About this Archived Manual
As announced on March 15, 2020, the Board reduced reserve requirement ratios to zero percent effective March 26, 2020. This action eliminated reserve requirements for all depository institutions. This archived manual provides additional detail on how reserve requirements were administered prior to the change in reserve requirement ratios to zero. It was last updated on November 20, 2019, and will no longer be modified.
The Federal Reserve Act (as amended by the Monetary Control Act of 1980) and the International Banking Act of 1978 impose reserve requirements on all depository institutions and banking Edge and agreement corporations that have transaction accounts, nonpersonal time deposits, or Eurocurrency liabilities. U.S. branches and agencies of foreign banks that have such deposits or liabilities are also subject to reserve requirements if they are part of or affiliated with a foreign bank with total, worldwide consolidated assets in excess of $1 billion.1 Regulation D, Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions, issued by the Federal Reserve Board, defines the institutions that are subject to reserve requirements; the liabilities that are reservable; and the associated reporting, reserve calculation, and maintenance requirements.
This archived manual provides information regarding reserve calculations and account maintenance relevant prior to the change in reserve requirement ratios to zero for depository institutions that filed the Federal Reserve (FR) 2900 form (Report of Transaction Accounts, Other Deposits and Vault Cash) with the Federal Reserve, either weekly or quarterly.2 The Federal Reserve updated this manual when necessary, but in particular toward the end of each calendar year to reflect the annual indexation of values used in the calculation of reserve requirements on the FR 2900 form.
The archived manual consists of six main sections.
- The Account Structure section of the manual describes the types of accounts a depository institution may maintain at a Reserve Bank for reserves.
- The Reporting Requirements section presents the Federal Reserve's policy related to the different reporting requirements for institutions subject to reserve requirements.
- The Calculation of Reserve Balance Requirements and Maintenance of Reserve Balance Requirements sections provide information on the steps to calculate reserve requirements, the options for satisfying reserve balance requirements, and the interest an institution may earn for holding balances at the Federal Reserve.
- The Mechanics of Reserve Maintenance section illustrates the calculations and concepts presented in previous sections through four examples.
- The Effect of Mergers on Reserve Balance Requirements section details the effect of mergers on reserve calculations and maintenance.
Other Resources provides useful websites, including a link to Reserve Bank contacts for questions on deposit reporting and reserve administration; this manual also includes a Glossary.
Footnotes
1. Any other foreign bank's branch located in the United States that is eligible to apply to become an insured bank under section 5 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1815) is required to maintain reserves as a nonmember depository institution. This provision applies to those foreign bank branches that were not affected by the deposit insurance provisions of the Foreign Bank Supervision Enhancement Act (12 U.S.C. 3104). That Act requires a foreign bank that wishes to accept or maintain deposit accounts of less than $100,000 to do so through an insured U.S. bank subsidiary. Foreign bank branches that were insured as of December 19, 1991, may continue to accept or maintain deposit amounts of less than $100,000. Return to text
2. Federal Reserve reporting forms and instructions are available at www.federalreserve.gov/apps/reportforms/default.aspx. Return to text