A merchant bank is a financial institution organized under the provisions of this Title whose activities are generally limited to lending and investing as well as trust or fiduciary matters. Deposit activity is prohibited. Unless otherwise indicated in this chapter, a merchant bank has all the powers, duties and obligations of a financial institution under this Title. As one of the purposes of merchant banks is to provide needed capital or investments to businesses that may be impermissible or imprudent for depository financial institutions, its lending and investment activities are less restricted.   [PL 1997, c. 398, Pt. J, §2 (NEW).]