Corporations to be organized for the purpose of engaging in international or foreign banking or other international or foreign financial operations, or in banking or other financial operations in a dependency or insular possession of the United States, either directly or through the agency, ownership or control of local institutions in foreign countries, or in such dependencies or insular possessions as provided by this subchapter and to act when required by the Secretary of the Treasury as fiscal agents of the United States, may be formed by any number of natural persons, not less in any case than five: *Provided*, That nothing in this subchapter shall be construed to deny the right of the Secretary of the Treasury to use any corporation organized under this subchapter as depositaries in Panama and the Panama Canal Zone, or other insular possessions and dependencies of the United States.

(Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, §25A (par.), formerly §25(a), as added Dec. 24, 1919, ch. 18, 41 Stat. 378; amended Feb. 27, 1921, ch. 73, 41 Stat. 1145; Proc. No. 2695, eff. July 4, 1946, 11 F.R. 2517, 60 Stat. 1352; renumbered §25A, Pub. L. 102–242, title I, §142(e)(2), Dec. 19, 1991, 105 Stat. 2281.)

This subchapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this section”, meaning section 25A of act Dec. 23, 1913, which is classified to this subchapter (§611 et seq.).

For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in text, see section 3602(b) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.

Section is comprised of par. 1 (undesignated) of section 25A of act Dec. 23, 1913, which comprises this subchapter.

Par. 2 (undesignated) is classified to section 611a of this title.

Pars. 3 to 5 (undesignated), formerly pars. 2 to 4 (undesignated), respectively, are classified to sections 612 to 614, respectively, of this title.

Pars. 6 and 7 (undesignated), formerly pars. 5 and 6 (undesignated), respectively, are classified to section 615 of this title.

Pars. 8 to 15 (undesignated), formerly pars. 7 to 14 (undesignated), respectively, are classified to sections 616 to 623, respectively, of this title.

Par. (16), formerly par. 16 (undesignated), formerly par. 15 (undesignated), is classified to section 624 of this title.

Pars. 17 to 23 (undesignated), formerly pars. 16 to 22 (undesignated), are classified to sections 625 to 631 of this title.

Words “in the Philippine Islands and” following “Canal Zone, or” were deleted on authority of Proc. No. 2695, which granted independence to the Philippine Islands pursuant to section 1394 of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse. Proc. No. 2695 is set out as a note under section 1394 of Title 22.

**1921**—Act Feb. 27, 1921, inserted proviso.

Section 25A, formerly section 25(a) of act Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, as added by act Dec. 24, 1919, ch. 18, 41 Stat. 378, which is classified to this subchapter, is popularly known as the “Edge Act”.