how national banks work
in the u s a national bank is a commercial bank that engages in various financial services such as accepting customer deposits and offering loans the federal office of the comptroller of the currency charters national banks state banks are chartered by state banking agencies 1the occ regulates national banks with regard to banking activities and operations 2 as of 2023 the occ oversees 1 062 national banks 3 however the nation s four largest banks make up about 43 of the entire banking system s assets as of june 2023 these four national banks are national banks are required to be members of the federal reserve system and a national bank is an investing member of its district federal reserve bank national banks belong to the federal deposit insurance corporation fdic the fdic insures eligible customer deposits for up to 250 000 4national banks may facilitate daily transactions with their local federal reserve bank also called the fed such as fed bank wires national banks must generate call reports to the fed each quarter and ensure these reports are made public 5national banks in the u s and worldwide are essential in shaping a country s financial system an efficient banking system whether through a central bank or the u s federal reserve is critical for economic stability especially during times of recession or to help weather downturns in the economy history of national banksalexander hamilton the first secretary of the treasury was instrumental in forming the first national bank in the united states the structure in philadelphia pennsylvania was completed in 1797 and is a national historic landmark today first bank collected taxes paid government bills and printed banknotes similar to a national currency only first bank notes could be used to pay federal taxes the bank s 20 year charter began in december 1791 but congress didn t renew it when it expired in 1811 6in 1863 president lincoln s signature on the national currency act established the office of the comptroller of the currency the occ would help manage nationally chartered banks and create a uniform national currency 7in 1913 the federal reserve act created the federal reserve system to serve as the national bank of the u s while propping up a new national currency before this around three fourths of all u s banks were state chartered with fragile capitalization an amendment to the glass steagall act of 1933 introduced the federal deposit insurance corporation fdic to help restore public confidence during ongoing bank failures 8national bank examplesas mentioned above national banks in the united states are typically commercial banks the office of the comptroller of the currency maintains an up to date list of national banks and federal savings associations it charters and regulates examples of active national banks the occ regulates include in may 2022 the occ chartered houston texas based agility bank a woman owned and woman led bank categorized as a minority led institution mdi national bank 9frequently asked questions faqs 