[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 200 (Tuesday, October 18, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 60418-60420]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-20661]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 229

[Regulation CC; Docket No. R-1237]


Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors is amending appendix A of Regulation CC 
to delete the reference to the Oklahoma City branch office of the 
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and reassign the Federal Reserve 
routing symbols currently listed under that office to the head office 
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and delete the reference to the 
Columbus office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and reassign 
the routing symbols listed under that office to the Cincinnati branch 
office and the head office of that Reserve Bank. These amendments will 
ensure that the information in appendix A accurately describes the 
actual structure of check processing operations within the Federal 
Reserve System. The amendments to the routing symbol lists in appendix 
A under the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland differ from the Board's 
September 28, 2004, general advance notice. (See 69 FR 57837.)

[[Page 60419]]


DATES: The amendments to appendix A under the Tenth and Eleventh 
Federal Reserve Districts (Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and 
Dallas) are effective on December 10, 2005. The amendments to appendix 
A under the Fourth Federal Reserve District (Federal Reserve Bank of 
Cleveland) that revise the listings for the Cincinnati Branch office 
and amend the listings for the Columbus office are effective January 
21, 2006. The amendments to appendix A under the Fourth Federal Reserve 
District that revise the listings for the Cleveland head office and 
delete the remaining listings for the Columbus office are effective 
February 11, 2006.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jack K. Walton II, Assistant Director 
(202/452-2660), or Joseph P. Baressi, Senior Financial Services Analyst 
(202/452-3959), Division of Reserve Bank Operations and Payment 
Systems; or Adrianne G. Threatt, Counsel (202/452-3554), Legal 
Division. For users of Telecommunications Devices for the Deaf (TDD) 
only, contact 202/263-4869.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulation CC establishes the maximum period 
a depositary bank may wait between receiving a deposit and making the 
deposited funds available for withdrawal.\1\ A depositary bank 
generally must provide faster availability for funds deposited by a 
local check than by a nonlocal check. A check drawn on a bank is 
considered local if it is payable by or at a bank located in the same 
Federal Reserve check processing region as the depositary bank. A check 
drawn on a nonbank is considered local if it is payable through a bank 
located in the same Federal Reserve check processing region as the 
depositary bank. Checks that do not meet the requirements for local 
checks are considered nonlocal.
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    \1\ For purposes of Regulation CC, the term ``bank'' refers to 
any depository institution, including commercial banks, savings 
institutions, and credit unions.
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    Appendix A to Regulation CC contains a routing number guide that 
assists banks in identifying local and nonlocal banks and thereby 
determining the maximum permissible hold periods for most deposited 
checks. The appendix includes a list of each Federal Reserve check 
processing office and the first four digits of the routing number, 
known as the Federal Reserve routing symbol, of each bank that is 
served by that office for check processing purposes. Banks whose 
Federal Reserve routing symbols are grouped under the same office are 
in the same check processing region and thus are local to one another.
    As explained in detail in the Board's final rule published in the 
Federal Register on September 28, 2004, the Federal Reserve Banks have 
decided to reduce further the number of locations at which they process 
checks.\2\ The amendments set forth in this notice are part of a series 
of appendix A amendments related to that decision, and the Board will 
issue separate notices for each phase of the restructuring.\3\
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    \2\ See 69 FR 57837, September 28, 2004.
    \3\ In addition to the general advance notice of future 
amendments provided by the Board, and the Board's notices of final 
amendments, the Reserve Banks are striving to inform affected 
depository institutions of the exact date of each office transition 
at least 120 days in advance. The Reserve Banks' communications to 
affected depository institutions are available at 
www.frbservices.org.
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    As part of the restructuring process, the Oklahoma City branch 
office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City will cease processing 
checks on December 10, 2005, and banks with routing symbols currently 
assigned to that office for check processing purposes will be 
reassigned to the head office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas. 
Also as part of the restructuring process, on January 21, 2006, banks 
with 0442 and 2442 routing symbols, currently assigned to the Columbus 
office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland for check processing 
purposes, will be reassigned to the Cleveland Reserve Bank's Cincinnati 
branch office. On February 11, 2006, banks with 0440, 2440, 0441, and 
2441 routing symbols, also currently assigned to the Columbus office 
for check processing purposes, will be reassigned to the Cleveland 
Reserve Bank's head office and the Columbus office will cease 
processing checks. Banks in the current Columbus, Cincinnati, and 
Cleveland check processing regions should note that the Reserve Banks' 
transfer of the Columbus office's check processing operations to both 
the Cincinnati branch office and the Cleveland head office differs from 
prior Federal Reserve Bank announcements indicating that the entirety 
of the Columbus office's operations would be transferred to the 
Cleveland head office. The Reserve Banks believe that this arrangement 
will better serve the needs of affected depository institutions. 
Because the Dallas, Cincinnati, and Cleveland check processing regions 
serve, or will serve as a result of these changes, banks located in 
multiple Federal Reserve districts, banks located in these regions 
cannot determine that a check is nonlocal solely because the paying 
bank for that check is located in another Federal Reserve district. As 
a result of these changes, some checks that are drawn on and deposited 
at banks located in the affected check processing regions and that 
currently are nonlocal checks will become local checks subject to 
faster availability schedules.
    To assist banks in identifying local and nonlocal banks, the Board 
accordingly is amending the lists of routing symbols associated with 
the Federal Reserve Banks of Cleveland, Kansas City, and Dallas to 
conform to the transfer of operations from the Kansas City Reserve 
Bank's Oklahoma City branch office to the Dallas Reserve Bank's head 
office and from the Cleveland Reserve Bank's Columbus office to that 
Reserve Bank's Cincinnati branch office and head office. To coincide 
with the effective date of the underlying check processing changes, the 
amendments affecting the Federal Reserve Banks of Kansas City and 
Dallas are effective December 10, 2005. The amendments affecting the 
Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland that list the 0442 and 2442 routing 
symbols under the Cincinnati Branch office are effective January 21, 
2006, and the amendments that list the 0440, 2440, 0441, and 2441 
routing symbols under the head office and delete the reference to the 
Columbus office are effective February 11, 2006.
    The Board is providing advance notice of these amendments to give 
affected banks ample time to make any needed processing changes. The 
advance notice also will enable affected banks to amend their 
availability schedules and related disclosures, if necessary, and 
provide their customers with notice of these changes.\4\ The Board is 
providing earlier-than-usual notice of the amendments to the appendix A 
routing symbol lists under the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland 
because these amendments differ from what was set forth in the 
September 28, 2004, general advance notice. The Federal Reserve routing 
symbols assigned to all other Federal Reserve branches and offices will 
remain the same at this time. The Board of Governors, however, intends 
to issue similar notices at least sixty days prior to the elimination 
of check operations at some other Reserve Bank offices, as described in 
the September 2004 Federal Register document.
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    \4\ Section 229.18(e) of Regulation CC requires that banks 
notify account holders who are consumers within 30 days after 
implementing a change that improves the availability of funds.

