State of Washington Ex Rel. Michael D. Edwards, State Supervisor of Banking v. John Heimann, Comptroller of the Currency

INTRODUCTION

Certain national chartered banks in Washington sought and obtained approval from the United States Comptroller of the Currency to exchange various branch banks. The Washington state Supervisor of Banking and an association representing state chartered banks brought suit on several theories to set aside the Comptroller’s approval. Summary judgment was granted in favor of the national banks. The only issue on this appeal is whether the Comptroller had the statutory authority to approve the exchanges. We find that the relevant statutes are unambiguous and allow the result reached by the Comptroller.

We affirm.

FACTS

The facts are not disputed. Certain national chartered banks (national banks) in Washington filed purchase and assumptions applications with the United States Comptroller of the Currency (Comptroller). The national banks sought approval to make various branch bank exchanges. Public hearings were held and notice of the proposed transactions was given to various federal and state agencies. After receiving comments from other agencies, the Comptroller determined that the proposed exchanges served the convenience and need of the affected communities, were…