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Title 12, Banks and BankingRelease 119-102

§1457 Prohibited Activities; Penalties for Violations by Organizations, Officers and Members of Organizations, and Individuals

Title 12 › CHAPTER 11A — FEDERAL HOME LOAN MORTGAGE CORPORATION › § 1457

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

You must not use the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation’s full name, or a business name that includes the words "Federal," "Home Loan," and "Mortgage," unless a United States law specifically allows it. Names already in use on July 24, 1970 may keep being used. You also may not use or show any sign, symbol, or badge the Corporation approves, or any copy, imitation, or anything likely to make people think it is approved, when the Corporation’s rules forbid that use. An organization that breaks these rules can be fined up to $10,000 per violation. An officer, member, or any individual who participates in or knowingly allows a violation can be fined up to $5,000, jailed for up to one year, or both.

Full Legal Text

Title 12, §1457

Banks and Banking, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

Except as expressly authorized by statute of the United States, no individual or organization (except the Corporation) shall use the term “Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation”, or any combination of words including the words “Federal”, and “Home Loan”, and “Mortgage”, as a name or part thereof under which any individual or organization does any business, but this sentence shall not make unlawful the use of any name under which business is being done on July 24, 1970. No individual or organization shall use or display (1) any sign, device, or insigne prescribed or approved by the Corporation for use or display by the Corporation or by members of the Federal home loan banks, (2) any copy, reproduction, or colorable imitation of any such sign, device, or insigne, or (3) any sign, device, or insigne reasonably calculated to convey the impression that it is a sign, device, or insigne used by the Corporation or prescribed or approved by the Corporation, contrary to regulations of the Corporation prohibiting, or limiting or restricting, such use or display by such individual or organization. An organization violating this subsection shall for each violation be punished by a fine of not more than $10,000. An officer or member of an organization participating or knowingly acquiescing in any violation of this subsection shall be punished by a fine of not more than $5,000 or imprisonment for not more than one year, or both. An individual violating this subsection shall for each violation be punished as set forth in the sentence next preceding this sentence.

Legislative History

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

Amendments

1989—Pub. L. 101–73 struck out subsection (a) designation before “Except as expressly”, and struck out subsecs. (b) to (f) relating to applicability of criminal provisions of title 18, and defining terms construing such applicability. 1984—Subsec. (f). Pub. L. 98–479 substituted “United States” for “United States Code” before “, except in a territorial sense”.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

12 U.S.C. § 1457

Title 12, Banks and Banking

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102