To All Depository Institutions and Others Concerned in the Second Federal Reserve District:
To accommodate interstate branching and the Fed's new account structure, the Federal Reserve will issue an entirely new set of operating circulars to depository institutions later this year. The new circulars are designed to simplify the application of each Reserve Bank's operating requirements and standardize service agreements with customers across the nation. They were prompted by recent changes affecting the banking industry, among them consolidation, technology, and interstate banking.
Currently in this District, there are 22 operating circulars. These will be replaced by 11 circulars that will be uniform among all 12 Federal Reserve Banks. Attached is the List of New Operating Circulars. The new circulars, which constitute contracts between depository institutions and the Federal Reserve Bank, will become effective on January 2, 1998.*
The new circulars also reflect the fact that many of the financial services offered by the Reserve Banks are now national in scope, with fewer District-unique services today than a few years ago. For the majority of institutions without interstate branches, the new circulars will not represent a significant change. In most cases, any existing agreements that you have executed with the Federal Reserve Bank of New York will still be valid. However, new agreements will need to be executed for the circulars on Account Relationships (No. 1) and Lending (No. 10) and submitted to this Bank no later than January 2, 1998.
The circulars will be accompanied by a summary of the changes contained in the new circulars and a list of contacts at this Bank who can respond to questions.
Apart from a reduction in the number of circulars, users will notice that some references to operating procedures, time schedules, deadlines, prices, and so forth, included in the current circulars have been eliminated. Procedural information regarding these details will be communicated to you separately.
If you have any questions about the new circulars, please contact Ed Rooney of our Public Information Department.
* The effective date of Circular No. 9 may be later than January 2, depending on the date the Treasury adopts some pending regulations. In addition, some provisions of Circular No. 6 will become effective December 8, 1997, in connection with expanded Fedwire funds transfer operating hours.
List of New Operating Circulars
Circular Number |
Title |
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. |
Account Relationships Cash Services Collection of Cash Items and Returned Checks Automated Clearing House Items Electronic Access Funds Transfer through Fedwire Book Entry Securities Account Maintenance and Transfer Services Collateral Federal Tax Payments and Treasury Tax and Loan Depositaries Lending Net Settlement Arrangements |