EXHIBIT 3(b)
AMENDED AND RESTATED
BYLAWS
OF
PROVIDENT COMMUNITY BANCSHARES, INC.
ARTICLE I
Home Office
The home office of Provident Community Bancshares, Inc. (herein the
"Corporation") shall be at 203 West Main Street, Union, South Carolina. The
Corporation may also have offices at such other places within or without the
State of South Carolina as the board of directors shall from time to time
determine.
ARTICLE II
Stockholders
SECTION 1. Place of Meetings. All annual and special meetings of
stockholders shall be held at the home office of the Corporation or at such
other place within or without the State in which the home office of the
Corporation is located as the board of directors may determine and as designated
in the notice of such meeting.
SECTION 2. Annual Meeting. A meeting of the stockholders of the
Corporation for the election of directors and for the transaction of any other
business of the Corporation shall be held annually at such date and time as the
board of directors may determine.
SECTION 3. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the stockholders for
any purpose or purposes may be called at any time by the majority of the board
of directors or by a committee of the board of directors in accordance with the
provisions of the Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation.
SECTION 4. Conduct of Meetings. Annual and special meetings shall be
conducted in accordance with the rules and procedures established by the board
of directors. The board of directors shall designate, when present, either the
chairman of the board or president to preside at such meetings.
SECTION 5. Notice of Meetings. Written notice stating the place, day
and hour of the meeting and the purpose or purposes for which the meeting is
called shall be mailed by the secretary or the officer performing his duties,
not less than ten days nor more than sixty days before the meeting to each
stockholder of record entitled to vote at such meeting. If mailed, such notice
shall be deemed to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail,
addressed to the stockholder at his address as it appears on the stock transfer
books or records of the Corporation as of the record date prescribed in Section
6 of this Article II, with postage thereon prepaid. If a stockholder be present
at a meeting, or in writing waive notice thereof before or after the meeting,
notice of the meeting to such stockholder shall be unnecessary. When any
stockholders' meeting, either annual or special, is adjourned for thirty days,
notice of the adjourned meeting shall be given as in the case of an original
meeting. It shall not be necessary to give any notice of the time and place of
any meeting adjourned for less than thirty days or of the business to be
transacted at such adjourned meeting, other than an announcement at the meeting
at which such adjournment is taken.
SECTION 6. Fixing of Record Date. For the purpose of determining
stockholders entitled to notice of or to vote at any meeting of stockholders, or
any adjournment thereof, or stockholders entitled to receive payment of any
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dividend, or in order to make a determination of stockholders for any other
proper purpose, the board of directors shall fix in advance a date as the record
date for any such determination of stockholders. Such date in any case shall be
not more than sixty days, and in case of a meeting of stockholders, not less
than ten days prior to the date on which the particular action, requiring such
determination of stockholders, is to be taken. When a determination of
stockholders entitled to vote at any meeting of stockholders has been made as
provided in this section, such determination shall apply to any adjournment
thereof.
SECTION 7. Voting Lists. The officer or agent, having charge of the
stock transfer books for shares of the Corporation shall make, at least ten days
before each meeting of shareholders, a complete record of the stockholders
entitled to vote at such meeting or any adjournment thereof, arranged in
alphabetical order, with the address of and the number of shares held by each.
The record, for a period of ten days before such meeting, shall be kept on file
at the principal office of the Corporation, and shall be subject to inspection
by any shareholder for any purpose germane to the meeting at any time during
usual business hours. Such record shall also be produced and kept open at the
time and place of the meeting and shall be subject to the inspection of any
stockholder for any purpose germane to the meeting during the whole time of the
meeting. The original stock transfer books shall be prima facie evidence as to
who are the stockholders entitled to examine such record or transfer books or to
vote at any meeting of stockholders.
