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The National Bank Act (ch. 58, 12 Stat. 665, February 25 1863) was a United States federal law that established a system of national charters for bank
Bank

A bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. It is an institution for receiving, keeping, and lending money....
s. It encouraged development of a national currency
Currency

A currency is a Medium of exchange, facilitating the trade of goods and/or Service s. It is coins and paper bills used as money. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value....
 based on bank holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. It also established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a US federal agency established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States....
 (OCC) as part of the Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an United States federal executive departments and the treasury of the United States Federal government of the United States....
. This was to establish a national security holding body for the existence of the monetary policy of the state.






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The National Bank Act (ch. 58, 12 Stat. 665, February 25 1863) was a United States federal law that established a system of national charters for bank
Bank

A bank is a financial institution whose primary activity is to act as a payment agent for customers and to borrow and lend money. It is an institution for receiving, keeping, and lending money....
s. It encouraged development of a national currency
Currency

A currency is a Medium of exchange, facilitating the trade of goods and/or Service s. It is coins and paper bills used as money. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value....
 based on bank holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. It also established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is a US federal agency established by the National Currency Act of 1863 and serves to charter, regulate, and supervise all national banks and the federal branches and agencies of foreign banks in the United States....
 (OCC) as part of the Department of the Treasury
United States Department of the Treasury

The Department of the Treasury is an United States federal executive departments and the treasury of the United States Federal government of the United States....
. This was to establish a national security holding body for the existence of the monetary policy of the state. The Act, together with Abraham Lincoln
Abraham Lincoln

Abraham Lincoln was the List of Presidents of the United States President of the United States. He successfully led the country through its greatest internal crisis, the American Civil War, preserving the Union and ending slavery....
's issuance of "greenbacks," raised money for the federal government in the American Civil War
American Civil War

The American Civil War , also known as the War Between the States and several Naming the American Civil War, was a civil war in the United States....
 by enticing banks to buy federal bonds
Bond (finance)

In finance, a bond is a debt security , in which the authorized issuer owes the holders a debt and, depending on the terms of the bond, is obliged to pay interest and/or to repay the principal at a later date, termed Maturity ....
 and taxed state bonds out of existence. The law proved defective and was replaced by the National Bank Act of 1864. The money was used to fund the Union army in the fight against the Confederacy. This authorized the OCC to examine and regulate nationally-chartered banks.

The act barely passed in the Senate by a 23-21 vote.

A later act, passed on March 3, 1865, imposed a tax of 10% on the notes of State banks to take effect on July 1, 1866. The tax effectively forced all non-federal currency
Currency

A currency is a Medium of exchange, facilitating the trade of goods and/or Service s. It is coins and paper bills used as money. It is one form of money, where money is anything that serves as a medium of exchange, a store of value, and a standard of value....
 from circulation
Circulation

Circulation may refer to:*Circulatory system, a biological organ system whose primary function is to move substances to and from cells*Circulation , the path integral of the fluid velocity around a closed curve...
 and increased the number of national banks to 1,644 by October 1866.

The next major changes to bank regulation
Bank regulation

Bank regulations are a form of government regulation which subject banks to certain requirements, restrictions and guidelines....
 in the United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 appeared in 1908 with the enactment of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act
Aldrich-Vreeland Act

The Aldrich-Vreeland Act of May 30, 1908, was passed in response to the Panic of 1907 and established the National Monetary Commission, which recommended the Federal Reserve Act of 1913....
.

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