20 ILCS 3205/2.5

(20 ILCS 3205/2.5)

Sec. 2.5. Prohibited activities.

(a) For the purposes of this Section, "regulated entity" means any person, business, company, corporation, institution, or other entity who is subject to regulation by the Office of Banks and Real Estate under Sections 3 and 46 of the Illinois Banking Act, Section 1-5 of the Illinois Savings and Loan Act of 1985, Section 1004 of the Savings Bank Act, Section 1-3 of the Residential Mortgage License Act of 1987, Section 2-4 of the Corporate Fiduciary Act, Section 3.02 of the Illinois Bank Holding Company Act of 1957, the Savings and Loan Share and Account Act, the Pawnbroker Regulation Act of 2023, Section 3 of the Foreign Banking Office Act, or Section 30 of the Electronic Fund Transfer Act.

(b) The Commissioner and the deputy commissioners shall not be an officer, director, employee, or agent of a regulated entity or of a corporation or company that owns or controls a regulated entity.

The Commissioner and the deputy commissioners shall not own shares of stock or hold any other equity interest in a regulated entity or in a corporation or company that owns or controls a regulated entity. If the Commissioner or a deputy commissioner owns shares of stock or holds an equity interest in a regulated entity at the time of appointment, he or she shall dispose of such shares or other equity interest within 120 days from the date of appointment.

The Commissioner and the deputy commissioners shall not directly or indirectly obtain a loan from a regulated entity or accept a gratuity from a regulated entity that is intended to influence the performance of official duties.

(c) Employees of the Office of Banks and Real Estate shall not be officers, directors, employees, or agents of a regulated entity or of a corporation or company that owns or controls a regulated entity.

Except as provided by standards which the Office of Banks and Real Estate may establish, employees of the Office of Banks and Real Estate shall not own shares of stock or hold any other equity interest in a regulated entity or in a corporation or company that owns or controls a regulated entity, or directly or indirectly obtain a loan from a regulated entity, or accept a gratuity from a regulated entity that is intended to influence the performance of official duties. However, in no case shall an employee of the Office of Banks and Real Estate participate in any manner in the examination or direct regulation of a regulated entity in which the employee owns shares of stock or holds any other equity interest, or which is servicing a loan to which the employee is an obligor.

(d) If the Commissioner, a deputy commissioner, or any employee of the Office of Banks and Real Estate properly obtains a loan or extension of credit from an entity that is not a regulated entity, and the loan or extension of credit is subsequently acquired by a regulated entity or the entity converts to become a regulated entity after the loan is made, such purchase by or conversion to a regulated entity shall not cause the loan or extension of credit to be deemed a violation of this Section.

Nothing in this Section shall be deemed to prevent the ownership of a checking account, a savings deposit account, a money market account, a certificate of deposit, a credit or debit card account, or shares in open-end investment companies registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to the federal Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Securities Act of 1933 (commonly referred to as mutual or money market funds).

(e) No Commissioner, deputy commissioner, employee, or agent of the Office of Banks and Real Estate shall, either during or after the holding of his or her term of office or employment, disclose confidential information concerning any regulated entity or person except as authorized by law or prescribed by rule. "Confidential information", as used in this Section, means any information that the person or officer obtained during his or her term of office or employment that is not available from the Office of Banks and Real Estate pursuant to a request under the Freedom of Information Act.

(Source: P.A. 103-585, eff. 3-22-24.)