Corporations may be formed within the District of Columbia for the purposes hereinafter mentioned in the following manner: Any number of natural persons, citizens of the United States, not less than 25, may associate themselves together to form a company for the purpose of carrying on, in the District of Columbia, any 1 of the 3 classes of business herein specified, to wit:
(1) a safe deposit, trust, loan, and mortgage business;(2) a title insurance, loan, and mortgage business; or (3) a security, guarantee, indemnity, loan, and mortgage business; provided, that the capital stock of any of said companies shall not be less than $1,000,000 except as otherwise provided in § 31-2502.13, and that any of said companies may also do a storage business when their capital stock amounts to the sum of not less than $1,200,000.Mar. 3, 1901, 31 Stat. 1303, ch. 854, § 715; Apr. 16, 1966, 80 Stat. 121, Pub. L. 89-399, § 1(b); Apr. 9, 1997, D.C. Law 11-255, § 24(a), 44 DCR 1271.