I. Statutory Provisions

Section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act also provides that any member bank may accept drafts or bills of exchange drawn upon it having not more than three months' sight to run, exclusive of days of grace, drawn, under regulations to be prescribed by the Federal Reserve Board, by banks or bankers in foreign countries or dependencies or insular possessions of the United States for the purpose of furnishing dollar exchange as required by the usages of trade in the respective countries, dependencies, or insular possessions.

No member bank shall accept such drafts or bills of exchange for any one bank to an amount exceeding in the aggregate 10 per centum of the paid-up and unimpaired capital and surplus of the accepting bank unless the draft or bill of exchange is accompanied by documents conveying or securing title or by some other adequate security. No member bank shall accept such drafts or bills in an amount exceeding at any time in the aggregate one-half of its paid-up and unimpaired capital and surplus. This 50 per cent limit is separate and distinct from and not included in the limits placed upon the acceptance of drafts and bills of exchange as described under section A of this regulation.

II. Regulations

Any member bank desiring to accept drafts drawn by banks or bankers in foreign countries or dependencies or insular possessions of the United States for the purpose of furnishing dollar exchange shall first make an application to the Federal Reserve Board setting forth the usages of trade in the respective countries, dependencies, or insular possessions in which such banks or bankers are located.

If the Federal Reserve Board should determine that the usages of trade in such countries, dependencies, or possessions require the granting of the acceptance facilities applied for, it will notify the applying bank of its approval and will also publish in the Federal Reserve Bulletin the name or names of those countries, dependencies, or possessions in which banks or bankers are authorized to draw on member banks whose applications have been approved for the purpose of furnishing dollar exchange.

The Federal Reserve Board reserves the right to modify or on 90 days' notice to revoke its approval either as to any particular member bank or as to any foreign country or dependency or insular possession of the United States in which it has authorized banks or bankers to draw on member banks for the purpose of furnishing dollar exchange.