[Federal Register Volume 70, Number 78 (Monday, April 25, 2005)]
[Rules and Regulations]
[Pages 21132-21134]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 05-8152]


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FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

12 CFR Part 229

[Regulation CC; Docket No. R-1228]


Availability of Funds and Collection of Checks

AGENCY: Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System.

ACTION: Final rule; technical amendment.

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SUMMARY: The Board of Governors is amending appendix A of Regulation CC 
to delete the reference to the Salt Lake City branch office of the 
Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco and reassign the Federal Reserve 
routing symbols currently listed under that office to the Denver branch 
office of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City. These amendments 
will ensure that the information in appendix A accurately describes the 
actual structure of check processing operations within the Federal 
Reserve System.

DATES: The final rule will become effective on June 18, 2005.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Regulation CC establishes the maximum period 
a depositary bank may wait between receiving a deposit and making the 
deposited funds available for withdrawal.\1\ A depositary bank 
generally must provide faster availability for funds deposited by a 
local check than by a nonlocal check. A check drawn on a bank is 
considered local if it is payable by or at a bank located in the same 
Federal Reserve check processing region as the depositary bank. A check 
drawn on a nonbank is considered local if it is payable through a bank 
located in the same Federal Reserve check processing region as the 
depositary bank. Checks that do not meet the requirements for local 
checks are considered nonlocal.
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    \1\ For purposes of Regulation CC, the term ``bank'' refers to 
any depository institution, including commercial banks, savings 
institutions, and credit unions.
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    Appendix A to Regulation CC contains a routing number guide that 
assists banks in identifying local and nonlocal banks and thereby 
determining the maximum permissible hold periods

[[Page 21133]]

for most deposited checks. The appendix includes a list of each Federal 
Reserve check processing office and the first four digits of the 
routing number, known as the Federal Reserve routing symbol, of each 
bank that is served by that office for check processing purposes. Banks 
whose Federal Reserve routing symbols are grouped under the same office 
are in the same check processing region and thus are local to one 
another.
    As explained in detail in the Board's final rule published in the 
Federal Register on September 28, 2004, the Federal Reserve Banks have 
decided to reduce further the number of locations at which they process 
checks.\2\ The amendments set forth in this notice are part of a series 
of appendix A amendments related to that decision, and the Board will 
issue separate notices for each phase of the restructuring.\3\
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    \2\ See 69 FR 57837, September 28, 2004.
    \3\ In addition to the general advance notice of future 
amendments provided by the Board, and the Board's notices of final 
amendments, the Reserve Banks are striving to inform affected 
depository institutions of the exact date of each office transition 
at least 120 days in advance. The Reserve Banks' communications to 
affected depository institutions are available at http://www.frbservices.org.
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    As part of the restructuring process, the Salt Lake City branch 
office of the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco will cease 
processing checks on June 18, 2005, and banks with routing symbols 
currently assigned to that office for check processing purposes will be 
reassigned to the Denver branch office of the Federal Reserve Bank of 
Kansas City. As a result of these changes, some checks that are drawn 
on and deposited at banks located in the affected check processing 
regions and that currently are nonlocal checks will become local checks 
subject to faster availability schedules. Because the Denver branch 
office check processing region will serve banks located in more than 
one Federal Reserve District, banks located in the expanded Denver 
check processing region cannot determine that a check is nonlocal 
solely because the paying bank for that check is located in another 
Federal Reserve district.
    To assist banks in identifying local and nonlocal banks, the Board 
accordingly is amending the lists of routing symbols associated with 
the Federal Reserve Banks of San Francisco and Kansas City to conform 
to the transfer of operations from the San Francisco Reserve Bank's 
Salt Lake City branch office to the Kansas City Reserve Bank's Denver 
branch office. To coincide with the effective date of the underlying 
check processing changes, the amendments are effective June 18, 2005. 
The Board is providing advance notice of these amendments to give 
affected banks ample time to make any needed processing changes. The 
advance notice also will enable affected banks to amend their 
availability schedules and related disclosures, if necessary, and 
provide their customers with notice of these changes.\4\ The Federal 
Reserve routing symbols assigned to all other Federal Reserve branches 
and offices will remain the same at this time. The Board of Governors, 
however, intends to issue similar notices at least sixty days prior to 
the elimination of check operations at some other Reserve Bank offices, 
as described in the September 2004 Federal Register document.
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    \4\ Section 229.18(e) of Regulation CC requires that banks 
notify account holders who are consumers within 30 days after 
implementing a change that improves the availability of funds.
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Administrative Procedure Act

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

Paperwork Reduction Act

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

12 CFR Chapter II

List of Subjects in 12 CFR Part 229

    Banks, Banking, Reporting and recordkeeping requirements.

Authority and Issuance

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

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

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

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


0
2. The Tenth and Twelfth Federal Reserve District routing symbol lists 
in appendix A are revised to read as follows:

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

* * * * *

Tenth Federal Reserve District

[Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City]

Head Office

 1010 3010
 1011 3011
 1012 3012
 1019 3019

Denver Branch

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

Oklahoma City Branch

 1030 3030
 1031 3031
 1039 3039
* * * * *

Twelfth Federal Reserve District

[Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco]

Head Office

 1210 3210
 1211 3211
 1212 3212
 1213 3213

Los Angeles Branch

 1220 3220
 1221 3221
 1222 3222
 1223 3223
 1224 3224

[[Page 21134]]

Portland Branch

 1230 3230
 1231 3231
 1232 3232
 1233 3233

Seattle Branch

 1250 3250
 1251 3251
 1252 3252
* * * * *

    By order of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve 
System, acting through the Secretary of the Board under delegated 
authority, April 19, 2005.
Jennifer J. Johnson,
Secretary of the Board.
[FR Doc. 05-8152 Filed 4-22-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6210-01-P