Minnesota Statutes
Chapter 47 — Financial Corporations
Section 47.12 — Financial Corporations.

Subdivision 1. Purposes. Corporations may be formed for any one of the following purposes:
(1) carrying on the business of banking, by receiving deposits, buying, selling, and discounting notes, bills, and other evidences of debt legal for investment, domestic or foreign, dealing in gold and silver bullion and foreign coins, issuing circulating notes, and loaning money upon real estate or personal security or upon the creditworthiness of the borrower;
(2) establishing and conducting clearinghouses, for effecting, in one place, the speedy and systematic daily exchange and adjustment of balances between banks and bankers in any municipality, town, or county, establishing and enforcing uniform methods of conducting the banking business in such locality, and adjusting disputes or misunderstandings between members of such clearinghouse engaged in the banking business;
(3) creating and conducting savings banks for the reception, on deposit, of money offered for that purpose, the investment thereof, and the declaring, crediting, and paying of dividends or interest thereon, as authorized and provided by law;
(4) transacting business as a trust company in conformity with the laws relating thereto; and
(5) carrying on, in accordance with law, the business of savings associations.
Subd. 2. Organization. Three or more persons may form a corporation for any of the purposes specified in this section by applying to the Department of Commerce and complying with all applicable organizational requirements and the conditions set out in clauses (1) to (7). The incorporators must subscribe a certificate specifying:
(1) the corporation's name, which must distinguish it from all other corporations authorized to do business in this state, and must contain the word "company," "corporation," "bank," "trust," "association," or "incorporated";
(2) the general nature of the corporation's business and its principal place of business;
(3) the period of its duration, if limited;
(4) the names and places of residence of the incorporators;
(5) the board in which the management of the corporation will be vested, the date of the annual meeting at which it will be elected, and the names and addresses of the board members until the first election, a majority of whom must always be residents of this state or reside within 50 miles of the main office of the corporation;
(6) the amount of capital stock, if any, how the capital stock is to be paid in, the number of shares into which it is to be divided, and the par value of each share; and, if there is to be more than one class, a description and the terms of issue of each class, and the method of voting on each class; and
(7) the highest amount of indebtedness or liability to which the corporation will at any time be subject. However, a corporation subject to section 48.27 may show its highest amount of indebtedness to be 30 times the amount of its capital and actual surplus.
The certificate may contain any other lawful provision defining and regulating the powers and business of the corporation, its officers, directors, trustees, members, and stockholders.
Subd. 3. Powers. (a) A corporation formed under this chapter may:
(1) be known by its corporate name for the time stated in its certificate of incorporation;
(2) sue and be sued in any court;
(3) have, use, and alter a common seal, but a seal must not be required;
(4) acquire, by purchase or otherwise, and hold, enjoy, improve, lease, encumber, and convey all real and personal property necessary for the purposes of its organization, subject to the limitations hereafter declared;
(5) elect or appoint in any manner it determines all necessary or proper officers, agents, boards, and committees, to fix their compensation, and to define their powers and duties;
(6) make and amend consistently with law bylaws providing for the management of its property and the regulation and government of its affairs; and
(7) wind up and liquidate its business in the manner provided by law.
(b) A corporation formed under this chapter shall indemnify persons against certain expenses and liabilities only as provided in section 302A.521.
(7441) RL s 2847; 1965 c 171 s 3; 1995 c 171 s 9; 2005 c 69 art 1 s 1; 2008 c 203 s 2

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