[justshutupandtakeit]

The terms have changed over the years and they now mean:

National bank- An incorporated commercial bank chartered by the government of the United States.

Bank of the United States- A quasi-public bank, operating under a congressional charter, which through a central office and various branches did a general banking business throughout the United States, issued bank notes and served as a depository for federal funds and as a fiduciary agent for the U.S. government.
Central bank- A bank which exists primarily for public fiscal purposes, which is controlled or in part by the government, and which turns over a large proportion of its profit to the government either directly of in the form of a tax. A central bank is usually charged with the responsibility of maintaining an adequate liquid reserve against the nation's bank credit, controlling the importation and exportation of money or precious metals, and providing a sound note issue. It also acts as a fiduciary agent for the government and as a banker's bank.

Dictionary of Economics- third edition Barnes and Noble.

These definitions have differences with your definitions. And the National banks now have nothing to do with Central banking or government banking.

It is important to use the correct terminology so I applaud your attempt to be more precise.

But it seems clear to me that there are areas of overlap between Central banks and the National Bank (Bank of the United States) which blurs the distinction. Central banks have more tasks today but those are added to the tasks performed by the National Bank of the past.

With those definitions in mind what are the main differences in the two concepts to you?

[jd777]

Thank you for the thoughtful response. This is from the Cleveland Federal Reserve Bank's website:

Federal Reserve System

Many people are surprised to learn the Federal Reserve System is not the country's first central bank. Congress made two unsuccessful attempts at central banking before the Fed was established. The System's earliest precursor, the First Bank of the United States, was established by Congress in 1791 on a 20-year charter, with the mandate to "manage the government's money and to regulate the nation's credit." The Bank acted as the government's fiscal agent, marketing its securities, holding its revenues, and paying its debts.

The federal government maintained partial control of the Bank, but it was led primarily by private investors. . The Bank's main office was located in Philadelphia and its branches were concentrated in large northeastern cities

Here in their words we have my thesis. The fed is the third central bank in our history. The Bank of the United States being the first central bank. The government may maintain "partial control", but the central banks are led mainly by "Private investors". this is a very politic language for the fact that they are private corporations. A central bank is a private corporation, with shareholders who are not our government. We've had three of those. We have never had a national bank owned by the government.