The National Bank Act (ch. 58, 12 Stat. 665, February 251863) was a United States federal law that established a system of national charters for banks. It encouraged development of a national currency based on bank holdings of U.S. Treasury securities. It also established the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) as part of the Department of the Treasury. this was to establish a national security holding body for the existance of the monetary policy of the state. The Act, together with Abraham Lincoln's issuance of "greenbacks," raised money for the federal government in the American Civil War by enticing banks to buy federal bonds and taxed state bonds out of existence. The law proved defective and was replaced by the National Bank Act of 1864. The money was used to fund the Union army in the fight against the Confederacy. This authorized the OCC to examine and regulate nationally-chartered banks.
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