§ 95. — Emergency limitations and restrictions on business of members of Federal reserve system; designation of legal holiday for national banking associations; exceptions; "State" defined.
[Laws in effect as of January 24, 2002]
[Document not affected by Public Laws enacted between
January 24, 2002 and December 19, 2002]
[CITE: 12USC95]
TITLE 12--BANKS AND BANKING
CHAPTER 2--NATIONAL BANKS
SUBCHAPTER IV--REGULATION OF THE BANKING BUSINESS; POWERS AND DUTIES OF
NATIONAL BANKS
Sec. 95. Emergency limitations and restrictions on business of
members of Federal reserve system; designation of legal holiday
for national banking associations; exceptions; ``State'' defined
(a) In order to provide for the safer and more effective operation
of the national Banking System and the Federal Reserve System, to
preserve for the people the full benefits of the currency provided for
by the Congress through the national banking system and the Federal
reserve system, and to relieve interstate commerce of the burdens and
obstructions resulting from the receipt on an unsound or unsafe basis of
deposits subject to withdrawal by check, during such emergency period as
the President of the United States by proclamation may prescribe, no
member bank of the Federal reserve system shall transact any banking
business except to such extent and subject to such regulations,
limitations and restrictions as may be prescribed by the Secretary of
the Treasury, with the approval of the President. Any individual,
partnership, corporation, or association, or any director, officer or
employee thereof, violating any of the provisions of this section shall
be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be
fined not more than $10,000 or, if a natural person, may, in addition to
such fine, be imprisoned for a term not exceeding ten years. Each day
that any such violation continues shall be deemed a separate offense.
(b)(1) In the event of natural calamity, riot, insurrection, war, or
other emergency conditions occurring in any State whether caused by acts
of nature or of man, the Comptroller of the Currency may designate by
proclamation any day a legal holiday for the national banking
associations located in that State. In the event that the emergency
conditions affect only part of a State, the Comptroller of the Currency
may designate the part so affected and may proclaim a legal holiday for
the national banking associations located in that affected part. In the
event that a State or a State official authorized by law designates any
day as a legal holiday for ceremonial or emergency reasons, for the
State or any part thereof, that same day shall be a legal holiday for
all national banking associations or their offices located in that State
or the part so affected. A national banking association or its affected
offices may close or remain open on such a State-designated holiday
unless the Comptroller of the Currency by written order directs
otherwise.
(2) For the purpose of this subsection, the term ``State'' means any
of the several States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of
Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, the Virgin Islands,
American Samoa, the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, or any other
territory or possession of the United States.
(Mar. 9, 1933, ch. 1, title I, Sec. 4, 48 Stat. 2; Pub. L. 96-221, title
VII, Sec. 705, Mar. 31, 1980, 94 Stat. 187; Pub. L. 97-320, title IV,
Sec. 407, Oct. 15, 1982, 96 Stat. 1513; Pub. L. 97-457, Sec. 21, Jan.
12, 1983, 96 Stat. 2509.)
Amendments
1983--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 97-457 inserted ``a State or'' before
``a State official''.
1982--Subsec. (b)(1). Pub. L. 97-320 substituted ``In the event that
a State official authorized by law designates any day as a legal holiday
for ceremonial or emergency reasons, for the State or any part thereof,
that same day shall be a legal holiday for all national banking
associations or their offices located in that State or the part so
affected. A national banking association or its affected offices may
close or remain open on such a State-designated holiday unless the
Comptroller of the Currency by written order directs otherwise'' for
``In the event that a State or a State official authorized by law
designates any day as a legal holiday for either emergency or ceremonial
reasons for all banks chartered by that State to do business within that
State, that same day shall be a legal holiday for all national banking
associations chartered to do business within that State unless the
Comptroller of the Currency shall by written order permit all national
banking associations located in that State to remain open''.
1980--Pub. L. 96-221 designated existing provisions as subsec. (a)
and added subsec. (b).
Termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands
For termination of Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, see note
set out preceding section 1681 of Title 48, Territories and Insular
Possessions.
Bank Holiday of 1933
Proclamations Nos. 2039, 2040, and 2070, dated Mar. 6, 1933, Mar. 9,
1933, and Dec. 30, 1933, respectively, related to the temporary
suspension of banking transactions beginning Mar. 6, 1933, by all member
banks of the Federal Reserve System.
Pursuant to Ex. Ord. No. 6073, dated March 10, 1933, formerly set
out as a note under this section, the Secretary of the Treasury by order
of March 11, 1933, authorized all Federal reserve banks and nonmember
banks and other banking institutions to resume their normal and usual
banking functions on March 13, 1933, subject to certain restrictions.
See 31 C.F.R. 121.20-121.22. The fifth and sixth paragraphs of Ex. Ord.
No. 6073, relating to the removal of gold coin, gold bullion, or gold
certificates from the United States by corporations, etc., including
banking institutions and authorization of banking institutions to pay
out gold coin, gold bullion or gold certificates, were revoked by Ex.
Ord. No. 11825, Dec. 31, 1974, 40 F.R. 1003, set out as a note under
section 95a of this title.
Proc. No. 2725. Exemption of Member Banks of Federal Reserve System
Proc. No. 2725, Apr. 7, 1947, 12 F.R. 2343, 61 Stat. 1062, provided:
NOW, THEREFORE, I, HARRY S. TRUMAN, President of the United States
of America, acting under and by virtue of the authority vested in me by
section 5(b) of the Trading with the Enemy Act of October 6, 1917, 40
Stat. 415, as amended [section 5(b) of Appendix to Title 50], and
section 4 of the act of March 9, 1933, 48 Stat. 2 [this section] and by
virtue of all other authority vested in me, do hereby, in the interest
of the internal management of the Government, proclaim, order, direct,
and declare that the said proclamations of March 6 and March 9, 1933,
and Executive order of March 10, 1933, as amended, are further amended
to exclude from their scope banking institutions which are members of
the Federal Reserve System: Provided, however, That no banking
institution shall pay out any gold coin, gold bullion, or gold
certificates, except as authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury, or
allow the withdrawal of any currency for hoarding.
This proclamation shall become effective as of March 15, 1947.
Section Referred to in Other Sections
This section is referred to in sections 212, 213 of this title.
