General Counsel’s Opinion No. 10; Interest Charges Under Section 27 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, 63 Fed. Reg. 19,258 (Apr. 17, 1998)

The FDIC’s Legal Division has received a request for guidance regarding the types of charges that constitute ‘‘interest’’ for purposes of section 27 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. This General Counsel’s Opinion is being provided for the benefit of the public, as well as institutions subject to section 27, because the statute speaks only in terms of ‘‘interest’’ but does not define the term. It is the Legal Division’s opinion that the term ‘‘interest,’’ for purposes of section 27, includes those charges that a national bank is authorized to charge as interest under section 85 of the National Bank Act (NBA).