(a) General. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, an applicant for approval of a merger transaction must publish notice of the proposed transaction on at least three occasions at approximately equal intervals in a newspaper of general circulation in the community or communities where the main offices of the merging institutions are located or, if there is no such newspaper in the community, then in the newspaper of general circulation published nearest thereto.

(1) First publication. The first publication of the notice should be as close as practicable to the date on which the application is filed with the FDIC, but no more than 5 days prior to the filing date.

(2) Last publication. The last publication of the notice shall be on the 25th day after the first publication or, if the newspaper does not publish on the 25th day, on the newspaper's publication date that is closest to the 25th day.

(b) Exceptions—

(1) Emergency requiring expeditious action. If the FDIC determines that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action, notice shall be published twice. The first notice shall be published as soon as possible after the FDIC notifies the applicant of such determination. The second notice shall be published on the 7th day after the first publication or, if the newspaper does not publish on the 7th day, on the newspaper's publication date that is closest to the 7th day.

(2) Probable failure. If the FDIC determines that it must act immediately to prevent the probable failure of one of the institutions involved in a proposed merger transaction, publication is not required.

(c) Content of notice—

(1) General. The notice shall conform to the public notice requirements set forth in §303.7.

(2) Branches. If it is contemplated that the resulting institution will operate offices of the other institution(s) as branches, the following statement shall be included in the notice required in §303.7(b):

(3) Emergency requiring expeditious action. If the FDIC determines that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action, the notice shall specify as the closing date of the public comment period the date that is the 10th day after the date of the first publication.

(d) Public comments. Comments must be received by the appropriate FDIC office within 30 days after the first publication of the notice, unless the comment period has been extended or reopened in accordance with §303.9(b)(2). If the FDIC has determined that an emergency exists requiring expeditious action, comments must be received by the appropriate FDIC office within 10 days after the first publication.