The work examines stock bank statutes from the 19th century regarding regulatory aspects, categorized by their founding date before and after 1870 and by banks with and without note issuance privileges. Before the stock corporation law amendment of 1870, the state established a variably designed upper supervisory and participatory right concerning the establishment and business activities of banks through the requirement of a concession. After 1870, the concession system was replaced by a normative system with mandatory establishment of a supervisory board. Banks were subject to trade regulations and thus to the freedom of establishment. Control and oversight were to take place independently, with a risk of bias among the actors. A neutral external supervisory authority was lacking.