Arkansas
State Bank Department

An Introduction

(updated November 2, 2009)

A state-chartered bank is a financial institution that receives its charter from a state authority such as the Arkansas State Bank Department.  State-chartered banks are supervised jointly by their state chartering authority and either the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or the Federal Reserve System.  A state-chartered bank that chooses to become a member of the Federal Reserve System is supervised by the Federal Reserve.  As an alternative, a bank can choose to organize as a national bank with a charter issued by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.  This agency, commonly referred to as the OCC, is a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.  In addition to its chartering authority, the OCC supervises national banks.  This choice of state or national charter for commercial banks is referred to as the "dual banking system."  Separately, the Office of Thrift Supervision, or OTS, is the chartering authority and primary regulator of all federal and many state-chartered thrift institutions, including savings banks and savings and loan associations.  The OTS, like the OCC, is a bureau of the Treasury Department.  All federal credit unions are chartered and supervised by the National Credit Union Administration.

Comments or questions about the Arkansas State Bank Department Web site? E-mail us at: webmaster@banking.state.ar.us