Source: https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/retrieveECFR?gp=&mc=true&n=pt12.2.204&r=PART&ty=HTML
Timestamp: 2020-07-15 03:37:00
Document Index: 597379889

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', 'art 210', '§204', '§201', 'art 263', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204', '§204']

Title 12 → Chapter II → Subchapter A → Part 204
§204.1 Authority, purpose and scope.
§204.2 Definitions.
§204.3 Reporting and location.
§204.4 Computation of required reserves.
§204.5 Maintenance of required reserves.
§204.6 Charges for deficiencies.
§204.7 Supplemental reserve requirement.
§204.8 International banking facilities.
§204.9 Emergency reserve requirement.
§204.10 Payment of interest on balances.
§204.121 Bankers' banks.
§204.122 Secondary market activities of international banking facilities.
§204.123 Sale of Federal funds by investment companies or trusts in which the entire beneficial interest is held exclusively by depository institutions.
§204.124 Repurchase agreement involving shares of a money market mutual fund whose portfolio consists wholly of United States Treasury and Federal agency securities.
§204.125 Foreign, international, and supranational entities referred to in §§204.2(c)(1)(iv)(E) and 204.8(a)(2)(i)(B)(5).
§204.126 Depository institution participation in “Federal funds” market.
§204.127 Nondepository participation in “Federal funds” market.
§204.128 Deposits at foreign branches guaranteed by domestic office of a depository institution.
§204.130 Eligibility for NOW accounts.
§204.131 Participation by a depository institution in the secondary market for its own time deposits.
§204.132 Treatment of loan strip participations.
§204.133 Multiple savings deposits treated as a transaction account.
§204.134 Linked time deposits and transaction accounts.
§204.135 Shifting funds between depository institutions to make use of the low reserve tranche.
§204.136 Treatment of trust overdrafts for reserve requirement reporting purposes.
(a) Authority. This part is issued under the authority of section 19 (12 U.S.C. 461 et seq.) and other provisions of the Federal Reserve Act and of section 7 of the International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3105).
(b) Purpose. This part relates to reserve requirements imposed on depository institutions for the purpose of facilitating the implementation of monetary policy by the Federal Reserve System.
(c) Scope. (1) The following depository institutions are required to maintain reserves in accordance with this part:
(i) Any insured bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(h)) or any bank that is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1815);
(ii) Any savings bank or mutual savings bank as defined in section 3 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1813(f), (g));
(iii) Any insured credit union as defined in section 101 of the Federal Credit Union Act (12 U.S.C. 1752(7)) or any credit union that is eligible to apply to become an insured credit union under section 201 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1781);
(iv) Any member as defined in section 2 of the Federal Home Loan Bank Act (12 U.S.C. 1422(4)); and
(v) Any insured institution as defined in section 401 of the National Housing Act (12 U.S.C. 1724(a)) or any institution which is eligible to apply to become an insured institution under section 403 of such Act (12 U.S.C. 1726).
(2) Except as may be otherwise provided by the Board, a foreign bank's branch or agency located in the United States is required to comply with the provisions of this part in the same manner and to the same extent as if the branch or agency were a member bank, if its parent foreign bank (i) has total worldwide consolidated bank assets in excess of $1 billion; or (ii) is controlled by a foreign company or by a group of foreign companies that own or control foreign banks that in the aggregate have total worldwide consolidated bank assets in excess of $1 billion. In addition, any other foreign bank's branch located in the United States that is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1815) is required to maintain reserves in accordance with this part as a nonmember depository institution.
(3) Except as may be otherwise provided by the Board, an Edge Corporation (12 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) or an Agreement Corporation (12 U.S.C. 601 et seq.) is required to comply with the provisions of this part in the same manner and to the same extent as a member bank.
(4) This part does not apply to any financial institution that (i) is organized solely to do business with other financial institutions; (ii) is owned primarily by the financial institutions with which it does business; and (iii) does not do business with the general public.
(5) The provisions of this part do not apply to any deposit that is payable only at an office located outside the United States.
[45 FR 56018, Aug. 22, 1980, as amended by Reg. D, 77 FR 21852, Apr. 12, 2012]
For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply unless otherwise specified:
(a)(1) Deposit means:
(i) The unpaid balance of money or its equivalent received or held by a depository institution in the usual course of business and for which it has given or is obligated to give credit, either conditionally or unconditionally, to an account, including interest credited, or which is evidenced by an instrument on which the depository institution is primarily liable;
(ii) Money received or held by a depository institution, or the credit given for money or its equivalent received or held by the depository institution in the usual course of business for a special or specific purpose, regardless of the legal relationships established thereby, including escrow funds, funds held as security for securities loaned by the depository institution, funds deposited as advance payment on subscriptions to United States government securities, and funds held to meet its acceptances;
(iii) An outstanding teller's check, or an outstanding draft, certified check, cashier's check, money order, or officer's check drawn on the depository institution, issued in the usual course of business for any purpose, including payment for services, dividends or purchases;
(iv) Any due bill or other liability or undertaking on the part of a depository institution to sell or deliver securities to, or purchase securities for the account of, any customer (including another depository institution), involving either the receipt of funds by the depository institution, regardless of the use of the proceeds, or a debit to an account of the customer before the securities are delivered. A deposit arises thereafter, if after three business days from the date of issuance of the obligation, the depository institution does not deliver the securities purchased or does not fully collateralize its obligation with securities similar to the securities purchased. A security is similar if it is of the same type and if it is of comparable maturity to that purchased by the customer;
(v) Any liability of a depository institution's affiliate that is not a depository institution, on any promissory note, acknowledgment of advance, due bill, or similar obligation (written or oral), with a maturity of less than one and one-half years, to the extent that the proceeds are used to supply or to maintain the availability of funds (other than capital) to the depository institution, except any such obligation that, had it been issued directly by the depository institution, would not constitute a deposit. If an obligation of an affiliate of a depository institution is regarded as a deposit and is used to purchase assets from the depository institution, the maturity of the deposit is determined by the shorter of the maturity of the obligation issued or the remaining maturity of the assets purchased. If the proceeds from an affiliate's obligation are placed in the depository institution in the form of a reservable deposit, no reserves need be maintained against the obligation of the affiliate since reserves are required to be maintained against the deposit issued by the depository institution. However, the maturity of the deposit issued to the affiliate shall be the shorter of the maturity of the affiliate's obligation or the maturity of the deposit;
(vi) Credit balances;
(vii) Any liability of a depository institution on any promissory note, acknowledgment of advance, bankers' acceptance, or similar obligation (written or oral), including mortgage-backed bonds, that is issued or undertaken by a depository institution as a means of obtaining funds, except any such obligation that:
(A) Is issued or undertaken and held for the account of:
(1) An office located in the United States of another depository institution, foreign bank, Edge or Agreement Corporation, or New York Investment (Article XII) Company;
(2) The United States government or an agency thereof; or
(3) The Export-Import Bank of the United States, Minbanc Capital Corporation, the Government Development Bank for Puerto Rico, a Federal Reserve Bank, a Federal Home Loan Bank, or the National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility;
(B) Arises from a transfer of direct obligations of, or obligations that are fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States Government or any agency thereof that the depository institution is obligated to repurchase;
(C) Is not insured by a Federal agency, is subordinated to the claims of depositors, has a weighted average maturity of five years or more, and is issued by a depository institution with the approval of, or under the rules and regulations of, its primary Federal supervisor;
(D) Arises from a borrowing by a depository institution from a dealer in securities, for one business day, of proceeds of a transfer of deposit credit in a Federal Reserve Bank or other immediately available funds (commonly referred to as Federal funds), received by such dealer on the date of the loan in connection with clearance of securities transactions; or
(E) Arises from the creation, discount and subsequent sale by a depository institution of its bankers' acceptance of the type described in paragraph 7 of section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 372).
(viii) Any liability of a depository institution that arises from the creation after June 20, 1983, of a bankers' acceptance that is not of the type described in paragraph 7 of section 13 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 372) except any such liability held for the account of an entity specified in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A); or
(2) Deposit does not include:
(i) Trust funds received or held by the depository institution that it keeps properly segregated as trust funds and apart from its general assets or which it deposits in another institution to the credit of itself as trustee or other fiduciary. If trust funds are deposited with the commercial department of the depository institution or otherwise mingled with its general assets, a deposit liability of the institution is created;
(ii) An obligation that represents a conditional, contingent or endorser's liability;
(iii) Obligations, the proceeds of which are not used by the depository institution for purposes of making loans, investments, or maintaining liquid assets such as cash or “due from” depository institutions or other similar purposes. An obligation issued for the purpose of raising funds to purchase business premises, equipment, supplies, or similar assets is not a deposit;
(iv) Accounts payable;
(v) Hypothecated deposits created by payments on an installment loan where (A) the amounts received are not used immediately to reduce the unpaid balance due on the loan until the sum of the payments equals the entire amount of loan principal and interest; (B) and where such amounts are irrevocably assigned to the depository institution and cannot be reached by the borrower or creditors of the borrower;
(vi) Dealer reserve and differential accounts that arise from the financing of dealer installment accounts receivable, and which provide that the dealer may not have access to the funds in the account until the installment loans are repaid, as long as the depository institution is not actually (as distinguished from contingently) obligated to make credit or funds available to the dealer;
(vii) A dividend declared by a depository institution for the period intervening between the date of the declaration of the dividend and the date on which it is paid;
(viii) An obligation representing a pass through account, as defined in this section;
(ix) An obligation arising from the retention by the depository institution of no more than a 10 per cent interest in a pool of conventional 1-4 family mortgages that are sold to third parties;
(x) An obligation issued to a State or municipal housing authority under a loan-to-lender program involving the issuance of tax exempt bonds and the subsequent lending of the proceeds to the depository institution for housing finance purposes;
(xi) Shares of a credit union held by the National Credit Union Administration or the National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility under a statutorily authorized assistance program; and
(xii) Any liability of a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank to another United States branch or agency of the same foreign bank, or the liability of the United States office of an Edge Corporation to another United States office of the same Edge Corporation.
(b)(1) Demand deposit means a deposit that is payable on demand, or a deposit issued with an original maturity or required notice period of less than seven days, or a deposit representing funds for which the depository institution does not reserve the right to require at least seven days' written notice of an intended withdrawal. Demand deposits may be in the form of:
(i) Checking accounts;
(ii) Certified, cashier's, teller's, and officer's checks (including such checks issued in payment of dividends);
(iii) Traveler's checks and money orders that are primary obligations of the issuing institution;
(iv) Checks or drafts drawn by, or on behalf of, a non-United States office of a depository institution on an account maintained at any of the institution's United States offices;
(v) Letters of credit sold for cash or its equivalent;
(vi) Withheld taxes, withheld insurance and other withheld funds;
(vii) Time deposits that have matured or time deposits upon which the contractually required notice of withdrawal as given and the notice period has expired and which have not been renewed (either by action of the depositor or automatically under the terms of the deposit agreement); and
(viii) An obligation to pay, on demand or within six days, a check (or other instrument, device, or arrangement for the transfer of funds) drawn on the depository institution, where the account of the institution's customer already has been debited.
(2) The term demand deposit also means deposits or accounts on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and from which the depositor is authorized to make withdrawals or transfers in excess of the withdrawal or transfer limitations specified in paragraph (d)(2) of this section for such an account and the account is not a NOW account, or an ATS account or other account that meets the criteria specified in either paragraph (b)(3)(ii) or (iii) of this section.
(3) Demand deposit does not include:
(i) Any account that is a time deposit or a savings deposit under this part;
(ii) Any deposit or account on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and either—
(A) Is subject to check, draft, negotiable order of withdrawal, share draft, or similar item, such as an account authorized by 12 U.S.C. 1832(a) (NOW account) and a savings deposit described in §204.2(d)(2), provided that the depositor is eligible to hold a NOW account; or
(B) From which the depositor is authorized to make transfers by preauthorized transfer or telephonic (including data transmission) agreement, order or instruction to another account or to a third party, provided that the depositor is eligible to hold a NOW account;
(iii) Any deposit or account on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and from which withdrawals may be made automatically through payment to the depository institution itself or through transfer of credit to a demand deposit or other account in order to cover checks or drafts drawn upon the institution or to maintain a specified balance in, or to make periodic transfers to such other account, such as accounts authorized by 12 U.S.C. 371a (automatic transfer account or ATS account), provided that the depositor is eligible to hold an ATS account; or
(iv) IBF time deposits meeting the requirements of §204.8(a)(2).
