Blake v. National Banks was a United States Supreme Court case that addressed the issue of whether a national bank could be held liable for the wrongful acts of its officers. The case was brought by the plaintiff, Blake, who alleged that the defendant, a national bank, had wrongfully converted his funds. The Supreme Court held that a national bank could be held liable for the wrongful acts of its officers. The Court reasoned that the bank was responsible for the acts of its officers because it had the power to control them. The Court also noted that the bank had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the selection and supervision of its officers. The Court further held that the bank was liable for the wrongful acts of its officers even if the bank was unaware of the wrongful acts. The Court reasoned that the bank should have known of the wrongful acts because it had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the selection and supervision of its officers. In conclusion, the Supreme Court held that a national bank could be held liable for the wrongful acts of its officers. The Court reasoned that the bank had a duty to exercise reasonable care in the selection and supervision of its officers and that the bank should have known of the wrongful acts.

In Blake v. National Banks, the Supreme Court was tasked with determining whether a national bank could be held liable for an employee's negligence in failing to properly execute a deed of trust. The majority opinion found that the bank could not be held liable because it had no control over its employees' actions and thus did not have any responsibility for their mistakes. Justice Field dissented from this decision, arguing that since banks are responsible for ensuring their employees act within the scope of their authority, they should also bear some responsibility when those same employees fail to fulfill duties entrusted to them by customers or other third parties. He argued further that if banks were allowed to escape liability in such cases then there would be little incentive for them to exercise proper oversight over their own staff members and ensure they perform tasks correctly on behalf of clients or others who rely upon them.