Risk-Based Assessment System

The Federal Deposit Insurance Act, as amended by the Reform Act, continues to require that the assessment system be risk-based and allows the FDIC to define risk broadly. It defines a risk-based system as one based on an institution’s probability of causing a loss to the deposit insurance fund due to the composition and concentration of the institution’s assets and liabilities, the amount of loss given failure, and revenue needs of the Deposit Insurance Fund (the fund or DIF).  The following rules explain how the FDIC Board defined and differentiated risk among insured depository institutions.

Operational Processes Governing the FDIC Deposit Insurance Assessment System

Under the amendments set out in this final rule, deposit insurance assessments will be collected after each quarter ends. Ratings changes will become effective when the rating change is transmitted to the institution. Beginning January 1, 2007, the computation of institutions’ assessment bases changed in the following significant ways: institutions with $1 billion or more in assets will determine their assessment bases using average daily deposit balances; existing smaller institutions will have the option of using average daily deposits to determine their assessment bases; and the float deductions used to determine the assessment base were eliminated.

In addition, newly insured institutions will be assessed for the assessment period in which they become insured; prepayment and double payment options were eliminated; institutions will have 90 days from each quarterly certified statement invoice to file requests for review of their risk assignment and requests for revision of the computation of their quarterly assessment payment; and the rules governing quarterly certified statement invoices were adjusted for a quarterly assessment system and for a three-year retention period rather than the former five-year period.

Guidelines on Adjustments to Large Institution Assessment Rates

These are the guidelines the FDIC will use for determining how adjustments would be made to the quarterly assessment rates of insured institutions defined as large Risk Category I institutions, and insured foreign branches in Risk Category I, according to the Assessments Regulation in the Reform Act.

Designated Reserve Ratio

            Section 2105 of the Reform Act directs the FDIC Board to set and publish annually a Designated Reserve Raio (DRR) for the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) within a rage of 1.15 percent to 1.50 percent.  In this rulemaking, the FDIC Board set the Designated Reserve Ratio (DRR) for the DIF at 1.25 percent.

Assessment Dividends

The Reform Act requires that the FDIC declare dividends from the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) when the reserve ratio at the end of a calendar year

exceeds 1.35 percent, but is no greater than 1.5 percent. In that event, the FDIC must generally declare one-half of the amount in the DIF in excess of the amount required to maintain the reserve ratio at 1.35 percent as dividends to be paid to insured depository institutions. The Reform Act also requires that the FDIC declare a dividend from the DIF when the reserve ratio at the end of a calendar year exceeds 1.5 percent. In that event, the FDIC must declare the amount in the DIF in excess of the amount required to maintain the reserve ratio at 1.5 percent as dividends to be paid to insured depository institutions. The Board has the ability to suspend or limit dividends under certain circumstances. These circumstances are further explained in the rule.

One-time Assessment Credit

            The Reform Act granted a one-time assessment credit (of approximately $4.7 billion) to recognize institutions' past contributions to the fund. Specifically, the Reform Act required the Board to provide a one-time assessment credit to each “eligible” insured depository institution (or its successor) based on the assessment base of the institution as of the 1996 assessment base ratio. An “eligible” insured depository institution is one that: was in existence on December 31, 1996 and paid a Federal deposit insurance assessment prior to that date; or is a ‘‘successor’’ to any such insured depository institution.

The final rule also establishes the qualifications and procedures governing the application of assessment credits, and provides a reasonable opportunity for an institution to challenge administratively the amount of the credit.

Inflation Index; Certain Retirement Accounts and Employee Benefit Plan Accounts

Increases the coverage limit for retirement accounts to $250,000 and indexes the coverage limit for retirement accounts to inflation as with the general deposit insurance coverage limit.

Official FDIC Sign and Advertising of FDIC Membership

The final rule replaces the separate signs used by Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) and Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) members with a new sign, or insurance logo, to be used by all insured depository institutions. In addition, the final rule extends the advertising requirements to savings associations, consolidates the exceptions to those requirements, and restricts the use of the official advertising statement when advertising non-deposit products.