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[[Page 60420]]

Administrative Procedure Act

    The Board has not followed the provisions of 5 U.S.C. 553(b) 
relating to notice and public participation in connection with the 
adoption of this final rule. The revisions to the appendix are 
technical in nature, and the routing symbol revisions are required by 
the statutory and regulatory definitions of ``check-processing 
region.'' Because there is no substantive change on which to seek 
public input, the Board has determined that the Sec.  553(b) notice and 
comment procedures are unnecessary.

Paperwork Reduction Act

    In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. 
3506; 5 CFR 1320 Appendix A.1), the Board has reviewed the final rule 
under authority delegated to the Board by the Office of Management and 
Budget. These technical amendments to appendix A of Regulation CC will 
(1) delete the reference to the Oklahoma City branch office of the 
Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City and reassign the Federal Reserve 
routing symbols currently listed under that office to the head office 
of the Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas and (2) delete the reference to 
the Columbus office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland and 
reassign the routing symbols listed under that office to the Cincinnati 
Branch office and the head office of that Reserve Bank. The depository 
institutions that are located in the affected check processing regions 
and that include the routing numbers in their disclosure statements 
would be required to notify customers of the resulting change in 
availability under Sec.  229.18(e). However, because all paperwork 
collection procedures associated with Regulation CC already are in 
place, the Board anticipates that no additional burden will be imposed 
as a result of this rulemaking.

12 CFR Chapter II

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 229

    Banks, Banking, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority and Issuance

0
For the reasons set forth in the preamble, the Board is amending 12 CFR 
part 229 to read as follows:

PART 229--AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS AND COLLECTION OF CHECKS 
(REGULATION CC)

0
1. The authority citation for part 229 continues to read as follows:

    Authority: 12 U.S.C. 4001-4010, 12 U.S.C. 5001-5018.


0
2. Effective December 10, 2005, the Tenth and Eleventh Federal Reserve 
District routing symbol lists in appendix A are revised to read as 
follows:

Appendix A To Part 229--Routing Number Guide To Next-Day Availability 
Checks and Local Checks

* * * * *

Tenth Federal Reserve District

[Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City]

Head Office

1010 3010
1011 3011
1012 3012
1019 3019

Denver Branch

1020 3020
1021 3021
1022 3022
1023 3023
1070 3070
1240 3240
1241 3241
1242 3242
1243 3243

Eleventh Federal Reserve District

[Federal Reserve Bank of Dallas]

Head Office

1030 3030
1031 3031
1039 3039
1110 3110
1111 3111
1113 3113
1119 3119
1120 3120
1122 3122
1123 3123
1130 3130
1131 3131
1140 3140
1149 3149
1163 3163
* * * * *

0
3. Effective January 21, 2006, the Fourth Federal Reserve District 
routing symbol list in Appendix A is amended by removing the listings 
for 0442 and 2442 from the Columbus office and by revising the 
Cincinnati listings to read as follows:

Appendix A To Part 229--Routing Number Guide To Next-Day Availability 
Checks and Local Checks

* * * * *

Fourth Federal Reserve District

* * * * *

Cincinnati Branch

0420 2420
0421 2421
0422 2422
0423 2423
0442 2442
0515 2515
0519 2519
0740 2740
0749 2749
0813 2813
0830 2830
0839 2839
0863 2863
* * * * *

0
4. Effective February 11, 2006, the Fourth Federal Reserve District 
routing symbol list in Appendix A is amended by deleting the remaining 
listings and heading for the Columbus office, and revising the listings 
for the Cleveland head office to read as follows:

Appendix A To Part 229--Routing Number Guide To Next-Day Availability 
Checks and Local Checks

* * * * *

Fourth Federal Reserve District

[Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland]

Head Office

0410 2410
0412 2412
0430 2430
0432 2432
0433 2433
0434 2434
0440 2440
0441 2441
0720 2720
0724 2724
* * * * *
    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, acting through the Secretary of the Board under delegated 
authority, October 11, 2005.

Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 05-20661 Filed 10-17-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P