The Seasonal Credit Program (Off-site) provides a reliable source of funding to smaller depository institutions that may lack access to national money markets and experience seasonal fluctuations in deposits and loans.
Under the program, institutions may obtain funds through the Discount Window during periods of seasonal need, allowing them to carry fewer liquid assets in the off-season and to make more funds available to meet the credit needs of their local communities.
A seasonal credit line may be approved for periods of up to nine months in a calendar year. Advances under the program are available daily, with partial and full prepayments allowed without penalty. Advances can be requested by using Discount Window Direct (DWD) (Off-site), an online self-service application accessible via FedLine® Solutions, or by calling your local Reserve Bank (Off-site).
There are no commitment fees, stock purchase requirements or other expenses involved in setting up and maintaining a seasonal line of credit, even if it is never used. The seasonal credit rate is a variable, market-based interest rate that may fluctuate. See the Federal Reserve Discount Window and Payment System Risk (Off-site) website for the current seasonal credit rate.
Examples of seasonal credit needs
While an institution is expected to fund a portion of its seasonal funding needs from its own resources, the Seasonal Credit Program may be a good source of supplemental funding if an institution experiences regular fluctuations in deposits and loans due to seasonal types of businesses, such as:
- Agriculture
- Construction
- Higher education
- Municipal financing
- Tourism
Does your institution qualify for the Discount Window?
To qualify, institutions will need to:
- Demonstrate that a need for funding exists for at least four consecutive weeks based on the institution’s loan and deposit activity over a three-year period
- Hold less than $500 million in deposits
- Demonstrate a clear pattern of recurring seasonal swings in funding needs
Your institution does not need to be a member of the Federal Reserve System in order to qualify for the Seasonal Credit Program.
How to get started with the Discount Window
The first step is to establish access to the Discount Window by completing the required Operating Circular 10 (OC-10) agreements (Off-site). Contact your district (Off-site) for additional tools and instructions that may be available to help you complete the agreements. By law, depository institutions that maintain reservable transaction accounts or nonpersonal time deposits (as defined in Regulation D (Off-site) may establish borrowing privileges at the Discount Window.
Next, we encourage your institution to use the DWD self-service application. Visit the DWD (Off-site) page for access setup instructions.
Seasonal applications should be submitted at least three weeks prior to the requested seasonal credit line start date. Following receipt of your completed seasonal application, a representative from your district’s Discount Window will determine your institution’s eligibility, as well as the projected amount and duration of the seasonal credit line.
Note that all Discount Window loans must be fully secured to the satisfaction of the lending Reserve Bank, adequate collateral (Off-site) must be pledged prior to initiating a loan request, and weekly data on selected balance sheet items must be submitted using Form FR 2046 (Off-site) when borrowing under the program.
Read more about the program requirements (Off-site) on the Federal Reserve Discount Window and Payment System Risk website.
Do you need more information?
Our staff is ready to assist you. Contact a representative (Off-site) from your district’s Discount Window if you have additional questions.
