12 U.S.C. § 265

Insured banks as depositaries of public money; duties; security; discrimination between banks prohibited; repeal of inconsistent laws

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All insured banks designated for that purpose by the Secretary of the Treasury shall be depositaries of public money of the United States (including, without being limited to, revenues and funds of the United States, and any funds the deposit of which is subject to the control or regulation of the United States or any of its officers, agents, or employees, and Postal Savings funds), and the Secretary is authorized to deposit public money in such depositaries, under such regulations as may be prescribed by the Secretary; and they may also be employed as financial agents of the Government; and they shall perform all such reasonable duties, as depositaries of public money and financial agents of the Government as may be required of them. The Secretary of the Treasury shall require of the insured banks thus designated satisfactory security by the deposit of United States bonds or otherwise, for the safekeeping and prompt payment of public money deposited with them and for the faithful performance of their duties as financial agents of the Government: Provided, That no such security shall be required for the safekeeping and prompt payment of such parts of the deposits of the public money in such banks as are insured deposits and each officer, employee, or agent of the United States having official custody of public funds and lawfully depositing the same in an insured bank shall, for the purpose of determining the amount of the insured deposits, be deemed a depositor in such custodial capacity separate and distinct from any other officer, employee, or agent of the United States having official custody of public funds and lawfully depositing the same in the same insured bank in custodial capacity. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, no department, board, agency, instrumentality, officer, employee, or agent of the United States shall issue or permit to continue in effect any regulations, rulings, or instructions or enter into or approve any contracts or perform any other acts having to do with the deposit, disbursement, or expenditure of public funds, or the deposit, custody, or advance of funds subject to the control of the United States as trustee or otherwise which shall discriminate against or prefer national banking associations, State banks members of the Federal Reserve System, or insured banks not members of the Federal Reserve System, by class, or which shall require those enjoying the benefits, directly or indirectly, of disbursed public funds so to discriminate. All Acts or parts thereof in conflict herewith are repealed. The terms “insured bank” and “insured deposit” as used in this section shall be construed according to the definitions of such terms in section 1813 of this title.

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 5 cases (2 in the last 5 years), 1961–2025 · leading case: First Agric. Nat'l Bank of Berkshire Cnty. v. State Tax Comm'n, 392 U.S. 339 (1968).

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First Agric. Nat'l Bank of Berkshire Cnty. v. State Tax Comm'n, 392 U.S. 339 (1968). · cites it 2× “12 U. S. C. § 265 . The principal checking accounts of the Government are carried today, not by national banks, but by the Federal Reserve banks.”

First Nat'l Bank of Bellevue v. Bank of Bellevue, 341 F. Supp. 960 (D. Neb. 1972). · cites it 2× “§ 90 which dealt with National Banks and that in this case 12 U.S.C. § 265 is the basis of the Bank’s authority.”

Texas ex rel. Falkner v. Nat'l Bank of Com. of San Antonio, 290 F.2d 229 (5th Cir. 1961). “§ 90 , if national banks, and under 12 U.S.C.A. § 265 , if banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.”

McQuennie v. Wells Fargo Institutional Ret. Servs. (E.D. Cal. 2023). “, and the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act 8 (“Dodd-Frank Act”), 12 U.”

Climate United Fund v. Citibank, N.A. (D.C. Cir. 2025). “1996); 12 U.S.C. § 265 . Most relevant to EPA’s litigating position, the financial agent structure affords EPA more oversight than the agency’s standard payment system.”

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