(1) Upon the issuance of a state bank charter to a converting savings association, the corporate existence of the converting savings association shall not terminate, but such bank shall be a continuation of the entity so converted and all property of the converted savings association, including its rights, titles, and interests in and to all property of whatever kind, whether real, personal, or mixed, things in action, and every right, privilege, interest, and asset of any conceivable value or benefit then existing, or pertaining to it, or which would inure to it, immediately, by operation of law and without any conveyance or transfer and without any further act or deed, shall vest in and remain the property of such converted savings association, and the same shall have, hold, and enjoy the same in its own right as fully and to the same extent as the same was possessed, held, and enjoyed by the converting savings association.
(2) Upon issuance of the charter, the new state bank shall continue to have and succeed to all the rights, obligations, and relations of the converting savings association.
(3) All pending actions and other judicial proceedings to which the converting savings association is a party shall not be abated or discontinued by reason of such conversion but may be prosecuted to final judgment, order, or decree in the same manner as if such conversion had not been made, and such converted savings association may continue the actions in its new corporate name. Any judgment, order, or decree may be rendered for or against the converting savings association theretofore involved in the proceedings.
(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to authorize a converted savings association to establish branches except as permitted by section 8-157 and the Interstate Branching and Merger Act. This subsection shall not be construed to require divestiture of any branches of a savings association in existence at the time of the conversion to a state bank charter.