12 U.S.C. § 92 — Acting as insurance agent or broker

Page 49 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 92 deposit of United States bonds and otherwise as may be prescribed by the Secretary of the Treas- ury for public funds under the first paragraph of this section. Notwithstanding chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (except sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41, the Secretary may select associations as financial agents in accordance with any proc- ess the Secretary deems appropriate and their reasonable duties may include the provision of electronic benefit transfer services (including State-administered benefits with the consent of the States), as defined by the Secretary. (R.S. § 5153; Mar. 3, 1901, ch. 871, 31 Stat. 1448; Mar. 4, 1907, ch. 2913, § 3, 34 Stat. 1290; Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 27, 38 Stat. 274; Aug. 4, 1914, ch. 225, 38 Stat. 682; June 25, 1930, ch. 604, 46 Stat. 809; Aug. 18, 1950, ch. 754, 64 Stat. 463; Pub. L. 96–153, title III, § 323(f), Dec. 21, 1979, 93 Stat. 1120; Pub. L. 104–208, div. A, title I, § 101(f) [§ 2(1)], Sept. 30, 1996, 110 Stat. 3009–314, 3009–386.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION In text, ‘‘chapters 1 to 11 of title 40 and division C (ex- cept sections 3302, 3307(e), 3501(b), 3509, 3906, 4710, and 4711) of subtitle I of title 41’’ substituted for ‘‘the Fed- eral Property and Administrative Services Act of 1949, as amended’’ on authority of Pub. L. 107–217, § 5(c), Aug. 21, 2002, 116 Stat. 1303, which Act enacted Title 40, Pub- lic Buildings, Property, and Works, and Pub. L. 111–350, § 6(c), Jan. 4, 2011, 124 Stat. 3854, which Act enacted Title 41, Public Contracts. R.S. § 5153 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, § 45, 13 Stat. 113, which was the National Bank Act. See sec- tion 38 of this title. AMENDMENTS 1996—Pub. L. 104–208 added fourth par. 1979—Pub. L. 96–153 added third par. 1950—Act Aug. 18, 1950, permitted national banks to accept and give security for deposits of funds made by agencies or governmental instrumentalities or States or political subdivisions thereof and by their officers, employees or agents. 1930—Act June 25, 1930, added second par. § 91. Transfers by bank and other acts in con- templation of insolvency All transfers of the notes, bonds, bills of ex- change, or other evidences of debt owing to any national banking association, or of deposits to its credit; all assignments of mortgages, sureties on real estate, or of judgments or decrees in its favor; all deposits of money, bullion, or other valuable thing for its use, or for the use of any of its shareholders or creditors; and all pay- ments of money to either, made after the com- mission of an act of insolvency, or in contempla- tion thereof, made with a view to prevent the application of its assets in the manner pre- scribed by chapter 4 of title 62 of the Revised Statutes, or with a view to the preference of one creditor to another, except in payment of its cir- culating notes, shall be utterly null and void; and no attachment, injunction, or execution, shall be issued against such association or its property before final judgment in any suit, ac- tion, or proceeding, in any State, county, or mu- nicipal court. (R.S. § 5242.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Chapter 4 of title 62 of the Revised Statutes, referred to in text, was in the original ‘‘this chapter’’, meaning chapter 4 of title 62 of the Revised Statutes, consisting of R.S. §§ 5220 to 5244, which are classified to this sec- tion and sections 16, 43, 93, 93a, 181, 182, 192 to 194, 196, and 481 to 485 of this title. See, also, section 709 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. For complete clas- sification of R.S. §§ 5220 to 5244 to the Code, see Tables. CODIFICATION R.S. § 5242 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, § 52, 13 Stat. 115, which was the National Bank Act, and act Mar. 3, 1873, ch. 269, § 2, 17 Stat. 603. See section 38 of this title. § 92. Acting as insurance agent or broker In addition to the powers now vested by law in national banking associations organized under the laws of the United States any such associa- tion located and doing business in any place the population of which does not exceed five thou- sand inhabitants, as shown by the last preceding decennial census, may, under such rules and reg- ulations as may be prescribed by the Comp- troller of the Currency, act as the agent for any fire, life, or other insurance company authorized by the authorities of the State in which said bank is located to do business in said State, by soliciting and selling insurance and collecting premiums on policies issued by such company; and may receive for services so rendered such fees or commissions as may be agreed upon be- tween the said association and the insurance company for which it may act as agent: Pro- vided, however, That no such bank shall in any case assume or guarantee the payment of any premium on insurance policies issued through its agency by its principal: And provided further, That the bank shall not guarantee the truth of any statement made by an assured in filing his application for insurance. (Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 13 (par.), as added Sept. 7, 1916, ch. 461, 39 Stat. 753; amended Pub. L. 97–320, title IV, § 403(b), Oct. 15, 1982, 96 Stat. 1511.) Editorial Notes CODIFICATION Section is based on the eleventh par. of section 13 of act Dec. 23, 1913, as amended. The eleventh par. con- stituted the ninth par. of section 13 in 1916 (39 Stat. 752, 753), became the tenth par. in 1923 (42 Stat. 1478), and became the eleventh par. in 1932 (47 Stat. 715). For fur- ther details, see Codification notes under sections 342 to 344 of this title. For decision by U.S. Supreme Court that, despite faulty placement of quotation marks, act Sept. 7, 1916, placed within section 13 of act Dec. 23, 1913, each of the ten pars. located between the phrases that introduced the amendments to sections 13 and 14 of said act, that only the seventh par. (rather than seventh to tenth pars.) comprised the amended R.S. § 5202, and that sec- tion 20 of act Apr. 5, 1918 (40 Stat. 512) (which amended R.S. § 5202 comprised of