(c)(1) Time deposit means:
(i) A deposit that the depositor does not have a right and is not permitted to make withdrawals from within six days after the date of deposit unless the deposit is subject to an early withdrawal penalty of at least seven days' simple interest on amounts withdrawn within the first six days after deposit.1 A time deposit from which partial early withdrawals are permitted must impose additional early withdrawal penalties of at least seven days' simple interest on amounts withdrawn within six days after each partial withdrawal. If such additional early withdrawal penalties are not imposed, the account ceases to be a time deposit. The account may become a savings deposit if it meets the requirements for a saving deposit; otherwise it becomes a transaction account. Time deposit includes funds—
1A time deposit, or a portion thereof, may be paid during the period when an early withdrawal penalty would otherwise be required under this part without imposing an early withdrawal penalty specified by this part:
(a) Where the time deposit is maintained in an individual retirement account established in accordance with 26 U.S.C. 408 and is paid within seven days after establishment of the individual retirement account pursuant to 26 CFR 1.408-6(d)(4), where it is maintained in a Keogh (H.R. 10) plan, or where it is maintained in a 401(k) plan under 26 U.S.C. 401(k); Provided that the depositor forfeits an amount at least equal to the simple interest earned on the amount withdrawn;
(b) Where the depository institution pays all or a portion of a time deposit representing funds contributed to an individual retirement account or a Keogh (H.R.10) plan established pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 408 or 26 U.S.C. 401 or to a 401(k) plan established pursuant to 26 U.S.C. 401(k) when the individual for whose benefit the account is maintained attains age 591⁄2 or is disabled (as defined in 26 U.S.C. 72(m)(7)) or thereafter;
(c) Where the depository institution pays that portion of a time deposit on which federal deposit insurance has been lost as a result of the merger of two or more federally insured banks in which the depositor previously maintained separate time deposits, for a period of one year from the date of the merger;
(d) Upon the death of any owner of the time deposit funds;
(e) When any owner of the time deposit is determined to be legally incompetent by a court or other administrative body of competent jurisdiction; or
(f) Where a time deposit is withdrawn within ten days after a specified maturity date even though the deposit contract provided for automatic renewal at the maturity date.
(A) Payable on a specified date not less than seven days after the date of deposit;
(B) Payable at the expiration of a specified time not less than seven days after the date of deposit;
(C) Payable only upon written notice that is actually required to be given by the depositor not less than seven days prior to withdrawal;
(D) Held in club accounts (such as Christmas club accounts and vacation club accounts that are not maintained as savings deposits) that are deposited under written contracts providing that no withdrawal shall be made until a certain number of periodic deposits have been made during a period of not less than three months even though some of the deposits may be made within six days from the end of the period; or
(E) Share certificates and certificates of indebtedness issued by credit unions, and certificate accounts and notice accounts issued by savings and loan associations;
(ii) An IBF time deposit meeting the requirements of §204.8(a)(2); and
(iii) Borrowings, regardless of maturity, represented by a promissory note, an acknowledgment of advance, or similar obligation described in §204.2(a)(1)(vii) that is issued to, or any bankers' acceptance (other than the type described in 12 U.S.C. 372) of the depository institution held by—
(A) Any office located outside the United States of another depository institution or Edge or agreement corporation organized under the laws of the United States;
(B) Any office located outside the United States of a foreign bank;
(C) A foreign national government, or an agency or instrumentality thereof,2 engaged principally in activities which are ordinarily performed in the United States by governmental entities;
2Other than states, provinces, municipalities, or other regional or local governmental units or agencies or instrumentalities thereof.
(D) An international entity of which the United States is a member; or
(E) Any other foreign, international, or supranational entity specifically designated by the Board.3
3The designated entities are specified in 12 CFR 204.125.
(2) A time deposit may be represented by a transferable or nontransferable, or a negotiable or nonnegotiable, certificate, instrument, passbook, or statement, or by book entry or otherwise.
(d)(1) Savings deposit means a deposit or account with respect to which the depositor is not required by the deposit contract but may at any time be required by the depository institution to give written notice of an intended withdrawal not less than seven days before withdrawal is made, and that is not payable on a specified date or at the expiration of a specified time after the date of deposit. The term savings deposit includes a regular share account at a credit union and a regular account at a savings and loan association.
(2) The term “savings deposit” also means: A deposit or account, such as an account commonly known as a passbook savings account, a statement savings account, or as a money market deposit account (MMDA), that otherwise meets the requirements in paragraph (d)(1) of this section and from which, under the terms of the deposit contract or by practice of the depository institution, the depositor may be permitted or authorized to make transfers and withdrawals to another account (including a transaction account) of the depositor at the same institution or to a third party, regardless of the number of such transfers and withdrawals or the manner in which such transfers and withdrawals are made.
(3) A deposit may continue to be classified as a savings deposit even if the depository institution exercises its right to require notice of withdrawal.
(4) Savings deposit does not include funds deposited to the credit of the depository institution's own trust department where the funds involved are utilized to cover checks or drafts. Such funds are transaction accounts.
(e) Transaction account means a deposit or account from which the depositor or account holder is permitted to make transfers or withdrawals by negotiable or transferable instrument, payment order of withdrawal, telephone transfer, or other similar device for the purpose of making payments or transfers to third persons or others or from which the depositor may make third party payments at an automated teller machine (ATM) or a remote service unit, or other electronic device, including by debit card. Transaction account includes:
(1) Demand deposits;
(2) Deposits or accounts on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and that are subject to check, draft, negotiable order of withdrawal, share draft, or other similar item, including accounts described in paragraph (d)(2) of this section (savings deposits) and including accounts authorized by 12 U.S.C. 1832(a) (NOW accounts).
(3) Deposits or accounts on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and from which withdrawals may be made automatically through payment to the depository institution itself or through transfer or credit to a demand deposit or other account in order to cover checks or drafts drawn upon the institution or to maintain a specified balance in, or to make periodic transfers to such accounts, including accounts authorized by 12 U.S.C. 371a (automatic transfer accounts or ATS accounts).
(4) Deposits or accounts on which the depository institution has reserved the right to require at least seven days' written notice prior to withdrawal or transfer of any funds in the account and under the terms of which, or by practice of the depository institution, the depositor is permitted or authorized to make withdrawals for the purposes of transferring funds to another account of the depositor at the same institution (including transaction account) or for making payment to a third party, regardless of the number of such transfers and withdrawals and regardless of the manner in which such transfers and withdrawals are made.
(5) Deposits or accounts maintained in connection with an arrangement that permits the depositor to obtain credit directly or indirectly through the drawing of a negotiable or nonnegotiable check, draft, order or instruction or other similar device (including telephone or electronic order or instruction) on the issuing institution that can be used for the purpose of making payments or transfers to third persons or others or to a deposit account of the depositor.
(6) All deposits other than time deposits, including those accounts that are time deposits in form but that the Board has determined, by rule or order, to be transaction accounts.
(f)(1) Nonpersonal time deposit means:
(i) A time deposit, including an MMDA or any other savings deposit, representing funds in which any beneficial interest is held by a depositor which is not a natural person;
(ii) A time deposit, including an MMDA or any other savings deposit, that represents funds deposited to the credit of a depositor that is not a natural person, other than a deposit to the credit of a trustee or other fiduciary if the entire beneficial interest in the deposit is held by one or more natural persons;
(iii) A transferable time deposit. A time deposit is transferable unless it contains a specific statement on the certificate, instrument, passbook, statement or other form representing the account that it is not transferable. A time deposit that contains a specific statement that it is not transferable is not regarded as transferable even if the following transactions can be effected: a pledge as collateral for a loan, a transaction that occurs due to circumstances arising from death, incompetency, marriage, divorce, attachment, or otherwise by operation of law or a transfer on the books or records of the institution; and
(iv) A time deposit represented by a promissory note, an acknowledgment of advance, or similar obligation described in paragraph (a)(1)(vii) of this section that is issued to, or any bankers' acceptance (other than the type described in 12 U.S.C. 372) of the depository institution held by:
(C) A foreign national government, or an agency or instrumentality thereof,5 engaged principally in activities which are ordinarily performed in the United States by governmental entities;
5Other than states, provinces, municipalities, or other regional or local governmental units or agencies or instrumentalities thereof.
(E) Any other foreign, international, or supranational entity specifically designated by the Board.6
6The designated entities are specified in 12 CFR 217.126.
(2) Nonpersonal time deposit does not include nontransferable time deposits to the credit of or in which the entire beneficial interest is held by an individual pursuant to an individual retirement account or Keogh (H.R. 10) plan under 26 U.S.C. 408, 401, or non-transferable time deposits held by an employer as part of an unfunded deferred-compensation plan established pursuant to subtitle D of the Revenue Act of 1978 (Pub. L. 95-600, 92 Stat. 2763), or a 401(k) plan under 26 U.S.C. 401(k).
(g) Natural person means an individual or a sole proprietorship. The term does not mean a corporation owned by an individual, a partnership or other association.
(h) Eurocurrency liabilities means:
(1) For a depository institution or an Edge or Agreement Corporation organized under the laws of the United States, the sum, if positive, of the following:
(i) Net balances due to its non-United States offices and its international banking facilities (IBFs) from its United States offices;
(ii)(A) For a depository institution organized under the laws of the United States, assets (including participations) acquired from its United States offices and held by its non-United States offices, by its IBF, or by non-United States offices of an affiliated Edge or Agreement Corporation;7 or
7This paragraph does not apply to assets that were acquired by an IBF from its establishing entity before the end of the second reserve computation period after its establishment.
(B) For an Edge or Agreement Corporation, assets (including participations) acquired from its United States offices and held by its non-United States offices, by its IBF, by non-United States offices of its U.S. or foreign parent institution, or by non-United States offices of an affiliated Edge or Agreement Corporation; and
(iii) Credit outstanding from its non-United States offices to United States residents (other than assets acquired and net balances due from its United States offices), except credit extended (A) from its non-United States offices in the aggregate amount of $100,000 or less to any United States resident, (B) by a non-United States office that at no time during the computation period had credit outstanding to United States residents exceeding $1 million, (C) to an international banking facility, or (D) to an institution that will be maintaining reserves on such credit pursuant to this part. Credit extended from non-United States offices or from IBFs to a foreign branch, office, subsidiary, affiliate of other foreign establishment (foreign affiliate) controlled by one or more domestic corporations is not regarded as credit extended to a United States resident if the proceeds will be used to finance the operations outside the United States of the borrower or of other foreign affiliates of the controlling domestic corporation(s).
(2) For a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, the sum, if positive, of the following:
(i) Net balances due to its foreign bank (including offices thereof located outside the United States) and its international banking facility after deducting an amount equal to 8 per cent of the following: the United States branch's or agency's total assets less the sum of (A) cash items in process of collection; (B) unposted debits; (C) demand balances due from depository institutions organized under the laws of the United States and from other foreign banks; (D) balances due from foreign central banks; and (E) positive net balances due from its IBF, its foreign bank, and the foreign bank's United States and non-United States offices; and
(ii) Assets (including participations) acquired from the United States branch or agency (other than assets required to be sold by Federal or State supervisory authorities) and held by its foreign bank (including offices thereof located outside the United States), by its parent holding company, by non-United States offices or an IBF of an affiliated Edge or Agreement Corporation, or by its IBFs.8
8See footnote 7.
(i)(1) Cash item in process of collection means:
(i) Checks in the process of collection, drawn on a bank or other depository institution that are payable immediately upon presentation in the United States, including checks forwarded to a Federal Reserve Bank in process of collection and checks on hand that will be presented for payment or forwarded for collection on the following business day;
(ii) Government checks drawn on the Treasury of the United States that are in the process of collection; and
(iii) Such other items in the process of collection, that are payable immediately upon presentation in the United States and that are customarily cleared or collected by depository institutions as cash items, including:
(A) Drafts payable through another depository institution;
(B) Matured bonds and coupons (including bonds and coupons that have been called and are payable on presentation);
(C) Food coupons and certificates;
(D) Postal and other money orders, and traveler's checks;
(E) Amounts credited to deposit accounts in connection with automated payment arrangements where such credits are made one business day prior to the scheduled payment date to insure that funds are available on the payment date;
(F) Commodity or bill of lading drafts payable immediately upon presentation in the United States;
(G) Returned items and unposted debits; and
(H) Broker security drafts.
(2) Cash item in process of collection does not include items handled as noncash collections and credit card sales slips and drafts.
(j) Net transaction accounts means the total amount of a depository institution's transaction accounts less the deductions allowed under the provisions of §204.3.
(k)(1) Vault cash means United States currency and coin owned and booked as an asset by a depository institution that may, at any time, be used to satisfy claims of that depository institution's depositors and that meets the requirements of paragraph (k)(2)(i) or (k)(2)(ii) of this section.
