HCS/SB 178 - This act modifies Chapters 361, 362, 400, and 404, RSMo, in the following ways:

This act allows the Director of the Division of Finance to focus the Division's financial examination efforts on banks or trust companies that manifest "safety or soundness concerns".

All real property interests purchased or acquired by a bank or trust company must be sold within 10 years. If a bank or trust company changes its location, it has 10 years in which to dispose of the former location. Current law gives banks and trust companies 6 years to dispose of real property interests and former locations.

The board of directors of any bank or trust company must hold a regular meeting at least once per month, or upon application and approval by the Director, at least once per calendar quarter.

Currently, financial reports of banks and trust companies must be published in at least one newspaper. This requirement may be waived if the bank or trust company provides such report free of charge to the public.

This act allows a bank or trust company to "honor, dishonor or place conditions on any contract, agency agreement or other document presented by a third party" until the bank or trust company agrees in writing to honor such document.

Banks and trust companies shall not be required to reduce or waive any fees resulting from the investment and management of assets in a mutual fund.

This act states that a third party may require an attorney to indemnify the third party against forgery of a power of attorney.

This act also modifies Chapter 402, RSMo, in the following ways:

The terms "gift instrument", "historic dollar value", "institution", "institutional endowment fund" and "institutional trustee" in section 402.010, RSMo, were modified to allow gifts to 501(c)(3)/institutional endowment funds.

Section 402.015 authorizes the fund trustee to accumulate or expend the net income generated from the fund if there are no restrictions imposed by the gift instrument.

Section 402.035 details the "prudent man standard" the fund trustee must follow when making investment decisions.

Lastly, section 402.040 has been modified to allow the fund trustee to petition the circuit court to release the restrictions imposed by the gift instrument if the written consent of the donor cannot be obtained as a result of death, disability, incapacity, etc. RONALD J. LEONE