12 U.S.C. § 144 — Certain balances counted toward reserves in dependencies and insular possessions

This section applies to a national bank located in a U.S. dependency, insular possession, or other part of the United States outside the continental United States, and that is not a member of the Federal Reserve System. Such a bank is required to keep a reserve equal to 15 percent of certain funds. Under this section, four-fifths of that required reserve does not have to be cash on hand. Instead, it may consist of balances — money the bank is owed — held for it by other banking associations. Those other associations must be approved by the Comptroller of the Currency, and must be located in one of the "reserve cities." Reserve cities are the cities defined by law, or designated by the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, as official reserve cities.