Considerations

If the public officer has an educational background not listed in Section 2 of this Chapter of these Rules they feel meets the instruction requirements, the public officer may request consideration by the Department of Audit of that educational background as being sufficient to meet the intent of the instruction requirements of these rules. To be considered, the public officer shall prepare a written summary of the educational background to be considered and explanation as to how that background meets the instruction requirements identified in Section 2 of this Chapter. The request shall be submitted to the Department of Audit, Public Funds Division which will address it within thirty (30) days of receipt.

History

• Effective 2024-09-18

Wyo. Code R. 021.0005.10.09182024 § 4 Waiver of Instruction Requirements

A public officer may make a written request for waiver or modification of the requirements for the public officer to receive instruction within one (1) year of assuming office or taking responsibility for handling accounts. Such request shall include the name and title of the public officer as well as the reason(s) for the request. Written requests shall be submitted to the Director of the Department of Audit. The Director of the Department of Audit may waive or modify any requirement of this Chapter if he or she finds that: (1) no approved courses exist in either a virtual format or within the state, or (2) if available courses are cost prohibitive. If approved, waivers may be valid for up to one (1) year from the approval date. Entities shall be notified in writing as to the status of the request. Upon expiration of the waver, the public officer shall provide proof that training requirements have been met or approval of a new waiver in place.

History

• Effective 2024-09-18

53 Residential Mortgage Practices

Chapter 1 General Matters and Definitions

Wyo. Code R. 021.0006.1.12302009 General Matters and Definitions

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER

CHAPTER 1

GENERAL MATTERS AND DEFINITIONS

Section 1. Authority.

(a) Generally, these Rules and Regulations (herein after referred to as the "Rules") are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 16-3-102(a)(i). Some Chapters are also promulgated pursuant to other, more specific statutory authority, as specified in such Chapter.

(b) This Chapter provides for matters that apply generally to residential mortgage loans and supplies general information that is basic and common to the balance of these Rules.

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) When used in these Rules, Chapters 1 through 5, the following definitions apply:

(i) "Appeal period" means the period of twenty (20) days after the notice date.

(ii) "Cease and desist order" means an order that instructs the ordered person to cease and desist from proscribed activity.

(iii) "Commissioner" means the State Banking Commissioner of the state of Wyoming.

(iv) "Contested case" means any formal or investigative hearing before the Commissioner.

(v) "Division" means the Department of Audit, Division of Banking.

(vi) "Hearing" means a public hearing before the Commissioner on an application as provided in W.S. 40-23-107(d) or W.S. 40-23-126(c), or an appeal from the Commissioner's notice of intent.

(vii) "Hearing date" means the date set by the hearing officer for the hearing. The hearing date shall be no less than ten (10) days and no more than ninety (90) days from the date the appeal is filed with the Commissioner. Upon agreement of the parties and the hearing officer, the hearing date may be extended past ninety (90) days from the date the appeal is filed.

(viii) "Hearing notice" means the notice of the hearing given by the hearing officer to the respondent.

(ix) "Hearing officer" means the any person appointed by the Commissioner to preside over a contested case.

(x) "Notice date" means the date on which the ordered person is served with a notice of intent, which shall conclusively be the date shown on the return receipt or other reliable report of service.

(xi) "Notice of intent" means the notice given by the Commissioner that he intends to issue a final order.

(xii) "Order" means a cease and desist order, consent order, penalty order, order to show cause, adjustment order, or any other order issued by the Commissioner.

(xiii) "Ordered person" means a person who or which is the subject of an order and upon whom or which the order is to operate directly.

(xiv) "Penalty order" means an order, or such portion of an order, that imposes a civil monetary penalty.

(xv) "Person" means an individual, sole proprietorship, partnerships, corporation, limited liability company or other entity, public or private.

(xvi) "Proscribed activity" means, as determined by the Commissioner, any action or inaction that violates the Wyoming Residential Mortgage Practices Act.

(xvii) "Residential mortgage loan" means a first mortgage loan made primarily for personal, family or household use and primarily secured by a security interest on residential real property in Wyoming upon which is constructed or intended to be constructed a dwelling.

(xviii) "Respondent" means the person whose legal rights, duties, privileges, or conduct are the subject of a hearing before the Commissioner.

Section 3. Filing.

(a) All papers, records and all other property of the division shall be maintained and filed in the office of the Commissioner.

(b) All communications shall be made to the Commissioner and the records of such communications kept in said office.

Section 4. Computation of Time.

Unless otherwise stated, in computing any time period prescribed by these Rules, the day of the act or event from which the time period begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday. When the period is less than eleven (11) days, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

Section 5. Rules of Construction.

(a) Unless the content clearly indicates otherwise, this Chapter applies to all Chapters.

(b) Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, these Rules shall be construed as follows:

(i) Words and phrases shall be taken in their ordinary and usual use, but technical words and phrases having a peculiar and appropriate meaning in law or in the residential mortgage loan industry shall be understood according to their technical import.

(ii) Reference to "Wyoming Statutes" or the abbreviation "W.S." means the Wyoming Statutes as published from time to time and, pending reduction to published form and subject to applicable effective dates, all supplements, additions and other modifications enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming. Reference to a named act or rule shall be treated correspondingly.

(iii) Words in the present tense include the future tense;

(iv) Words in the plural form include the singular and words in the singular form include the plural;

(v) Words expressed using one gender include the other genders;

(vi) Use of the term "includes" or "including" means that the list of items is not exhaustive but instead is illustrative.

(vii) If any provision of the Act or these Rules or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act or Rules which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions are severable.

Section 6. Records.

If any book, log, journal, document, record or information relevant and necessary to the examination or investigation is kept or maintained electronically, the business examined or investigated shall provide such data or access to data in an electronic format when requested by the Commissioner.

History

• Effective 2009-12-30

Chapter 2 Mortgage Lender/Broker Licensing; Surety Bond; Prepayment Penalty Disclosure Form

Wyo. Code R. 021.0006.2.12302009 Mortgage Lender/Broker Licensing; Surety Bond; Prepayment Penalty Disclosure Form

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER

CHAPTER 2

MORTGAGE LENDER/BROKER LICENSING; SURETY BOND; PREPAYMENT PENALTY DISCLOSURE FORM

Section 1. Application/Licensing; Surety Bond.

(a) Each applicant for a mortgage lender/broker shall provide all of the information required on the license application form prescribed by the Commissioner, as applicable.

(b) An application to obtain a mortgage lender/broker license pursuant to W.S.40-23-107 shall be considered "filed" only after all information and appropriate processing fees required by the Commissioner have been received by the Commissioner.

(c) An application for a license is a continuing obligation up until approval and issuing of the license applied for. If information in an application becomes inaccurate after filing, the applicant shall promptly notify the Commissioner.

(d) Pursuant to W.S. 40-23-110(a)(ii), effective January 1, 2010, an initial surety bond must be maintained by all licensees in the amount of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00) until the first renewal date after the initial license is obtained. When renewing a license each year, the bond amount shall be adjusted based upon the volume of business under the act transacted during the previous calendar year according to the following scale:

(i) If the total volume of Wyoming loans made or brokered under the act was equal to or less than three million dollars ($3,000,000.00), the amount of the bond shall be twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).

(ii) If the total volume of loans Wyoming made or brokered under the act was greater than three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) but less than ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00), the amount of the bond shall be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).

(iii) If the total volume of Wyoming loans made or brokered under the act was equal to or greater than ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00) the amount of the bond shall be one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00).

Section 2. Application Fee.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-23-107(a), each filed application for one (1) or more licenses shall be accompanied by:

(i) A five hundred dollar ($500.00) application fee for the home office location; and

(ii) An additional application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each additional location.

Section 3. Change in Control Fee.

(a) An application filed as a result of a change in control pursuant to W.S.40-23-108 shall be accompanied by:

(i) A five hundred dollar ($500.00) application fee for the home office location; and

(ii) An additional application fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each additional location.

Section 4. License Renewal Fee and Annual Report.

(a) The annual report required pursuant to W.S. 40-23-109 shall be accompanied by:

(i) A five hundred dollar ($500.00) renewal fee for the home office location; and

(ii) An additional renewal fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each additional location.

Section 5. License Modification Fee.

(a) Any modification required to a license pursuant to W.S. 40-23-107(g), shall be submitted with a fifty dollar ($50.00) license modification fee.

Section 6. Prepayment Penalty Disclosure Form.

If a prepayment penalty may be a condition of a residential mortgage loan offered to a borrower, a disclosure notice in substantially the following form must be provided to the borrower pursuant to W.S. 40-23-113(a)(ii) and W.S. 40-23-115:

IMPORTANT PREPAYMENT PENALTY DISCLOSURE

The loan that you are applying for contains a PREPAYMENT

PENALTY provision. If you pay off or refinance this loan before

(date) , you will be assessed a PREPAYMENT

PENALTY calculated according the following formula:

(complete explanation of the prepayment penalty calculation)

Do not sign this document unless you fully understand and accept

the prepayment penalty provision of this loan.

