National Bank Act

Statute: 12 USC 21 et seq.

Regulation: 12 CFR et seq.

NBA Purpose: The National CurrencyAct (ch. 58, 12 Stat. 665, February 25, 1863) was a Federal law that established a system of national charters for banks. This encouraged development of a national currency based on bank holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. The Act also established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as part of the Department of the Treasury. The law proved defective and was replaced with the National Bank Act of 1864 by President Lincoln. These laws established a new system of national banks and a new government agency headed by a OCC.

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