Title 12Banks and BankingRelease 119-73

§3001 Congressional statement of findings and purpose

Title 12 › Chapter CHAPTER 31— - NATIONAL CONSUMER COOPERATIVE BANK › § 3001

Last updated Apr 6, 2026|Official source

Summary

Creates a National Consumer Cooperative Bank to provide loans and technical help to consumer and other self-help cooperatives. Congress found that, despite high national wealth, inflation, unemployment, and price gaps keep many people—especially the elderly, the poor, and inner-city residents—from sharing in prosperity. Member-owned cooperatives can help but lack access to credit and expertise.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §3001

Banks and Banking — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The economic and financial structure of this country in combination with the Nation’s natural resources and the productivity of the American people has produced one of the highest average standards of living in the world. However, the Nation has been experiencing inflation and unemployment together with an increasing gap between producers’ prices and consumers’ purchasing power. This has resulted in a growing number of our citizens, especially the elderly, the poor, and the inner city resident, being unable to share in the fruits of our Nation’s highly efficient economic system. The Congress finds that user-owned cooperatives are a proven method for broadening ownership and control of the economic organizations, increasing the number of market participants, narrowing price spreads, raising the quality of goods and services available to their membership, and building bridges between producers and consumers, and their members and patrons. The Congress also finds that consumer and other types of self-help cooperatives have been hampered in their formation and growth by lack of access to adequate cooperative credit facilities and lack of technical assistance. Therefore, the Congress finds a need for the establishment of a National Consumer Cooperative Bank which will make available necessary financial and technical assistance to cooperative self-help endeavors as a means of strengthening the Nation’s economy.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries

Short Title

of 1989 Amendment Pub. L. 101–206, § 1, Dec. 7, 1989, 103 Stat. 1832, provided that: “This Act [amending section 3014 of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Consumer Cooperative Bank

Amendments

of 1989’.”

Short Title

of 1981 Amendment Pub. L. 97–35, title III, § 390, Aug. 13, 1981, 95 Stat. 433, provided that: “This subtitle [subtitle C (§§ 390–396) of title III of Pub. L. 97–35, enacting section 3017a, 3026, and 3051 of this title; amending sections 3011 to 3015, 3017, 3018, 3019, 3024, 3025, 3042, and 3043 of this title, section 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and section 856, 867, and 868 of former Title 31, Money and Finance; and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 3011 to 3015, 3017, 3017a, 3019, 3025, and 3026 of this title] may be cited as the ‘National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act

Amendments

of 1981’.”

Short Title

Pub. L. 95–351, § 1, Aug. 20, 1978, 92 Stat. 499, provided: “That this Act [enacting this chapter and amending section 5315 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and section 856, 867, and 868 of former Title 31, Money and Finance] may be cited as the ‘National Consumer Cooperative Bank Act’.”

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 3001

Title 12Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Apr 6, 2026

Release point: 119-73