(2) Vault cash must be either:
(i) Held at a physical location of the depository institution (including the depository institution's proprietary ATMs) from which the institution's depositors may make cash withdrawals; or
(ii) Held at an alternate physical location if—
(A) The depository institution claiming the currency and coin as vault cash at all times retains full rights of ownership in and to the currency and coin held at the alternate physical location;
(B) The depository institution claiming the currency and coin as vault cash at all times books the currency and coin held at the alternate physical location as an asset of the depository institution;
(C) No other depository institution claims the currency and coin held at the alternate physical location as vault cash in satisfaction of that other depository institution's reserve requirements;
(D) The currency and coin held at the alternate physical location is reasonably nearby a location of the depository institution claiming the currency and coin as vault cash at which its depositors may make cash withdrawals (an alternate physical location is considered “reasonably nearby” if the depository institution that claims the currency and coin as vault cash can recall the currency and coin from the alternate physical location by 10 a.m. and, relying solely on ground transportation, receive the currency and coin not later than 4 p.m. on the same calendar day at a location of the depository institution at which its depositors may make cash withdrawals); and
(E) The depository institution claiming the currency and coin as vault cash has in place a written cash delivery plan and written contractual arrangements necessary to implement that plan that demonstrate that the currency and coin can be recalled and received in accordance with the requirements of paragraph (k)(2)(ii)(D) of this section at any time. The depository institution shall provide copies of the written cash delivery plan and written contractual arrangements to the Federal Reserve Bank that holds its account or to the Board upon request.
(3) “Vault cash” includes United States currency and coin in transit to a Federal Reserve Bank or a correspondent depository institution for which the reporting depository institution has not yet received credit, and United States currency and coin in transit from a Federal Reserve Bank or a correspondent depository institution when the reporting depository institution's account at the Federal Reserve or correspondent bank has been charged for such shipment.
(4) Silver and gold coin and other currency and coin whose numismatic or bullion value is substantially in excess of face value is not vault cash for purposes of this part.
(l) Pass-through account means a balance maintained by a depository institution with a correspondent institution under §204.5(d).
(m)(1) Depository institution means:
(2) Depository institution does not include international organizations such as the World Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank, and the Asian Development Bank.
(n) Member bank means a depository institution that is a member of the Federal Reserve System.
(o) Foreign bank means any bank or other similar institution organized under the laws of any country other than the United States or organized under the laws of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, or other territory or possession of the United States.
(q) Affiliate includes any corporation, association, or other organization:
(1) Of which a depository institution, directly or indirectly, owns or controls either a majority of the voting shares or more than 50 percent of the numbers of shares voted for the election of its directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions at the preceding election, or controls in any manner the election of a majority of its directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions;
(2) Of which control is held, directly or indirectly, through stock ownership or in any other manner, by the shareholders of a depository institution who own or control either a majority of the shares of such depository institution or more than 50 percent of the number of shares voted for the election of directors of such depository institution at the preceding election, or by trustees for the benefit of the shareholders of any such depository institution;
(3) Of which a majority of its directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions are directors of any one depository institution; or
(4) Which owns or controls, directly or indirectly, either a majority of the shares of capital stock of a depository institution or more than 50 percent of the number of shares voted for the election of directors, trustees or other persons exercising similar functions of a depository institution at the preceding election, or controls in any manner the election of a majority of the directors, trustees, or other persons exercising similar functions of a depository institution, or for the benefit of whose shareholders or members all or substantially all the capital stock of a depository institution is held by trustees.
(r) United States means the States of the United States and the District of Columbia.
(s) United States resident means (1) any individual residing (at the time of the transaction) in the United States; (2) any corporation, partnership, association or other entity organized in the United States (domestic corporation); and (3) any branch or office located in the United States of any entity that is not organized in the United States.
(t) Any deposit that is payable only at an office located outside the United States means (1) a deposit of a United States resident9 that is in a denomination of $100,000 or more, and as to which the depositor is entitled, under the agreement with the institution, to demand payment only outside the United States or (2) a deposit of a person who is not a United States resident9 as to which the depositor is entitled, under the agreement with the institution, to demand payment only outside the United States.
9A deposit of a foreign branch, office, subsidiary, affiliate or other foreign establishment (foreign affiliate) controlled by one or more domestic corporations is not regarded as a deposit of a United States resident if the funds serve a purpose in connection with its foreign or international business or that of other foreign affiliates of the controlling domestic corporation(s).
(u) Teller's check means a check drawn by a depository institution on another depository institution, a Federal Reserve Bank, or a Federal Home Loan Bank, or payable at or through a depository institution, a Federal Reserve Bank, or a Federal Home Loan Bank, and which the drawing depository institution engages or is obliged to pay upon dishonor.
(y) Eligible institution means—
(1) Any depository institution as described in §204.1(c) of this part;
(2) Any trust company;
(3) Any corporation organized under section 25A of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 611 et seq.) or having an agreement with the Board under section 25 of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 601 et seq.); and
(4) Any branch or agency of a foreign bank (as defined in section 1(b) of the International Banking Act of 1978, 12 U.S.C. 3101(b)).
(z) Excess balance means the average balance maintained in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank by or on behalf of an institution over a reserve maintenance period that exceeds the top of the penalty-free band.
(aa) Excess balance account means an account at a Reserve Bank pursuant to §204.10(d) of this part that is established by one or more eligible institutions through an agent and in which only excess balances of the participating eligible institutions may at any time be maintained. An excess balance account is not a “pass-through account” for purposes of this part.
(bb) Balance maintained to satisfy a reserve balance requirement means the average balance held in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank by or on behalf of an institution over a reserve maintenance period to satisfy a reserve balance requirement of this part.
(cc) Targeted federal funds rate means the federal funds rate established from time to time by the Federal Open Market Committee.
(dd) Term deposit means those funds of an eligible institution that are maintained by that institution for a specified maturity at a Federal Reserve Bank pursuant to section 204.10(e) of this part.
(ee) Reserve balance requirement means the balance that a depository institution is required to maintain on average over a reserve maintenance period in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank if vault cash does not fully satisfy the depository institution's reserve requirement imposed by this part.
(ff) Deficiency means the bottom of the penalty-free band less the average balance maintained in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank by or on behalf of an institution over a reserve maintenance period.
(gg) Top of the penalty-free band means an amount equal to an institution's reserve balance requirement plus an amount that is the greater of 10 percent of the institution's reserve balance requirement or $50,000. The top of the penalty-free band for a pass-through correspondent is an amount equal to the aggregate reserve balance requirement of the correspondent (if any) and all of its respondents plus an amount that is the greater of 10 percent of that aggregate reserve balance requirement or $50,000.
(hh) Bottom of the penalty-free band means an amount equal to an institution's reserve balance requirement less an amount that is the greater of 10 percent of the institution's reserve balance requirement or $50,000. The bottom of the penalty-free band for a pass-through correspondent is an amount equal to the aggregate reserve balance requirement of the correspondent (if any) and all of its respondents less an amount that is the greater of 10 percent of that aggregate reserve balance requirement or $50,000. In no case will the penalty-free band be less than zero.
[Reg. D, 45 FR 56018, Aug. 22, 1980]
Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting §204.2, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.
(a) Every depository institution, U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, and Edge or Agreement corporation shall file a report of deposits (or any other form or statement that may be required by the Board or by a Federal Reserve Bank) with the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District in which it is located, regardless of the manner in which it chooses to maintain required reserve balances.
(b) A foreign bank's U.S. branches and agencies and an Edge or Agreement corporation's offices operating within the same State and the same Federal Reserve District shall prepare and file a report of deposits on an aggregated basis.
(c) For purposes of this part, the obligations of a majority-owned (50 percent or more) U.S. subsidiary (except an Edge or Agreement corporation) of a depository institution shall be regarded as obligations of the parent depository institution.
(d) A depository institution, a foreign bank, or an Edge or Agreement corporation shall, if possible, assign the low reserve tranche and reserve requirement exemption prescribed in §204.4(f) to only one office or to a group of offices filing a single aggregated report of deposits. The amount of the reserve requirement exemption allocated to an office or group of offices may not exceed the amount of the low reserve tranche allocated to such office or offices. If the low reserve tranche or reserve requirement exemption cannot be fully utilized by a single office or by a group of offices filing a single report of deposits, the unused portion of the tranche or exemption may be assigned to other offices or groups of offices of the same institution until the amount of the tranche (or net transaction accounts) or exemption (or reservable liabilities) is exhausted. The tranche or exemption may be reallocated each year concurrent with implementation of the indexed tranche and exemption, or, if necessary during the course of the year to avoid underutilization of the tranche or exemption, at the beginning of a reserve computation period.
(e) Computation of transaction accounts. Overdrafts in demand deposit or other transaction accounts are not to be treated as negative demand deposits or negative transaction accounts and shall not be netted since overdrafts are properly reflected on an institution's books as assets. However, where a customer maintains multiple transaction accounts with a depository institution, overdrafts in one account pursuant to a bona fide cash management arrangement are permitted to be netted against balances in other related transaction accounts for reserve requirement purposes.
(f) The Board and the Federal Reserve Banks will not hold a pass-through correspondent responsible for guaranteeing the accuracy of the reports of deposits submitted by its respondents.
(g)(1) For purposes of this section, a depository institution, a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, or an Edge or Agreement corporation is located in the Federal Reserve District that contains the location specified in the institution's charter, organizing certificate, license, or articles of incorporation, or as specified by the institution's primary regulator, or if no such location is specified, the location of its head office, unless otherwise determined by the Board under paragraph (g)(2) of this section.
(2) If the location specified in paragraph (g)(1) of this section, in the Board's judgment, is ambiguous, would impede the ability of the Board or the Federal Reserve Banks to perform their functions under the Federal Reserve Act, or would impede the ability of the institution to operate efficiently, the Board will determine the Federal Reserve District in which the institution is located, after consultation with the institution and the relevant Federal Reserve Banks. The relevant Federal Reserve Banks are the Federal Reserve Bank whose District contains the location specified in paragraph (g)(1) of this section and the Federal Reserve Bank in whose District the institution is proposed to be located. In making this determination, the Board will consider any applicable laws, the business needs of the institution, the location of the institution's head office, the locations where the institution performs its business, and the locations that would allow the institution, the Board, and the Federal Reserve Banks to perform their functions efficiently and effectively.
[45 FR 56018, Aug. 22, 1980]
Editorial Note: For Federal Register citations affecting §204.3, see the List of CFR Sections Affected, which appears in the Finding Aids section of the printed volume and at www.govinfo.gov.
(a) In determining the reserve requirement under this part, the amount of cash items in process of collection and balances subject to immediate withdrawal due from other depository institutions located in the United States (including such amounts due from United States branches and agencies of foreign banks and Edge and Agreement corporations) may be deducted from the amount of gross transaction accounts. The amount that may be deducted may not exceed the amount of gross transaction accounts.
(b) United States branches and agencies of a foreign bank may not deduct balances due from another United States branch or agency of the same foreign bank, and United States offices of an Edge or Agreement Corporation may not deduct balances due from another United States office of the same Edge or Agreement Corporation.
(c) Balances “due from other depository institutions” do not include balances due from Federal Reserve Banks, pass-through accounts, or balances (payable in dollars or otherwise) due from banking offices located outside the United States. An institution exercising fiduciary powers may not include in balances “due from other depository institutions” amounts of trust funds deposited with other banks and due to it as a trustee or other fiduciary.
(d) For institutions that file a report of deposits weekly, reserve requirements are computed on the basis of the institution's daily average balances of deposits and Eurocurrency liabilities during a 14-day computation period ending every second Monday.
(e) For institutions that file a report of deposits quarterly, reserve requirements are computed on the basis of the institution's daily average balances of deposits and Eurocurrency liabilities during the 7-day computation period that begins on the third Tuesday of March, June, September, and December.
(f) For all depository institutions, Edge and Agreement corporations, and United States branches and agencies of foreign banks, required reserves are computed by applying the reserve requirement ratios in table 1 to this paragraph (f) to net transaction accounts, nonpersonal time deposits, and Eurocurrency liabilities of the institution during the computation period.
Table 1 to Paragraph (f)
$0 to reserve requirement exemption amount ($16.9 million) 0 percent of amount.
Over reserve requirement exemption amount ($16.9 million) and up to low reserve tranche ($127.5 million) 0 percent of amount.
Over low reserve tranche ($127.5 million) 0 percent of amount.
[Reg. D, 74 FR 25637, May 29, 2009, as amended at 74 FR 52875, Oct. 15, 2009; 75 FR 65564, Oct. 26, 2010; 76 FR 68066, Nov. 3, 2011; 77 FR 21852, Apr. 12, 2012; 77 FR 65774, Oct. 31, 2012; 78 FR 66250, Nov. 5, 2013; 79 FR 68350, Nov. 17, 2014; 80 FR 71683, Nov. 17, 2015; 81 FR 91673, Dec. 19, 2016; 82 FR 51755, Nov. 8, 2017; 83 FR 54518, Oct. 30, 2018; 84 FR 64706, Nov. 25, 2019; 85 FR 16526, Mar. 24, 2020]
(a)(1) A depository institution, a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, and an Edge or Agreement corporation shall satisfy reserve requirements by maintaining vault cash and, if vault cash does not fully satisfy the institution's reserve requirement, in the form of a balance maintained
(i) In the institution's account at the Federal Reserve Bank in the Federal Reserve District in which the institution is located, or
(ii) With a pass-through correspondent in accordance with §204.5(d).