Applicant ______________________ Date ______________

Applicant ______________________ Date ______________

History

• Effective 2009-12-30

Chapter 3 Loan Originator Licensing; Fees; Information Challenge

Wyo. Code R. 021.0006.3.12302009 Loan Originator Licensing; Fees; Information Challenge

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER

CHAPTER 3

LOAN ORIGINATOR LICENSING; FEES; INFORMATION CHALLENGE

Section 1. Application/Licensing.

(a) Each mortgage loan originator applicant shall provide all of the information required on the license application form prescribed by the Commissioner, as applicable.

(b) An application to obtain a mortgage loan originator license pursuant to W.S.40-23-125 shall be considered "filed" only after all information and appropriate processing fees required have been received by the Commissioner.

(c) An application for a license is a continuing obligation up until approval and issuing of the license applied for. If information in an application becomes inaccurate after filing, the applicant shall promptly notify the Commissioner.

(d) A mortgage loan originator license is only active if the mortgage loan originator is sponsored by an exempt entity or a mortgage lender or mortgage broker licensed under the Wyoming Residential Mortgage Practices Act, and registered with the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. A mortgage loan originator can only be sponsored by and conduct business as a mortgage loan originator for only one company at any time.

Section 2. Application Fee.

Pursuant to W.S. 40-23-125(f), each application for a mortgage loan originator license shall be accompanied by a one hundred and fifty dollar ($150.00) application fee.

Section 3. License Renewal Fee; Reinstatement; Continuing Education.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-23-129(a)(iii), the mortgage loan originator license renewal fee shall be one hundred and fifty dollars ($150.00).

(b) Pursuant to W.S. 40-23-129(b) and W.S. 40-23-130(h), if any licensed mortgage loan originator fails to satisfy the requirements for renewal of their license by December 1, that license shall expire on December 31. The mortgage loan originator shall have until March 1 of the year immediately following the year the license expired to satisfy all of the renewal requirements under W.S. 40-23-129(a)(i), (ii) and (iii) and reinstate the license. Business as a mortgage loan originator may not be conducted after December 31 until such time as all of the renewal requirements have been satisfied and the license has been reinstated to active status on the Nationwide Mortgage Licensing System. Failure to complete all of the renewal requirements by March 1 will result in final expiration of the license.

Section 4. Information Challenge on Report to the Registry.

(a) Upon written request, an individual is entitled to a hearing to challenge any information relating to that individual entered onto the registry by the Commissioner if the individual has previously provided a written challenge to the Commissioner regarding such information and the Commissioner has provided a written response that the information being challenged will not be removed from the registry.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, a request for hearing shall not be made more than fifteen (15) days after the individual has received notification by certified mail that information being challenged will not be removed from the registry by the Commissioner and the supporting reasons for that decision.

History

• Effective 2009-12-30

Chapter 5 Rules of Practice Before the Commissioner

Wyo. Code R. 021.0006.5.07262005 Rules of Practice Before the Commissioner

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE COMMISSIONER

CHAPTER 5

RULES OF PRACTICE BEFORE THE COMMISSIONER

Section 1. Authority.

This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. §16-3-102(a)(i) (mandate to promulgate rules of practice and procedure).

Section 2. Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act (WAPA).

The WAPA as defined by W.S. 16-3-101 et seq. is incorporated herein by reference.

Section 3. Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure (WRCP).

The WRCP insofar as they are applicable and not inconsistent with the WAPA are incorporated herein by reference.

Section 4. Issuance of Orders.

(a) The Commissioner is empowered to issue orders under the Wyoming Residential Mortgage Practices Act. All orders shall be in writing.

(b) All orders shall be delivered to the ordered person;

(i) by certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the ordered person, as shown on the records of the Commissioner; or

(ii) in the manner provided for service of process under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

(c) Each order shall be accompanied by a notice of intent.

Section 5. Content of Notices of Intent and Orders.

(a) A notice of intent shall include the following:

(i) The name and street mailing address of each ordered person;

(ii) The effective date of the order, unless specified in the order;

(iii) A copy of the order; and

(iv) A statement informing the ordered person that it has the right to a hearing on the order before the Commissioner and that failure to request a hearing within the appeal period will result in the waiver of the right to appeal the order before the Commissioner.

(b) An order shall include:

(i) The name of the ordered person, identified with reasonable particularity, such as by residence address, social security number or employment status;

(ii) A brief statement, explaining the basis for the issuance of the order;

(iii) If applicable, the effective date of the order, which may be immediately upon issuance;

(iv) In the case of a cease and desist order, a statement directing the ordered person to discontinue the proscribed activity, directing it to correct the effects of or the steps leading to the proscribed activity, or both;

(v) A statement of the grounds for issuing the order, including citation to the statute or rule involved, if any;

(vi) A statement of the facts in support of the allegations contained in the grounds for issuing the order.

Section 6. Representation before the Commissioner; Notice of Appearance.

(a) A person may represent itself, or may be represented either by a Wyoming attorney or by a qualified foreign attorney, in proceedings before the Commissioner.

(b) Each Wyoming attorney and each qualified foreign attorney shall file with the Commissioner a notice of appearance before representing a party in connection with a hearing under this Chapter. In the case of a qualified foreign attorney, the notice of appearance shall have no meaning or effect unless and until his associated Wyoming attorney shall have also filed with the Commissioner a notice of appearance. All notices of appearance shall set forth all facts necessary to determine that the attorney is either a Wyoming attorney or a qualified foreign attorney and is authorized to represent his client under this Section.

(c) Commissioner counsel shall not be required to file a notice of appearance.

Section 7. Ex Parte Communication.

Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, the hearing officer shall not consult directly or indirectly with any party regarding a submission, except as allowed under W.S. 16-3-111. A request for status of a proceeding is not an ex parte communication.

Section 8. Confidentiality.

(a) All matters and proceedings arising out of or related to an application or a suspension, revocation, or an order shall be confidential, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

(b) At the hearing, the hearing officer may adjourn the public portion of the hearing at any time to consider or receive any protected material in a session that is not open to the public. To the extent that information is disclosed at public portions of the hearing, such information shall not be confidential.

(c) The hearing officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law and report and recommendation to the Commissioner shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

(d) After the Commissioner has rendered his final decision after the hearing, any written report of such decision shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

Section 9. Appointment of Hearing Officer.

(a) Promptly after an appeal is filed with the Commissioner, the Commissioner may appoint a hearing officer to preside at any proceeding before the Commissioner.

(b) The hearing officer shall have all powers necessary to conduct the hearing fairly and impartially, including the power to:

(i) Administer oaths and affirmations;

(ii) Issue subpoenas;

(iii) Rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant evidence;

(iv) Take depositions or cause depositions to be taken;

(v) Regulate the course of the hearing;

(vi) Hold conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues;

(vii) Dispose of procedural requests and similar matters;

(viii) Make proposed findings of fact, proposed conclusions of law and recommended decisions, but only as and when directed by the Commissioner; and

(ix) Take any other action authorized by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act or these Rules.

Section 10. Transcripts of Hearings.

(a) If a person desires a copy of those portions of the recording of a hearing that are available for public inspection, it shall request the same in writing. Such request shall be delivered to the Commissioner, along with a fee that the Commissioner shall determine on a case-by-case basis to recoup the total cost of services and materials necessary to make the copy, including any editing necessary to prevent the disclosure of protected material. Upon receipt of the request and the required fee, the Commissioner shall provide such copy to the requesting party as soon as practicable.

(b) If a party desires that a hearing be transcribed by court reporter, it must so inform the Commissioner and the hearing officer in writing and make the necessary arrangements and pay all associated costs related to the same. In each such case, the court reporter shall not record protected material nor any proceedings that the party providing the court reporter is not permitted to attend.

Section 11. Form and Content of Filings.

(a) All pleadings filed with the Commissioner shall be printed or typewritten.

(b) After a case has been assigned a docket number, all pleadings filed therein shall bear the title, "Before the Commissioner," and docket number of the case in which they are filed.

(c) Signing of pleadings. Every party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign his pleadings and state his address. Every pleading of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by the attorney and shall show his address.

Section 12. Service of Process; Delivery of Other Materials; Use of Overnight Couriers.

(a) Whenever any document or other material that is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to the Commissioner or hearing officer, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(b) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on or otherwise delivered to a party in connection with proceedings before the Commissioner, such service or delivery shall be made upon:

(i) If such party is represented by counsel who has filed a notice of appearance in accordance with Section 7, then upon such counsel; or

(ii) If such party is an entity or a group of individuals and is not represented by counsel, then upon the agent designated by such party for service of process; or

(iii) In all other circumstances, upon such party.

(c) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to any other person, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(d) Any notice or other written communication that may be delivered by certified mail may be delivered by any reputable, nationwide overnight courier service that obtains the signature of the person to whom delivery is made and that retains records of delivery.

Section 13. Appeal.

