12 CFR 204.10 – Payment of interest on balances
(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.
Terms Used In 12 CFR 204.10
- Interest rate: The amount paid by a borrower to a lender in exchange for the use of the lender's money for a certain period of time. Interest is paid on loans or on debt instruments, such as notes or bonds, either at regular intervals or as part of a lump sum payment when the issue matures. Source: OCC
- Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
(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) and (2) of this section.
(1) For balances maintained in an eligible institution’s master account, interest is the amount equal to the interest on reserve balances rate (“IORB rate”) on a day multiplied by the total balances maintained on that day. The IORB rate is 5.4 percent.
(2) 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.
(3) For purposes of § 204.10(b), a “master account” is the record maintained by a Federal Reserve Bank of the debtor-creditor relationship between the Federal Reserve Bank and a single eligible institution with respect to deposit balances of the eligible institution that are maintained with the Federal Reserve Bank. A “master account” is not a “term deposit,” an “excess balance account,” a “joint account,” or any deposit account maintained with a Federal Reserve Bank governed by an agreement that states the account is not a master account.
(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 balances maintained by 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 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 may not be used for general payments or other activities.
(4) Interest on balances of eligible institutions maintained in an excess balance account is the amount equal to the IORB rate in effect on a day multiplied by the total balances maintained on that day.
(5) 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.