Official titleSection 1. Short title and definitionsSection 2. Federal Reserve DistrictsSection 2A. Monetary policy objectivesSection 2B. Appearances Before and Reports to the CongressSection 3. Branch OfficesSection 4. Federal Reserve BanksSection 5. Stock Issues; Increase and Decrease of CapitalSection 6. Insolvency of member banksSection 7. Division of EarningsSection 8. Conversion of state banks into national banksSection 9. State Banks as MembersSection 9A. Participation in lotteries prohibitedSection 9B. Resolution of Clearing BanksSection 10. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemSection 10A. Emergency advances to groups of member banks*Section 10B. Advances to Individual Member Banks*Section 11. Powers of Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve SystemSection 11A. Pricing of ServicesSection 11B. Annual Independent Audits of Federal Reserve Banks and BoardSection 11C. Master Account and Services DatabaseSection 12. Federal Advisory CouncilSection 12A. Federal Open Market CommitteeSection 13. Powers of Federal Reserve BanksSection 13A.* Discount of agricultural paperSection 14. Open-Market OperationsSection 15. Government DepositsSection 16. Note IssuesSection 17. Deposit of bonds by national banksSection 18. Refunding BondsSection 19. Bank ReservesSection 20. National bank notes redemption fund as reserveSection 21. Bank ExaminationsSection 22. Offenses of examiners, member banks, officers, and directorsSection 23. Interbank Liabilities*Section 23A. Relations with affiliatesSection 23B. Restrictions on Transactions with AffiliatesSection 24. Real Estate LoansSection 24A. Investment in Bank Premises or Stock of Corporation Holding PremisesSection 25. Foreign BranchesSection 25A. Banking Corporations Authorized to Do Foreign Banking Business*Section 25B. Jurisdiction of suits*Section 25C. Potential Liability on Foreign AccountsSection 26. [Repealed]Section 27. Tax on national bank notesSection 28. Reduction of capital of national banksSection 29. Civil Money PenaltySection 30. Saving clauseSection 31. Reservation of right to amend

Section 1. Short title and definitions

1. Short title

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That the short title of this Act shall be the "Federal Reserve Act."

[12 USC 226. Part of original Federal Reserve Act; not amended.]

2. Definition of "bank"

Wherever the word "bank" is used in this Act, the word shall be held to include State bank, banking association, and trust company, except where national banks or Federal reserve banks are specifically referred to. For purposes of this Act, a State bank includes any bank which is operating under the Code of Law for the District of Columbia.

[12 USC 221. Part of original Federal Reserve Act. As amended by act of Oct. 13, 2006 (120 Stat. 2001).* ]

3. Definitions of other terms

The terms "national bank" and "national banking association" used in this Act shall be held to be synonymous and interchangeable. The term "member bank" shall be held to mean any national bank, State bank, or bank or trust company which has become a member of one of the reserve banks created by this Act. The term "board" shall be held to mean Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System; the term "district" shall be held to mean Federal reserve district; the term "reserve bank" shall be held to mean Federal reserve bank; the term "the continental United States" means the States of the United States and the District of Columbia.

4. Definitions relating to Treasury bonds

The terms "bonds and notes of the United States," "bonds and notes of the Government of the United States," and "bonds or notes of the United States" used in this Act shall be held to include certificates of indebtedness and Treasury bills issued under section 3104 of title 31.

[12 USC 221. As amended by acts of June 25, 1959 (73 Stat. 142) and Sept. 13, 1982 (96 Stat. 1058). For further definitions, see section 2 of Banking Act of 1933, approved June 16, 1933. Section 203(a) of the Banking Act of 1935, approved Aug. 23, 1935 (49 Stat. 704), provided: "Hereafter the Federal Reserve Board shall be known as the 'Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System', and the governor and vice governor of the Federal Reserve Board shall be known as the 'chairman' and the 'vice chairman', respectively, of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System." Accordingly, the words "Federal Reserve Board", "governor", and "vice governor", wherever they formerly appeared in the Federal Reserve Act (or in other acts of Congress), have been changed here to read "Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System", "chairman" and "vice chairman", respectively, notwithstanding the fact that such change has not been made by specific amendment of the law.

* An identical amendment was made by act of Oct. 16, 2006 (120 Stat. 2028).

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Last Update: March 13, 2017