Each appeal filed by the respondent shall contain a statement in ordinary precise language of the matter that is being appealed, and the defense or the position of the respondent. The defense or position of the respondent shall include specific references to legal authority and facts which support the respondent's position or defense.

Section 14. Discovery and Depositions.

(a) Until thirty (30) days before the hearing or other date determined by the hearing officer, discovery and the taking of depositions shall be available to the parties as provided in W.S. 16-3-107.

(b) The Commissioner is subject to the discovery provisions of this Section but neither the Commissioner nor any employee of the Division shall be required to disclose protected material, nor shall any of them be compelled to testify or give a deposition. Discovery sought from any employee of the Division initially shall be by written application to the Commissioner. If the Commissioner refuses to allow discovery in whole or in part, the aggrieved party may apply to the district court for the district in which the hearing is to be conducted for an order directed to the appropriate person to compel discovery.

Section 15. Pre-hearing Conference; Agenda.

(a) At least five (5) days before the hearing, the hearing officer shall conduct a pre-hearing conference to consider the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. All parties shall attend the conference. The hearing officer may require each party to submit a memorandum to address the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. The conference may be conducted by telephone conference call or other suitable means by which all persons who are part of the conference may actively participate in the conference and can be heard by all other persons who are part of the conference.

(b) The hearing officer shall give each party at least five (5) days notice of the date, time and place for the pre-hearing conference.

(c) The following matters shall be considered at the pre-hearing conference:

(i) The names and addresses of witnesses whom each party intends to call to testify at the hearing, together with a detailed summary of the testimony expected from each witness;

(ii) The documentary evidence each party intends to introduce at the hearing;

(iii) The number, description, and purpose of all demonstrative exhibits each party intends to use at the hearing;

(iv) Material facts, if any, of which the Commissioner will be requested to take official notice pursuant to W.S. 16-3-108(d);

(v) Stipulations of fact and documentary evidence to be admitted into the record;

(vi) Matters requiring consideration or submission to the Commissioner in executive session;

(vii) The length of time to be devoted to presentation of cases and delivery of opening and closing statements;

(viii) Any other matters that will simplify the issues or otherwise allow the hearing to be conducted more efficiently and quickly; and

(ix) A determination as to whether briefs are to be filed.

(d) At the hearing, the hearing officer shall admit into the record all facts, evidence and other matters to which the parties stipulated at the conference. The Commissioner also shall identify those matters of which he will take official notice.

(e) The hearing officer shall prepare an agenda that sets forth the order of business to come before him during the hearing, and the witnesses to be called, the documentary evidence to be introduced, and the exhibits to be used at the hearing. Before the hearing, the Commissioner shall provide a copy of the agenda to each party. The agenda will govern the order of business during the hearing unless modified by the Commissioner.

Section 16. Right to Appear at Hearing; Public Comment.

(a) Only parties may appear before the hearing officer at a hearing. Whether for himself or in a representative capacity, any individual may testify provided that he is called by a party or by the hearing officer.

(b) The hearing officer, in his discretion, may permit persons in attendance at the hearing to present oral comments at the conclusion of the hearing. The Commissioner and the parties may ask questions of any person who presents oral comments at the hearing.

Section 17. Open Hearing; Executive Session.

(a) The hearing shall be open to the public except as otherwise provided in this Chapter. If a person disrupts a hearing or otherwise renders unfeasible the orderly conduct of the hearing, the Commissioner or hearing officer shall remove the person from the hearing and continue in session, or they may recess the hearing.

(b) At any time during the hearing, the Commissioner or hearing officer may adjourn and reconvene in executive session to consider protected material. Executive sessions of the hearing shall not be open to the public.

Section 18. Order of Procedure.

(a) The hearing shall be conducted substantially as follows:

(i) The hearing officer shall call the hearing to order and call the case to be heard;

(ii) The hearing officer shall address any motions or preliminary matters to be heard, including introduction of exhibits, stipulated facts and evidence, and matters to be noticed officially by the Commissioner;

(iii) The hearing officer shall administer to all witnesses an oath or affirmation in substantially the manner prescribed in W.S. 1-12-114;

(iv) Each party may make an opening statement, in the same order as evidence is to be presented, as set forth in this Section;

(v) The respondent shall present its case;

(vi) All other parties shall present their respective cases in the order prescribed by the hearing officer;

(vii) All parties shall be accorded a reasonable amount of time to cross-examine witnesses presented by another party;

(viii) All parties may present rebuttal evidence, if any, in the order and within the time limits prescribed by the hearing officer; and

(ix) Each party may make a closing statement. The hearing officer shall determine the amount of time for each party to make its closing statement.

(b) The hearing officer or the Commissioner may ask questions of any party or witness.

Section 19. Nature of Hearing; Presentation of Evidence.

(a) The purpose of the hearing is to obtain a full and true disclosure of all relevant and material facts so that the findings, decisions and orders of the hearing officer are rendered upon information as complete and trustworthy as is practicable. Hearings are not intended to be adversarial in nature.

(b) The taking of evidence shall be governed by W.S. 16-3-108. Documentary and other physical evidence submitted for the Commissioner's consideration shall be marked as exhibits. Upon such marking, such evidence shall become part of the record.

(c) The hearing officer shall exercise reasonable control over the manner and order of questioning witnesses and presenting other evidence so as to:

(i) make more effective the ascertainment of the truth and a full and true disclosure of relevant and material facts;

(ii) avoid needless consumption of time;

(iii) avoid presentation of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence;

(iv) avoid the public disclosure of protected material;

(v) protect the witness from harassment and undue embarrassment; and

(vi) maintain an orderly and efficient hearing.

(d) Cross-examination shall be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters relating to the credibility of the witness. The hearing officer may permit additional inquiry into matters as if on direct examination.

(e) No relevant information shall be excluded solely because it is hearsay.

Section 20. Reopening of Hearing.

Upon reasonable notice to all parties, the hearing officer may reopen the hearing at any time prior to the issuance of his findings of fact, his conclusions of law and his decision and/or order relating to the hearing. To the extent possible, a reopened hearing shall be held in the same community and at the same location as the initial hearing.

Section 21. Records of Hearing and Executive Sessions.

(a) The record of the hearing shall include:

(i) all formal and informal notices, pleadings, motions and intermediate rulings;

(ii) evidence received or considered, including matters officially noticed;

(iii) questions and offers of proof, objections and rulings on the same; and

(iv) any opinion, findings, conclusions, decision or order of the Commissioner or the hearing officer.

(b) Portions of the record that contain evidence, testimony, deliberations or other matters presented in executive session shall be deemed to be matters described in W.S. 16-4-203(d) and in W.S. 9-1-512 and shall not be subject to public inspection.

Section 22. Recording of Hearings.

The hearing shall be recorded verbatim steno graphically, or by court reporter, videotape, audiotape or any other means of verbatim recording as may be determined by the Commissioner or hearing officer.

Section 23. Findings and Conclusions.

(a) In any proceeding before the Commissioner:

(i) The parties have a right to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a proposal for decision. The hearing officer shall set reasonable deadlines for submission of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(ii) Proposed findings of fact submitted under this section must be supported by concise and explicit statements of underlying facts developed from the record with specific reference to where in the record the facts appear.

(iii) The Commissioner may direct the hearing officer to write proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(iv) The Commissioner shall consider the findings of fact and conclusions of law and;

(A) adopt the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, in whole or in part;

(B) decline to adopt the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, in whole or in part; or

(C) direct the hearing officer to give further consideration to the proceeding with or without reopening the hearing.

Section 24. Unclaimed Exhibits.

Within sixty (60) days after the expiration of all periods within which an appeal of a final determination must be filed, the parties shall retrieve all exhibits. After that time, the Commissioner may dispose of any exhibits not so retrieved.

History

• Effective 2005-07-26

54 Uniform Consumer Credit Code

Chapter 0 Appendix - Footnotes

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.0.08231996 Appendix - Footnotes

Appendix A

FOOTNOTES

[f.1] A person regularly extends consumer credit only if it extended credit more than 25 times (or more than 5 times for transactions secured by a dwelling) in the preceding calendar year. If a person did not meet these numerical standards in the preceding calendar year, the numerical standards shall be applied to the current calendar year. A person regularly extends consumer credit if, in any 12-month period, the person originates more than one credit extension that is subject to the requirements of Section 2. 32 or one or more such credit extensions through mortgage broker.

[f.2] See footnote 1.

[f.3] This includes single interest insurance if the insurer waives all right of subrogation against the consumer.

[f.4] A creditor may reserve the right to refuse to accept, for reasonable cause an insurer offered by the consumer.

[f.5] The disclosure required by Section 2. 9.(d) when a finance charge is imposed at the time of a transaction need not be written.

[f.6] The disclosures required under section 2.5.[A] for credit and charge card applications and solicitations, the home equity disclosures required under Section 2. 5.B, the alternative summary billing rights statement provided for in section 2.9.(a)(ii), the credit and charge card renewal disclosures required under section 2.9.(e), and the disclosures made under section 2.10.(b) about payment requirements need not be in a form that the consumer can keep.