SECTION 8. Quorum. A majority of the outstanding shares of the
Corporation entitled to vote, represented in person or by proxy, shall
constitute a quorum at a meeting of stockholders. If less than a majority of the
outstanding shares are represented at a meeting, a majority of the shares so
represented may adjourn the meeting from time to time without further notice. At
such adjourned meeting at which a quorum shall be present or represented, any
business may be transacted which might have been transacted at the meeting as
originally notified. The stockholders present at a duly organized meeting may
continue to transact business until adjournment, notwithstanding the withdrawal
of enough stockholders to leave less than a quorum.
SECTION 9. Proxies. At all meetings of stockholders, a stockholder may
vote by proxy executed in writing by the stockholder or by his duly authorized
attorney in fact. Proxies solicited on behalf of the management shall be voted
as directed by the stockholder or, in the absence of such direction, as
determined by a majority of the board of directors. No proxy shall be valid
after eleven months from the date of its execution unless otherwise provided in
the proxy.
SECTION 10. Voting. At each election for directors every stockholder
entitled to vote at such election shall be entitled to one vote for each share
of stock held by him. Unless otherwise provided in the Certificate of
Incorporation, by Statute, or by these Bylaws, a majority of those votes cast by
stockholders at a lawful meeting shall be sufficient to pass on a transaction or
matter.
SECTION 11. Voting of Shares in the Name of Two or More Persons. When
ownership of stock stands in the name of two or more persons, in the absence of
written directions to the Corporation to the contrary, at any meeting of the
stockholders of the Corporation any one or more of such stockholders may cast,
in person or by proxy, all votes to which such ownership is entitled. In the
event an attempt is made to cast conflicting votes, in person or by proxy, by
the several persons in whose name shares of stock stand, the vote or votes to
which these persons are entitled shall be cast as directed by a majority of
those holding such stock and present in person or by proxy at such meeting, but
no votes shall be cast for such stock if a majority cannot agree.
SECTION 12. Voting of Shares by Certain Holders. Shares standing in the
name of another corporation may be voted by any officer, agent or proxy as the
bylaws of such corporation may prescribe, or, in the absence of such provision,
as the board of directors of such corporation may determine. Shares held by an
administrator, executor, guardian or conservator may be voted by him, either in
person or by proxy, without a transfer of such shares into his name. Shares
standing in the name of a trustee may be voted by him, either in person or by
proxy, but no trustee shall be entitled to vote shares held by him without a
transfer of such shares into his name. Shares standing in the name of a receiver
may be voted by such receiver, and shares held by or under the control of a
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receiver may be voted by such receiver without the transfer thereof into his
name if authority to do so is contained in an appropriate order of the court or
other public authority by which such receiver was appointed.
A stockholder whose shares are pledged shall be entitled to vote such
shares until the shares have been transferred into the name of the pledgee and
thereafter the pledgee shall be entitled to vote the shares so transferred.
Neither treasury shares of its own stock held by the Corporation, nor
shares held by another corporation, if a majority of the shares entitled to vote
for the election of directors of such other corporation are held by the
Corporation, shall be voted at any meeting or counted in determining the total
number of outstanding shares at any given time for purposes of any meeting.
SECTION 13. Inspectors of Election. In advance of any meeting of
stockholders, the board of directors may appoint any persons, other than
nominees for office, as inspectors of election to act at such meeting or any
adjournment thereof. The number of inspectors shall be either one or three. If
the board of directors so appoints either one or three inspectors, that
appointment shall not be altered at the meeting. If inspectors of election are
not so appointed, the chairman of the board or the president may make such
appointment at the meeting. In case any person appointed as inspector fails to
appear or fails or refuses to act, the vacancy may be filled by appointment by
the board of directors in advance of the meeting or at the meeting by the
chairman of the board or the president.
Unless otherwise prescribed by applicable law, the duties of such
inspectors shall include: determining the number of shares of stock and the
voting power of each share, the shares of stock represented at the meeting, the
existence of a quorum, the authenticity, validity and effect of proxies;
receiving votes, ballots or consents; hearing and determining all challenges and
questions in any way arising in connection with the right to vote; counting and
tabulating all votes or consents; determining the result; and such acts as may
be proper to conduct the election or vote with fairness to all stockholders.
