12 U.S.C. § 52 (2024)

This is the official text of 12 U.S.C. § 52 (2024), part of Federal (US Code)’s United States Code — the codified general and permanent federal statutes of the United States, organized into more than 50 numbered titles by subject.

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Par value and incidents of stock; transfer of shares

Official statutory text

The capital stock of each association shall be divided into shares of $100 each, or into shares of such less amount as may be provided in the articles of association, and be deemed personal property, and transferable on the books of the association in such manner as may be prescribed in the by-laws or articles of association. Every person becoming a shareholder by such transfer shall, in proportion to his shares, succeed to all rights and liabilities of the prior holder of such shares; and no change shall be made in the articles of association by which the rights, remedies, or security of the existing creditors of the association shall be impaired.

Certificates issued after August 23, 1935, representing shares of stock of the association shall state (1) the name and location of the association, (2) the name of the holder of record of the stock represented thereby, (3) the number and class of shares which the certificate represents, and (4) if the association shall issue stock of more than one class, the respective rights, preferences, privileges, voting rights, powers, restrictions, limitations, and qualifications of each class of stock issued shall be stated in full or in summary upon the front or back of the certificates or shall be incorporated by a reference to the articles of association set forth on the front of the certificates. Every certificate shall be signed by the president and the cashier of the association, or by such other officers as the bylaws of the association shall provide, and shall be sealed with the seal of the association.
tated in full or in summary upon the front or back of the certificates or shall be incorporated by a reference to the articles of association set forth on the front of the certificates. Every certificate shall be signed by the president and the cashier of the association, or by such other officers as the bylaws of the association shall provide, and shall be sealed with the seal of the association.

After August 23, 1935, no certificate evidencing the stock of any such association shall bear any statement purporting to represent the stock of any other corporation, except a member bank or a corporation engaged on June 16, 1934, in holding the bank premises of such association, nor shall the ownership, sale, or transfer of any certificate representing the stock of any such association be conditioned in any manner whatsoever upon the ownership, sale, or transfer of a certificate representing the stock of any other corporation, except a member bank or a corporation engaged on June 16, 1934 in holding the bank premises of such association: Provided, That this section shall not operate to prevent the ownership, sale, or transfer of stock of any other corporation being conditioned upon the ownership, sale, or transfer of a certificate representing stock of a national banking association.

(R.S. §5139; Feb. 25, 1927, ch. 191, §16, 44 Stat. 1233; June 16, 1933, ch. 89, §18, 48 Stat. 186; Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, title III, §§310(a), 335, 49 Stat. 710, 720.)

Editorial Notes

Codification

R.S. §5139 derived from act June 3, 1864, ch. 106, §12, 13 Stat. 102, which was the National Bank Act. See section 38 of this title.

Amendments

1935—Act Aug. 23, 1935, §335, added second par.

Act Aug. 23, 1935, §310(a), among other changes in last par., inserted proviso.

1933—Act June 16, 1933, added last par.

1927—Act Feb. 25, 1927, inserted "or into shares of such less amount as may be provided in the articles of association" in first sentence.

Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site

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About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the Open US Law dataset (Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine (Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.