§6712 Insurance Underwriting in National Banks

Summary

National banks and their subsidiaries may not act as the main seller of insurance in a State, unless another rule (section 6713) allows it or the insurance is an "authorized product." An "authorized product" is one the Comptroller of the Currency said, in writing, banks could sell by January 1, 1999, or that banks were already legally selling then; no final court decision has overturned that Comptroller finding; and the product is not title insurance or an annuity whose income is taxed under section 72 of title 26. For this law, "insurance" means products treated as insurance under State law as of January 1, 1999, plus new products a State regulator says insure against life, health, liability, or property loss (examples: surety bonds, life, health, title, and property/casualty insurance). It does not include ordinary bank items like deposits, loans, trust services, qualified financial contracts (see 12 U.S.C. 1821(e)(8)(D)(i)), or financial guaranties, except for certain products that meet tax-law tests (see 26 U.S.C. 7702, 831, and 832(b)(5)). Selling insurance overseas that covers State insurance is treated the same as selling it in that State.