a single par.), did not amend section 13 of said act so as to repeal the eighth to tenth pars., see United States National Bank of Oregon v. Inde- pendent Insurance Agents of America, Inc., et al., 508 U.S. 439, 113 S.Ct. 2173, 124 L.Ed. 2d 402 (1993). As the result of subsequent amendments, such seventh to tenth pars. Page 50 TITLE 12—BANKS AND BANKING § 92a 1 So in original. Probably should be ‘‘enumerated’’. of section 13 now constitute the ninth to twelfth pars. The ninth par. amended former section 82 of this title, and the tenth to twelfth pars. are classified to sections 361, 92, and 373, respectively, of this title. AMENDMENTS 1982—Pub. L. 97–320 struck out ‘‘; and may also act as the broker or agent for others in making or procuring loans on real estate located within one hundred miles of the place in which said bank may be located, receiv- ing for such services a reasonable fee or commission’’ after ‘‘may act as agent’’ and ‘‘guarantee either the principal or interest of any such loans or’’ after ‘‘shall in any case’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1982 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 97–320 effective upon the expi- ration of 180 days after Oct. 15, 1982, see section 403(c) of Pub. L. 97–320, set out as a note under section 371 of this title. MORATORIUM Pub. L. 100–86, title II, § 201(a), (b)(5), Aug. 10, 1987, 101 Stat. 581, 583, provided that, during period beginning Mar. 6, 1987, and ending Mar. 1, 1988, national banks and Federal branches or agencies of foreign banks could not expand their insurance agency activities pursuant to this section into places where they were not conducting such activities as of Mar. 5, 1987. § 92a. Trust powers (a) Authority of Comptroller of the Currency The Comptroller of the Currency shall be au- thorized and empowered to grant by special per- mit to national banks applying therefor, when not in contravention of State or local law, the right to act as trustee, executor, administrator, registrar of stocks and bonds, guardian of es- tates, assignee, receiver, or in any other fidu- ciary capacity in which State banks, trust com- panies, or other corporations which come into competition with national banks are permitted to act under the laws of the State in which the national bank is located. (b) Grant and exercise of powers deemed not in contravention of State or local law Whenever the laws of such State authorize or permit the exercise of any or all of the foregoing powers by State banks, trust companies, or other corporations which compete with national banks, the granting to and the exercise of such powers by national banks shall not be deemed to be in contravention of State or local law within the meaning of this section. (c) Segregation of fiduciary and general assets; separate books and records; access of State banking authorities to reports of examina- tions, books, records, and assets National banks exercising any or all of the powers enumerating 1 in this section shall seg- regate all assets held in any fiduciary capacity from the general assets of the bank and shall keep a separate set of books and records show- ing in proper detail all transactions engaged in under authority of this section. The State bank- ing authorities may have access to reports of ex- amination made by the Comptroller of the Cur- rency insofar as such reports relate to the trust department of such bank, but nothing in this section shall be construed as authorizing the State banking authorities to examine the books, records, and assets of such bank. (d) Prohibited operations; separate investment account; collateral for certain funds used in conduct of business No national bank shall receive in its trust de- partment deposits of current funds subject to check or the deposit of checks, drafts, bills of exchange, or other items for collection or ex- change purposes. Funds deposited or held in trust by the bank awaiting investment shall be carried in a separate account and shall not be used by the bank in the conduct of its business unless it shall first set aside in the trust depart- ment United States bonds or other securities ap- proved by the Comptroller of the Currency. (e) Lien and claim upon bank failure In the event of the failure of such bank the owners of the funds held in trust for investment shall have a lien on the bonds or other securities so set apart in addition to their claim against the estate of the bank. (f) Deposits of securities for protection of private or court trusts; execution of and exemption from bond Whenever the laws of a State require corpora- tions acting in a fiduciary capacity to deposit securities with the State authorities for the pro- tection of private or court trusts, national banks so acting shall be required to make simi- lar deposits and securities so deposited shall be held for the protection of private or court trusts, as provided by the State law. National banks in such cases shall not be required to exe- cute the bond usually required of individuals if State corporations under similar circumstances are exempt from this requirement. National banks shall have power to execute such bond when so required by the laws of the State. (g) Officials’ oath or affidavit In any case in which the laws of a State re- quire that a corporation acting as trustee, ex- ecutor, administrator, or in any capacity speci- fied in this section, shall take an oath or make an affidavit, the president, vice president, cash- ier, or trust officer of such national bank may take the necessary oath or execute the nec- essary affidavit. (h) Loans of trust funds to officers and employ- ees prohibited; penalties It shall be unlawful for any national banking association to lend any officer, director, or em- ployee any funds held in trust under the powers conferred by this section. Any officer, director, or employee making such loan, or to whom such loan is made, may be fined not more than $5,000, or imprisoned not more than five years, or may be both fined and imprisoned, in the discretion of the court. (i) Considerations determinative of grant or de- nial of applications; minimum capital and surplus for issuance of permit In passing upon applications for permission to exercise the powers enumerated in this section,