Sec. 29.1. Background

Banking Law, section 112 authorizes banks and trust companies to declare dividends in a calendar year without having obtained the prior approval of the superintendent out of net profits for that calendar year together with retained net profits for the immediately preceding two calendar years. The department formerly has computed “net profits” by adding back to net income any provision made for loan losses and deducting any net losses charged to the loan loss reserve. This procedure is inconsistent with the recognition of losses under generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”).