For a licensing checkpoint quiz, treat the following as the opening fact pattern. Prioritize the registration trigger and ignore irrelevant noise. Securities issued by a bank organized under the laws of the United States are:

Why C — Exempt from state registration under the USA

Under USA Section 401, securities issued by banks, savings institutions, and trust companies organized under U.S. or state law are exempt from state registration requirements. The rationale is that these institutions are already heavily regulated by federal and state banking authorities, providing adequate investor protection. This variant keeps the same legal rule but shifts the setup so recall has to stay flexible.