Title 12Banks and BankingRelease 119-73

§1831o–1 Source of strength

Title 12 › Chapter CHAPTER 16— - FEDERAL DEPOSIT INSURANCE CORPORATION › § 1831o–1

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Federal banking regulators must require parent companies of banks or savings-and-loan firms to be a financial back-up for any bank they own. If a bank is not owned as a subsidiary, the company that controls the bank must act as the back-up. The same special rules that apply when a bank-holding company is also an insurance company apply to savings-and-loan holding companies and other controlling insurance companies. Regulators can ask those companies for sworn reports to check their ability to help and to enforce the rule. The agencies must issue final rules to do this within 1 year after the transfer date. "Source of financial strength" means the owner or controller can provide money or help if the bank gets into financial trouble.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §1831o–1

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The appropriate Federal banking agency for a bank holding company or savings and loan holding company shall require the bank holding company or savings and loan holding company to serve as a source of financial strength for any subsidiary of the bank holding company or savings and loan holding company that is a depository institution.
(b)If an insured depository institution is not the subsidiary of a bank holding company or savings and loan holding company, the appropriate Federal banking agency for the insured depository institution shall require any company that directly or indirectly controls the insured depository institution to serve as a source of financial strength for such institution.
(c)(1)The provisions of section 1844(g) of this title shall apply to a savings and loan holding company that is an insurance company, an affiliate of an insured depository institution that is an insurance company, and to any other company that is an insurance company and that directly or indirectly controls an insured depository institution, to the same extent as the provisions of that section apply to a bank holding company that is an insurance company.
(2)Requiring a bank holding company that is an insurance company, a savings and loan holding company that is an insurance company, an affiliate of an insured depository institution that is an insurance company, or any other company that is an insurance company and that directly or indirectly controls an insured depository institution to serve as a source of financial strength under this section shall be deemed an action of the Board that requires a bank holding company to provide funds or other assets to a subsidiary depository institution for purposes of section 1844(g) of this title.
(d)The appropriate Federal banking agency for an insured depository institution described in subsection (b) may, from time to time, require the company, or a company that directly or indirectly controls the insured depository institution, to submit a report, under oath, for the purposes of—
(1)assessing the ability of such company to comply with the requirement under subsection (b); and
(2)enforcing the compliance of such company with the requirement under subsection (b).
(e)Not later than 1 year after the transfer date, as defined in section 5411 of this title, the appropriate Federal banking agencies shall jointly issue final rules to carry out this section.
(f)In this section, the term “source of financial strength” means the ability of a company that directly or indirectly owns or controls an insured depository institution to provide financial assistance to such insured depository institution in the event of the financial distress of the insured depository institution.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2015—Subsecs. (c) to (f). Pub. L. 114–113 added subsec. (c) and redesignated former subsecs. (c) to (e) as (d) to (f), respectively.

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Effective Date

Section effective on the transfer date, see section 616(e) of Pub. L. 111–203, set out as an

Effective Date

of 2010 Amendment note under section 1467a of this title.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 1831o–1

Title 12Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73