SECTION 14. Nominating Committee. The board of directors shall act as a
nominating committee for selecting the management nominees for election as
directors. Except in the case of a nominee substituted as a result of the death
or other incapacity of a management nominee, the nominating committee shall
deliver written nominations to the secretary at least twenty days prior to the
date of the annual meeting. Provided such committee makes such nominations, no
nominations for directors except those made by the nominating committee shall be
voted upon at the annual meeting unless other nominations by stockholders are
made in writing and delivered to the secretary of the Corporation in accordance
with the provisions of the Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation.
SECTION 15. New Business. Any new business to be taken up at the annual
meeting shall be stated in writing and filed with the secretary of the
Corporation in accordance with the provisions of the Corporation's Certificate
of Incorporation. This provision shall not prevent the consideration and
approval or disapproval at the annual meeting of reports of officers, directors
and committees, but in connection with such reports no new business shall be
acted upon at such annual meeting unless stated and filed as provided in the
Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation.
ARTICLE III
Board of Directors
SECTION 1. General Powers. The business and affairs of the Corporation
shall be under the direction of its board of directors. The board of directors
may also elect a chairman of the board from among its members. The board of
directors shall designate, when present, either the chairman of the board or the
president to preside at its meetings.
SECTION 2. Number, Term and Election. The board of directors shall
initially consist of seven (7) members and shall be divided into three classes
as nearly equal in number as possible. The members of each class shall be
elected for a term of three years and until their successors are elected or
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qualified. One class shall be elected by ballot annually. The board of directors
shall be classified in accordance with the provisions of the Corporation's
Certificate of Incorporation.
SECTION 3. Qualification. Each director shall at all times be the
beneficial owner of not less than 100 shares of capital stock of the
Corporation.
SECTION 4. Regular Meetings. A regular meeting of the board of
directors shall be held without other notice than this Bylaw immediately after,
and at the same place as, the annual meeting of stockholders. The board of
directors may provide, by resolution, the time and place for the holding of
additional regular meetings without other notice than such resolution.
SECTION 5. Special Meetings. Special meetings of the board of directors
may be called by or at the request of the chairman of the board or the
president, or by one-third of the directors. The persons authorized to call
special meetings of the board of directors may fix any place in the State of
South Carolina as the place for holding any special meeting of the board of
directors called by such persons.
Members of the board of directors may participate in special meetings
by means of conference telephone or similar communications equipment by which
all persons participating in the meeting can hear each other. Such participation
shall constitute presence in person but directors will not receive any
compensation for participation in meetings by conference telephone.
SECTION 6. Notice. Written notice of any special meeting shall be given
to each director at least two days previous thereto delivered personally or by
telegram or at least five days previous thereto delivered by mail at the address
at which the director is most likely to be reached. Such notice shall be deemed
to be delivered when deposited in the United States mail so addressed, with
postage thereon prepaid if mailed or when delivered to the telegraph company if
sent by telegram. Any director may waive notice of any meeting by a writing
filed with the secretary. The attendance of a director at a meeting shall
constitute a waiver of notice of such meeting, except where a director attends a
meeting for the express purpose of objecting to the transaction of any business
because the meeting is not lawfully called or convened. Neither the business to
be transacted at, nor the purpose of, any meeting of the board of directors need
be specified in the notice or waiver of notice of such meeting.
SECTION 7. Quorum. A majority of the number of directors fixed by
Section 2 of this Article III shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of
business at any meeting of the board of directors, but if less than such
majority is present at a meeting, a majority of the directors present may
adjourn the meeting from time to time. Notice of any adjourned meeting shall be
given in the same manner as prescribed by Section 6 of this Article III.
SECTION 8. Manner of Acting. The act of the majority of the directors
present at a meeting at which a quorum is present shall be the act of the board
of directors, unless a greater number is prescribed by these Bylaws, the
Certificate of Incorporation, or the laws of Delaware.