(2) Each individual institution subject to this part is responsible for satisfying its reserve balance requirement, if any, either directly with a Federal Reserve Bank or through a pass-through correspondent.
(b)(1) For institutions that file a report of deposits weekly, the balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements shall be maintained during a 14-day maintenance period that begins on the third Thursday following the end of a given computation period.
(2) For institutions that file a report of deposits quarterly, the balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements shall be maintained during an interval of either six or seven consecutive 14-day maintenance periods, depending on when the interval begins and ends. The interval will begin on the fourth Thursday following the end of each quarterly reporting period if that Thursday is the first day of a 14-day maintenance period. If the fourth Thursday following the end of a quarterly reporting period is not the first day of a 14-day maintenance period, then the interval will begin on the fifth Thursday following the end of the quarterly reporting period. The interval will end on the fourth Wednesday following the end of the subsequent quarterly reporting period if that Wednesday is the last day of a 14-day maintenance period. If the fourth Wednesday following the end of the subsequent quarterly reporting period is not the last day of a 14-day maintenance period, then the interval will conclude on the fifth Wednesday following the end of the subsequent quarterly reporting period.
(c) Cash items forwarded to a Federal Reserve Bank for collection and credit are not included in an institution's balance maintained to satisfy its reserve balance requirement until the expiration of the time specified in the appropriate time schedule established under Regulation J, “Collection of Checks and Other Items by Federal Reserve Banks and Funds Transfers Through Fedwire” (12 CFR part 210). If a depository institution draws against items before that time, the charge will be made to its account if the balance is sufficient to pay it; any resulting deficiency in balances maintained to satisfy the institution's reserve balance requirement will be subject to the penalties provided by law and to the deficiency charges provided by this part. However, the Federal Reserve Bank may, at its discretion, refuse to permit the withdrawal or other use of credit given in an account for any time for which the Federal Reserve Bank has not received payment in actually and finally collected funds.
(d)(1) A depository institution, a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank, or an Edge or Agreement corporation with a reserve balance requirement (“respondent”) may select only one pass-through correspondent under this section, unless otherwise permitted by the Federal Reserve Bank in whose District the respondent is located. Eligible pass-through correspondents are Federal Home Loan Banks, the National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility, and depository institutions, U.S. branches or agencies of foreign banks, and Edge and Agreement corporations that maintain balances to satisfy their own reserve balance requirements which may be zero, in an account at a Federal Reserve Bank. In addition, the Board reserves the right to permit other institutions, on a case-by-case basis, to serve as pass-through correspondents.
(2) Respondents or correspondents may institute, terminate, or change pass-through correspondent agreements by providing all documentation required for the establishment of the new agreement or termination of or change to the existing agreement to the Federal Reserve Banks involved within the time period specified by those Reserve Banks.
(3) Balances maintained to satisfy reserve balance requirements of a correspondent's respondents shall be maintained along with the balances maintained to satisfy a correspondent's reserve balance requirement (if any), in a single commingled account of the correspondent at the Federal Reserve Bank in whose District the correspondent is located. Balances maintained in the correspondent's account are the property of the correspondent and represent a liability of the Reserve Bank solely to the correspondent, regardless of whether the funds represent the balances maintained to satisfy the reserve balance requirement of a respondent.
(4)(i) A pass-through correspondent shall be responsible for maintaining balances to satisfy its own reserve balance requirement (if any) and the reserve balance requirements of all of its respondents. A charge for any deficiency in the correspondent's account will be imposed by the Reserve Bank on the correspondent maintaining the account.
(ii) Each correspondent is required to maintain detailed records for each of its respondents that permit Reserve Banks to determine whether the respondent has provided a sufficient funds to the correspondent to satisfy the reserve balance requirement of the respondent. The correspondent shall maintain such records and make such reports as the Board or Reserve Bank may requires in order to ensure the correspondent's compliance with its responsibilities under this section and shall make them available to the Board or Reserve Bank as required.
(iii) The Federal Reserve Bank may terminate any pass-through agreement under which the correspondent is deficient in its recordkeeping or other responsibilities.
(iv) Interest paid on supplemental reserves (if such reserves are required under §204.7) held by a respondent will be credited to the account maintained by the correspondent.
[Reg. D, 74 FR 25638, May 29, 2009, as amended at 77 FR 21853, Apr. 12, 2012]
(a) Federal Reserve Banks are authorized to assess charges for deficiencies at a rate of 1 percentage point per year above the primary credit rate, as provided in §201.51(a) of this chapter, in effect for borrowings from the Federal Reserve Bank on the first day of the calendar month in which the deficiencies occurred. Charges shall be assessed on the basis of daily average deficiencies during each maintenance period.
(b) Reserve Banks may waive the charges for deficiencies based on an evaluation of the circumstances in each individual case.
(c) In individual cases, where a Federal supervisory authority waives a liquidity requirement, or waives the penalty for failing to satisfy a liquidity requirement, the Reserve Bank in the District where the involved depository institution is located shall waive the reserve requirement imposed under this part for such depository institution when requested by the Federal supervisory authority involved.
(d) Violations of this part may be subject to assessment of civil money penalties by the Board under authority of Section 19(1) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 505) as implemented in 12 CFR part 263. In addition, the Board and any other Federal financial institution supervisory authority may enforce this part with respect to depository institutions subject to their jurisdiction under authority conferred by law to undertake cease and desist proceedings.
[Reg. D, 74 FR 25639, May 29, 2009, as amended at 77 FR 21854, Apr. 12, 2012]
(a) Finding by Board. Upon the affirmative vote of at least five members of the Board and after consultation with the Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, and the National Credit Union Administration Board, the Board may impose a supplemental reserve requirement on every depository institution of not more than 4 percent of its total transaction accounts. A supplemental reserve requirement may be imposed if:
(1) The sole purpose of the requirement is to increase the amount of reserves maintained to a level essential for the conduct of monetary policy;
(2) The requirement is not imposed for the purpose of reducing the cost burdens resulting from the imposition of basic reserve requirements;
(3) Such requirement is not imposed for the purpose of increasing the amount of balances needed for clearing purposes; and
(4) On the date on which supplemental reserve requirements are imposed, the total amount of basic reserve requirements is not less than the amount of reserves that would be required on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits under the initial reserve ratios established by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (Pub. L. 96-221) in effect on September 1, 1980.
(b) Term. (1) If a supplemental reserve requirement has been imposed for a period of one year or more, the Board shall review and determine the need for continued maintenance of supplemental reserves and shall transmit annual reports to the Congress regarding the need for continuing such requirement.
(2) Any supplemental reserve requirement shall terminate at the close of the first 90-day period after the requirement is imposed during which the average amount of supplemental reserves required are less than the amount of reserves which would be required if the ratios in effect on September 1, 1980, were applied.
(c) Earnings Participation Account. A depository institutions's supplemental reserve requirement shall be maintained by the Federal Reserve Banks in an Earnings Participation Account. Such balances shall receive earnings to be paid by the Federal Reserve Banks during each calendar quarter at a rate not to exceed the rate earned on the securities portfolio of the Federal Reserve System during the previous calendar quarter. Additional rules and regulations maybe prescribed by the Board concerning the payment of earnings on Earnings Participation Accounts by Federal Reserve Banks.
(d) Report to Congress. The Board shall transmit promptly to the Congress a report stating the basis for exercising its authority to require a supplemental reserve under this section.
(e) Reserve requirements. At present, there are no supplemental reserve requirements imposed under this section.
[45 FR 56018, Aug. 22, 1980, as amended at 45 FR 81537, Dec. 11, 1980. Redesignated at 74 FR 25639, May 29, 2009]
(a) Definitions. For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply:
(1) International banking facility or IBF means a set of asset and liability accounts segregated on the books and records of a depository institution, United States branch or agency of a foreign bank, or an Edge or Agreement Corporation that includes only international banking facility time deposits and international banking facility extensions of credit.
(2) International banking facility time deposit or IBF time deposit means a deposit, placement, borrowing or similar obligation represented by a promissory note, acknowledgment of advance, or similar instrument that is not issued in negotiable or bearer form, and
(i)(A) That must remain on deposit at the IBF at least overnight; and
(B) That is issued to
(1) Any office located outside the United States of another depository institution organized under the laws of the United States or of an Edge or Agreement Corporation;
(2) Any office located outside the United States of a foreign bank;
(3) A United States office or a non-United States office of the entity establishing the IBF;
(4) Another IBF; or
(5) A foreign national government, or an agency or instrumentality thereof,10 engaged principally in activities which are ordinarily performed in the United States by governmental entities; an international entity of which the United States is a member; or any other foreign international or supranational entity specifically designated by the Board;11 or
10Other than states, provinces, municipalities, or other regional or local governmental units or agencies or instrumentalities thereof.
11The designated entities are specified in 12 CFR 204.125.
(ii) (A) That is payable
(1) On a specified date not less than two business days after the date of deposit;
(2) Upon expiration of a specified period of time not less than two business days after the date of deposit; or
(3) Upon written notice that actually is required to be given by the depositor not less than two business days prior to the date of withdrawal;
(B) That represents funds deposited to the credit of a non-United States resident or a foreign branch, office, subsidiary, affiliate, or other foreign establishment (foreign affiliate) controlled by one or more domestic corporations provided that such funds are used only to support the operations outside the United States of the depositor or of its affiliates located outside the United States; and
(C) That is maintained under an agreement or arrangement under which no deposit or withdrawal of less than $100,000 is permitted, except that a withdrawal of less than $100,000 is permitted if such withdrawal closes an account.
(3) International banking facility extension of credit or IBF loan means any transaction where an IBF supplies funds by making a loan, or placing funds in a deposit account. Such transactions may be represented by a promissory note, security, acknowledgment of advance, due bill, repurchase agreement, or any other form of credit transaction. Such credit may be extended only to:
(i) Any office located outside the United States of another depository institution organized under the laws of the United States or of an Edge or Agreement Corporation;
(ii) Any office located outside the United States of a foreign bank;
(iii) A United States or a non-United States office of the institution establishing the IBF;
(iv) Another IBF;
(v) A foreign national government, or an agency or instrumentality thereof,12 engaged principally in activities which are ordinarily performed in the United States by governmental entities; an international entity of which the United States is a member; or any other foreign international or supranational entity specifically designated by the Board;13 or
12See footnote 10.
13See footnote 11.
(vi) A non-United States resident or a foreign branch, office, subsidiary, affiliate or other foreign establishment (foreign affiliate) controlled by one or more domestic corporations provided that the funds are used only to finance the operations outside the United States of the borrower or of its affiliates located outside the United States.
(b) Acknowledgment of use of IBF deposits and extensions of credit. An IBF shall provide written notice to each of its customers (other than those specified in §204.8(a)(2)(i)(B) and §204.8(a)(3) (i) through (v)) at the time a deposit relationship or a credit relationship is first established that it is the policy of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System that deposits received by international banking facilities may be used only to support the depositor's operations outside the United States as specified in §204.8(a)(2)(ii)(B) and that extensions of credit by IBFs may be used only to finance operations outside of the United States as specified in §204.8(a)(3)(vi). In the case of loans to or deposits from foreign affiliates of U.S. residents, receipt of such notice must be acknowledged in writing whenever a deposit or credit relationship is first established with the IBF.
(c) Exemption from reserve requirements. An institution that is subject to the reserve requirements of this part is not required to maintain reserves against its IBF time deposits or IBF loans. Deposit-taking activities of IBFs are limited to accepting only IBF time deposits and lending activities of IBFs are restricted to making only IBF loans.
(d) Establishment of an international banking facility. A depository institution, an Edge or Agreement Corporation or a United States branch or agency of a foreign bank may establish an IBF in any location where it is legally authorized to engage in IBF business. However, only one IBF may be established for each reporting entity that is required to submit a Report of Transaction Accounts, Other Deposits and Vault Cash (Form FR 2900).
(e) Notification to Federal Reserve. At least fourteen days prior to the first reserve computation period that an institution intends to establish an IBF it shall notify the Federal Reserve Bank of the district in which it is located of its intent. Such notification shall include a statement of intention by the institution that it will comply with the rules of this part concerning IBFs, including restrictions on sources and uses of funds, and recordkeeping and accounting requirements. Failure to comply with the requirements of this part shall subject the institution to reserve requirements under this part or result in the revocation of the institution's ability to operate an IBF.
(f) Recordkeeping requirements. A depository institution shall segregate on its books and records the asset and liability accounts of its IBF and submit reports concerning the operations of its IBF as required by the Board.