[f.7] The terms need not be more conspicuous when used under Section 2. 5.[A] for credit and charge card applications and solicitations, under section 2.7.(d) on periodic statements, under section 2.9.(e) in credit and charge card renewal disclosures, and under section 2.16 in advertisements.

[f.8] This timing requirement does not apply if the creditor is unable to meet the requirement because of an act of God, war, civil disorder, natural disaster, or strike.

[f.8(a)] The disclosures and the brochure may be delivered or placed in the mail not later than three business days following receipt of a consumer’s application in the case of applications contained in magazines or other publications, or when the application is received by telephone or through an intermediary agent or broker.

[f.8(b)] A balloon payment results if paying the minimum periodic payments does not fully amortize the outstanding balance by a specified date or time, and the consumer must repay the entire outstanding balance at such time.

[f.8(c)] For fixed-rate plans, a recent annual percentage rate is a rate that has been in effect under the plan within the twelve months preceding the date the disclosures are provided to the consumer. For variable-rate plans, a recent annual percentage rate is the most recent rate provided in the historical example described in subsection (d)(xii)(K) of this section or a rate that has been in effect under the plan since the date of the most recent rate in the table.

[f.8(d)] If the disclosures and brochure are mailed to the consumer, the consumer is considered to have received them three business days after they are mailed.

[f.9] A creditor is not required to adjust the range of balances disclosure to reflect the balance below which only a minimum charge applies.

[f.10] If a creditor is offering a variable rate plan, the creditor shall also disclose: (1) the circumstances under which the rate(s) may increase; (2) any limitations on the increase; and (3) the effect(s) of an increase.

[f.11] If no finance charge is imposed when the outstanding balance is less than a certain amount, no disclosure is required of that fact or of the balance below which no finance charge will be imposed.

[f.12] See footnotes 9 and 11.

[f.13] If a variable rate plan is involved, the creditor shall disclose the fact that the periodic rate(s) may vary.

[f.14] Failure to disclose the information required by this section shall not be deemed failure to comply with the regulation if: (1) the creditor maintains procedures reasonably adapted to obtain and provide the information; and (2) the creditor treats an inquiry for clarification or documentation as a notice of a billing error, including correcting the account in accordance with Section 226.13.(e) of Federal Regulation Z. This applies to transactions that take place outside state, as defined in Section 2. 2.(a), whether or not the creditor maintains procedures reasonably adapted to obtain the required information.

[f.15] As an alternative to the brief identification, the creditor may disclose a number or symbol that also appears on the receipt or other credit document given to the consumer, if the number or symbol reasonably identifies that transaction with that creditor, and if the creditor treats an inquiry for clarification or documentation as a notice of a billing error, including correcting the account in accordance with Section 226.13.(e) of Federal Regulation Z.

[f.16] An identification of property or services may be replaced by the seller’s name and location of the transaction when: (1) the creditor and the seller are the same person; (2) the creditor’s open-end plan has fewer than 15,000 accounts; (3) the creditor provides the consumer with point-of-sale documentation for that transaction; and (4) the creditor treats an inquiry for clarification or documentation as a notice of a billing error, including correcting the account in accordance with Section 226.13.(e) of Federal Regulation Z.

[f.17] The creditor may omit the address or provide any suitable designation that helps the consumer to identify the transaction when the transaction (1) took place at a location that is not fixed; (2) took place in the consumer’s home; or (3) was a mail or telephone order.

[f.18] See footnote 15.

[f.18(a)] These disclosures need not be provided in tabular format or in a prominent location.

[f.19] For the purposes of this section, “accepted credit card” means any credit card that a cardholder has requested or applied for and received, or has signed, used, or authorized another person to use to obtain credit. Any credit card issued as a renewal or substitute in accordance with this subsection becomes an accepted credit card when received by the cardholder.

[f.20]  Unauthorized use” means the use of a credit card by a person, other than the cardholder, who does not have actual, implied, or apparent authority for such use, and from which the cardholder receives no benefit.

[f.21]  Adequate notice” means a printed notice to a card holder that sets forth clearly the pertinent facts so that the cardholder may reasonably be expected to have noticed it and understood its meaning. The notice may be given by any means reasonably assuring receipt by the cardholder.

[f.22] This subsection does not apply to the use of a check guarantee card or a debit card in connection with an overdraft credit plan, or to a check guarantee card used in connection with cash advance checks.

[f.23] he amount of the claim or defense that the card holder may assert shall not exceed the amount of credit out standing for the disputed transaction at the time the card holder first notifies the card issuer or the person honoring the credit card of the existence of the claim or defense. To determine the amount of credit outstanding for purposes of this section, payments and other credits shall be applied to: (1) late charges in the order of entry to the account; then to (2) finance charges in the order of entry to the account; and then to (3) any other debits in the order of entry to the account. If more than one item is included in a single extension of credit, credits are to be distributed pro rata according to prices and applicable taxes.

[f.24] The limitations stated in subsection (c)(iii)(B) of this section shall not apply when the person honoring the credit card: (1) is the same person as the card issuer; (2) is controlled by the card issuer directly or indirectly; (3) is under the direct or indirect control of a third person that also directly or indirectly controls the card issuer; (4) controls the card issuer directly or indirectly; (5) is a franchised dealer in the card issuer’s products or services; or (6) has obtained the order for the disputed transaction through a mail solicitation made or participated in by the card issuer.

[f.25(a)] Information provided in accordance with variable-rate regulations of other federal agencies may be substituted for the disclosures required by subsection (b) of this section.

[f.25(b)] Disclosures may be delivered or placed in the mail not later than three business days following receipt of a consumer’s application when the application reaches the creditor by telephone, or through an intermediary agent or broker.

[f.25(c)] Information provided in accordance with variable-rate subsequent disclosure regulations of other federal agencies may be substituted for the disclosure required by subsection (c) of this section.

[f.25(d)] An error in disclosure of the annual percentage rate or finance charge shall not, in itself, be considered a violation of this regulation if: (1) the error resulted from a corresponding error in calculation tool used in good faith by the creditor; and (2) upon discovery of the error, the creditor promptly discontinues use of that calculation tool for disclosure purposes, and notifies the Administrator in writing of the error in the calculation tool. This footnote shall cease to be effective on April 1, 1982.

[f.26] If there is no balance to which the finance charge is applicable, an annual percentage rate cannot be determined under this section.

[f.27] Where the finance charge imposed during the billing cycle is or includes a loan fee, points, or similar charge that relates to the opening of the account, the amount of such charge shall not be included in the calculation of the annual percentage rate.

[f.28] See Appendix F to Board’s Regulation Z regarding determination of the denominator of the fraction under this subsection.

[f.29] See Footnote 27.

[f.30] The term “material disclosures” means the information that must be provided to satisfy the requirements of Section 2. 6. with regard to the method of determining the finance charge and the balance upon which a finance charge will be imposed, the annual percentage rate, and the amount or method of determining the amount of any membership or participation fee that may be imposed as part of the plan, and the payment information described in Section 2.5.B(v)(A) and (B) that is required under Section 2. 6.(e)(ii).

[f.30(a)] A list of the affected areas will be maintained by the Board.

[f.30(b)] The disclosures given in accordance with section 2.5.[A] do not constitute advertising terms for purposes of the requirements of this section.

[f.31] The disclosures may include an acknowledgment of receipt, the date of the transaction, and the consumer’s name, address, and account number.

[f.32] The following disclosures may be made together or separately from other required disclosures: the creditor’s identity under Section 2. 18.(a), the variable rate example under Section 2.18.(f)(iv), insurance under Section 2.18.(n) and certain security interest charges under Section 2.18.(o).

[f.33] Good faith estimates of settlement costs provided for transactions subject to the Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act (12 U.S.C. 2601 et seq.) may be substituted for the disclosures required by subsection (c) of this section.

[f.34] The following payees may be described using generic or other general terms and need not be further identified: public officials or government agencies, credit reporting agencies, appraisers, and insurance companies.

[f.35] The finance charge shall be considered accurate if it is not more than $5 above or below the exact finance charge in a transaction involving an amount financed of $1,000 or less, or not more than $10 above or below the exact finance charge in a transaction involving an amount financed of more than $1,000.

[f.36] For any transaction involving a finance charge of $30 or less, the creditor need not disclose the annual percentage rate.

[f.37] Information provided in accordance with section 2.18.(f)(ii) and 2.19.(b) may be substituted for the disclosures required by subsection (f)(i) of this section.

[f.38] In any transaction involving a single payment, the creditor need not disclose the total of payments.

[f.39] A required deposit need not include, for example: (1) an escrow account for items such as taxes, insurance or repairs; (2) a deposit that earns not less than 5 percent per year, or (3) payments under a Morris Plan.

