The impact of temporary action to increase the availability of intraday credit on the Real-time Monitor
June 15, 2020
On April 23, 2020 (Off-site), the Federal Reserve Board announced temporary actions to increase the availability of intraday credit to depository institutions on both a collateralized and uncollateralized basis.1 Included in these actions is the suspension of uncollateralized intraday credit limits, also known as net debit cap (NDC).2 In light of the Federal Reserve Board’s recent announcement, we would like to highlight a feature of our Voluntary Real-time Monitoring of Fedwire® Funds Transaction program.
Background
In October of 2017, the Federal Reserve Banks offered a voluntary program to domestic depository institutions with assets under $50 billion to help protect against large fraudulent Fedwire Funds payment activity. The Voluntary Real-time Monitoring of Fedwire Funds Transactions program prevents Fedwire Funds transactions if their settlement would cause an account overdraft in excess of the Fedwire sender’s NDC.
The purpose of this program is to provide an additional, optional risk control on Fedwire Funds transactions. By rejecting Fedwire Funds transactions from processing, we provide the sending institution another opportunity to verify authorization and pre-fund the debit transaction, reducing or limiting the financial risk to the institution and to the Federal Reserve Banks as payment system operators.
Temporary actions to increase availability of Intraday Credit
In response to disruptions from COVID-19 and in order to provide depository institutions a ready and flexible source of intraday funds to efficiently manage their liquidity risk, the Board suspended uncollateralized intraday credit limits or NDCs. These actions will remain in effect until September 30, 2020, unless the Board communicates otherwise prior to that date.
Although cap limits have been temporarily suspended with respect to available intraday credit, an institution’s NDC will continue to form the basis for monitoring account
balances under the Voluntary Real-time Monitoring program, and could lead to the rejection of certain Fedwire Funds transactions. Although your depository institution is currently enrolled in the program, institutions are able to opt out of the program at any time, without penalty.
Questions or additional information
We encourage your institution to consider these temporary actions to increase the availability of intraday credit and the potential impact on your business model. We believe the Real-time Monitoring program provides an important risk management tool; however, if your institution is concerned that being on the Real-time monitor at its current NDC may impact your ability to support the flow of credit to households and businesses, please contact your local Reserve Bank (Off-site) to discuss available options, including opting out of the Voluntary Real-time Monitoring of Fedwire Funds Transactions program. If your institution desires to opt out of the Real-time Monitoring program, an individual listed on your institution’s Operating Circular 1 (OC 1) Official Authorization List should complete an Opt Out Submission Form (Off-site, PDF). The form provides an option to be automatically re-enrolled in the Real-time Monitor when the temporary suspension of net debit caps is lifted. Otherwise, if a depository institution wishes to opt back into the program, simply complete the Opt In Submission Form (Off-site, PDF). Completed forms should be submitted to the institution’s Reserve Bank at the email address indicated here.
Footnotes
1The Board has also issued a list of frequently asked questions (Off-site) to support these temporary actions.
2An institution's net debit cap is the maximum dollar amount of daylight overdrafts it may incur in its Federal Reserve account. An institution's cap category and its capital measure determine the dollar amount of its net debit cap.