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148

Opinion of the Court

business or can be found. For the reasons that follow, we cannot accept that contention.

It is a basic principle of statutory construction that a statute dealing with a narrow, precise, and specific subject is not submerged by a later enacted statute covering a more generalized spectrum. "Where there is no clear intention otherwise, a specific statute will not be controlled or nullified by a general one, regardless of the priority of enactment." Morton v. Mancari, 417 U. S. 535, 550-551. "The reason and philosophy of the rule is, that when the mind of the legislator has been turned to the details of a subject, and he has acted upon it, a subsequent statute in general terms, or treating the subject in a general manner, and not expressly contradicting the original act, shall not be considered as intended to affect the more particular or positive previous provisions, unless it is absolutely necessary to give the latter act such a construction, in order that its words shall have any meaning at all." T. Sedgwick, The Interpretation and Construction of Statutory and Constitutional Law 98 (2d ed. 1874).R

When Congress enacted the narrow venue provisions of the National Bank Act, it was focusing on the particularized problems of national banks that might be sued in the state or federal courts. When, 70 years later,

"See Brown v. GSA, 425 U. S. 820; Bulova Watch Co. v. United States, 365 U. S. 753, 758; Rodgers v. United States, 185 U. S. 83, 87-89 ("It is a canon of statutory construction that a later statute, general in its terms and not expressly repealing a prior special statute, will ordinarily not affect the special provisions of such earlier statute"); Ex parte Crow Dog, 109 U. S. 556, 570-571. See also Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp., 353 U. S. 222; Stonite Products Co. v. Melvin Lloyd Co., 315 U. S. 561 (specific venue statutes for patent suits prevail over general venue statutes).

See also 1A J. Sutherland, Statutes and Statutory Construction § 23.15 (4th ed. C. Sands 1972).

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Congress enacted the Securities Exchange Act, its focus was on the objective of promoting fair dealing in the securities markets, and it enacted a general venue provision applicable to the broad universe of potential defendants subject to the prohibitions of that Act. Thus, unless a "clear intention otherwise" can be discerned, the principle of statutory construction discussed above. counsels that the specific venue provisions of § 94 are applicable to the respondent bank in this case. Fourco Glass Co. v. Transmirra Products Corp., 353 U. S. 222. The issue thus boils down to whether a "clear intention otherwise" can be discovered-whether, in short, it can be fairly concluded that the venue provision of the Securities Exchange Act operated as a pro tanto repeal of § 94. "It is, of course, a cardinal principle of statutory construction that repeals by implication are not favored." United States v. United Continental Tuna Corp., 425 U. S. 164, 168. There are, however,

"two well-settled categories of repeals by implication (1) where provisions in the two acts are in irreconcilable conflict, the later act to the extent of the conflict constitutes an implied repeal of the earlier one; and (2) if the later act covers the whole subject of the earlier one and is clearly intended as a substitute, it will operate similarly as a repeal of the earlier act. But, in either case, the intention of the legislature to repeal must be clear and manifest...." Posadas v. National City Bank, 296 U. S. 497, 503.

It is evident that the "two acts" in this case fall into neither of those categories.

See also Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, 422 U. S. 659, 682; Regional Rail Reorganization Act Cases, 419 U. S. 102, 133; Silver v. New York Stock Exchange, 373 U. S. 341, 357; United States v. Borden Co., 308 U. S. 188, 198-199.

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The statutory provisions at issue here cannot be said to be in "irreconcilable conflict" in the sense that there is a positive repugnancy between them or that they cannot mutually coexist. It is not enough to show that the two statutes produce differing results when applied to the same factual situation, for that no more than states the problem. Rather, "when two statutes are capable of co-existence, it is the duty of the courts. to regard each as effective." Morton v. Mancari, supra, at 551. As the Court put the matter in discussing the interrelationship of the antitrust laws and the securities laws: "Repeal is to be regarded as implied only if necessary to make the [later enacted law] work, and even then only to the minimum extent necessary. This is the guiding principle to reconciliation of the two statutory schemes." Silver v. New York Stock Exchange, 373 U. S. 341, 357.10

Here the basic purposes of the Securities Exchange Act can be fairly served by giving full effect to the provisions of 12 U. S. C. § 94. The primary purpose of the Securities Exchange Act was not to regulate the activities of national banks as such but "[t]o provide fair and honest mechanisms for the pricing of securities [and] to assure that dealing in securities is fair and without undue preferences or advantages among investors ..." ." H. R. Rep. No. 94-229, p. 91 (1975).11

10 See also Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, supra, at 685; United States v. National Assn. of Securities Dealers, 422 U. S. 694, 734-735.