[46 FR 32429, June 23, 1981, as amended at 51 FR 9636, Mar. 20, 1986; 56 FR 15495, Apr. 17, 1991; 61 FR 69025, Dec. 31, 1996]
(a) Finding by Board. The Board may impose, after consulting with the appropriate committees of Congress, additional reserve requirements on depository institutions at any ratio on any liability upon a finding by at least five members of the Board that extraordinary circumstances require such action.
(b) Term. Any action taken under this section shall be valid for a period not exceeding 180 days, and may be extended for further periods of up to 180 days each by affirmative action of at least five members of the Board for each extension.
(c) Reports to Congress. The Board shall transmit promptly to Congress a report of any exercise of its authority under this paragraph and the reasons for the exercise of authority.
(d) Reserve requirements. At present, there are no emergency reserve requirements imposed under this section.
[45 FR 56018, Aug. 22, 1980. Redesignated at 74 FR 25638, May 29, 2009]
(a) General. (1) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, interest on balances maintained at Federal Reserve Banks by or on behalf of an eligible institution shall be established by the Board in accordance with this section, at a rate or rates not to exceed the general level of short-term interest rates.
(2) For purposes of this section, the amount of a “balance” in an account maintained by or on behalf of an eligible institution at a Federal Reserve Bank is determined at the close of the Federal Reserve Bank's business day.
(3) For purposes of this section, “short-term interest rates” are rates on obligations with maturities of no more than one year, such as the primary credit rate and rates on term federal funds, term repurchase agreements, commercial paper, term Eurodollar deposits, and other similar instruments.
(4) The payment of interest on balances under this section shall be subject to such other terms and conditions as the Board may prescribe.
(b) Payment of interest. Interest on balances maintained at Federal Reserve Banks by or on behalf of an eligible institution is established as set forth in paragraphs (b)(1) through (4) of this section. The rates for IORR and IOER are set forth in paragraph (b)(5) of this section.
(1) For institutions that maintain balances that are, on average over the maintenance period, in excess of the top of the penalty-free band, interest is:
(i) The amount equal to the average IORR rate over the maintenance period multiplied by the average balance up to the top of the penalty-free band maintained over the maintenance period; plus
(ii)(A) The amount equal to the IOER rate in effect each day multiplied by the total balances maintained on that day for each day of the maintenance period; minus
(B) The amount equal to the average IOER rate over the maintenance period multiplied by the average balance up to the top of the penalty-free band maintained over the maintenance period.
(2) The interest amount under paragraph (b)(1) of this section shall not be less than an amount equal to the amount specified in paragraph (b)(1)(i) of this section.
(3) For institutions that maintain balances that are, on average over the maintenance period, equal to or lower than the top of the penalty-free band, interest is the amount equal to the average IORR rate over the maintenance period multiplied by the average balance maintained over the maintenance period.
(4) For term deposits, interest is:
(i) The amount equal to the principal amount of the term deposit multiplied by a rate specified in advance by the Board, in light of existing short-term market rates, to maintain the federal funds rate at a level consistent with monetary policy objectives; or
(ii) The amount equal to the principal amount of the term deposit multiplied by a rate determined by the auction through which such term deposits are offered.
(5) The rates for IORR and IOER are:
Table 1 to Paragraph (b)(5)
IORR 0.10
IOER 0.10
(c) Pass-through balances. A pass-through correspondent that is an eligible institution may pass back to its respondent interest paid on balances maintained to satisfy a reserve balance requirement of that respondent. In the case of balances maintained by a pass-through correspondent that is not an eligible institution, a Reserve Bank may pay interest only on the balances maintained to satisfy a reserve balance requirement of one or more respondents up to the top of the penalty-free band, and the correspondent shall pass back to its respondents interest paid on balances in the correspondent's account.
(d) Excess balance accounts. (1) A Reserve Bank may establish an excess balance account for eligible institutions under the provisions of this paragraph (d). Notwithstanding any other provisions of this part, the excess balances of eligible institutions in an excess balance account represent a liability of the Reserve Bank solely to those participating eligible institutions.
(2) The participating eligible institutions in an excess balance account shall authorize another institution to act as agent of the participating institutions for purposes of general account management, including but not limited to transferring the excess balances of participating institutions in and out of the excess balance account. An excess balance account must be established at the Reserve Bank where the agent maintains its master account, unless otherwise determined by the Board. The agent may not commingle its own funds in the excess balance account.
(3) Balances maintained in an excess balance account will not satisfy any institution's reserve balance requirement.
(4) An excess balance account must be used exclusively for the purpose of maintaining the excess balances of participants and may not be used for general payments or other activities.
(5) Interest on balances of eligible institutions maintained in an excess balance account is the amount equal to the IOER rate in effect each day multiplied by the total balances maintained on that day for each day of the maintenance period.
(6) A Reserve Bank may establish additional terms and conditions consistent with this part with respect to the operation of an excess balance account, including, but not limited to, terms of and fees for services, conditions under which an institution may act as agent for an account, restrictions on the agent with respect to account management, penalties for noncompliance with this section or any terms and conditions, and account termination.
(e) Term deposits. (1) A Federal Reserve Bank may accept term deposits from eligible institutions under the provisions of this paragraph (e) subject to such terms and conditions as the Board may establish from time to time, including but not limited to conditions regarding the maturity of the term deposits being offered, maximum and minimum amounts that may be maintained by an eligible institution in a term deposit, the interest rate or rates offered, early withdrawal of term deposits, pledging term deposits as collateral and, if term deposits are offered through an auction mechanism, the size of the offering, maximum and minimum bid amounts, and other relevant terms.
(2) A term deposit will not satisfy any institution's reserve balance requirement.
(3) A term deposit may not be used for general payments or settlement activities.
(f) Procedure for determination of rates. The Board anticipates that notice and public participation with respect to changes in the rate or rates of interest to be paid under this section will generally be impracticable, unnecessary, contrary to the public interest, or otherwise not required in the public interest, and that there will generally be reason and good cause in the public interest why the effective date should not be deferred for 30 days. The reason or reasons in such cases are generally expected to include that such notice, public participation, or deferment of effective date would prevent the action from becoming effective as promptly as necessary in the public interest, would permit speculators or others to reap unfair profits or to interfere with the Board's actions taken with a view to accommodating commerce and business and with regard to their bearing upon the general credit situation of the country, would provoke other consequences contrary to the public interest, would not aid the persons affected, or would otherwise serve no useful purpose.
[Reg. D, 74 FR 25629, May 29, 2009, as amended at 75 FR 24389, May 5, 2010; 76 FR 42019, July 18, 2011; 77 FR 21854, Apr. 12, 2012; 80 FR 35567, June 22, 2015; 80 FR 79461, Dec. 22, 2015; 82 FR 7637, Jan. 23, 2017; 82 FR 18217, Apr. 18, 2017; 82 FR 28758, June 26, 2017; 82 FR 60283, Dec. 20, 2017; 83 FR 13105, Mar. 27, 2018; 83 FR 28528, June 20, 2018; 83 FR 49475, Oct. 10, 2018; 84 FR 513, Jan. 31, 2019; 84 FR 20542, May 10, 2019; 84 FR 39725, Aug. 12, 2019; 84 FR 52754, Oct. 3, 2019; 84 FR 59926, Nov. 7, 2019; 85 FR 7856, Feb. 12, 2020; 85 FR 13725, Mar. 10, 2020; 85 FR 16528, Mar. 24, 2020]
(a)(1) The Federal Reserve Act, as amended by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (title I of Pub. L. 96-221), imposes Federal reserve requirements on depository institutions that maintain transaction accounts or nonpersonal time deposits. Under section 19(b)(9), however, a depository institution is not required to maintain reserves if it:
(i) Is organized solely to do business with other financial institutions;
(ii) Is owned primarily by the financial institutions with which it does business; and
(iii) Does not do business with the general public.
Depository institutions that satisfy all of these requirements are regarded as bankers' banks.
(2) In its application of these requirements to specific institutions, the Board will use the following standards:
(i) A depository institution may be regarded as organized solely to do business with other depository institutions even if, as an incidental part to its activities, it does business to a limited extent with entities other than depository institutions. The extent to which the institution may do business with other entities and continue to be regarded as a bankers' bank is specified in paragraph (a)(2)(iii) of this section.
(ii) A depository institution will be regarded as being owned primarily by the institutions with which it does business if 75 per cent or more of its capital is owned by other depository institutions. The 75 per cent or more ownership rule applies regardless of the type of depository institution.
(iii) A depository institution will not be regarded as doing business with the general public if it meets two conditions. First, the range of customers with which the institution does business must be limited to depository institutions, including subsidiaries or organizations owned by depository institutions; directors, officers or employees of the same or other depository institutions; individuals whose accounts are acquired at the request of the institution's supervisory authority due to the actual or impending failure of another depository institution; share insurance funds; depository institution trade associations; and such others as the Board may determine on a case-by-case basis consistent with the purposes of the Act and the bankers' bank exemption. Second, the extent to which the depository institution makes loans to, or investments in, the above entities (other than depository institutions) cannot exceed 10 per cent of total assets, and the extent to which it receives deposits (or shares if the institution does not receive deposits) from or issues other liabilities to the above entities (other than depository institutions) cannot exceed 10 per cent of total liabilities (or net worth if the institution does not receive deposits).
If a depository institution is unable to meet all of these requirements on a continuing basis, it will not be regarded as a bankers' bank and will be required to satisfy Federal reserve requirements on all of its transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits.
(b) (1) Section 19(c)(1) of the Federal Reserve Act, as amended by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (title I of Pub. L. 96-221) provides that Federal reserve requirements may be satisfied by the maintenance of vault cash or balances in a Federal Reserve Bank. Depository institutions that are not members of the Federal Reserve System may also satisfy reserve requirements by maintaining a balance in another depository institution that maintains required reserve balances at a Federal Reserve Bank, in a Federal Home Loan Bank, or in the National Credit Union Administration Central Liquidity Facility if the balances maintained by such institutions are subsequently passed through to the Federal Reserve Bank.
(2) On August 27, 1980, the Board announced the procedures that will apply to such pass-through arrangements (45 FR 58099). Section 204.3(i)(1) provides that the Board may permit, on a case-by-case basis, depository institutions that are not themselves required to maintain reserves (bankers' banks) to act as pass-through correspondents if certain criteria are satisfied. The Board has determined that a bankers' bank may act as a pass-through correspondent if it enters into an agreement with the Federal Reserve to accept responsibility for the maintenance of pass-through reserve accounts in accordance with Regulation D (12 CFR 204.3(i)) and if the Federal Reserve is satisfied that the quality of management and financial resources of the institution are adequate in order to enable the institution to serve as a pass-through correspondent in accordance with Regulation D. Satisfaction of these criteria will assure that pass-through arrangements are maintained properly without additional financial risk to the Federal Reserve.
(3) In order to determine uniformly the adequacy of managerial and financial resources, the Board will consult with the Federal supervisor for the type of institution under consideration. Because the Board does not possess direct experience with supervising depository institutions other than commerical banks, and does not intend to involve itself in the direct supervision of such institutions, it will request the National Credit Union Administration to review requests from credit unions that qualify as bankers' banks and the Federal Home Loan Bank Board to review requests from savings and loan associations that qualify as bankers' banks, regardless of charter or insurance status. (The Board, itself, will consider requests from all commercial banks that qualify as bankers' banks.) If the Federal supervisor does not find the institution's managerial or financial resources to be adequate, the Board will not permit the institution to act as a pass-through correspondent. In order to assure the continued adequacy of managerial and financial resources, it is anticipated that the appropriate Federal supervisor will, on a periodic basis, review and evaluate the managerial and financial resources of the institution in order to determine whether it should continue to be permitted to act as a pass-through correspondent. It is anticipated that, with respect to state chartered institutions, the Federal supervisor may discuss the request with the institute State supervisor. The Board believes that this procedure will promote uniformity of treatment for all types of bankers' banks, and provide consistent advice concerning managerial ability and financial strength from supervisory authorities that are in a better position to evaluate these criteria for depository institutions that are not commercial banks.
(4) Requests for a determination as to whether a depository institution will be regarded as a bankers' bank for purposes of the Federal Reserve Act or for permission to act as a pass-through correspondent may be addressed to the Federal Reserve Bank in whose District the main office of the depository institution is located or to the Secretary, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, Washington, DC 20551. The Board will act promptly on all requests received directly or through Federal Reserve Banks.
[45 FR 69879, Oct. 22, 1980, as amended by Reg. D, 72 FR 16990, Apr. 6, 2007]
(a) Questions have been raised concerning the extent to which international banking facilities may purchase (or sell) IBF-eligible assets such as loans (including loan participations), securities, CDs, and bankers' acceptances from (or to) third parties. Under the Board's regulations, as specified in §204.8 of Regulation D, IBFs are limited, with respect to making loans and accepting deposits, to dealing only with certain customers, such as other IBFs and foreign offices of other organizations, and with the entity establishing the IBF. In addition, an IBF may extend credit to a nonbank customer only to finance the borrower's non-U.S. operations and may accept deposits from a nonbank customer that are used only to support the depositor's non-U.S. business.
