La. Rev. Stat. § 6:412
This is the official text of La. Rev. Stat. § 6:412, part of Louisiana’s Rev. Stat — part of the compiled statutory law of Louisiana, published by the state as "Rev. Stat." Browse the sections below, each linked to its official government source.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Unauthorized use of the word "bank" or similar words
Official statutory text
A. It shall be unlawful for any person other than a bank to:
(1) Use the word "bank", "banker", "banking", "trust", "trustee", "trust company", or any other word of similar import as part of its name or title, except that a trust created and operated pursuant to the provisions of the Louisiana Trust Code as contained in R.S. 9:1721 et seq., and a real estate investment trust authorized under the provisions of R.S. 12:491 et seq., may use the word "trust" as part of its name or title, and a trust company created and operated pursuant to the Louisiana Trust Company Law as contained in R.S. 6:571 et seq. shall use only the words "trust", "trustee", or "trust company" as part of its name or title;
(2) Make use of any office sign at the place where the business is transacted having thereon any words indicating that the place or office is that of a bank;
(3) Make use of or circulate any written, printed, or partly written and partly printed paper heading thereon any words indicating that the business is that of a bank; or
(4) Otherwise purport or represent to the public that that person is a bank or is engaged in the business of banking as a bank.
B. Whoever violates this Section shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars a day for each day or part of a day during which the violation continues.
C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the use of the words "bank", "banks", "banker", "bankers", "banking", or any similar word in a context clearly not purporting to refer to a general banking business.
D. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the use of the word "trust", "trustee", "trust company" or any word of similar import as part of a name or title in a context clearly not purporting to refer to engaging in a general trust, trustee, or trust company business.
Acts 1984, No. 719, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 7, §1; Acts 1991, No. 200, §1; eff. July 2, 1991; Acts 2003, No. 573, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2019, No. 190, §1, eff. June 11, 2019.
(1) Use the word "bank", "banker", "banking", "trust", "trustee", "trust company", or any other word of similar import as part of its name or title, except that a trust created and operated pursuant to the provisions of the Louisiana Trust Code as contained in R.S. 9:1721 et seq., and a real estate investment trust authorized under the provisions of R.S. 12:491 et seq., may use the word "trust" as part of its name or title, and a trust company created and operated pursuant to the Louisiana Trust Company Law as contained in R.S. 6:571 et seq. shall use only the words "trust", "trustee", or "trust company" as part of its name or title;
(2) Make use of any office sign at the place where the business is transacted having thereon any words indicating that the place or office is that of a bank;
(3) Make use of or circulate any written, printed, or partly written and partly printed paper heading thereon any words indicating that the business is that of a bank; or
(4) Otherwise purport or represent to the public that that person is a bank or is engaged in the business of banking as a bank.
B. Whoever violates this Section shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars a day for each day or part of a day during which the violation continues.
C. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the use of the words "bank", "banks", "banker", "bankers", "banking", or any similar word in a context clearly not purporting to refer to a general banking business.
D. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prevent the use of the word "trust", "trustee", "trust company" or any word of similar import as part of a name or title in a context clearly not purporting to refer to engaging in a general trust, trustee, or trust company business.
Acts 1984, No. 719, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 7, §1; Acts 1991, No. 200, §1; eff. July 2, 1991; Acts 2003, No. 573, §1, eff. June 27, 2003; Acts 2019, No. 190, §1, eff. June 11, 2019.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in Louisiana?
Find a Louisiana lawyer
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.