12 USC § 503 - Liability of directors and officers of member banks

---
identifier: "/us/usc/t12/s503"
source: "usc"
legal_status: "official_prima_facie"
title: "12 USC § 503 - Liability of directors and officers of member banks"
title_number: 12
title_name: "BANKS AND BANKING"
section_number: "503"
section_name: "Liability of directors and officers of member banks"
chapter_number: 3
chapter_name: "FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM"
subchapter_number: "XVI"
subchapter_name: "CIVIL LIABILITY OF FEDERAL RESERVE AND MEMBER BANKS, SHAREHOLDERS, AND OFFICERS"
positive_law: false
currency: "119-84"
last_updated: "2026-04-17"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
source_credit: "(Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 22(f), as added Sept. 26, 1918, ch. 177, § 5, 40 Stat. 971; amended Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, § 28, 68 Stat. 1236.)"
---


# 1 Liability of directors and officers of member banks

See References in Text note below.

[^1]

If the directors or officers of any member bank shall knowingly violate or permit any of the agents, officers, or directors of any member bank to violate any of the provisions of sections 375, 375a, 375b, and 376 of this title or regulations of the board made under authority thereof, or any of the provisions of sections 217, 218, 219, 220, 655, 1005, 1014, 1906, or 1909 of title 18, every director and officer participating in or assenting to such violation shall be held liable in his personal and individual capacity for all damages which the member bank, its shareholders, or any other persons shall have sustained in consequence of such violation.

---

**Source Credit**: (Dec. 23, 1913, ch. 6, § 22(f), as added Sept. 26, 1918, ch. 177, § 5, 40 Stat. 971; amended Sept. 3, 1954, ch. 1263, § 28, 68 Stat. 1236.)

## Editorial Notes

### References in Text

Sections 217, 218, 219, and 220 of title 18, referred to in text, were renumbered sections 212, 213, 214, and 215 of title 18, respectively, by , , . Sections 212 and 213 of title 18, as redesignated, were subsequently repealed by , , .

### Codification

In text, “sections 375, 375a, 375b, and 376 of this title” was in the original “this section”, meaning section 22 of act , which was also classified to sections 593 to 599 of this title. Such sections were repealed by , , eff. , and the provisions thereof were reenacted as sections 217, 218, 219, 220, 655, 1005, 1014, 1906, and 1909 of Title 18, Crimes and Criminal Procedure. Reference to such repealed sections was omitted from the text in view of act , which amended the text by incorporating therein the reference to the sections of Title 18. The text of  was struck out by , , .

### Amendments

1954—Act , inserted “or any of the provisions of sections 217, 218, 219, 220, 655, 1005, 1014, 1906, or 1909 of title 18,”.