(b) Consistent with the Board's intent, IBFs may purchase IBF-eligible assets1 from, or sell such assets to, any domestic or foreign customer provided that the transactions are at arm's length without recourse. However, an IBF of a U.S. depository institution may not purchase assets from, or sell such assets to, any U.S. affiliate of the institution establishing the IBF; an IBF of an Edge or Agreement corporation may not purchase assets from, or sell assets to, any U.S. affiliate of the Edge or Agreement corporation or to U.S. branches of the Edge or Agreement corporation or to U.S. branches of the Edge or Agreement corporation other than the branch2 establishing the IBF; and an IBF of a U.S. branch or agency of a foreign bank may not purchase assets from, or sell assets to any U.S. affiliates of the foreign bank or to any other U.S. branch or agency of the same foreign bank.2 (This would not prevent an IBF from purchasing (or selling) assets directly from (or to) any IBF, including an IBF of an affiliate, or to the institution establishing the IBF; such purchases from the institution establishing the IBF would continue to be subject to Eurocurrency reserve requirements except during the initial four-week transition period.) Since repurchase agreements are regarded as loans, transactions involving repurchase agreements are permitted only with customers who are otherwise eligible to deal with IBFs, as specified in Regulation D.
1In order for an asset to be eligible to be held by an IBF, the obligor or issuer of the instrument, or in the case of bankers' acceptances, the customer and any endorser or acceptor, must be an IBF-eligible customer.
2Branches of Edge or Agreement corporations and agencies and branches of foreign banks that file a consolidated report for reserve requirements purposes (FR 2900) are considered to be the establishing entity of an IBF.
(c) In the case of purchases of assets, in order to determine that the Board's use-of-proceeds requirement has been met, it is necessary for the IBF (1) to ascertain that the applicable IBF notices and acknowledgments have been provided, or (2) in the case of loans or securities, to review the documentation underlying the loan or security, or accompanying the security (e.g., the prospectus or offering statement), to determine that the proceeds are being used only to finance the obligor's operations outside the U.S., or (3) in the case of loans, to obtain a statement from either the seller or borrower that the proceeds are being used only to finance operations outside the U.S., or in the case of securities, to obtain such a statement from the obligor, or (4) in the case of bankers' acceptances, to review the underlying documentation to determine that the proceeds are being used only to finance the parties' operations outside the United States.
(d) Under the Board's regulations, IBFs are not permitted to issue negotiable Euro-CDs, bankers' acceptances, or similar instruments. Accordingly, consistent with the Board's intent in this area, IBFs may sell such instruments issued by third parties that qualify as IBF-eligible assets provided that the IBF, its establishing institution and any affiliate of the institution establishing the IBF do not endorse, accept, or otherwise guarantee the instrument.
[46 FR 62812, Dec. 29, 1981, as amended at 52 FR 47694, Dec. 16, 1987]
(a) The Federal Reserve Act, as amended by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (Title I of Pub. L. 96-221) imposes Federal Reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonnel time deposits held by depository institutions. The Board is empowered under the Act to determine what types of obligations shall be deemed a deposit. Regulation D—Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions exempts from the definition of deposit those obligations of a depository institution that are issued or undertaken and held for the account of a domestic office of another depository institution (12 CFR 204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A)(1)). These exemptions from the definition of deposit are known collectively as the Federal funds or interbank exemption.
(b) Title IV of the Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 authorizes Federal savings and loan associations to invest in open-ended management investment companies provided the funds' investment portfolios are limited to the types of investments that a Federal savings and loan association could hold without limit as to percentage of assets (12 U.S.C. 1464(c)(1)(Q)). Such investments include mortgages, U.S. Government and agency securities, securities of states and political subdivisions, sales of Federal funds and deposits held at banks insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The Federal Credit Union Act authorizes Federal credit unions to aggregate their funds in trusts provided the trust is limited to such investments that Federal credit unions could otherwise make. Such investments include loans to credit union members, obligations of the U.S. government or secured by the U.S. government, loans to other credit unions, shares or accounts held at savings and loan associations or mutual savings banks insured by FSLIC or FDIC, sales of Federal funds and shares of any central credit union whose investments are specifically authorized by the board of directors of the Federal credit union making the investment (12 U.S.C. 1757(7)).
(c) The Board has considered whether an investment company or trust whose entire beneficial interest is held by depository institutions, as defined in Regulation D, would be eligible for the Federal funds exemption from Reserve requirements and interest rate limitations. The Board has determined that such investment companies or trusts are eligible to participate in the Federal funds market because, in effect, they act as mere conduits for the holders of their beneficial interest. To be regarded by the Board as acting as a conduit and, thus, be eligible for participation in the Federal funds market, an investment company or trust must meet each of the following conditions:
(1) The entire beneficial interest in the investment company or trust must be held by depository institutions, as defined in Regulation D. These institutions presently may participate directly in the Federal funds market. If the entire beneficial interest in the investment company or trust is held only by depository institutions, the Board will regard the investment company or trust as a mere conduit for the holders of its beneficial interest.
(2) The assets of the investment company or trust must be limited to investments that all of the holders of the beneficial interest could make directly without limit.
(3) Holders of the beneficial interest in the investment company or trust must not be allowed to make third party payments from their accounts with the investment company or trust. The Board does not regard an investment company or trust that offers third party payment capabilities or other similar services which actively transform the nature of the funds passing between the holders of the beneficial interest and the Federal funds market as mere conduits.
The Board expects that the above conditions will be included in materials filed by an investment company or trust with the appropriate regulatory agencies.
(d) The Board believes that permitting sales of Federal funds by investment companies or trusts whose beneficial interests are held exclusively by depository institutions, that invest solely in assets that the holders of their beneficial interests can otherwise invest in without limit, and do not provide third party payment capabilities offer the potential for an increased yield for thrifts. This is consistent with Congressional intent to provide thrifts with convenient liquidity vehicles.
[47 FR 8987, Mar. 3, 1982, as amended at 52 FR 47695, Dec. 16, 1987]
(a) The Federal Reserve Act, as amended by the Monetary Control Act of 1980 (title I of Pub. L. 96-221) imposes Federal reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits held by depository institutions. The Board is empowered under the Act to determine what types of obligations shall be deemed a deposit (12 U.S.C. 461). Regulation D—Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions exempts from the definition of deposit those obligations of a depository institution that arise from a transfer of direct obligations of, or obligations that are fully guaranteed as to principal and interest by, the United States government or any agency thereof that the depository institution is obligated to repurchase (12 CFR 204.2(a)(1)(vii)(B)).
(b) The National Bank Act provides that a national bank may purchase for its own account investment securities under limitations and restrictions as the Comptroller may prescribe (12 U.S.C. 24, ¶7). The statute defines investment securities to mean marketable obligations evidencing indebtedness of any person in the form of bonds, notes, and debentures. The Act further limits a national bank's holdings of any one security to no more than an amount equal to 10 percent of the bank's capital stock and surplus. However, these limitations do not apply to obligations issued by the United States, general obligations of any state and certain obligations of Federal agencies. In addition, generally a national bank is not permitted to purchase for its own account stock of any corporation. These restrictions also apply to state member banks (12 U.S.C. 335).
(c) The Comptroller of the Currency has permitted national banks to purchase for their own accounts shares of open-end investment companies that are purchased and sold at par (i.e., money market mutual funds) provided the portfolios of such companies consist solely of securities that a national bank may purchase directly (Banking Bulletin B-83-58). The Board of Governors has permitted state member banks to purchase, to the extent permitted under applicable state law, shares of money market mutual funds (MMMF) whose portfolios consist solely of securities that the state member bank may purchase directly (12 CFR 208.123).
(d) The Board has determined that an obligation arising from a repurchase agreement involving shares of a MMMF whose portfolio consists wholly of securities of the United States government or any agency thereof1 would not be a deposit for purposes of Regulations D and Q. The Board believes that a repurchase agreement involving shares of such a MMMF is the functional equivalent of a repurchase agreement directly involving United States government or agency obligations. A purchaser of shares of a MMMF obtains an interest in a pro rata portion of the assets that comprise the MMMF's portfolio. Accordingly, regardless of whether the repurchase agreement involves United States government or agency obligations directly or shares in a MMMF whose portfolio consists entirely of United States government or agency obligations, an equitable and undivided interest in United States and agency government obligations is being transferred. Moreover, the Board believes that this interpretation will further the purpose of the exemption in Regulations D and Q for repurchase agreements involving United States government or Federal obligations by enhancing the market for such obligations.
1The term United States government or any agency thereof as used herein shall have the same meaning as in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(B) of Regulation D, 12 CFR 204.2(a)(1)(vii)(B).
[50 FR 13011, Apr. 2, 1985, as amended at 52 FR 47695, Dec. 16, 1987]
The entities referred to in §§204.2(c)(1)(iv)(E) and 204.8(a)(2)(i)(B)(5) are:
Andean Development Corporation.
Andean Subregional Group.
Caribbean Development Bank.
Caribbean Regional Development Agency.
The Central American Institute for Industrial Research and Technology.
Central American Monetary Stabilization Fund.
East Caribbean Common Market.
Latin American Free Trade Association.
Organization for Central American States.
Permanent Secretariat of the Central American General Treaty of Economic Integration.
River Plate Basin Commission.
Banque Centrale des Etats de l'Afrique Equatorial et du Cameroun.
Banque Centrale des Etats d'Afrique del'Ouest.
Conseil de l'Entente.
Organisation Commune Africaine et Malagache.
Union des Etats de l'Afrique Centrale.
Union Douaniere et Economique de l'Afrique Centrale.
Union Douaniere des Etats de l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
Asia and Pacific Council.
Korea Exchange Bank.
Regional Cooperation for Development.
[Reg. D, 52 FR 47695, Dec. 16, 1987, as amended at 56 FR 15495, Apr. 17, 1991; 65 FR 12917, Mar. 10, 2000]
(a) Under §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A), there is an exemption from Regulation D for member bank obligations in nondeposit form to another bank. To assure the effectiveness of the limitations on persons who sell Federal funds to depository institutions, Regulation D applies to nondocumentary obligations undertaken by a depository institution to obtain funds for use in its banking business, as well as to documentary obligations. Under §204.2(a)(1)(vii) of Regulation D, a depository institution's liability under informal arrangements as well as those formally embodied in a document are within the coverage of Regulation D.
(b) The exemption in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A) applies to obligations owed by a depository institution to a domestic office of any entity listed in that section (the exempt institutions). The exempt institutions explicitly include another depository institution, foreign bank, Edge or agreement corporation, New York Investment (article XII) Company, the Export-Import Bank of the United States, Minbanc Capital Corp., and certain other credit sources. The term exempt institutions also includes subsidiaries of depository institutions:
(1) That engage in businesses in which their parents are authorized to engage; or
(2) The stock of which by statute is explicitly eligible for purchase by national banks.
(c) To assure that this exemption for liabilities to exempt institutions is not used as a means by which nondepository institutions may arrange through an exempt institution to sell Federal funds to a depository institution, obligations within the exemption must be issued to an exempt institution for its own account. In view of this requirement, a depository institution that purchases Federal funds should ascertain the character (not necessarily the identity) of the actual seller in order to justify classification of its liability on the transaction as Federal funds purchased rather than as a deposit. Any exempt institution that has given general assurance to the purchasing depository institution that sales by it of Federal funds ordinarily will be for its own account and thereafter executes such transactions for the account of others, should disclose the nature of the actual lender with respect to each such transaction. If it fails to do so, the depository institution would be deemed by the Board as indirectly violating section 19 of the Federal Reserve Act and Regulation D.
[52 FR 47695, Dec. 16, 1987]
(a) The Board has considered whether the use of interdepository institution loan participations (IDLPs) which involve participation by third parties other than depository institutions in Federal funds transactions, comes within the exemption from deposit classification for certain obligations owed by a depository institution to an institution exempt in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A) of Regulation D. An IDLP transaction is one through which an institution that has sold Federal funds to a depository institution, subsequently sells or participates out that obligation to a nondepository third party without notifying the obligated institution.
(b) The Board's interpretation regarding Federal funds transactions (12 CFR 204.126) clarified that a depository institutions's liability must be issued to an exempt institution described in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A) of Regulation D for its own account in order to come within the nondeposit exemption for interdepository liabilities. The Board regards transactions which result in third parties gaining access to the Federal funds market as contrary to the exemption contained in §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A) of Regulation D regardless of whether the nondepository institution third party is a party to the initial transaction or thereafter becomes a participant in the transaction through purchase of all or part of the obligation held by the selling depository institution.