[f.40] For purposes of subsection (a)(iii) of this section, an irregular transaction is one that includes one or more of the following features: multiple advances, irregular payment periods or irregular payment amounts (other than an irregular first period or an irregular first or final payment).

[f.41] For purposes of this section, the addition to an existing obligation of a security interest in a consumer’s principal dwelling is a transaction. The right of rescission applies only to the addition of the security interest and not the existing obligation. The creditor shall deliver the notice required by subsection (b) of this section but need not deliver new material disclosures. Delivery of the required notice shall begin the rescission period.

[f.42] The term “material disclosures” means the required disclosures of the annual percentage rate, the finance charge, the amount financed, the total of payments, the payment schedule, and the disclosures and limitations referred to in Section 2.32(c) and (d).

[f.42(a)] See footnote 30(a).

[f.43] An example of one or more typical extensions of credit with a statement of all the terms applicable to each may be used.

History

• Effective 1996-08-23

Chapter 1 Organization, Licensing, Records

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 1 Authority

(a) Generally, these Rules and Regulations (herein after referred to as the "Rules") are promulgated pursuant to W.S. 16-3-102(a)(i). Some Chapters are also promulgated pursuant to other, more specific statutory authority, as specified in such Chapter.

(b) The Administrator may employ a Deputy Administrator. If the Office of the Administrator is vacant or if the Administrator is absent or unable to act, the Deputy Administrator shall be the Acting Administrator.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 2 Definitions

(a) For the purposes of the Code and Chapter 1 and 4 of these Rules, the following definitions apply:

(i) "Actuarial method" means the allocating of payments made on a debt between principal and loan finance charge or credit service charge pursuant to which:

(A) With respect to transactions other than precomputed, payment is applied first to the accumulated loan finance charge or credit service charge and the balance is applied to the unpaid principal.

(B) With respect to precomputed transactions entered into on or after May 25, 1979, and payable according to their original terms in more than sixty-one (61) monthly installments, the unearned portion of the loan finance charge or credit service charge is, at the option of the creditor, either:

(I) That portion which is applicable to all fully unexpired computational periods as originally scheduled, or if deferred, as deferred, which follow the date of prepayment. For this purpose the applicable charge is the total of that which would have been made for each such period, had the consumer loan or consumer credit sale not been precomputed, by applying to unpaid balances of principal the annual percentage rate previously stated to the debtor pursuant to the provisions of the Code on disclosure based on the assumption that all payments were made as originally scheduled, or if deferred, as deferred. The creditor, at his option, may round the annual percentage rate to the nearest one quarter of one percent (.25%) if such procedure is not consistently used to obtain greater yield than would otherwise be permitted; or

(II) The total loan finance charge or credit service charge minus the earned loan finance charge or credit service charge. The earned loan finance charge or credit service charge shall be determined by applying the annual percentage rate previously stated to the debtor pursuant to the provisions of the Code on disclosure to the actual unpaid balances for the actual time the balances were unpaid up to the date of prepayment. If a delinquency or deferral charge was collected, it shall be treated as a payment.

(C) The option referred to in paragraph (i)(B)(I) above must be taken and disclosed to the debtor at the time the transaction is entered into. If disclosure is not clearly given as to the option to be used, the creditor will be deemed to have chosen that option discussed in paragraph (i)(B)(II) above.

(ii) "Administrator" means the State of Banking Commissioner of the state of Wyoming.

(iii) "Change of ownership" means:

(A) A transfer of all or substantially all of the assets of the business conducted at any license location; or

(B) In all cases other than individuals, a transfer that results in one (1) or more persons, directly or indirectly, owning or controlling greater than fifty percent (50%) of the controlling interests of the licensee, unless such person(s) owned or controlled greater than fifty percent (50%) of such controlling interests as of the date of the most recent filed application.

(iv) "Change of effective ownership interest" means:

(A) A transfer that results in one (1) or more persons, directly or indirectly owning or controlling ten percent (10%) or more of the controlling interests of the licensee; or

(B) A transfer that results in one (1) or more persons becoming entitled or permitted to vote for or against a manager with ten percent (10%) or more of the controlling interests of the licensee.

(v) "Code" refers to the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code Act

as cited in W.S. 40-14-101 et seq.

(vi) "Consumer" means a cardholder or a natural person to whom consumer credit is offered or extended. Unless the context indicates otherwise, credit shall be construed to mean "consumer credit," loan to mean "consumer loan," lease to mean "consumer lease," and transaction to mean "consumer credit transaction."

(vii) "Consumer Lender" means a person who has obtained a license pursuant to W.S. 40-14-302(b).

(viii) "Division" means the Department of Audit, Division of Banking.

(ix) "Lessee" means a natural person who leases under, or who is offered, a consumer lease.

(x) "Lessor" means a person who in the ordinary course of business regularly leases, offers to lease or arranges for the leasing of personal property under a consumer lease.

(xi) "Manager" means, for purposes of Section 2(a)(iv)(B) of this Chapter, the following:

(A) For corporations, the board of directors or, if the corporation has elected not to have a board of directors, the holders of the capital stock of the corporation;

(B) For limited partnerships, general partnerships or joint ventures, the general partners or joint adventurers; or

(C) For limited liability companies, statutory or other trusts, and any other business organization, the persons in whom the management of the company, trust, or organization is vested.

(xii) "Month" means, for purposes of W.S. 40-14-363, one (1) calendar month. The period shall expire on the same date in the succeeding month if there is such a date, otherwise on the last day of the succeeding month.

(xiii) "Multiple of the federal minimum wage" means, for purposes of the limitation on garnishment in W.S. 40-14-505(b)(iii), the multiple of the federal minimum hourly wage for pay periods other than a week shall be determined as follows:

(A) Where the employee is paid by the day, the multiple shall be six (6), for two (2) days the multiple shall be twelve (12), for three (3) days the multiple shall be eighteen (18), and for four (4) days the multiple shall be twenty-four (24) or six (6) times the number of days;

(B) Where the employee is paid either every two (2) weeks or semimonthly, then the multiple shall be two and one-sixth (2 1/6) x thirty (30) x current federal minimum wage;

(C) Where the employee is paid monthly, then the calendar month shall be considered to consist of four and one-third (4 1/3) work weeks and the formula shall be four and one-third (4 1/3) x thirty (30) x current federal minimum wage; or

(D) Where the employee is paid once every two months, then the multiple shall be eight and two-thirds (8 2/3) x thirty (30) x current federal minimum wage.

(xiv) "Transfer" means to change in any manner legal or equitable claims of ownership or any rights or obligations relating to any such claim, whether by act or inaction, whether directly or indirectly, whether intentional or not. Without limiting the foregoing, for any lien, "transfer" includes the foreclosure of any rights of redemption as to the lien, but does not include the granting or imposition of the lien, whether on an ownership interest or any of the assets of the licensee.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 3 Computation of Time

Unless otherwise stated, in computing any time period prescribed by these Rules, the day of the act or event from which the time period begins to run shall not be included. The last day of the period so computed shall be included, unless it is a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday, in which event the period runs until the end of the next day which is not a Saturday, a Sunday, or a legal holiday. When the period is less than eleven (11) days, Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays shall be excluded in the computation.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 4 Application/Licensing

(a) An application to obtain a license shall be filed with the Administrator through the registry. This includes applications seeking licenses as consumer lenders, pawnbrokers, post-dated check cashers and sales finance companies. An application shall be considered "filed" only after all information and appropriate processing fees required by the Administrator have been received from the applicant.

(b) Each applicant shall provide all of the information prescribed by the Administrator, as applicable.

(c) Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-634 (c), each filed application for one (1) or more licenses shall be accompanied by:

(i) A three hundred dollar ($300.00) processing fee for the first license (principal license) for each license type; and

(ii) An additional processing fee of one hundred fifty dollars ($150.00) for each additional license (branch license) for each license type.

(d) Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-634(d), a fifty dollar ($50.00) initial license fee shall be paid for each license obtained.

(e) An application is a continuing obligation up until approval and issuing of the license applied for. If information in an application becomes inaccurate after filing, the applicant shall promptly notify the Administrator.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 5 Change of Ownership

(a) Change of effective ownership interest. A licensee shall notify the administrator in writing at least thirty (30) days prior to the effective date of any change of effective ownership interest that is not a change of ownership under Section 2(a)(iii) of this Chapter. The Administrator may require the licensee to provide additional information or apply for a new license in the manner prescribed under Section 4 of this Chapter.

(b) Change of ownership. A licensee shall notify the administrator in writing at least sixty (60) days prior to the effective date of a change of ownership. The new owners shall apply for a new license in the manner prescribed under Section 4 of this Chapter.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 6 Modification

Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-634(g)(ii), a license modification fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) shall be assessed to any licensee who wishes to move his office to another location.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 7 Annual Renewal

.

Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-634(h), the annual license renewal fee shall be fifty dollars

($50.00) plus any fees assessed by the registry.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 8 Records

If any book, log, journal, document, record or information relevant and necessary to the examination or investigation is kept or maintained electronically, the business examined or investigated shall provide such data or access to data in an electronic format when requested by the Administrator.