SECTION 9. Action Without a Meeting. Any action required or permitted
to be taken by the board of directors at a meeting may be taken without a
meeting if a consent in writing, setting forth the action so taken, shall be
signed by all of the directors.
SECTION 10. Resignation. Any director may resign at any time by sending
a written notice of such resignation to the home office of the Corporation
addressed to the chairman of the board or the president. Unless otherwise
specified herein such resignation shall take effect upon receipt thereof by the
chairman of the board or the president.
SECTION 11. Vacancies. Any vacancy occurring in the board of directors
shall be filled in accordance with the provisions of the Corporation's
Certificate of Incorporation. Any directorship to be filled by reason of an
increase in the number of directors may be filled by the affirmative vote of
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two-thirds of the directors then in office. The term of such director shall be
in accordance with the provisions of the Corporation's Certificate of
Incorporation.
SECTION 12. Removal of Directors. Any director or the entire board of
directors may be removed only in accordance with the provisions of the
Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation.
SECTION 13. Compensation. Directors, as such, may receive a stated fee
for their services. By resolution of the board of directors, a reasonable fixed
sum, and reasonable expenses of attendance, if any, may be allowed for actual
attendance at each regular or special meeting of the board of directors. Members
of either standing or special committees may be allowed such compensation for
actual attendance at committee meetings as the board of directors may determine.
Nothing herein shall be construed to preclude any director from serving the
Corporation in any other capacity and receiving remuneration therefor.
SECTION 14. Presumption of Assent. A director of the Corporation who is
present at a meeting of the board of directors at which action on any corporate
matter is taken shall be presumed to have assented to the action taken unless
his dissent or abstention shall be entered in the minutes of the meeting or
unless he shall file his written dissent to such action with the person acting
as the secretary of the meeting before the adjournment thereof or shall forward
such dissent by registered mail to the secretary of the Corporation immediately
after the adjournment of the meeting. Such right to dissent shall not apply to a
director who votes in favor of such action.
SECTION 15. Advisory Directors. The board of directors may by
resolution appoint advisory directors to the board, and shall have such
authority and receive such compensation and reimbursement as the board of
directors shall provide. Advisory director or directors emeriti shall not have
the authority to participate by vote in the transaction of business.
SECTION 16. Age Limitation. No person of an age seventy-two years (72)
or older will be eligible for election, reelection, appointment or reappointment
to the board of directors of the Corporation. No director shall serve as such
following the day of his or her seventy-second (72nd) birthday.
ARTICLE IV
Committees of the Board of Directors
The board of directors may, by resolution passed by a majority of the
whole board, designate one or more committees, as they may determine to be
necessary or appropriate for the conduct of the business of the Corporation, and
may prescribe the duties, constitution and procedures thereof. Each committee
shall consist of one or more directors of the Corporation. The board may
designate one or more directors as alternate members of any committee, who may
replace any absent or disqualified member at any meeting of the committee.
The board of directors shall have power, by the affirmative vote of a
majority of the authorized number of directors, at any time to change the
members of, to fill vacancies in, and to discharge any committee of the board.
Any member of any such committee may resign at any time by giving notice to the
Corporation provided, however, that notice to the board, the chairman of the
board, the chief executive officer, the chairman of such committee, or the
secretary shall be deemed to constitute notice to the Corporation. Such
resignation shall take effect upon receipt of such notice or at any later time
specified therein; and, unless otherwise specified therein, acceptance of such
resignation shall not be necessary to make it effective. Any member of any such
committee may be removed at any time, either with or without cause, by the
affirmative vote of a majority of the authorized number of directors at any
meeting of the board called for that purpose.
