§ 23. It shall be the principal fiscal agent of the United States. The government of the United States shall ... deposit its general funds, and ... all receipts of the Government, exclusive of trust funds, and make all disbursements through said association and its branches.

§ 24. Its sole depositors shall be the government of the United States and banks owning its stock. . . . All its domestic transactions . . . shall be confined to the Government and the subscribing banks, with the exception of the purchase or sale of Government or State securities or securities of foreign governments or of gold coin or bullion.

§ 25. It shall pay no interest on deposits.

§ 26. It may through a branch rediscount for and with the indorsement of any bank having a deposit with it, notes and bills of exchange arising out of commercial transactions . . and not . . . drawn for the purpose of carrying stocks, bonds, or other investment securities. . . . [Details as to maturity and amount and kinds of notes rediscounted, §§ 27-29.]

§ 30. It shall have authority to fix its rates of discount from time to time, which when so fixed shall be published, and shall be uniform throughout the United States.

§ 31. National banks are authorized to accept drafts or bills of exchange drawn upon them, having not more than four months to run, properly secured, and arising out of commercial transactions. The amount of such acceptances outstanding shall not exceed one-half of the capital and surplus.

§ 32. The National Reserve Association may purchase from a subscribing bank acceptances of banks or acceptors of unquestioned financial responsibility arising out of commercial transactions. Such acceptances must have not exceeding ninety days to run, and must be of a character generally known in the market as prime bills.

§ 33. It may invest in United States bonds; also in obligations, having not more than one year to run, of the United States or its dependencies, or of any State, or of foreign governments.

§ 34. It shall have power, both at home and abroad, to deal in gold coin or bullion, to make loans thereon, and to contract for loans of gold coin or bullion, giving therefor, when necessary, acceptable security, including the hypothecation of any of its holdings of United States bonds.

§ 35. It shall have power to purchase from its subscribing banks and to sell, with or without its indorsement, checks or bills of exchange, arising out of commercial transactions as hereinbefore defined, payable in such foreign countries as its board of directors . . . may determine. These bills of exchange must have not exceeding ninety days to run, and must bear the signatures of two or more responsible parties, of which the last one shall be that of a subscribing bank.

§ 36. It shall have power to open and maintain banking accounts in foreign countries and to establish agencies in foreign countries for the purpose of purchasing, selling, and collecting foreign bills of exchange, and it shall have authority to buy and sell, with or without its indorsement, through such correspondents or agencies, checks or prime foreign bills of exchange arising out of commercial transactions, which have not exceeding ninety days to run, and which bear the signatures of two or more responsible parties.

§ 37. [Duty to transfer credit balances, by mail, telegraph, or otherwise.]

§ 38. It may purchase, acquire, hold, and convey real estate for the following purposes and for no other: [Conditions specified].

§ 39. Reserves of subscribing banks. All subscribing banks must conform to the following requirements as to reserves to be held against deposits of various classes, but the deposit balance of any subscribing bank in the National Re-serve Association and any notes of the National Reserve Association which it holds may be counted as the whole or any part of its required reserve:

First. On demand deposits: National banks in different localities shall maintain the same percentages of reserve against demand deposits as is now required by law, and the same percentages of reserve against demand deposits shall be required of all other subscribing banks in the same localities.

Second. On time deposits: All time deposits and moneys held in trust payable or maturing within thirty days shall be subject to the same reserve requirements as demand deposits in the same locality. All time deposits and moneys held in trust payable or maturing more than thirty days from date shall be subject to the same reserve requirements as demand deposits for the thirty days preceding their maturity, but no reserves shall be required therefor except for this period. Such time deposits and moneys held in trust, payable only at a stated time not less than thirty days from date of deposit, must be represented by certificates or instruments in writing and must not be allowed to be withdrawn before the time specified without thirty days' notice.

§ 40. National banks may loan not more than 30 per cent of their time deposits, as herein defined, upon improved and unencumbered real estate, such loans not to exceed 50 per cent of the actual value of the property, which property shall be situated in the vicinity or in the territory directly tributary to the bank: Provided, That this privilege shall not be extended to banks acting as reserve agents for banks or trust companies.

§ 41. All demand liabilities, including deposits and circulating notes, of the National Reserve Association shall be covered to the extent of 50 per cent by a reserve of gold (including foreign gold coin and gold bullion) or other money of the United States which the national banks are now authorized to hold as a part of their legal reserve: Provided, That whenever and so long as such reserve shall fall and remain below 50 per cent the National Reserve Association shall pay a special tax upon the deficiency of reserve at a rate increasing in proportion to such deficiency as follows: For each 2 1/2 per cent or fraction thereof that the reserve falls below 50 per cent a tax shall be levied at the rate of 1 1/2 per cent per annum; Provided further, That no additional circulating notes shall be issued whenever and so long as the amount of such reserve falls below 33 1/3 per cent of its outstanding notes.

