Heter-Iska

The Board of Directors (the “Board”) of Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan Association of Irvington, located at 56 Main Street, Irvington, NY, 10533, the Bank, including all branches and subsidiaries (“Bank”), adopted the following resolutions as of December 19, 2023 pursuant to which the Bank is obligated to, in connection with any and all Bank transactions (including but not limited to, transactions with individuals or companies that lend funds to the Bank or its agents, or individual or companies that borrow funds from the Bank or its agents, in all forms of credit or deposits, including any obligations, guarantees, mortgages, savings, issuance of shares, any types of stock transactions, any activity or fees arising from any brokerage or escrow transactions) that may in any way violate any law of Ribbis, advance such funds to the recipient or obligor as an Iska as enacted by Chazal, subject to the conditions listed herein and in any Heter Iska agreement entered into in connection therewith.

WHEREAS, members of the Jewish faith are bound by religious prohibitions against usury that prevent them from seeking or granting an interest-bearing loan of any nature;

WHEREAS, Sunnyside Federal Savings and Loan Association of Irvington (the “Bank”) enters into financial transactions in which it both receives funds from other parties and institutions in the form of deposits or loans, and extends credit to other individuals for various purposes; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Directors of the Bank (the “Board”) has reviewed and discussed the below resolutions and now desires to adopt such resolutions and to obligate the Bank to conduct all transactions (including but not limited to transactions with individuals or companies that lend funds to the Bank or its agents, or individuals or companies that borrow funds from the Bank or its agents, in all forms of credit or deposits, including any obligations, guarantees, mortgages, savings, issuance of shares, any types of stock transactions, any activity or fees arising from any brokerage or escrow transactions, or any other transaction) in accordance therewith to the extent required under applicable Jewish law.

NOW BE IT:

RESOLVED, that that no director, officer, employee or agent of the Bank shall have authority either to accept or to grant an interest-bearing loan that would constitute Ribbis (prohibited interest) according to Jewish law; and be it further

RESOLVED, that any transfer of funds (other than in the form of gifts, grants, wages, salaries and payments of debts) with respect to which a shtar iska (Jewish law “Iska” contract) is required under Jewish law be, and hereby is, required to be effected in accordance with Jewish law and the following stipulations:

  1. In any such transaction, the recipient of funds or of a credit for such funds shall obligate himself, or, if the recipient is the Bank, then the Bank shall bind itself, to invest funds equal to the sum received or to the sum credited in a profit making enterprise (e.g., merchandise, commercial paper, stocks, bonds, commodities or any other lawful business venture provided that an opportunity for lawful and prudent investment presents itself) on behalf of the party providing such funds or credits.
  2. The recipient shall have the right to comingle his own funds with those accepted on behalf of the party providing funds or credits.
  3. Any purchase of a mercantile nature or investment made by the recipient up to the amount of the sum transferred or of the sum credited shall be deemed to have been made with those funds.
  4. The grantor of the credit shall in no way participate in any decision or determination regarding the investment of the funds advanced to recipient or of the fruits thereof, nor shall he be entitled to receive information concerning any such investment. The recipient shall not be authorized to bind the grantor in any manner whatsoever. The recipient shall receive, in addition to any profits obtained in connection with the Iska to which the recipient may be entitled, an amount equal to 1% of the profits from the grantor for managing the Iska as the agent of the grantor.
  5. Except for the payment of the management fee contemplated in paragraph 4 above, all profits realized from the investment by recipient of the funds advanced by grantor shall be allocable to the grantor. Losses to the grantor shall be limited to the sum transferred or credited to the recipient and the fruits thereof. In the event that the investment results in financial loss, the burden of proof that such loss has occurred shall be upon the recipient to consist solely of the testimony of two persons qualified to offer testimony. Such qualification is to be understood as meaning qualification in accordance with Jewish law as recorded in Shulchan Aruch, Choshen Mishpat as understood by the Beth Din (Jewish rabbinic tribunal or “House of Law”).
  6. No funds shall be transferred unless the parties anticipate realization of net profit from the investment by recipient of the funds advanced by grantor, after deduction of all expenses, including the fees paid to the recipient for his services on behalf of the grantor as herein described. The declaration of the recipient with regard to the extent of profit, or the absence thereof, shall be accepted only upon administration of a solemn oath before and under conditions acceptable to the Beth Din. However, the grantor shall forgive any and all further claims against the recipient upon payment of funds equal to the sum transferred together with anticipated net profits realized therefrom as described herein. Additional profits, if any, shall be the sole property of the recipient.
  7. The recipient shall repay the funds advanced by grantor in accordance with any undertaking entered into at the time of receipt of such funds. Provision of an accounting and payment of any and all profits as provided in the previous paragraph shall be made at the same time. In the event of recipient’s failure to repay any portion of the funds advanced by grantor in accordance with any undertaking entered into at the time of receipt of such funds by reason of loss or of non-realization or non-payment of the anticipated profits as stipulated herein, the remaining balance shall be due and payable immediately.
  8. The parties shall agree that any dispute which may arise in connection with these resolutions/shtar iska shall be submitted to the Beth Din for binding decision in accordance with its applicable rules and procedures. In the event of any conflict between the terms of these resolutions (or shtar iska) and the terms of any of the loan or deposit agreements entered into between the parties (the “Transaction Documents”), the terms of these resolutions and/or shtar iska agreement shall prevail in any matter adjudicated before the Beth Din. These resolutions/shtar iska shall follow the guidelines of heter iska as explained in Sefer Bris Yehudah. Notwithstanding the foregoing or anything to the contrary contained in these resolutions/the shtar iska, while these resolutions/shtar iska are intended to be binding upon grantor and recipient for purposes of Jewish religious law only, the rights and obligations of the grantor and recipient under the Transaction Documents and the characterization of the transaction for all other purposes (including, without limitation, secular law purposes) shall not be affected by these resolutions/the shtar iska, and the terminology employed in these resolutions/the shtar iska shall be understood as pertaining solely to the Jewish law characterization of the transaction.
  9. It is understood that the grantor may obtain funds from a third party not subject to the Laws of Ribbis (e.g., via sale or assignment of the Transaction Documents or a portion thereof), on behalf of the recipient (any excess funds shall be payment for arranging the financing). Provided that there is no verified loss on the investment made by recipient of the funds advanced by grantor prior to said sale or assignment, the Iska shall then be considered to have been satisfied in full and terminated, and the Transaction Documents shall solely govern the rights obligations of the recipient and the third party to which the Transaction Documents were sold or assigned.
  10. The grantor and recipient shall have accepted all of the above obligations via an accepted effective halachic means of transaction.

        ; and be it further

         RESOLVED, that shtar iska agreements be, and hereby are, required to be utilized and included as part of the documentation governing any transaction entered into between the Bank and any other persons or entities that would necessitate a shtar iska according to Jewish law in order to be valid transactions under Jewish law.

         IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the Board has duly adopted these resolutions/shtar iska as of the 7th day of the month of Tevet in the year 5784 corresponding to the month of December in the year 2023.