FRB Proposes Guidelines for Access to Master Accounts and Financial Services

28 May 2021
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Key takeaways:
  • On May 5, 2021, the Federal Reserve Board (the “FRB”) issued for public comment proposed guidelines (the “Proposed Guidelines”) for Federal Reserve Banks (“Reserve Banks”) to use in evaluating requests master accounts and access to Reserve Bank financial services.
  • The Proposed Guidelines are intended to address the increasing number of inquiries and access requests Reserve Banks are receiving from novel institutions as a result of a recent uptick in novel charter types being authorized or considered across the country.
  • The FRB aims for the Proposed Guidelines to provide a “structured, transparent, and detailed framework for evaluating access requests” and “help foster consistent evaluation . . . from both risk and policy perspectives” across the 12 Reserve Banks.