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

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.

(June 11, 1942, ch. 404, §10, 56 Stat. 356; Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, §26, 68 Stat. 1235.)

#### **Editorial Notes**

#### Codification

Section was formerly classified to section 1110 of the former Appendix to Title 50, War and National Defense.

#### Amendments

1954—Act Sept. 3, 1954, substituted "section 1813" for "section 264" in last sentence.