Forbidden Titles with restricted words: National, Federal, Reserve, United States
ABSTRACT
It soon became evident once the National Banking system became operational that it was necessary to restrict the use of the word National within bank titles exclusively for use by the banks within the system. This would prevent other banking entities from engaging in the misleading practice of using national in their titles as a means to imply that they were operating under laws with the same rigor as those with Federal oversight.
A similar concern developed with the words Federal and Reserve after passage of the Federal Reserve Act in 1913.
Consequently, Congress restricted the use of National in 1873 and use of Federal and Reserve as well as United States in 1926.
NATIONAL
From the outset, it was Treasury policy—not a mandate in the National Bank Act—that the word National was to be incorporated into bank
