Montana Attorney General Opinion 15-280

Opinion No. 280 Banks and Banking-State Banks-In- vestments-Federal Deposit Insurance Co. HELD: State banks may invest in Class "A" stock of Federal Deposit In- surance Company. July 22, 1933. You have submitted the following question: "Has a state bank in Montana au- thority to invest a ])Ortion of its funds in Class 'A' stock of the J!"'ederal De- posit Insurance CoIlpOration and carry that stock as an asset on its books?" The "Banking Act of 1933" (Public- No. 66--73d Congress) under Section 8 thereof, provides: "The Federal Resen'e Act, as amend- ed. is amended by inserting between sections 12 and 13 (U. S. C., title 12. secs. 261, 262, and 342), thereof the following new sections: * * * '·Sec. 12B. (a) There is hereby created a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (hereinafter referred to as the 'Corporation'), whose duty it shall be * * * to insure, as herein- after provided, the deposits of all banks which are entitled to the hene- fits of insurance under this section." SUb-section (e) under the section last hereina bovc referred to, provides: "Every bank which is or which he- comes :; member of the Federal Re· serve System on or before July 1. H)35, shall take all steps necessary to enable it to become a class A stock- holder of the Corporation on or before .July 1, 1935; and thereafter 110 state hank or trust company or mutual sa\'- ings bank shall be admitted to memo hership in the Federal Reserve System until it becomes a class A stockholder of the cor])Oration, * * *." Section 28, Chapter 89, Laws of 1927, reads as follows: "Any bank is hereby authorized and empowered to join or associate itself with the Federal Reserve Bank, or any branch thereof, and nothing herein contained shaH prevent or ])rohibit any bank from joining or associating itself with any such Banks or branch there- of, or from investing any ·part of its capital or surplus in the stock of such Bank, in accordance with the terms and provisions of the act of Congress creating such association. Any bank joining or associating itself with such Bank shall be permitted to conform to and transact its business in accord- ance with the terms and proviSions of the act of Congress creating the same, and the rules and regulations of such Federal Reserve Bank." Since the terms and provisions of subsection (e), supra, provide that state hunks which are members of the Fed- eral Reserve System, must take steps to hecome class A stockholders hefore .Tuly 1, 1935, and thereafter no state bank shall be admitted to membership in the Federal Hesen'e until it becomes OPIXIONS OF THE ATTOHXEY GENERAL 193 a class A stockholder of the corpora- tion, and section 28 expressly author- i7A's a state bank to become a member of the Federal Resen'e Bank, 01' any hrnnch thereof, and expressly author- i7A's such hank to conform to and trans- act its business in accordance with the terms aIHI proyisions of the act Con- g-ress and the rules and regulations of the Federal Reserve Bank, it is my opinion that your question should be answered in the affirrnath'e, It is my opinion that the general pro- hibition against a commercial or sa\'- ings bank investing its capital or sur- plus, or money of its depositors, in the capital stock of any corporation as pro- vided in Section 39, Chapter 89, La ws of 1927, must gh'e way to the speCial power granted in section 28 (supra), It is the rule that where there is one statute dealing with a subject matter in general and comprehensive terms, amI another dealing with a part of the same subject in a more minute and definite way, the two should he har- monized and the special statute will prevail o\'er the general statute, (59 C, .T, Jl, 1056. Sec, 623: In re Steven- son's Estate. 8i Mont. 486. 289 Pac. 566; Stadler v. City of Helena. 46 Mont. 128, 127 PIlC. 454: Walden v, Bitter Root ItT. Dist .. 68 Mont. 281. 217 Pac. 646; State v. Certain Intoxicating Liq- uors, ilMont. i9, 227 Pac. 472: I<'ranzke \'. I<'ergus County, 76 Mont. 150. 245 Pac. 002.)