Final rule--amendment to Regulation D.

The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Board) is amending 12 C.F.R. Part 204, its Regulation D (Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions), to reflect the annual indexing of the low reserve tranche and of the reserve requirement exemption amount for 2004. The Board is also announcing the annual indexing of the deposit cutoff level and the reduced reporting limit that will be effective beginning in September 2004. The Regulation D amendments increase the amount of net transaction accounts at each depository institution that are subject to a three percent reserve requirement in 2004 from $42.1 million to $45.4 million. This amount is known as the low reserve tranche. The Regulation D amendments also increase the amount of total reservable liabilities of each depository institution that are subject to a zero percent reserve requirement in 2004 from $6.0 million to $6.6 million. This amount is known as the reserve requirement exemption amount. The adjustments to both of these amounts are derived using statutory formulas specified in the Federal Reserve Act. The Board is also announcing increases in two other amounts, the deposit cutoff level and the reduced reporting limit, that are used to determine the frequency with which depository institutions must submit deposit reports. The deposit cutoff level is being increased from $150.0 million in 2003 to $161.2 million in 2004, and the reduced reporting limit is being increased from $1.0 billion in 2003 to $1.074 billion in 2004. These amounts are indexed annually in order to reduce reporting burden for smaller depository institutions. Thus, beginning in September 2004, depository institutions will be required to file the FR 2900 report each week under the following conditions: if they have net transaction accounts over $6.6 million and have total deposits of at least $161.2 million; or if they have net transaction accounts of $6.6 million or less but have total deposits of at least $1.074 billion. Depository institutions will be required to file the FR 2900 report each quarter if they have net transaction accounts over $6.6 million but have total deposits of less than $161.2 million. Depository institutions will be required to file the FR 2910a report annually if they have net transaction accounts of $6.6 million or less but have total deposits greater than $6.6 million but less than $1.074 billion. Depository institutions with $6.6 million or less in total deposits are not required to file a deposit report.

Effective November 6, 2003, 12 C.F.R. Part 204 is amended as follows:

Part 204--Reserve Requirements of Depository Institutions (Regulation D)

1. The authority citation for Part 204 continues to read as follows:

Authority: 12 U.S.C. 248(a), 248(c), 371a, 461, 601, 611, and 3105.

2. Section 204.9 is revised to read as follows:

Section 204.9--Reserve requirement ratios

The following reserve requirement ratios are prescribed for all depository institutions, banking Edge and agreement corporations, and United States branches and agencies of foreign banks:

Category                       Reserve Requirement

Net transaction accounts:
$0 to $6.6 million             0 percent of amount.
Over $6.6 million and up to
  $45.4 million                3 percent of amount.
Over $45,4 million             $1,164,000 plus 10 percent of amount
                                 over $45.4 million.
Nonpersonal time deposits      0 percent.
Eurocurrency liabilities       0 percent.