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ARTICLE V
Officers
SECTION 1. Positions. The officers of the Corporation shall be a
president, one or more vice presidents, a secretary and a treasurer, each of
whom shall be elected by the board of directors. The board of directors may also
designate the chairman of the board as an officer. The president shall be the
chief executive officer unless the board of directors designates the chairman of
the board as chief executive officer. The offices of the secretary and treasurer
may be held by the same person and a vice president may also be either the
secretary or the treasurer. The board of directors may designate one or more
vice presidents as executive vice president or senior vice president. The board
of directors may also elect or authorize the appointment of such other officers
as the business of the Corporation may require. The officers shall have such
authority and perform such duties as the board of directors may from time to
time autho 1 rize or determine. In the absence of action by the board of
directors, the officers shall have such powers and duties as generally pertain
to their respective offices.
SECTION 2. Election and Term of Office. The officers of the Corporation
shall be elected annually by the board of directors at the first meeting of the
board of directors held after each annual meeting of the shareholders. If the
election of officers is not held at such meeting, such election shall be held as
soon thereafter as possible. Each officer shall hold office until his successor
shall have been duly elected and qualified or until his death or until he shall
resign or shall have been removed in the manner hereinafter provided. Election
or appointment of an officer, employee or agent shall not of itself create
contract rights. The board of directors may authorize the Corporation to enter
into an employment contract with any officer in accordance with state law; but
no such contract shall impair the right of the board of directors to remove any
officer at any time in accordance with Section 3 of this Article V.
SECTION 3. Removal. Any officer may be removed by vote of two-thirds of
the board of directors whenever, in its judgment, the best interests of the
Corporation will be served thereby, but such removal, other than for cause,
shall be without prejudice to the contract rights, if any, of the person so
removed.
SECTION 4. Vacancies. A vacancy in any office because of death,
resignation, removal, disqualification or otherwise, may be filled by the board
of directors for the unexpired portion of the term.
SECTION 5. Remuneration. The remuneration of the officers shall be
fixed from time to time by the board of directors and no officer shall be
prevented from receiving such salary by reason of the fact that he is also a
director of the Corporation.
ARTICLE VI
Contracts, Loans, Checks and Deposits
SECTION 1. Contracts. To the extent permitted by applicable law, and
except as otherwise prescribed by the Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation
or these Bylaws with respect to certificates for shares, the board of directors
may authorize any officer, employee, or agent of the Corporation to enter into
any contract or execute and deliver any instrument in the name of and on behalf
of the Corporation. Such authority may be general or confined to specific
instances.
SECTION 2. Loans. No loans shall be contracted on behalf of the
Corporation and no evidence of indebtedness shall be issued in its name unless
authorized by the board of directors. Such authority may be general or confined
to specific instances.
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SECTION 3. Checks, Drafts, Etc. All checks, drafts or other orders for
the payment of money, notes or other evidences of indebtedness issued in the
name of the Corporation shall be signed by one or more officers, employees or
agents of the Corporation in such manner as shall from time to time be
determined by resolution of the board of directors.
SECTION 4. Deposits. All funds of the Corporation not otherwise
employed shall be deposited from time to time to the credit of the Corporation
in any of its duly authorized depositories as the board of directors may select.
ARTICLE VII
Certificates for Shares and Their Transfer
SECTION 1. Certificates for Shares. The shares of the Corporation shall
be represented by certificates signed by the chairman of the board of directors
or by the president or a vice president and by the treasurer or by the secretary
of the Corporation, and may be sealed with the seal of the Corporation or a
facsimile thereof. Any or all of the signatures upon a certificate may be
facsimiles if the certificate is countersigned by a transfer agent, or
registered by a registrar, other than the Corporation itself or an employee of
the Corporation. If any officer who has signed or whose facsimile signature has
been placed upon such certificate shall have ceased to be such officer before
the certificate is issued, it may be issued by the Corporation with the same
effect as if he were such officer at the date of its issue.
SECTION 2. Form of Share Certificates. All certificates representing
shares issued by the Corporation shall set forth upon the face or back that the
Corporation will furnish to any shareholder upon request and without charge a
full statement of the designations, preferences, limitations, and relative
rights of the shares of each class authorized to be issued, the variations in
the relative rights and preferences between the shares of each such series so
far as the same have been fixed and determined, and the authority of the board
of directors to fix and determine the relative rights and preferences of
subsequent series.
