National Banks, the Business of Insurance, and an Interpretive Analysis of the McCarran-Ferguson Act Following Barnett Bank of Marion County, N.A. v. Nelson

Abstract

INTRODUCTION|Under the authority of Title 12 of the United States Code section 92 ("section 92"), nationally-chartered banks may sell insurance provided that they are located in towns not exceeding five thousand people. Many states, however, prevent these banks from selling insurance by enacting laws specifically designed to prevent national banks' use of section 92.2 These state laws, commonly referred to as anti-affiliation statutes, typically prohibit bank subsidiaries or affiliates of bank holding companies from obtaining state-issued insurance licenses. Without a state-issued license, many national banks are precluded from participating in what has become an exceedingly lucrative business...