§341 General enumeration of powers

Summary

When a Federal Reserve Bank files its organization papers with the Comptroller of the Currency, it becomes a corporation and gets a set of powers to run its business. It can make and use a corporate seal, keep operating after February 25, 1927 until Congress ends it or it loses its franchise for breaking the law, sign contracts, and bring or defend lawsuits in court. The bank’s board chooses a president, a first vice president, and other officers and workers. The president is the bank’s chief executive. The president and first vice president are picked by the Class B and Class C directors and must be approved by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Each serves a 5-year term. If the president is absent or the job is empty, the first vice president acts as chief executive. The board sets bylaws that follow the law and lets the bank use the powers given in this chapter and other needed powers to do banking. The bank may also deposit U.S. bonds with the Treasury to get circulating notes equal to the bonds’ value under rules like national banks, but it cannot start normal business beyond organizing itself until the Comptroller authorizes it to begin.