(c) The Board regards the notice requirements set out in 12 CFR 204.126 as applicable to IDLP-type transactions as described herein so that a depository institution selling Federal funds must provide to the purchaser—
(1) Notice of its intention, at the time of the initial transaction, to sell or participate out its loan contract to a nondepository third party, and
(2) Full and prompt notice whenever it (the selling depository institution) subsequently sells or participates out its loan contract to a non-depository third party.
(a) In accepting deposits at branches abroad, some depository institutions may enter into agreements from time to time with depositors that in effect guarantee payment of such deposits in the United States if the foreign branch is precluded from making payment. The question has arisen whether such deposits are subject to Regulation D, and this interpretation is intended as clarification.
(b) Section 19 of the Federal Reserve Act which establishes reserve requirements does not apply to deposits of a depository institution “payable only at an office thereof located outside of the States of the United States and the District of Columbia” (12 U.S.C. 371a; 12 CFR 204.1(c)(5)). The Board rule in 1918 that the requirements of section 19 as to reserves to be carried by member banks do not apply to foreign branches (1918 Fed. Res. Bull. 1123). The Board has also defined the phrase Any deposit that is payable only at an office located outside the United States, in §204.2(t) of Regulation D, 12 CFR 204.2(t).
(c) The Board believes that this exemption from reserve requirements should be limited to deposits in foreign branches as to which the depositor is entitled, under his agreement with the depository institution, to demand payment only outside the United States, regardless of special circumstances. The exemption is intended principally to enable foreign branches of U.S. depository institutions to compete on a more nearly equal basis with banks in foreign countries in accordance with the laws and regulations of those countries. A customer who makes a deposit that is payable solely at a foreign branch of the depository institution assumes whatever risk may exist that the foreign country in which a branch is located might impose restrictions on withdrawals. When payment of a deposit in a foreign branch is guaranteed by a promise of payment at an office in the United States if not paid at the foreign office, the depositor no longer assumes this risk but enjoys substantially the same rights as if the deposit had been made in a U.S. office of the depository institution. To assure the effectiveness of Regulation D and to prevent evasions thereof, the Board considers that such guaranteed foreign-branch deposits must be subject to that regulation.
(d) Accordingly, a deposit in a foreign branch of a depository institution that is guaranteed by a domestic office is subject to the reserve requirements of Regulation D the same as if the deposit had been made in the domestic office. This interpretation is not designed in any respect to prevent the head office of a U.S. bank from repaying borrowings from, making advances to, or supplying capital funds to its foreign branches, subject to Eurocurrency liability reserve requirements.
[52 FR 47696, Dec. 16, 1987]
(a) Summary. In response to many requests for rulings, the Board has determined to clarify the types of entities that may maintain NOW accounts at member banks.
(b) Individuals. (1) Any individual may maintain a NOW account regardless of the purposes that the funds will serve. Thus, deposits of an individual used in his or her business including a sole proprietor or an individual doing business under a trade name is eligible to maintain a NOW account in the individual's name or in the “DBA” name. However, other entities organized or operated to make a profit such as corporations, partnerships, associations, business trusts, or other organizations may not maintain NOW accounts.
(2) Pension funds, escrow accounts, security deposits, and other funds held under various agency agreements may also be classified as NOW accounts if the entire beneficial interest is held by individuals or other entities eligible to maintain NOW accounts directly. The Board believes that these accounts are similar in nature to trust accounts and should be accorded identical treatment. Therefore, such funds may be regarded as eligible for classification as NOW accounts.
(c) Nonprofit organizations. (1) A nonprofit organization that is operated primarily for religious, philanthropic, charitable, educational, political or other similar purposes may maintain a NOW account. The Board regards the following kinds of organizations as eligible for NOW accounts under this standard if they are not operated for profit:
(i) Organizations described in section 501(c)(3) through (13), and (19) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 501(c)(3) through (13) and (19));
(ii) Political organizations described in section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 527); and
(iii) Homeowners and condominium owners associations described in section 528 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 528), including housing cooperative associations that perform similar functions.
(2) All organizations that are operated for profit are not eligible to maintain NOW accounts at depository institutions.
(3) The following types of organizations described in the cited provisions of the Internal Revenue Code are among those not eligible to maintain NOW accounts:
(i) Credit unions and other mutual depository institutions described in section 501(c)(14) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 501(c)(14));
(ii) Mutual insurance companies described in section 501(c)(15) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 501(c)(15));
(iii) Crop financing organizations described in section 501(c)(16) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 501(c)(16));
(iv) Organizations created to function as part of a qualified group legal services plan described in section 501(c)(20) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 501(c)(20)); or
(v) Farmers' cooperatives described in section 521 of the Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C. (I.R.C. 1954) section 521).
(d) Governmental units. Governmental units are generally eligible to maintain NOW accounts at member banks. NOW accounts may consist of funds in which the entire beneficial interest is held by the United States, any State of the United States, county, municipality, or political subdivision thereof, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, any territory or possession of the United States, or any political subdivision thereof.
(e) Funds held by a fiduciary. Under current provisions, funds held in a fiduciary capacity (either by an individual fiduciary or by a corporate fiduciary such as a bank trust department or a trustee in bankruptcy), including those awaiting distribution or investment, may be held in the form of NOW accounts if all of the beneficiaries are otherwise eligible to maintain NOW accounts. The Board believes that such a classification should continue since fiduciaries are required to invest even temporarily idle balances to the greatest extent feasible in order to responsibly carry out their fiduciary duties. The availability of NOW accounts provides a convenient vehicle for providing a short-term return on temporarily idle trust funds of beneficiaries eligible to maintain accounts in their own names.
(f) Grandfather provision. In order to avoid unduly disrupting account relationships, a NOW account established at a member bank on or before August 31, 1981, that represents funds of a nonqualifying entity that previously qualified to maintain a NOW account may continue to be maintained in a NOW account.
[52 FR 47697, Dec. 16, 1987]
(a) Background. In 1982, the Board issued an interpretation concerning the effect of a member bank's purchase of its own time deposits in the secondary market in order to ensure compliance with regulatory restrictions on the payment of interest on time deposits, with the prohibition against payment of interest on demand deposits, and with regulatory requirements designed to distinguish between time deposits and demand deposits for federal reserve requirement purposes (47 FR 37878, Aug. 27, 1982). The interpretation was designed to ensure that the regulatory early withdrawal penalties in Regulation Q used to achieve these three purposes were not evaded through the purchase by a member bank or its affiliate of a time deposit of the member bank prior to the maturity of the deposit.
(b) Because the expiration of the Depository Institutions Deregulation Act (title II of Pub. L. 96-221) on April 1, 1986, removed the authority to set interest rate ceilings on deposits, one of the purposes for adopting the interpretation was eliminated. The removal of the authority to set interest rate ceilings on deposits required the Board to revise the early withdrawal penalties which were also used to distinguish between types of deposits for reserve requirement purposes. Effective April 1, 1986, the Board amended its Regulation D to incorporate early withdrawal penalties applicable to all depository institutions for this purpose (51 FR 9629, Mar. 20, 1986). Although the new early withdrawal penalties differ from the penalties used to enforce interest rate ceilings, secondary market purchases still effectively shorten the maturities of deposits and may be used to evade reserve requirements. This interpretation replaces the prior interpretation and states the application of the new early withdrawal penalties to purchases by depository institutions and their affiliates of the depository institution's time deposits. The interpretation applies only to situations in which the Board's regulatory penalties apply.
(c) Secondary market purchases under the rule. The Board has determined that a depository institution purchasing a time deposit it has issued should be regarded as having paid the time deposit prior to maturity. The effect of the transaction is that the depository institution has cancelled a liability as opposed to having acquired an asset for its portfolio. Thus, the depository institution is required to impose any early withdrawal penalty required by Regulation D on the party from whom it purchases the instrument by deducting the amount of the penalty from the purchase price. The Board recognizes, however, that secondary market sales of time deposits are often done without regard to the identity of the original owner of the deposit. Such sales typically involve a pool of time deposits with the price based on the aggregate face value and average rate of return on the deposits. A depository institution purchasing time deposits from persons other than the person to whom the deposit was originally issued should be aware of the parties named on each of the deposits it is purchasing but through failure to inspect the deposits prior to the purchase may not be aware at the time it purchases a pool of time deposits that it originally issued one or more of the deposits in the pool. In such cases, if a purchasing depository institution does not wish to assess an applicable early withdrawal penalty, the deposit may be sold immediately in the secondary market as an alternative to imposing the early withdrawal penalty.
(d) Purchases by affiliates. On a consolidated basis, if an affiliate (as defined in §204.2(q) of Regulation D) of a depository institution purchases a CD issued by the depository institution, the purchase does not reduce their consolidated liabilities and could be accomplished primarily to assist the depository institution in avoiding the requirements of the Board's Regulation D. Because the effect of the early withdrawal penalty rule could be easily circumvented by purchases of time deposits by affiliates, such purchases are also regarded as an early withdrawals of the time deposit, and the purchase should be treated as if the depository institution made the purchase directly. Thus, the regulatory requirements for early withdrawal penalties apply to affiliates of a depository institution as well as to the institution itself.
(e) Depository institution acting as broker. The Board believes that it is permissible for a depository institution to facilitate the secondary market for its own time deposits by finding a purchaser for a time deposit that a customer is trying to sell. In such instances, the depository institution will not be paying out any of its own funds, and the depositor does not have a guarantee that the depository institution will actually be able to find a buyer.
(f) Third-party market-makers. A depository institution may also establish and advertise arrangements whereby an unaffiliated third party agrees in advance to purchase time deposits issued by the institution. The Board would not regard these transactions as inconsistent with the purposes that the early withdrawal penalty is intended to serve unless a depository institution pays a fee to the third party purchaser as compensation for making the purchases or to remove the risk from purchasing the deposits. In this regard, any interim financing provided to such a third party by a depository institution in connection with the institution's secondary market activity involving the institution's time deposits must be made substantially on the same terms, including interest rates and collateral, as those prevailing at the same time for comparable transactions with other similarly situated persons and may not involve more than the normal risk of repayment.
(g) Reciprocal arrangements. Finally, while a depository institution may enter into an arrangement with an unaffiliated third party wherein the third party agrees to stand ready to purchase time deposits held by the depository institution's customers, the Board will regard a reciprocal arrangement with another depository institution for purchase of each other's time deposits as a circumvention of the early withdrawal penalty rule and the purposes it is designed to serve.
(a) Effective March 31, 1988, the glossary section of the instructions for the Report of Condition and Income (FFIEC 031-034; OMB control number 7100-0036; available from a depository institution's primary federal regulator) (Call Report) was amended to clarify that certain short-term loan participation arrangements (sometimes known or styled as loan strips or strip participations) are regarded as borrowings rather than sales for Call Report purposes in certain circumstances. Through this interpretation, the Board is clarifying that such transactions should be treated as deposits for purposes of Regulation D.
(b) These transactions involve the sale (or placement) of a short-term loan by a depository institution that has been made under a long-term commitment of the depository institution to advance funds. For example, a 90-day loan made under a five-year revolving line of credit may be sold to or placed with a third party by the depository institution originating the loan. The depository institution originating the loan is obligated to renew the 90-day note itself (by advancing funds to its customer at the end of the 90-day period) in the event the original participant does not wish to renew the credit. Since, under these arrangements, the depository institution is obligated to make another loan at the end of 90 days (absent any event of default on the part of the borrower), the depository institution selling the loan or participation in effect must buy back the loan or participation at the maturity of the 90-day loan sold to or funded by the purchaser at the option of the purchaser. Accordingly, these transactions bear the essential characteristics of a repurchase agreement and, therefore, are reportable and reservable under Regulation D.
(c) Because many of these transactions give rise to deposit liabilities in the form of promissory notes, acknowledgments of advance or similar obligations (written or oral) as described in §204.2(a)(1)(vii) of Regulation D, the exemptions from the definition of deposit incorporated in that section may apply to the liability incurred by a depository institution when it offers or originates a loan strip facility. Thus, for example, loan strips sold to domestic offices of other depository institutions are exempt from Regulation D under §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A)(1) because they are obligations issued or undertaken and held for the account of a U.S. office of another depository institution. Similarly, some of these transactions result in Eurocurrency liabilities and are reportable and reservable as such.
[53 FR 24931, July 1, 1988]
(a) Authority. Under section 19(a) of the Federal Reserve Act, the Board is authorized to define the terms used in section 19, and to prescribe regulations to implement and prevent evasions of the requirements of that section. Section 19(b) establishes general reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits. Under section 19(b)(1)(F), the Board also is authorized to determine, by regulation or order, that an account or deposit is a transaction account if such account is used directly or indirectly for the purpose of making payments to third persons or others. This interpretation is adopted under these authorities.
