Branch Name Usage

(1) Banks, Savings Banks or Savings and Loan Companies doing business in Tennessee and subject to examination authority of the commissioner are not required to use their official chartered name at all branch locations. However, reasonable care must be taken to insure that customer confusion does not occur. To eliminate confusion and the potential to mislead members of the public into believing they are dealing with different institutions for purposes of federal deposit insurance coverage, institutions will be required to do the following when using unofficial branch names: (a) Disclose, clearly and conspicuously, in signs, advertising, and similar materials that the facility is a branch, division, or other unit of the insured institution. The institution should exercise care that the signs and advertising do not create a deceptive and/or misleading impression. RULES OF PRACTICE: APPLICATIONS, INSTRUCTIONS, FORMS, CHAPTER 0180-7 REPORTS OF STATE BANKS, AND SCHEDULE OF APPLICATION FEES FOR STATE BANKS, BIDCOS, SAVINGS BANKS AND TRUST COMPANIES. (b) Use the official chartered name and location of the institution on all legal documents, checks, cashier’s checks, drafts, loan applications, loan agreements, loan documents, certificates of deposit, signature cards, account statements, and other similar documents; (c) Educate the staff of the institution regarding the possibility of customer confusion with respect to deposit insurance. Advise staff at the branch facility to inquire of customers, prior to opening new accounts, whether they have deposits at the Institution’s other facilities or branches. Require staff to make the branch customer aware that the branch and other facilities are in fact parts of the same insured institution and that deposits held at each facility are not separately insured; and (d) Within thirty (30) days after one institution acquires or combines with another, all customers shall be provided a disclosure that identifies the official chartered name of the institution, its main office location and all branch locations. Utilization of branch names different from the official chartered name of the institution must be adequately described in the disclosure. (2) The Department will not authorize the registration of unofficial branch names with the Secretary of State as assumed names. (3) Institutions that contemplate using name other than their official chartered names over a computer network such as the Internet should be aware that in instances where customers are allowed to open accounts electronically, the same procedures described in Rule 0180-7-.09(1) shall apply.