(1) "Acquire", as applied to an association or a savings and loan holding company, means any of the following actions or transactions:

1. (a) The merger or consolidation of an association with another association or with a savings and loan holding company.
2. (b) The acquisition of the direct or indirect ownership or control of voting shares of another association or savings and loan holding company if, after the acquisition, the acquiring association or savings and loan holding company will directly or indirectly own or control more than ten percent of any class of voting shares of the acquired association or savings and loan holding company.
3. (c) The direct or indirect acquisition of all or substantially all of the assets of another association or savings and loan holding company.
4. (d) The taking of any other action that would result in the direct or indirect control of another association or savings and loan holding company.

(4) "Branch office" means any office at which an association accepts deposits. The term branch office does not include:

1. (a) Unmanned automatic teller machines, point-of-sale terminals, remote service units, or similar unmanned electronic banking facilities at which deposits may be accepted;
2. (b) Offices located outside the United States;
3. (c) Loan production offices, representative offices, service corporation offices, or other offices at which deposits are not accepted.

(12) "South Carolina association" means an association organized under the laws of the State of South Carolina or under the laws of the United States and that:

1. (a) Has its principal place of business in the State of South Carolina;
2. (b) Which if controlled by an organization, the organization is either a South Carolina association, Southern Region association, South Carolina Savings and Loan Holding Company, or a Southern Region Savings and Loan Holding Company;
3. (c) More than eighty percent of its total deposits other than deposits located in branch offices pursuant to Section 34-28-450(1) are in its branch offices located in one or more of the Southern Region states.

(13) "South Carolina Savings and Loan Holding Company" means a savings and loan holding company that:

1. (a) Has its principal place of business in the State of South Carolina;
2. (b) Has total deposits of its Southern Region association subsidiaries and South Carolina association subsidiaries that exceed eighty percent of the total deposits of all association subsidiaries of the savings and loan holding company other than those association subsidiaries held under Section 34-28-450(1).

(14) "Southern Region association" means an association other than a South Carolina association organized under the laws of one of the Southern Region states or under the laws of the United States and that:

1. (a) Has its principal place of business only in a Southern Region state other than South Carolina;
2. (b) Which if controlled by an organization, the organization is either a Southern Region association or a Southern Region savings and loan holding company; and
3. (c) More than eighty percent of its total deposits other than deposits located in branch offices pursuant to Section 34-28-450(1) are in its branch offices located in one or more of the Southern Region states.

(15) "Southern Region savings and loan holding company" means a savings and loan holding company that:

1. (a) Has its principal place of business in a Southern Region state other than the State of South Carolina;
2. (b) Has total deposits of its Southern Region association subsidiaries and South Carolina association subsidiaries that exceed eighty percent of the total deposits of all association subsidiaries of the savings and loan holding company other than those association subsidiaries held under Section 34-28-350(1).