Title 12--Banks and Banking

CHAPTER II--FEDERAL RESERVE SYSTEM

PART 217--PROHIBITION AGAINST THE PAYMENT OF INTEREST 
ON DEMAND DEPOSITS (REGULATION Q)


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217.1 Authority, purpose and scope.
217.2 Definitions.
217.3 Interest on demand deposits.
217.101 Premiums on deposits.

Sec. 217.1 Authority, scope and purpose.
    

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    (a) Authority. This part is issued under the authority of section 19 
of the Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 371a, 461, 505), section 7 of the 
International Banking Act of 1978 (12 U.S.C. 3105), section 11 of the 
Federal Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 248), and section 8 of the Federal 
Deposit Insurance Act (12 U.S.C. 1818), unless otherwise noted.
    (b) Purpose. This part prohibits the payment of interest on demand 
deposits by member banks and other depository institutions within the 
scope of this part.
    (c) Scope. (1) This regulation applies to state chartered banks that 
are members of the Federal Reserve under section 9 of the Federal 
Reserve Act (12 U.S.C. 321, et seq.) and to all national banks. The 
regulation also applies to any Federal branch or agency of a foreign 
bank and to a State uninsured branch or agency of a foreign bank in the 
same manner and to the same extent as if the branch or agency were a 
member bank, except as may be otherwise provided by the Board, if:
    (i) Its parent foreign bank has total worldwide consolidated bank 
assets in excess of $1 billion;
    (ii) Its parent foreign bank is controlled by a foreign company 
which

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owns or controls foreign banks that in the aggregate have total 
worldwide consolidated bank assets in excess of $1 billion; or
    (iii) Its parent foreign bank is controlled by a group of foreign 
companies that own or control foreign banks that in the aggregate have 
total worldwide consolidated bank assets in excess of $1 billion.
    (2) For deposits held by a member bank or a foreign bank, this 
regulation does not apply to ``any deposit that is payable only at an 
office located outside of the United States'' (i.e., the States of the 
United States and the District of Columbia) as defined in Sec. 204.2(t) 
of the Board's Regulation D-- Reserve Requirements of Depository 
Institutions (12 CFR 20.4).

[Reg. Q, 51 FR 9637, Mar. 20, 1986, as amended at 57 FR 43336, Sept. 21, 
1992]

Sec. 217.2 Definitions.
     

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    For purposes of this part, the following definitions apply unless 
otherwise specified;
    (a) Demand deposit means any deposit that is considered to be a 
demand deposit under Sec. 204.2(b) of the Board's Regulation D--Reserve 
Requirements of Depository Institutions (12 CFR part 204).
    (b) Deposit means any liability of a member bank that is considered 
to be a deposit under Sec. 204.2(a) of the Board's Regulation D--Reserve 
Requirements of Depository Institutions (12 CFR part 204).
    (c) Foreign bank means any bank that is considered to be a foreign 
bank under Sec. 204.2(o) of the Board's Regulation D--Reserve 
Requirements of Depository Institutions (12 CFR part 204).
    (d) Interest means any payment to or for the account of any 
depositor as compensation for the use of funds constituting a deposit. A 
member bank's absorption of expenses incident to providing a normal 
banking function or its forbearance from charging a fee in connection 
with such a service is not considered a payment of interest.

Sec. 217.3 Interest on demand deposits.
     

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    No member bank of the Federal Reserve System shall, directly or 
indirectly, by any device whatsoever, pay any interest on any demand 
deposit.\1\
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    \1\ A member bank may continue to pay interest on a time deposit for 
not more than ten calendar days; (1) Where the member bank has provided 
in the time deposit contract that, if the deposit or any portion thereof 
is withdrawn not more than ten calendar days after a maturity date (one 
business day for ``IBF time deposits'' as defined in Sec. 204.8(a)(2) of 
Regulation D), interest will continue to be paid for such period; or (2) 
for a period between a maturity date and the date of renewal of the 
deposit, provided that such certificate is renewed within ten calendar 
days after maturity.
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                             Interpretations
Sec. 217.101 Premiums on deposits.
    

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    (a) Section 19(i) of the Federal Reserve Act and Sec. 217.3 of 
Regulation Q prohibits a member bank from paying interest on a demand 
deposit. Premiums, whether in the form of merchandise, credit, or cash, 
given by a member bank to a depositor will be regarded as an advertising 
or promotional expense rather than a payment of interest if:
    (1) The premium is given to a depositor only at the time of the 
opening of a new account or an addition to an existing account;
    (2) No more than two premiums per account are given within a 12-
month period; and
    (3) The value of the premium or, in the case, of articles of 
merchandise, the total cost (including taxes, shipping, warehousing, 
packaging, and handling costs) does not exceed $10 for deposits of less 
than $5,000 or $20 for deposits of $5,000 or more.

The costs of premiums may not be averaged. The member bank should retain 
sufficient supporting documentation showing that the total cost of a 
premium, including shipping, warehousing, packaging, and handling costs, 
does not exceed the applicable $10/$20 limitations and that no portion 
of the total cost of any premium has been attributed to development, 
advertising, promotional, or other expenses. A member bank is not 
permitted directly or indirectly to solicit or promote deposits from 
customers on the basis that the funds will be divided into

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more than one account by the institution for the purpose of providing 
more than two premiums per deposit within a 12-month period.
    (b) Notwithstanding paragraph (a) of this section, any premium that 
is not, directly or indirectly, related to or dependent on the balance 
in a demand deposit account and the duration of the account balance 
shall not be considered the payment of interest on a demand deposit 
account and shall not be subject to the limitations in paragraph (a) of 
this section.

[52 FR 47698, Dec. 16, 1987. Redesignated at 57 FR 43336, Sept. 21, 
1992; 62 FR 26737, May 15, 1997]

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