To Repeal The Arkansas Trust Institutions Act; And To Create The Arkansas Trust Institutions Act Of 2025.
SB230 repeals and replaces Arkansas’s existing Trust Institutions Act with a new Arkansas Trust Institutions Act of 2025. The bill reorganizes and restates the law governing trust companies, state trust institutions, out-of-state trust institutions, private trust companies, and representative trust offices. It defines who may act as a fiduciary in Arkansas, what activities count as trust business, and the powers, duties, and limitations of state trust companies and related entities. The bill also preserves and updates provisions on chartering, capitalization, governance, recordkeeping, examinations, mergers, acquisitions, liquidation, and enforcement.
The measure gives the Bank Commissioner broad supervisory authority over trust institutions, including rulemaking, examinations, approval of charters and office openings, review of control changes, and enforcement actions. It sets minimum capital requirements, limits on lending, investments, affiliate transactions, and borrowing, and requires bonding, reporting of apparent crimes, and maintenance of confidential records. It also authorizes interstate trust activity under specified reciprocity and notice conditions, and allows private trust companies to seek exemptions from selected provisions if they do not transact business with the general public.
SB230 substantially revises Arkansas Code Title 23, Chapter 51 by repealing the prior Arkansas Trust Institutions Act and enacting a reorganized Arkansas Trust Institutions Act of 2025. It updates statutory definitions, renumbers and restates many provisions, and continues the regulatory framework for trust companies under the Bank Commissioner and State Bank Department. The bill affects state-chartered trust companies, subsidiary trust companies, private trust companies, out-of-state trust institutions operating in Arkansas, and persons or entities seeking to acquire control of or merge with trust institutions. It also preserves related cross-references to the Arkansas Business Corporation Act, the Arkansas Banking Code, and other state laws governing fiduciary activity, corporate governance, and liquidation.
The bill appears to have been broadly supported and noncontroversial in the recorded votes. It passed third reading in the Senate 27-0 and in the House 92-0, indicating unanimous support in both chambers among those voting. No committee transcripts were provided, and there is no recorded opposition in the available voting history.
No major points of contention are reflected in the available record. The bill’s detailed regulatory structure could draw attention from trust companies and other financial institutions because it preserves strong commissioner oversight, capital and lending limits, and restrictions on who may act as a fiduciary. The private trust company provisions, interstate office rules, and the commissioner’s authority to grant exemptions or deny applications are the areas most likely to matter to affected industry participants, but the vote history suggests these issues did not generate visible legislative opposition.