International Finance Bank is participating in the FDIC’s Transaction Account Guarantee Program. Under that program, through December 31, 2010, all non interest bearing accounts are fully guaranteed by the FDIC for the entire amount in the account. Coverage under the Transaction Account Guarantee Program is in addition to and separate from the coverage available under the FDIC general deposit insurance rules.

We are pleased to announce our voluntary participation in the program and our goal is to provide you with added peace of mind knowing that your money is safe and secure during a time when you may not be certain if your life savings will be insured. The following are some frequently asked questions about the TAG Program:

What is the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) Program? On October 14, 2008, the FDIC announced its new Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) Program as part of the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program. The TAG program guarantees full deposit insurance coverage of non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts, regardless of the dollar amount. All FDIC insured institutions were automatically enrolled for a 30-day period and we elected to continue our participation in this program.

How long will the additional FDIC coverage last? The TAG Program guarantees full deposit coverage of non interest bearing transaction accounts until December 31, 2010, regardless of the dollar amount and is in addition to the standard FDIC insurance that was temporarily increased to $250,000 per depositor, now in effect until December 31, 2013, on January 1, 2014, the standard insurance will return to $100,000 per depositor for all account categories, except for IRAs and other certain retirement accounts which will remain insured up to $250,000 per depositor.

How does the TAG Program affect my insurance coverage on other types of accounts? The FDIC coverage on non-interest bearing transaction (checking) accounts is additional and above the current FDIC coverage of $250,000 per depositor.

Example: If you have a certificate of deposit for $250,000 your deposit is covered by the standard FDIC insurance, if in addition you have $50,000 in a non interest bearing transaction (checking) account, this additional deposit is covered through the TAG Program, the total of your deposits is insured by the FDIC, without any limit on the amount.

What are non interest bearing deposit transaction accounts? Non-interest bearing deposit transaction accounts are any demand deposit accounts, such as personal or business checking accounts that do not earn interest with a couple of exceptions to the “interest bearing/noninterest bearing” rule:

IOLTA accounts (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts). These accounts ARE interest bearing and are maintained by attorneys for their clients however the interest is not given to the attorney, instead it is given to the State Bar Association and is then used to provide legal services for low income individuals. The accounts are therefore considered a non-interest bearing account, and are covered.

N.O.W. accounts (Interest Checking Accounts) that maintain an interest rate no greater than 0.25% will also be an exception to the rule and will be completely covered.
Money Market Checking Accounts since they are limited to a small number of transactions, they fall under the category of Savings Accounts and are also covered.
More detail on the TAG program can be found at the FDIC website or visiting one of our branches.