(a) No depository institution may by merger, consolidation, or other form of acquisition come to hold in excess of 30 percent of the total time and demand deposits held in Vermont by depository institutions. For the purposes of this section, the total deposits of a depository institution shall consist of all time and demand deposits held in Vermont by such depository institution and all of its affiliates.

(b) Notwithstanding subsection (a) of this section, the commissioner may waive the deposit concentration limit set forth in subsection (a) of this section if the commissioner determines that any financial institution to be merged, consolidated, or acquired is not adequately capitalized, or is subject to a conservation, receivership, or dissolution order under this title or applicable federal law, and the waiver is otherwise in the best interest of depositors. (Added 1999, No. 153 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. Jan. 1, 2001.)