National banks are banks chartered, regulated, and supervised by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (part of the US Treasury Department).
National banks do not necessarily operate nationally; they could have branches only in one state! Also, state banks that have branches throughout the nation are not necessarily national banks! Still, most national banks do have branches throughout the country, a big plus for customers who travel or have friends and relatives in other locations.
You can tell that a bank is a national bank by the “N.A.” abbreviation in its name, like “Bank of America, N.A.” – meaning “National Association.”
A national bank is not the same thing as a federal saving association (like federal saving and loans and federal saving banks). Those are chartered by a different part of the Treasury Department – the Office of Thrift Supervision.
The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCCC) examines national banks, approves or denies applications for new banks, takes action against banks that don’t comply with appropriate guidelines, and governs bank investments, lending, and other stuff.
The OCCC does these things in order to help the United States maintain a stable and competitive national banking system that is safe and sound, efficient and effective, and fair for all Americans.
These standards of the OCCC mean that if you bank with a national bank, you can feel confident that everything going on inside the bank (with your money) is living up to federal standards and doing the best job possible!