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Title 12 — Banks and Banking

Chapter 2 — National Banks

§ 181. Voluntary dissolution; appointment and removal of liquidating agent or committee; examination

Statutory text

Any association may go into liquidation and be closed by the vote of its shareholders owning two-thirds of its stock. If the liquidation is to be effected in whole or in part through the sale of any of its assets to and the assumption of its deposit liabilities by another bank, the purchase and sale agreement must also be approved by its shareholders owning two-thirds of its stock unless an emergency exists and the Comptroller of the Currency specifically waives such requirement for shareholder approval.

The shareholders shall designate one or more persons to act as liquidating agent or committee, who shall conduct the liquidation in accordance with law and under the supervision of the board of directors, who shall require a suitable bond to be given by said agent or committee. The liquidating agent or committee shall render annual reports to the Comptroller of the Currency on the 31st day of December of each year showing the progress of said liquidation until the same is completed. The liquidating agent or committee shall also make an annual report to a meeting of the shareholders to be held on the date fixed in the articles of association for the annual meeting, at which meeting the shareholders may, if they see fit, by a vote representing a majority of the entire stock of the bank, remove the liquidating agent or committee and appoint one or more others in place thereof. A special meeting of the shareholders may be called at any time in the same manner as if the bank continued an active bank and at said meeting the shareholders may, by vote of the majority of the stock, remove the liquidating agent or committee. The Comptroller of the Currency is authorized to have an examination made at any time into the affairs of the liquidating bank until the claims of all creditors have been satisfied, and the expense of making such examinations shall be assessed against such bank in the same manner as in the case of examinations made pursuant to subchapter XV of chapter 3 of this title.

Legislative history

Reconstructed from this section’s Code source credit and amendment notes, resolved against the local Statutes at Large. Editorial notes are evidence, not the law that made the change.

  1. R.S. § 5220

    Enacted · 12 U.S.C. § 181

    R.S. § 5220

    Unresolved: No Public Law or Statutes at Large citation in the Code source.

    Source evidence

    Code source credit
    R.S. § 5220

  2. Pub. L. 86–230 § 15 · 73 Stat. 457

    Changed · 12 U.S.C. § 181

    Pub. L. 86–230 required shareholder approval of purchase and sale agreement where there is liquidation of a bank effected through sale of its assets and assumption of deposit liabilities and authorized waiver of such requirement in an emergency

    Source evidence

    Code amendment note
    Pub. L. 86–230 required shareholder approval of purchase and sale agreement where there is liquidation of a bank effected through sale of its assets and assumption of deposit liabilities and authorized waiver of such requirement in an emergency.

    Enacted provision · exact public law section
    Sec. 15. Section 5220 of the Revised Statutes (12 U.S.C. 181) is amended by adding after the first sentence the following new sentence: “If the liquidation is to be effected in whole or in part through the sale of any of its assets to and the assumption of its deposit liabilities by another bank, the purchase and sale agreement must also be approved by its shareholders owning two-thirds of its stock unless an emergency exists and the Comptroller of the Currency specifically waives such requirement for shareholder approval.”

1 of 2 references resolved to an enrolled provision · 1 unresolved

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Subchapter XV [§ 481 et seq.] of chapter 3 of this title, referred to in second par., was in the original a reference to section 5240 of the Revised Statutes.

Codification

R.S. § 5220 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, § 42, 13 Stat. 112, which was the National Bank Act. See section 38 of this title.

Amendments1935–1959 · 2 rounds

1959

Pub. L. 86–230 required shareholder approval of purchase and sale agreement where there is liquidation of a bank effected through sale of its assets and assumption of deposit liabilities and authorized waiver of such requirement in an emergency.

1935

Act , added second par.

Executive Documents

Exception as to Transfer of Functions

Functions vested by any provision of law in Comptroller of the Currency, referred to in this section, not included in transfer of functions to Secretary of the Treasury, see note set out under section 1 of this title.

Credits

1935–1959 · 3 acts
  1. R.S. § 5220
  2. 1935Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, title III, § 317, 49 Stat. 712
  3. 1959Pub. L. 86–230, § 15, , 73 Stat. 458.
Show as published

(R.S. § 5220; Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, title III, § 317, 49 Stat. 712; Pub. L. 86–230, § 15, , 73 Stat. 458.)

Parsed from the official OLRC USLM XML in data/usc_all/usc12.xml · release point 119-108 · OLRC build 2026-07-23

USLM identifier /us/usc/t12/s181