(b) Background. Under Regulation D, 12 CFR 204.2(d)(2), the term “savings deposit” includes a deposit or an account that meets the requirements of §204.2(d)(1) and from which, under the terms of the deposit contract or by practice of the depository institution, the depositor is permitted or authorized to make up to six transfers or withdrawals per month or statement cycle of at least four weeks. The depository institution may authorize up to three of these six transfers to be made by check, draft, debit card, or similar order drawn by the depositor and payable to third parties. If more than six transfers (or more than three third party transfers by check, etc.) are permitted or authorized per month or statement cycle, the depository institution may not classify the account as a savings deposit. If the depositor, during the period, makes more than six transfers or withdrawals (or more than three third party transfers by check, etc.), the depository institution may, depending upon the facts and circumstances, be required by Regulation D (Footnote 5 at §204.2(d)(2)) to reclassify or close the account.
(c) Use of multiple savings deposits. Depository institutions have asked for guidance as to when a depositor may maintain more than one savings deposit and be permitted to make all the transfers or withdrawals authorized for savings deposits under Regulation D from each savings deposit. The Board has determined that, if a depository institution suggests or otherwise promotes the establishment of or operation of multiple savings accounts with transfer capabilities in order to permit transfers and withdrawals in excess of those permitted by Regulation D for an individual savings account, the accounts generally should be considered to be transaction accounts. This determination applies regardless of whether the deposits have entirely separate account numbers or are subsidiary accounts of a master deposit account. Multiple savings accounts, however, should not be considered to be transaction accounts if there is a legitimate purpose, other than increasing the number of transfers or withdrawals, for opening more than one savings deposit.
(d) Examples. The distinction between appropriate and inappropriate uses of multiple accounts is illustrated by the following examples:
Example 1. (i) X wishes to open an account that maximizes his interest earnings but also permits X to draw up to ten checks a month against the account. X's Bank suggests an arrangement under which X establishes four savings deposits at Bank. Under the arrangement, X deposits funds in the first account and then draws three checks against that account. X then instructs Bank to transfer all funds in excess of the amount of the three checks to the second account and draws an additional three checks. Funds are continually shifted between accounts when additional checks are drawn so that no more than three checks are drawn against each account each month.
(ii) Suggesting the use of four savings accounts in the name of X in this example is designed solely to permit the customer to exceed the transfer limitations on savings accounts. Accordingly, the savings accounts should be classified as transaction accounts.
Example 2. (i) X is trustee of separate trusts for each of his four children. X's Bank suggests that X, as trustee, open a savings deposit in a depository institution for each of his four children in order to ensure an independent accounting of the funds held by each trust.
(ii) X's Bank's suggestion to use four savings deposits in the name of X in this example is appropriate, and the third party transfers from one account should not be considered in determining whether the transfer and withdrawal limit was exceeded on any other account. X established a legitimate purpose, the segregation of the trust assets, for each account separate from the need to make third party transfers. Furthermore, there is no indication, such as by the direct or indirect transfer of funds from one account to another, that the accounts are being used for any purpose other than to make transfers to the appropriate trust.
Example 3. (i) X opens four savings accounts with Bank. X regularly draws up to three checks against each account and transfers funds between the accounts in order to ensure that the checks on the separate accounts are covered. X's Bank did not suggest or otherwise promote the arrangement.
(ii) X's Bank may treat the multiple accounts as savings deposits for Regulation D purposes, even if it discovers that X is using the accounts to increase the transfer limits applicable to savings accounts because X's Bank did not suggest or otherwise promote the establishment of or operation of the arrangement.
[57 FR 38427, Aug. 25, 1992]
(a) Authority. Under section 19(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(a)), the Board is authorized to define the terms used in section 19, and to prescribe regulations to implement and prevent evasions of the requirements of that section. Section 19(b)(2) establishes general reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits. Under section 19(b)(1)(F), the Board also is authorized to determine, by regulation or order, that an account or deposit is a transaction account if such account is used directly or indirectly for the purpose of making payments to third persons or others. This interpretation is adopted under these authorities.
(b) Linked time deposits and transaction accounts. Some depository institutions are offering or proposing to offer account arrangements under which a group of participating depositors maintain transaction accounts and time deposits with a depository institution in an arrangement under which each depositor may draw checks up to the aggregate amount held by that depositor in these accounts. Under this account arrangement, at the end of the day funds over a specified balance in each depositor's transaction account are swept from the transaction account into a commingled time deposit. A separate time deposit is opened on each business day with the balance of deposits received that day, as well as the proceeds of any time deposit that has matured that day that are not used to pay checks or withdrawals from the transaction accounts. The time deposits, which generally have maturities of seven days, are staggered so that one or more time deposits mature each business day. Funds are apportioned among the various time deposits in a manner calculated to minimize the possibility that the funds available on any given day would be insufficient to pay all items presented.
(1) The time deposits involved in such an arrangement may be held directly by the depositor or indirectly through a trust or other arrangement. The individual depositor's interest in time deposits may be identifiable, with an agreement by the depositors that balances held in the arrangement may be used to pay checks drawn by other depositors participating in the arrangement, or the depositor may have an undivided interest in a series of time deposits.
(2) Each day funds from the maturing time deposits are available to pay checks or other charges to the depositor's transaction account. The depository institution's decision concerning whether to pay checks drawn on an individual depositor's transaction account is based on the aggregate amount of funds that the depositor has invested in the arrangement, including any amount that may be invested in unmatured time deposits. Only if checks drawn by all participants in the arrangement exceed the total balance of funds available that day (i.e. funds from the time deposit that has matured that day as well as any deposits made to participating accounts during the day) is a time deposit withdrawn prior to maturity so as to incur an early withdrawal penalty. The arrangement may be marketed as providing the customer unlimited access to its funds with a high rate of interest.
(c) Determination. In these arrangements, the aggregate deposit balances of all participants generally vary by a comparatively small amount, allowing the time deposits maturing on any day safely to cover any charges to the depositors' transaction accounts and avoiding any early withdrawal penalties. Thus, this arrangement substitutes time deposit balances for transaction accounts balances with no practical restrictions on the depositors' access to their funds, and serves no business purpose other than to allow the payment of higher interest through the avoidance of reserve requirements. As the time deposits may be used to provide funds indirectly for the purposes of making payments or transfers to third persons, the Board has determined that the time deposits should be considered to be transaction accounts for the purposes of Regulation D.
[57 FR 38428, Aug. 25, 1992]
(a) Authority. Under section 19(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(a)) the Board is authorized to define terms used in section 19, and to prescribe regulations to implement and to prevent evasions of the requirements of that section. Section 19(b)(2) establishes general reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits. In addition to its authority to define terms under section 19(a), section 19(g) of the Federal Reserve Act also give the Board the specific authority to define terms relating to deductions allowed in reserve computation, including “balances due from other banks.” This interpretation is adopted under these authorities.
(b) Background. (1) Currently, the Board requires reserves of zero, three, or ten percent on transaction accounts, depending upon the amount of transaction deposits in the depository institution, and of zero percent on nonpersonal time deposits. In determining its reserve balance under Regulation D, a depository institution may deduct the balances it maintains in another depository institution located in the United States if those balances are subject to immediate withdrawal by the depositing depository institution (§204.3(f)). This deduction is commonly known as the “due from” deduction. In addition, Regulation D at §204.2(a)(1)(vii)(A) exempts from the definition of “deposit” any liability of a depository institution on a promissory note or similar obligation that is issued or undertaken and held for the account of an office located in the United States of another depository institution. Transactions falling within this exemption from the definition of “deposit” include federal funds or “fed funds” transactions.
(2) Under section 19(b)(2) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(2)), the Board is required to impose reserves of three percent on total transaction deposits at or below an amount determined under a formula. Transaction deposits falling within this amount are in the “low reserve tranche.” Currently the low reserve tranche runs up to $42.2 million. Under section 19(b)(11) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(b)(11)) the Board is also required to impose reserves of zero percent on reservable liabilities at or below an amount determined under a formula. Currently that amount is $3.6 million.
(c) Shifting funds between depository institutions. The Board is aware that certain depository institutions with transaction account balances in an amount greater than the low reserve tranche have entered into transactions with affiliated depository institutions that have transaction account balances below the maximum low reserve tranche amount. These transactions are intended to lower the transaction reserves of the larger depository institution and leave the economic position of the smaller depository institutions unaffected, and have no apparent purpose other than to reduce required reserves of the larger institution. The larger depository institution places funds in a demand deposit at a small domestic depository institution. The larger depository institution considers those funds to be subject to the “due from” deduction, and accordingly reduces its transaction reserves in the amount of the demand deposit. The larger depository institution then reduces its transaction account reserves by 10 percent of the deposited amount. The small depository institution, because it is within the low reserve tranche, must maintain transaction account reserves of 3 percent on the funds deposited by the larger depository institution. The small depository institution then transfers all but 3 percent of the funds deposited by the larger depository institution back to the larger depository institution in a transaction that qualifies as a “fed funds” transaction. The 3 percent not transferred to the larger depository institution is the amount of the larger depository institution's deposit that the small depository institution must maintain as transaction account reserves. Because the larger depository institution books this second part of the transaction as a “fed funds” transaction, the larger depository institution does not maintain reserves on the funds that it receives back from the small depository institution. As a consequence, the larger depository institution has available for its use 97 percent of the amount transferred to the small depository institution. Had the larger depository institution not entered into the transaction, it would have maintained transaction account reserves of 10 percent on that amount, and would have had only 90 percent of that amount for use in its business.
(d) Determination. The Board believes that the practice described above generally is a device to evade the reserves imposed by Regulation D. Consequently, the Board has determined that, in the circumstances described above, the larger depository institution depositing funds in the smaller institution may not take a “due from” deduction on account of the funds in the demand deposit account if, and to the extent that, funds flow back to the larger depository institution from the small depository institution by means of a transaction that is exempt from transaction account reserve requirements.
[57 FR 38429, Aug. 25, 1992]
(a) Authority. Under section 19(a) of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 461(a)), the Board is authorized to define the terms used in section 19, and to prescribe regulations to implement and prevent evasions of the requirements of that section. Section 19(b) establishes general reserve requirements on transaction accounts and nonpersonal time deposits. Under section 19(b)(1)(F), the Board also is authorized to determine, by regulation or order, that an account or deposit is a transaction account if such account is used directly or indirectly for the purpose of making payments to third persons or others. This interpretation is adopted under these authorities.
(b) Netting of trust account balances. (1) Not all depository institutions have treated overdrafts in trust accounts administered by a trust department in the same manner when calculating the balance in a commingled transaction account in the depository institution for the account of the trust department of the institution. In some cases, depository institutions carry the aggregate of the positive balances in the individual trust accounts as the balance on which reserves are computed for the commingled account. In other cases depository institutions net positive balances in some trust accounts against negative balances in other trust accounts, thus reducing the balance in the commingled account and lowering the reserve requirements. Except in limited circumstances, negative balances in individual trust accounts should not be netted against positive balances in other trust accounts when determining the balance in a trust department's commingled transaction account maintained in a depository institution's commercial department. The netting of positive and negative balances has the effect of reducing the aggregate of a commingled transaction account reported by the depository institution to the Federal Reserve and reduces the reserves the institution must hold against transaction accounts under Regulation D. Unless the governing trust agreement or state law authorizes the depository institution, as trustee, to lend money in one trust to another trust, the negative balances in effect, for purposes of Regulation D, represent a loan from the depository institution. Consequently, negative balances in individual trust accounts should not be netted against positive balances in other individual trust accounts, and the balance in any transaction account containing commingled trust balances should reflect positive or zero balances for each individual trust.
(2) For example, where a trust department engages in securities lending activities for trust accounts, overdrafts might occur because of the trust department's attempt to “normalize” the effects of timing delays between the depository institution's receipt of the cash collateral from the broker and the trust department's posting of the transaction to the lending trust account. When securities are lent from a trust customer to a broker that pledges cash as collateral, the broker usually transfers the cash collateral to the depository institution on the day that the securities are made available. While the institution has the use of the funds from the time of the transfer, the trust department's normal posting procedures may not reflect receipt of the cash collateral by the individual account until the next day. On the day that the loan is terminated, the broker returns the securities to the lending trust account and the trust customer's account is debited for the amount of the cash collateral that is returned by the depository institution to the broker. The trust department, however, often does not liquidate the investment made with the cash collateral until the day after the loan terminates, a delay that normally causes a one day overdraft in the trust account. Regulation D requires that, on the day the loan is terminated, the depository institution regard the negative balance in the customer's account as zero for reserve requirement reporting purposes and not net the overdraft against positive balances in other accounts.
(c) Procedures. In order to meet the requirements of Regulation D, a depository institution must have procedures to determine the aggregate of trust department transaction account balances for Regulation D on a daily basis. The procedures must consider only the positive balances in individual trust accounts without netting negative balances except in those limited circumstances where loans are legally permitted from one trust to another, or where offsetting is permitted pursuant to trust law or written agreement, or where the amount that caused the overdraft is still available in a settlement, suspense or other trust account within the trust department and may be used to offset the overdraft.