Title 12, Banks and BankingRelease 119-102
§144 Certain Balances Counted Toward Reserves in Dependencies and Insular Possessions
Title 12 › CHAPTER 2 — NATIONAL BANKS › SUBCHAPTER VIII — RESERVE CITIES; LAWFUL RESERVES › § 144
Summary
Requires national banks in U.S. dependencies, insular possessions, or areas outside the continental U.S., nonmembers of the Federal Reserve, keep a 15% reserve; up to 4/5 may be balances from Comptroller‑approved associations in one reserve city.
Full Legal Text
Title 12, §144
Banks and Banking, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Four-fifths of the reserve of 15 per centum which a national bank located in a dependency or insular possession or any part of the United States outside of the continental United States, and not a member of the Federal Reserve System, is required to keep, may consist of balances due such bank from associations approved by the Comptroller of the Currency and located in any one of the reserve cities as now or hereafter defined by law or designated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.
Legislative History
Notes & Related Subsidiaries
Editorial Notes
Codification R.S. § 5192 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, § 31, 13 Stat. 108, which was the National Bank Act. See section 38 of this title.
Amendments
1959—Pub. L. 86–114 struck out “central reserve or” before “reserve cities”. Pub. L. 86–70 struck out “in Alaska or” before “in a dependency”. 1952—Act July 1, 1952, reduced the required amount of cash on hand from two-fifths to one-fifth of the required reserve of 15 per centum.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Effective Date
of 1959 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 86–114 effective three years after July 28, 1959, see section 3(b) of Pub. L. 86–114, set out as a Central Reserve and Reserve Cities note under former section 141 of this title.
Executive Documents
Exception as to
Transfer of Functions
Functions vested by any provision of law in Comptroller of the Currency, referred to in this section, not included in
Transfer of Functions
to Secretary of the Treasury, see note set out under section 1 of this title.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
12 U.S.C. § 144
Title 12, Banks and Banking
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102