May 26, 2003 News Archive

Board Issues Amendments and Final Rule on Regulation CC
In a May 20 press release, the Board announced a series of amendments to Appendix A of Regulation CC that will be implemented in late 2003 through 2004. Appendix A contains a routing number guide that helps depository institutions determine the maximum permissable hold periods for most deposited checks. With the Federal Reserve restructuring its check process operations, the number of check processing regions reflected in Appendix A will change from 44 to 32. This change will result in some nonlocal checks in affected regions becoming local checks, subject to faster availability schedules. Each amendment will be published in the Federal Register at least 60 days prior to the effective date in order adequate time for depository institutions to make necessary changes.

In the same press release, the Board also issued a final rule deleting obsolete numbers from and adding new numbers to the list of routing numbers in Appendix A for checks drawn on Federal Reserve Banks and Federal Home Loan Banks.

House Subcommittee Approves Check 21 Bill
The House Financial Services Subcommittee on Financial Institutions approved H.R. 1474, the Check Clearing for the 21st Century Act (Check 21). Check 21 would improve the efficiency of the check payments system by allowing banks to exchange checks electronically giving the electronic versions of checks the same legal validity as paper checks. It would also provide customers with faster check clearing and greater access to capital. The bill specifically directs the Federal Reserve to adjust the time periods in which banks must make funds available to customers, taking into account the expedited nature of check processing, and to disclose the costs associated with the transportation of physical checks.