11 The legislative history of the Securities Acts does not indicate that Congress considered banks as likely defendants in actions brought under those Acts. While Congress did examine problems stemming from the relationship of banks and the securities business in the early 1930's, see S. Rep. No. 1455, 73d Cong., 2d Sess. (1934), it dealt with those problems in comprehensive legislation dealing only with banks. See Banking Act of 1933, 48 Stat. 162. See generally Investment Co. Institute v. Camp, 401 U. S. 617.

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Its venue provision, § 27, was intended to facilitate that goal by enabling suits to enforce rights created by the Act to be brought wherever a defendant could be found. The venue provision of the National Bank Act, § 94, was intended, on the other hand, "for the convenience of those [banking] institutions, and to prevent interruption in their business that might result from their books being sent to distant counties . . . . Charlotte Nat. Bank v. Morgan, 132 U. S. 141, 145, quoted in Mercantile Nat. Bank v. Langdeau, 371 U. S., at 561-562, n. 12.

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By allowing suits against national banks to be brought only pursuant to § 94, the purposes of that section will obviously be served. Yet application of § 94 will not "unduly interfere" with the operation of the Securities Exchange Act. See Gordon v. New York Stock Exchange, 422 U. S. 659, 686. Section 94 will have no impact whatever upon the vast majority of lawsuits brought under that Act. In the tiny fraction of litigation where its effect will be felt, it will foreclose nobody from invoking the Act's provisions. Members of the investing public will still be free to bring actions against national banks under the Act. While suits against this narrow and infrequent category of defendants will have to be brought where the defendant is established, that is hardly an insurmountable burden in this day of easy and rapid transportation. Since it is possible for the statutes to coexist in this manner, they are not so repugnant

12

12 The SEC has suggested that its enforcement activity under the Securities Exchange Act will be hindered in cases of securities law violations by geographically dispersed banks, if it cannot sue all defendants, including the banks, in one proceeding. The SEC, however, was unable to cite a single instance in the last 40 years where this situation has arisen. In any event, policy arguments such as this are more appropriately addressed to Congress than to this Court. See Mercantile Nat. Bank v. Langdeau, 371 U. S. 555,

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to each other as to justify a finding of an implied repeal by this Court. It is simply not "necessary" that § 94 be repealed in part in order "to make the Securities Exchange Act work." See Silver v. New York Stock Exchange, supra, at 357.

13

Moreover, it cannot be said either that "the later act covers the whole subject of the earlier one and is clearly intended as a substitute," or that "the intention of the legislature to repeal [is] clear and manifest." 296 U. S., at 503. The Securities Exchange Act of 1934 covers a "subject" quite different from the National Bank Act. The 1934 Act was enacted primarily to halt securities fraud, not to regulate banks. Indeed, banks were specifically exempted from many provisions of the securities laws, and Congress almost contemporaneously enacted other specific legislation dealing with the problems arising from banks' involvement in the securities business." The passage of that legislation and the exemption of national banks from important provisions of the securities laws suggest, if anything, that Congress was reaffirming its view that national banks should be regulated separately by specific legislation applying only to them.15 And there is nothing in the legislative history of 13 See 15 U. S. C. §§ 77c (a) (2), 771 (2); cf. 15 U. S. C. § 78c (a)(6).

14 See n. 11, supra.

15 This intention was expressly stated by Congress when it exempted bank securities from the registration-statements requirements of the Securities Act of 1933: "[A]dequate supervision over the issuance of securities of a national bank is exercised by the Comptroller of the Currency." H. R. Rep. No. 85, 73d Cong., 1st Sess., 14 (1933). Subsequent Congresses have continued to follow this policy. For example, while national banks are subject to the registration, reporting, and proxy requirements of the Securities Exchange Act, in 1964 Congress amended the Act so that the administration of those parts of the Act with respect to banks was transferred from the SEC to the various federal banking authorities. See § 3 (e), 78 Stat. 568, 15 U. S. C. § 78l (i).

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