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.1.12022021 § 9 Transition of Licensees Under W.S. 40-14-342

(a) Any person licensed pursuant to W.S. 40-14-342 as of June 30, 2021, is considered licensed as a consumer lender effective July 1, 2021.

(b) For any person licensed as a consumer lender under subsection (a) of this section, any surety bond maintained pursuant to W.S. 40-14-637 shall remain a continuing obligation and remain effective after June 30, 2021.

(c) No license is surrendered, revoked or expired for purposes of W.S. 40-14-637(d) in connection with any person becoming licensed as a consumer lender pursuant to subsection (a) of this section.

1-1

History

• Effective 2021-12-02

Chapter 3 Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.3.10152025 Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act

CHAPTER 3

WYOMING CONSUMER RENTAL-PURCHASE AGREEMENT ACT

Section 1. Authority.

The Rules governing the Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act are adopted pursuant to W.S. 40-19-118(b).

Section 2. Definitions.

(a) As used in this Chapter and the Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act:

(i) All of the definitions set forth in W.S. 40-19-102 are incorporated herein by reference.

(ii) "Financial statement" means any report summarizing the financial condition or financial results of an applicant on any date or for any period. Financial statements include the balance sheet and the income statement.

(iii) "Initial period" means from the date of inception to the first scheduled payment.

(iv) "Monthly" means each calendar month. Monthly payments shall expire on the same date in the succeeding month if there is such a date, otherwise on the last day of the succeeding month. If the payment due date is not a business day, the periodic payment shall expire on the next business day.

(v) "Regularly provides" means providing the use of property under rental-purchase agreements, but only if the merchant made more than twenty-five (25) such agreements in the preceding calendar year. If a merchant did not meet these numerical standards in the preceding calendar year, the numerical standards shall be applied to the current calendar year.

(vi) "Weekly" means every seven (7) consecutive calendar days. Weekly payments shall expire on the same day in the succeeding week. If the payment due date is not a business day, the periodic payment shall expire on the next business day.

Section 3. License Required.

(a) Any merchant who regularly provides the use of property under rental- purchase agreements shall apply for a license to conduct business as a rental-purchase merchant. Each applicant shall provide all of the information required on the license application form prescribed by the Commissioner, as applicable.

(b) The completed application shall be accompanied by a processing fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00), made payable to the Department of Audit.

Section 4. Licensing Standards, Fees.

(a) A license to engage in the business as a rental-purchase merchant will be issued to an applicant if the Commissioner, upon investigation and evaluation of the completed application and all other relevant information, determines that all of the requirements of W.S. 40-19-114 have been met.

(b) The Commissioner may deny an application to engage in the business as a rental-purchase merchant if the Commissioner, upon investigation and evaluation of the completed application and all other relevant information, determines that:

(i) The applicant has not satisfied the requirements of W.S. 40-19-114;

(ii) The applicant has violated any provision of W.S. 40-19-101 through W.S. 40-19-120;

(iii) The applicant has violated any state or federal law applicable to the conduct of the business of a rental-purchase merchant including, but not limited to, any rule, regulation or administrative order or directive promulgated thereunder;

(iv) The applicant has conducted, or from the information provided it appears to the Commissioner that the applicant will conduct, its business in an unsafe and unsound manner; or

(v) The applicant has engaged in conduct which has resulted in the suspension or revocation of its license to engage in the business as a rental-purchase merchant by the licensing authority of any other state.

(c) An applicant whose application has been denied under subsection (b) may request a contested case hearing under Chapter 4 of these Rules.

(d) The applicant shall list each place of business that is a physical location and pay a license fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per place of business that is a physical location.

(e) If the applicant will display or offer rental-purchase property through an independent third-party retailer then the license application shall disclose the names and addresses of each independent third-party retailer which displays or offers rental-purchase property for the applicant and the applicant shall pay a fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00).

(f) If the applicant's only place of business is an online presence per W.S. 40-19-114(e)(iii) then the applicant shall pay a license fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00).

Section 5. Modification.

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-19-114(h), if the merchant wishes to move to another location, the merchant shall:

(i) Give at least thirty (30) days written notice to the Commissioner; and,

(ii) Pay a license modification fee of fifty dollars ($50.00) for each license required to be modified, made payable to the Department of Audit.

Section 6. Annual Renewal.

(a) As required by W.S. 40-19-114(j), merchants licensed under the Wyoming Consumer Rental-Purchase Agreement Act shall pay an annual license renewal fee that shall include the following:

(i) A renewal fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per place of business which is a physical location;

(ii) A renewal fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) if the applicant displays or offers rental purchase property through an independent third-party retailer location; and

(iii) A renewal fee of three hundred dollars ($300.00) if the applicant's only place of business is an online presence.

Section 7. Additional Charges.

(a) In addition to rental payments, a merchant may contract for and receive the following additional charges in connection with a rental-purchase agreement:

(i) A reinstatement fee pursuant to W.S. 40-19-108(a)(xi). The reinstatement fee may not exceed the greater of 5% of the delinquent payment or two dollars ($2.00). Only one reinstatement fee may be assessed and collected on any delinquent payment, regardless of how long the payment remains unpaid;

(ii) An optional pickup fee not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) for three (3) or fewer items or forty dollars ($40.00) for four (4) or more items that are actually picked up;

(iii) An optional redelivery fee not to exceed twenty dollars ($20.00) for three (3) or fewer items or forty dollars ($40.00) for four (4) or more items that are actually redelivered;

(iv) A liability damage waiver fee may be contracted for and received pursuant to W.S. 40-19-111(a).

Section 8. Notice of Default and Right to Cure

A notice in substantially the following form complies with the requirement in

W.S. 40-19-109(b):

(Name, address and telephone number of merchant) (Account number, if any)

(Brief description of transaction)

(Date) is LAST DATE FOR PAYMENT (Amount) is the AMOUNT DUE NOW

You have failed to renew your rental agreement(s). If you pay the AMOUNT DUE NOW (above) by the LAST DATE FOR PAYMENT (above), you may continue with the contract as though you had renewed on time. If you do not pay by that date, we may exercise our rights under the law. You may be required to pay reasonable costs authorized by law.

PLEASE NOTE: As of the LAST DATE FOR PAYMENT (above) you will owe the following additional payments:

(date due) (amount)

In order to cure your account fully, the payment or payments listed above must also be paid in full on or before the LAST DATE FOR PAYMENT. If you have questions, promptly write or telephone (name of merchant).

History

• Effective 2025-10-15

Chapter 4 Rules of Practice and Procedure Before the Administrator

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.4.12302009 Rules of Practice and Procedure Before the Administrator

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE ADMINISTRATOR

CHAPTER 4

RULES OF PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE BEFORE THE ADMINISTRATOR

Section 1. Authority.

This Chapter is promulgated in part pursuant to W.S. §16-3-102(a)(i) (mandate to promulgate rules of practice and procedure).

Section 2. Wyoming Administrative Procedures Act (WAPA).

The WAPA as defined by W.S. 16-3-101 et seq. is incorporated herein by reference.

Section 3. Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure (WRCP).

The WRCP insofar as they are applicable and not inconsistent with the WAPA are incorporated herein by reference.

Section 4. Definitions.

(a) For purposes of this Chapter, the following definitions apply:

(i) "Adjustment order" means an order issued pursuant to W.S. 40-14-616.

(ii) "Appeal period" means the period of twenty (20) days after the notice date.

(iii) "Cease and desist order" means an order that instructs the ordered person to cease and desist from proscribed activity.

(iv) "Contested case" means any formal or investigative hearing before the Administrator.

(v) "Hearing" means a public hearing before the Administrator on an application as provided in W.S. 40-14-634, W.S. 40-19-114, or W.S. 40-14-643(c), or an appeal from the Administrator's notice of intent.

(vi) "Hearing date" means the date set by the hearing officer for the hearing. The hearing date shall be no less than ten (10) days and no more than ninety (90) days from the date the appeal is filed with the Administrator. Upon agreement of the parties and the hearing officer, the hearing date may be extended past ninety (90) days from the date the appeal is filed.

(vii) "Hearing notice" means the notice of the hearing given by the hearing officer to the respondent.

(viii) "Hearing officer" means the any person appointed by the Administrator to preside over a contested case.

(ix) "Notice date" means the date on which the ordered person is served with a notice of intent, which shall conclusively be the date shown on the return receipt or other reliable report of service.

(x) "Notice of intent" means the notice given by the Administrator that he intends to issue a final order.

(xi) "Order" means a cease and desist order, penalty order, order to show cause, adjustment order, or any other order issued by the Administrator.

(xii) "Ordered person" means a person who or which is the subject of an order and upon whom or which the order is to operate directly.

(xiii) "Order to show cause" means an order issued pursuant to W.S. 40-14-635 or W.S. 40-19-115.

(xiv) "Penalty order" means an order, or such portion of an order, that imposes a civil monetary penalty.

