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 banks. It encouraged development of a national currency based on bank holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. It also established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as part of the Department of the Treasury. 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's issuance of "greenbacks," raised money for the federal government in the American Civil War by enticing banks to buy federal bonds 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. is the 56th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 1863 (MDCCCLXIII) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Tuesday of the 12-day slower Julian calendar). ... The United States Code (U.S.C.) is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal Law of the United States. ... For other uses, see Bank (disambiguation). ... Treasury Securities are bonds issued by the U.S. Treasury. ... The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (or OCC) was 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. ... The U.S. Treasury building today. ... For other uses, see Abraham Lincoln (disambiguation). ... The term Greenbacks is used to refer to: the paper money first issued by the United States during the American Civil War, and the United States Greenback Party, which advocated inflation of the currency in the years after the war. ... Combatants United States of America (Union) Confederate States of America (Confederacy) Commanders Abraham Lincoln, Ulysses S. Grant Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee Strength 2,200,000 1,064,000 Casualties 110,000 killed in action, 360,000 total dead, 275,200 wounded 93,000 killed in action, 258,000 total... For alternative meanings, see bond (a disambiguation page). ...

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 from circulation and increased the number of national banks to 1,644 by October 1866. is the 62nd day of the year (63rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... is the 182nd day of the year (183rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1866 (MDCCCLXVI) is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar. ... The word circulation can mean the following: The transport of blood through the circulatory system. ... The term national bank has several meanings: especially in developing countries, a bank owned by the state an ordinary private bank which operates nationally (as opposed to regionally or locally or even internationally) In the past, the term national bank has been used synonymously with central bank, but it is...

The next major changes to bank regulation in the United States appeared in 1908 with the enactment of the Aldrich-Vreeland Act. The Aldrich-Vreeland Act of 1908 established a National Monetary Commission which recommended the Federal Reserve Act of 1913. ...

External links

• The Library of Congress
• History of the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency
• History of banking at About.com