Except as otherwise provided in this subchapter, a majority of the shares of the capital stock of any such corporation shall at all times be held and owned by citizens of the United States, by corporations the controlling interest in which is owned by citizens of the United States, chartered under the laws of the United States or of a State of the United States, or by firms or companies, the controlling interest in which is owned by citizens of the United States. Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subchapter, one or more foreign banks, institutions organized under the laws of foreign countries which own or control foreign banks, or banks organized under the laws of the United States, the States of the United States, or the District of Columbia, the controlling interests in which are owned by any such foreign banks or institutions, may, with the prior approval of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and upon such terms and conditions and subject to such rules and regulations as the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System may prescribe, own and hold 50 per centum or more of the shares of the capital stock of any corporation organized under this subchapter and any such corporation shall be subject to the same provisions of law as any other corporation organized under this subchapter, and the terms “controls” and “controlling interest” shall be construed consistently with the definition of “control” in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 [12 U.S.C. 1841]. For the purposes of the preceding sentence of this paragraph the term “foreign bank” shall have the meaning assigned to it in the International Banking Act of 1978 [12 U.S.C. 3101 et seq.]. Any company, other than a bank as defined in section 2 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956, that after March 5, 1987, directly or indirectly acquires control of a corporation organized or operating under the provisions of this subchapter or subchapter I of this chapter shall be subject to the provisions of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 [12 U.S.C. 1841 et seq.] in the same manner and to the same extent that bank holding companies are subject thereto, except that such company shall not by reason of this paragraph be deemed a bank holding company for the purpose of section 3 of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956 [12 U.S.C. 1842].

(Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 25A (par.), formerly § 25(a), as added Dec. 24, 1919, ch. 18, 41 Stat. 378; amended Aug. 23, 1935, ch. 614, title III, § 329, 49 Stat. 717; Pub. L. 95–369, § 3(f), Sept. 17, 1978, 92 Stat. 609; Pub. L. 100–86, title I, § 102(c)(1), Aug. 10, 1987, 101 Stat. 566; renumbered § 25A, Pub. L. 102–242, title I, § 142(e)(2), Dec. 19, 1991, 105 Stat. 2281.)