(xv) "Person" means an individual, corporation, partnership, trust, association, or other entity.

(xvi) "Proscribed activity" means, as determined by the Administrator, any action or inaction that violates the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code or the Wyoming Rental-Purchase Agreement Act.

(xvii) "Respondent" means the person whose legal rights, duties, privileges, or conduct are the subject of a formal or investigative hearing before the Administrator.

Section 5. Issuance of Orders.

(a) The Administrator is empowered to issue orders under the Wyoming Uniform Consumer Credit Code and the Wyoming Rental-Purchase Agreement Act. All orders shall be in writing.

(b) All orders shall be delivered to the ordered person;

(i) by certified mail, addressed to the last known address of the ordered person, as shown on the records of the Administrator; or

(ii) in the manner provided for service of process under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure.

(c) Each order shall be accompanied by a notice of intent.

Section 6. Content of Notices of Intent and Orders.

(a) A notice of intent shall include the following:

(i) The name and street mailing address of each ordered person;

(ii) The effective date of the order, unless specified in the order;

(iii) A copy of the order; and

(iv) A statement informing the ordered person that it has the right to a hearing on the order before the Administrator and that failure to request a hearing within the appeal period will result in the waiver of the right to appeal the order before the Administrator.

(b) An order shall include:

(i) The name of the ordered person, identified with reasonable particularity, such as by residence address, social security number or employment status;

(ii) A brief statement, explaining the basis for the issuance of the order;

(iii) If applicable, the effective date of the order, which may be immediately upon issuance;

(iv) In the case of a cease and desist order, a statement directing the ordered person to discontinue the proscribed activity, directing it to correct the effects of or the steps leading to the proscribed activity, or both;

(v) A statement of the grounds for issuing the order, including citation to the statute or rule involved, if any;

(vi) A statement of the facts in support of the allegations contained in the grounds for issuing the order.

Section 7. Representation before the Administrator; Notice of Appearance.

(a) A person may represent itself, or may be represented either by a Wyoming attorney or by a qualified foreign attorney, in proceedings before the Administrator.

(b) Each Wyoming attorney and each qualified foreign attorney shall file with the Administrator a notice of appearance before representing a party in connection with a hearing under this Chapter. In the case of a qualified foreign attorney, the notice of appearance shall have no meaning or effect unless and until his associated Wyoming attorney shall have also filed with the Administrator a notice of appearance. All notices of appearance shall set forth all facts necessary to determine that the attorney is either a Wyoming attorney or a qualified foreign attorney and is authorized to represent his client under this Section.

(c) Administrator counsel shall not be required to file a notice of appearance.

Section 8. Ex Parte Communication.

Unless required for the disposition of ex parte matters authorized by law, the hearing officer shall not consult directly or indirectly with any party regarding a submission, except as allowed under W.S. 16-3-111. A request for status of a proceeding is not an ex parte communication.

Section 9. Confidentiality.

(a) All matters and proceedings arising out of or related to an application or a suspension, revocation, or an order shall be confidential, except as otherwise provided in this Section.

(b) At the hearing, the hearing officer may adjourn the public portion of the hearing at any time to consider or receive any protected material in a session that is not open to the public. To the extent that information is disclosed at public portions of the hearing, such information shall not be confidential.

(c) The hearing officer's findings of fact and conclusions of law and report and recommendation to the Administrator shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

(d) After the Administrator has rendered his final decision after the hearing, any written report of such decision shall not be confidential and shall be available for public inspection under the Wyoming Public Records Act.

Section 10. Appointment of Hearing Officer.

(a) Promptly after an appeal is filed with the Administrator, the Administrator may appoint a hearing officer to preside at any proceeding before the Administrator.

(b) The hearing officer shall have all powers necessary to conduct the hearing fairly and impartially, including the power to:

(i) Administer oaths and affirmations;

(ii) Issue subpoenas;

(iii) Rule upon offers of proof and receive relevant evidence;

(iv) Take depositions or cause depositions to be taken;

(v) Regulate the course of the hearing;

(vi) Hold conferences for the settlement or simplification of issues;

(vii) Dispose of procedural requests and similar matters;

(viii) Make proposed findings of fact, proposed conclusions of law and recommended decisions, but only as and when directed by the Administrator; and

(ix) Take any other action authorized by the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act or these Rules.

Section 11. Transcripts of Hearings.

(a) If a person desires a copy of those portions of the recording of a hearing that are available for public inspection, it shall request the same in writing. Such request shall be delivered to the Administrator, along with a fee that the Administrator shall determine on a case-by-case basis to recoup the total cost of services and materials necessary to make the copy, including any editing necessary to prevent the disclosure of protected material. Upon receipt of the request and the required fee, the Administrator shall provide such copy to the requesting party as soon as practicable.

(b) If a party desires that a hearing be transcribed by court reporter, it must so inform the Administrator and the hearing officer in writing and make the necessary arrangements and pay all associated costs related to the same. In each such case, the court reporter shall not record protected material nor any proceedings that the party providing the court reporter is not permitted to attend.

Section 12. Form and Content of Filings.

(a) All pleadings filed with the Administrator shall be printed or typewritten.

(b) After a case has been assigned a docket number, all pleadings filed therein shall bear the title, "Before the Administrator," and docket number of the case in which they are filed.

(c) Signing of pleadings. Every party who is not represented by an attorney shall sign his pleadings and state his address. Every pleading of a party represented by an attorney shall be signed by the attorney and shall show his address.

Section 13. Service of Process; Delivery of Other Materials; Use of Overnight Couriers.

(a) Whenever any document or other material that is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to the Administrator or hearing officer, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(b) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on or otherwise delivered to a party in connection with proceedings before the Administrator, such service or delivery shall be made upon:

(i) If such party is represented by counsel who has filed a notice of appearance in accordance with Section 7, then upon such counsel; or

(ii) If such party is an entity or a group of individuals and is not represented by counsel, then upon the agent designated by such party for service of process; or

(iii) In all other circumstances, upon such party.

(c) Whenever any document or other material is required to be served on, filed with or otherwise delivered to any other person, such service, filing or delivery shall be made in any manner permitted under the Wyoming Rules of Civil Procedure for service of process.

(d) Any notice or other written communication that may be delivered by certified mail may be delivered by any reputable, nationwide overnight courier service that obtains the signature of the person to whom delivery is made and that retains records of delivery.

Section 14. Appeal.

Each appeal filed by the respondent shall contain a statement in ordinary precise language of the matter that is being appealed, and the defense or the position of thw respondent. The defense or position of the respondent shall include specific references to legal authority and facts which support the respondent's position or defense.

Section 15. Discovery and Depositions.

(a) Until thirty (30) days before the hearing or other date determined by the hearing officer, discovery and the taking of depositions shall be available to the parties as provided in W.S. 16-3-107.

(b) The Administrator is subject to the discovery provisions of this Section but neither the Administrator nor any employee of the Division shall be required to disclose protected material, nor shall any of them be compelled to testify or give a deposition. Discovery sought from any employee of the Division initially shall be by written application to the Administrator. If the Administrator refuses to allow discovery in whole or in part, the aggrieved party may apply to the district court for the district in which the hearing is to be conducted for an order directed to the appropriate person to compel discovery.

Section 16. Pre-hearing Conference; Agenda.

(a) At least five (5) days before the hearing, the hearing officer shall conduct a pre-hearing conference to consider the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. All parties shall attend the conference. The hearing officer may require each party to submit a memorandum to address the matters specified in subsection (d) of this Section. The conference may be conducted by telephone conference call or other suitable means by which all persons who are part of the conference may actively participate in the conference and can be heard by all other persons who are part of the conference.

(b) The hearing officer shall give each party at least five (5) days notice of the date, time and place for the pre-hearing conference.

(c) The following matters shall be considered at the pre-hearing conference:

(i) The names and addresses of witnesses whom each party intends to call to testify at the hearing, together with a detailed summary of the testimony expected from each witness;

(ii) The documentary evidence each party intends to introduce at the hearing;

(iii) The number, description, and purpose of all demonstrative exhibits each party intends to use at the hearing;

(iv) Material facts, if any, of which the Administrator will be requested to take official notice pursuant to W.S. 16-3-108(d);

(v) Stipulations of fact and documentary evidence to be admitted into the record;

(vi) Matters requiring consideration or submission to the Administrator in executive session;

(vii) The length of time to be devoted to presentation of cases and delivery of opening and closing statements;

(viii) Any other matters that will simplify the issues or otherwise allow the hearing to be conducted more efficiently and quickly; and

(ix) A determination as to whether briefs are to be filed.

(d) At the hearing, the hearing officer shall admit into the record all facts, evidence and other matters to which the parties stipulated at the conference. The Administrator also shall identify those matters of which he will take official notice.

(e) The hearing officer shall prepare an agenda that sets forth the order of business to come before him during the hearing, and the witnesses to be called, the documentary evidence to be introduced, and the exhibits to be used at the hearing. Before the hearing, the Administrator shall provide a copy of the agenda to each party. The agenda will govern the order of business during the hearing unless modified by the Administrator.