Each certificate representing shares shall state upon the face thereof:
that the Corporation is organized under the laws of the State of Delaware; the
name of the person to whom issued; the number and class of shares; the date of
issue; the designation of the series, if any, which such certificate represents;
the par value of each share represented by such certificate, or a statement that
the shares are without par value. Other matters in regard to the form of the
certificates shall be determined by the board of directors.
SECTION 3. Payment for Shares. No certificate shall be issued for any
shares until such share is fully paid.
SECTION 4. Form of Payment for Shares. The consideration for the
issuance of shares shall be paid in accordance with the provisions of the
Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation.
SECTION 5. Transfer of Shares. Transfer of shares of capital stock of
the Corporation shall be made only on its stock transfer books. Authority for
such transfer shall be given only by the holder of record thereof or by his
legal representative, who shall furnish proper evidence of such authority, or by
his attorney thereunto authorized by power of attorney duly executed and filed
with the Corporation. Such transfer shall be made only on surrender for
cancellation of the certificate for such shares. The person in whose name shares
of capital stock stand on the books of the Corporation shall be deemed by the
Corporation to be the owner thereof for all purposes.
SECTION 6. Stock Ledger. The stock ledger of the Corporation shall be
the only evidence as to who are the stockholders entitled to examine the stock
ledger, the list required by Section 7 of Article II or the books of the
Corporation, or to vote in person or by proxy at any meeting of stockholders.
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SECTION 7. Lost Certificates. The board of directors may direct a new
certificate to be issued in place of any certificate theretofore issued by the
Corporation alleged to have been lost, stolen, or destroyed, upon the making of
an affidavit of that fact by the person claiming the certificate of stock to be
lost, stolen, or destroyed. When authorizing such issue of a new certificate,
the board of directors may, in its discretion and as a condition precedent to
the issuance thereof, require the owner of such lost, stolen, or destroyed
certificate, or his legal representative, to give the Corporation a bond in such
sum as it may direct as indemnity against any claim that may be made against the
Corporation with respect to the certificate alleged to have been lost, stolen,
or destroyed.
SECTION 8. Beneficial Owners. The Corporation shall be entitled to
recognize the exclusive right of a person registered on its books as the owner
of shares to receive dividends, and to vote as such owner, and shall not be
bound to recognize any equitable or other claim to or interest in such shares on
the part of any other person, whether or not the Corporation shall have express
or other notice thereof, except as otherwise provided by law.
ARTICLE VIII
Fiscal Year; Annual Audit
The fiscal year of the Corporation shall end on the 31st day of
December of each year. The Corporation shall be subject to an annual audit as of
the end of its fiscal year by independent public accountants appointed by and
responsible to the board of directors.
ARTICLE IX
Dividends
Subject to the provisions of the Certificate of Incorporation and
applicable law, the board of directors may, at any regular or special meeting,
declare dividends on the Corporation's outstanding capital stock. Dividends may
be paid in cash, in property or in the Corporation's own stock.
ARTICLE X
Corporate Seal
The corporate seal of the Corporation shall be in such form as the
board of directors shall prescribe.
ARTICLE XI
Amendments
In accordance with the Corporation's Certificate of Incorporation,
these Bylaws may be repealed, altered, amended or rescinded by the stockholders
of the Corporation only by vote of not less than 80% of the outstanding shares
of capital stock of the Corporation entitled to vote generally in the election
of directors (considered for this purpose as one class) cast at a meeting of the
stockholders called for that purpose (provided that notice of such proposed
repeal, alteration, amendment or rescission is included in the notice of such
meeting). In addition, the board of directors may repeal, alter, amend or
rescind these Bylaws by vote of two-thirds of the board of directors at a legal
meeting held in accordance with the provisions of these Bylaws.
Effective as of May 16, 2006.
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