§ 42. In computing the demand liabilities of the National Reserve Association, a sum equal to one-half of the amount of the United States bonds held by the association which have been purchased from national banks, and which had previously been deposited by such banks to secure their circulating notes, shall be deducted from the amount of such liabilities.

§§ 43-46. [Details as to reports of the National Reserve Association and of the subscribing banks.]

§ 47. Bank-note issues. All provisions of law requiring national banks to hold or to transfer and deliver to the Treasurer of the United States bonds of the United States other than those required to secure outstanding circulating notes and Government deposits as hereby repealed.

§ 48. There shall be no further issue of circulating notes by any national bank beyond the amount now outstanding. National banks may maintain their present note issue, but whenever a bank retires the whole or any part of its existing issue its right to reissue the notes so retired shall thereupon cease.

§ 49. The National Reserve Association shall, for a period of one year from the date of its organization, offer to purchase at a price not less than par and accrued interest the 2 per cent bonds held by subscribing national banks and deposited to secure their circulating notes. It shall take over the bonds so purchased and assume responsibility for the redemption upon presentation of outstanding notes secured thereby. It shall issue, on terms herein provided, its own notes as the outstanding notes secured by such bonds so held shall be presented for redemption and may issue further notes from time to time to meet business requirements, it being the policy of the United States to retire as rapidly as possible, consistent with the public interests, bond-secured circulation and to substitute therefor notes ... of a character and secured and redeemed in the manner provided for in this act.

§ 50. All note issues of the National Reserve Association shall at all times be covered by legal reserves to the extent required by section 41 of this act and by notes or bills of exchange arising out of commercial transactions as hereinbefore defined or obligations of the United States.

§ 51. Any notes of the National Reserve Association in circulation at any time in excess of $900,000,000 which are not covered by an equal amount of lawful money, gold bullion, or foreign gold coin held by said association, shall pay a special tax at the rate of 1 1/2 per cent per annum, and any notes in excess of $1,200,000,000 not so covered shall pay a special tax at the rate of 5 per cent per annum: Provided, That in computing said amounts ... the aggregate amount of any national-bank notes then outstanding shall be included.

§ 52. The circulating notes of the National Reserve Association shall constitute a first lien upon all its assets and shall be redeemable in lawful money on presentation at the head office of said association or any of its branches. It shall be its duty to maintain a parity of value of its circulating notes with the standard established by the first section of the act of March 14, 1900, entitled "An act to define and fix the standard of value, to maintain the parity of all forms of money issued or coined by the United States, to refund the public debt, and for other purposes."

§ 53. The circulating notes of the National Reserve Association shall be received at par in payment of all taxes, excises, and other dues to the United States, and for all salaries and other debts and demands owing by the United States to individuals, firms, corporations, or associations, except obligations of the Government which are by their terms specifically payable in gold, and for all debts due from or by one bank or trust company to another, and for all obligations due to any bank or trust company.

§ 54. The National Reserve Association and its branches shall at once, upon application and without charge for transportation, forward its circulating notes to any depositing bank against its credit balance.

§ 55. United States bonds. Upon application of the National Reserve Association the Secretary of the Treasury shall exchange the 2 per cent bonds of the United States bearing the circulation privilege purchased from subscribing banks for 3 per cent bonds of the United States without the circulation privilege, payable after fifty years from the date of issue. The National Reserve Association shall hold the 3 per cent bonds so issued during the period of its corporate existence: Provided, That after five years from the date of its organization the Secretary of the Treasury may at his option permit it to sell not more than $50,000,000 of such bonds annually: And provided further, That the United States reserves the right at any time to pay any of such bonds before maturity, or to purchase any of them at par for the trustees of the postal savings, or otherwise.

§ 56. The National Reserve Association shall pay to the Government a special franchise tax of 1 1/2 per cent annually during the period of its charter upon an amount equal to the par value of such United States bonds transferred to it by the subscribing banks.

§ 57. Banking in foreign countries. Banking corporations for carrying on the business of banking in foreign countries and in aid of the commerce of the United States with foreign countries and to act when required as fiscal agents of the United States in such countries may be formed . . . under prescribed regulations, but shall not be authorized to receive deposits in the United States nor transact any domestic business not necessarily related to the business being done in foreign countries or in the dependencies of the United States. [Authority and power conferred; conduct regulated.]

§ 58. [Congress reserves right to alter or amend at the end of any decennial period.]

§ 59. [Acts inconsistent repealed.]