---
kind: "section"
citation: "15 U.S.C. § 689h"
title: "15"
title_heading: "Commerce and Trade"
number: "689h"
heading: "Bank participation"
release: "119-102"
date: "2026-07-12"
url: "https://uscodex.org/usc/15/689h"
units:
  - "Chapter 14B — Small Business Investment Program"
  - "Subchapter III — Investment Division Programs"
  - "Part B — New Markets Venture Capital Program"
---

# §689h. Bank participation

- (a) **In general—** Except as provided in [subsection (b)](#b), any national bank, any [member](/usc/15/662.md?p=15) bank of the Federal Reserve System, and (to the extent permitted under applicable [State](/usc/15/662.md?p=4) law) any insured bank that is not a [member](/usc/15/662.md?p=15) of such system, may invest in any [New Markets Venture Capital company](/usc/15/689.md?p=4), or in any entity established to invest solely in [New Markets Venture Capital companies](/usc/15/689.md?p=4).
- (b) **Limitation—** No bank described in [subsection (a)](#a) may make investments described in such subsection that are greater than 5 percent of the capital and surplus of the bank.

## Source credit

(Pub. L. 85–699, title III, § 359, as added Pub. L. 106–554, § 1(a)(8) [§ 1(b)(3)], Dec. 21, 2000, 114 Stat. 2763, 2763A–661.)