§52 Par Value and Incidents of Stock; Transfer of Shares

Summary

Capital stock must be split into $100 shares, or into smaller shares if the articles allow. Shares are personal property and can be moved on the association’s ownership books in the way the bylaws or articles say. A person who gets shares by transfer takes the same rights and responsibilities for those shares as the previous owner, in proportion to how many shares they hold. The articles cannot be changed in a way that hurts the rights or security of current creditors. Stock certificates issued after August 23, 1935 must show the association’s name and location, the recorded owner, the number and class of shares, and the rules for each class (for example, voting and other limits). Certificates must be signed by the president and cashier or other officers named in the bylaws and bear the association’s seal. A certificate may not claim to represent stock of another company, nor can buying, selling, or transferring it be made to depend on owning stock in another company, except for a member bank or a company that held the bank premises on June 16, 1934. This does not stop another company’s stock from being made conditional on owning stock of a national banking association.