Section 17. Right to Appear at Hearing; Public Comment.

(a) Only parties may appear before the hearing officer at a hearing. Whether for himself or in a representative capacity, any individual may testify provided that he is called by a party or by the hearing officer.

(b) The hearing officer, in his discretion, may permit persons in attendance at the hearing to present oral comments at the conclusion of the hearing. The Administrator and the parties may ask questions of any person who presents oral comments at the hearing.

Section 18. Open Hearing; Executive Session.

(a) The hearing shall be open to the public except as otherwise provided in this Chapter. If a person disrupts a hearing or otherwise renders unfeasible the orderly conduct of the hearing, the Administrator or hearing officer shall remove the person from the hearing and continue in session, or they may recess the hearing.

(b) At any time during the hearing, the Administrator or hearing officer may adjourn and reconvene in executive session to consider protected material. Executive sessions of the hearing shall not be open to the public.

Section 19. Order of Procedure.

(a) The hearing shall be conducted substantially as follows:

(i) The hearing officer shall call the hearing to order and call the case to be heard;

(ii) The hearing officer shall address any motions or preliminary matters to be heard, including introduction of exhibits, stipulated facts and evidence, and matters to be noticed officially by the Administrator;

(iii) The hearing officer shall administer to all witnesses an oath or affirmation in substantially the manner prescribed in W.S. 1-12-114;

(iv) Each party may make an opening statement, in the same order as evidence is to be presented, as set forth in this Section;

(v) The respondent shall present its case;

(vi) All other parties shall present their respective cases in the order prescribed by the hearing officer;

(vii) All parties shall be accorded a reasonable amount of time to cross-examine witnesses presented by another party;

(viii) All parties may present rebuttal evidence, if any, in the order and within the time limits prescribed by the hearing officer; and

(ix) Each party may make a closing statement. The hearing officer shall determine the amount of time for each party to make its closing statement.

(b) The hearing officer or the Administrator may ask questions of any party or witness.

Section 20. Nature of Hearing; Presentation of Evidence.

(a) The purpose of the hearing is to obtain a full and true disclosure of all relevant and material facts so that the findings, decisions and orders of the hearing officer are rendered upon information as complete and trustworthy as is practicable. Hearings are not intended to be adversarial in nature.

(b) The taking of evidence shall be governed by W.S. 16-3-108. Documentary and other physical evidence submitted for the Administrator's consideration shall be marked as exhibits. Upon such marking, such evidence shall become part of the record.

(c) The hearing officer shall exercise reasonable control over the manner and order of questioning witnesses and presenting other evidence so as to:

(i) make more effective the ascertainment of the truth and a full and true disclosure of relevant and material facts;

(ii) avoid needless consumption of time;

(iii) avoid presentation of irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious evidence;

(iv) avoid the public disclosure of protected material;

(v) protect the witness from harassment and undue embarrassment; and

(vi) maintain an orderly and efficient hearing.

(d) Cross-examination shall be limited to the subject matter of the direct examination and matters relating to the credibility of the witness. The hearing officer may permit additional inquiry into matters as if on direct examination.

(e) No relevant information shall be excluded solely because it is hearsay.

Section 21. Reopening of Hearing.

Upon reasonable notice to all parties, the hearing officer may reopen the hearing at any time prior to the issuance of his findings of fact, his conclusions of law and his decision and/or order relating to the hearing. To the extent possible, a reopened hearing shall be held in the same community and at the same location as the initial hearing.

Section 22. Records of Hearing and Executive Sessions.

(a) The record of the hearing shall include:

(i) all formal and informal notices, pleadings, motions and intermediate rulings;

(ii) evidence received or considered, including matters officially noticed;

(iii) questions and offers of proof, objections and rulings on the same; and

(iv) any opinion, findings, conclusions, decision or order of the Administrator or the hearing officer.

(b) Portions of the record that contain evidence, testimony, deliberations or other matters presented in executive session shall be deemed to be matters described in W.S. 16-4-203(d) and in W.S. 9-1-512 and shall not be subject to public inspection.

Section 23. Recording of Hearings.

The hearing shall be recorded verbatim steno graphically, or by court reporter, videotape, audiotape or any other means of verbatim recording as may be determined by the Administrator or hearing officer.

Section 24. Findings and Conclusions.

(a) In any proceeding before the Administrator:

(i) The parties have a right to submit proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law or a proposal for decision. The hearing officer shall set reasonable deadlines for submission of proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(ii) Proposed findings of fact submitted under this section must be supported by concise and explicit statements of underlying facts developed from the record with specific reference to where in the record the facts appear.

(iii) The Administrator may direct the hearing officer to write proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law.

(iv) The Administrator shall consider the findings of fact and conclusions of law and;

(A) adopt the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, in whole or in part;

(B) decline to adopt the proposed findings of fact and conclusions of law, in whole or in part; or

(C) direct the hearing officer to give further consideration to the proceeding with or without reopening the hearing.

Section 25. Unclaimed Exhibits.

Within sixty (60) days after the expiration of all periods within which an appeal of a final determination must be filed, the parties shall retrieve all exhibits. After that time, the Administrator may dispose of any exhibits not so retrieved.

History

• Effective 2009-12-30

Chapter 5 Loan Originator Licensing; Fees; Information Challenge

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.5.02222017 § 1 Application/Licensing

(a) Each mortgage loan originator applicant shall provide all of the information required on the license application form prescribed by the Administrator, as applicable.

(b) An application to obtain a mortgage loan originator license pursuant to W.S. 40-14-642 shall be considered "filed" only after all information and appropriate processing fees required have been received by the Administrator.

(c) An application for a license is a continuing obligation up until approval and issuing of the license applied for. If information in an application becomes inaccurate after filing, the applicant shall promptly notify the Administrator.

(d) A mortgage loan originator license is only active if the mortgage loan originator is sponsored by a company engaged in business under the Code and registered with the registry. A mortgage loan originator can only be sponsored by and conduct business as a mortgage loan originator for only one company at any time.

History

• Effective 2017-02-22

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.5.02222017 § 2 Application Fee

Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-642(f), each application for a mortgage loan originator license shall be accompanied by a one hundred and twenty dollar ($120.00) application fee plus any fees assessed by the registry.

History

• Effective 2017-02-22

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.5.02222017 § 3 License Renewal Fee; Reinstatement; Continuing Education

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-646(a)(iii), the mortgage loan originator license renewal fee shall be one hundred and twenty dollars ($120.00) plus any fees assessed by the registry.

(b) Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-646(b) and W.S. 40-14-647(h), if any licensed mortgage loan originator fails to satisfy the requirements for renewal of their license by December 1, that license shall expire on December 31. The mortgage loan originator shall have until March 1 of the year immediately following the year the license expired to satisfy all of the renewal requirements under W.S. 40-14-646(a)(i), (ii) and (iii) and reinstate the license. Business as a mortgage loan originator may not be conducted after December 31 until such time as all of the renewal requirements have been satisfied and the license has been reinstated to active status on the registry. Failure to complete all of the renewal requirements by March 1 will result in final expiration of the license.

History

• Effective 2017-02-22

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.5.02222017 § 4 Information Challenge on Report to the Registry

(a) Upon written request, an individual is entitled to a hearing to challenge any information relating to that individual entered onto the registry by the Administrator if the individual has previously provided a written challenge to the Administrator regarding such information and the Administrator has provided a written response that the information being challenged will not be removed from the registry.

(b) Notwithstanding any provision under the Wyoming Administrative Procedure Act, a request for hearing shall not be made more than fifteen (15) days after the individual has received notification by certified mail that information being challenged will not be removed from the registry by the Administrator and the supporting reasons for that decision.

History

• Effective 2017-02-22

Wyo. Code R. 021.0007.5.02222017 § 5 Surety Bond

(a) Pursuant to W.S. 40-14-637, any organization employing or contracting with a mortgage loan originator shall obtain an initial surety bond in the amount of twenty five thousand dollars ($25,000.00). Annually thereafter and prior to January 31 of each year, the bond amount shall be adjusted based upon the total volume of residential mortgage loan business under the Code conducted by mortgage loan originators during the previous calendar year according to the following scale:

(i) If the total volume of Wyoming residential mortgage loan business under the Code conducted by mortgage loan originators was equal to or less than three million dollars ($3,000,000.00), the amount of the bond shall be twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000.00).

(ii) If the total volume of Wyoming residential mortgage loan business under the Code conducted by mortgage loan originators was greater than three million dollars ($3,000,000.00) but less than ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00) the amount of the bond shall be fifty thousand dollars ($50,000.00).

(iii) If the total volume of Wyoming residential mortgage loan business under the Code conducted by mortgage loan originators was equal to or greater than ten million dollars ($10,000,000.00) the amount of the bond shall be one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000.00).

History

• Effective 2017-02-22