§412:5-204  Acceptances of drafts and billsof exchange.  (a)  A bank may accept drafts or bills of exchange drawn uponit without limitation in the character of acceptances it may make in financingcredit transactions; provided that a bank's own eligible acceptances describedin subsection (b) are subject to the limitations contained in this section inlieu of the separate and distinct limitations contained in section 412:5-302.

(b)  A bank may accept the following aseligible acceptances:

(1)  Drafts or bills of exchange drawn upon it havingnot more than six months sight to run, exclusive of days of grace, and whicharise out of transactions involving the import or export of goods, transactionsinvolving the domestic shipment of goods or transactions which are secured atthe time of acceptance by a warehouse receipt or other document conveying orsecuring title covering readily marketable staples;

(2)  Drafts or bills of exchange drawn upon it havingnot more than three months sight to run, exclusive of days of grace, drawn bybanks in foreign countries for the purpose of furnishing dollar exchange, asrequired by the usage of trade in the respective countries.  Provided that thedrafts or bills of exchange shall be drawn under regulations prescribed by theFederal Reserve Board; and

(3)  Drafts and bills of exchange in addition to thosedescribed in this section, which are of the kind described by section 13 of theFederal Reserve Act, and which may be eligible for discount under regulationsprescribed from time to time by the Federal Reserve Board.

(c)  No bank shall accept eligible drafts orbills of exchange, whether in a foreign or domestic transaction, for any oneperson, in an amount at any one time exceeding in the aggregate twenty per centof its capital and surplus.

(d)  No bank shall accept drafts or bills ofexchange in an amount exceeding at any time in the aggregate one hundred andfifty per cent of its capital and surplus; provided that the commissioner mayauthorize a bank to accept drafts or bills of exchange in an amount notexceeding at any time in the aggregate two hundred per cent of its capital andsurplus.

(e)  With respect to a bank which issues aneligible acceptance, the limitations contained in this section shall not applyto that portion of the eligible acceptance sold under a participation agreementto another financial institution or to a discounted eligible acceptance that isno longer held by the bank.

(f)  None of the limitations or restrictions inthis section shall apply to drafts or bills of exchange secured by bonds orother securities issued by the United States government, by the State or by amunicipality thereof, if the market value of the bonds or other securitiesexceeds at the time of acceptance by five per cent the amount of the drafts orbills of exchange.

(g)  The purchase or discount of banker'sacceptances issued by other banks which are of the kind described in section 13of the Federal Reserve Act, or which are eligible for discount underregulations prescribed from time to time by the Federal Reserve Board, shallnot be subject to any limitation based on capital and surplus. [L 1993, c 350,pt of §1]