§341 General Enumeration of Powers

Summary

When the organization certificate is filed with the Comptroller of the Currency, a Federal Reserve Bank becomes a legal corporation in the name on that certificate and gets several powers. It can have a corporate seal, keep operating after February 25, 1927 until Congress ends it or it loses its charter for breaking the law, make contracts, sue and be sued, and hire officers and employees. The board sets officers’ duties, can require bonds and set penalties, and can dismiss staff. The president is the bank’s chief executive, picked by the Class B and Class C directors with approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System for a 5‑year term; the first vice president is chosen the same way and acts as chief executive if the president is absent. Vacancies are filled the same way and the appointee serves until the prior term ends. The board must write bylaws that follow the law and explain how the bank runs. The bank may use powers given in this chapter and other powers needed to do banking, within the chapter’s limits. If it deposits U.S. bonds with the U.S. Treasurer, it may receive circulating notes from the Secretary of the Treasury equal to the par value of those bonds under the same rules that apply to national banks, except those notes are not limited by the bank’s capital stock. The bank cannot do business beyond basic organization until the Comptroller authorizes it to start.