§265 Insured Banks as Depositaries of Public Money; Duties; Security; Discrimination Between Banks Prohibited; Repeal of Inconsistent Laws

Summary

The Secretary of the Treasury must pick insured banks to hold public money for the United States. This includes tax revenue, other federal funds the government controls, and Postal Savings funds. The Secretary can put money into those banks under rules the Secretary sets. The banks can also act as the government's financial agents and must carry out reasonable duties asked of them. The Secretary must make sure those banks give acceptable security, such as United States bonds or other guarantees, so the money is kept safe and paid when needed. No extra security is required for parts of those deposits that are insured. Each government officer or employee who lawfully deposits public money is treated as a separate depositor for insurance limits. No federal department, agency, officer, or employee may make rules, contracts, or actions about handling public funds that favor or hurt national banks, state member banks of the Federal Reserve, or insured banks not in the Federal Reserve, or force people who get federal money to make such choices. Conflicting laws are repealed. The terms “insured bank” and “insured deposit” have the meanings given in section 1813.