How do we qualify to accept and hold deposits of Florida governmental units?

Qualified Public Depositories

Trust Business

Institutions desiring to engage in trust business services in the state of Florida must comply with the collateral and reporting requirements of Section 660.27, Florida Statutes ("F.S."). These collateral and reporting requirements are administered by the Bureau of Collateral Management ("BCM"). Depending on the type of collateral your institution elects to use, additional documentation will need to be filed with our office. The most common types of collateral used for these purposes are cash and marketable securities. The full range of eligible collateral is listed in Section 658.67, F.S.

In order to help your institution satisfy its collateral and reporting requirements, please email our office or call (850) 413-3328 for more information. Once you identify the type of collateral your institution prefers to use, we'll provide further documentation that must be filed with our office.

Collateral Custodians

There are a variety of institutions that are required to deposit or pledge collateral to Florida's Chief Financial Officer ("CFO"). These institutions include, but are not necessarily limited to, banks and savings associations that accept public funds for deposit, banks and trust companies that conduct trust business in Florida, and insurance companies that must meet collateral requirements imposed by Florida's Office of Insurance Regulation.

BCM directly accepts cash, certificates of deposit (issued by an approved depository institution), and Federal Home Loan Bank ("FHLB") letters of credit from these institutions when such assets are eligible as collateral for an institution.

However, BCM uses independent third-party custodians for the safekeeping of book-entry securities that are pledged by institutions.

If your company meets the definition of Custodian and would like to engage in such business on BCM's behalf, then your company would enter into collateral agreements with BCM and institutions that desire to use book-entry securities as collateral.

Please contact Taylor Parsons or (850) 413-3328 for more information.

How do we satisfy the collateral requirement of the Office of Insurance Regulation?

Insurance companies conducting business in Florida are subject to regulation and oversight by the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation ("OIR"). OIR establishes collateral requirements for many insurance companies under several statutes that govern Florida's insurance industry. Any collateral requirement established by OIR is administered by BCM. Assets that are eligible as collateral for insurance companies are listed in Section 625.52, Florida Statutes.

BCM must be informed on all new or additional collateral deposits, releases, or substitutions of collateral. Notification of collateral transactions must be on company letterhead and signed by an authorized signer if the transaction involves releasing or exchanging any collateral. Transaction letters may be sent by mail or email. Please include all relevant information in the body of the letter regarding the transaction your company wishes to execute. At a minimum the letter must contain:

• Your company's taxpayer identification number.
• The statutory authority that relates to the collateral being pledged or released.
• Sufficient information to identify the type and amount of collateral being pledged or released. Depending on whether the collateral consists of cash, certificates of deposit, or book-entry securities we would need a CUSIP or CD number and the nominal or original par amount.

If you do not know which statutory authority applies to your collateral requirement, please contact the Florida Office of Insurance Regulation or Cheri Morgan at (850) 413-3334.

What responsibilities do we have concerning the deposit of public funds?

Public Depositors

1. Use a qualified public depository ("QPD") for all of its deposit accounts. A QPD is a bank or savings association that has been approved by the Florida Treasury's Bureau of Collateral Management ("BCM") to accept public funds for deposit.
   
   
2. At the time of opening a deposit account – or as soon as possible if this was not done at the time of opening the account – complete and sign a Public Deposit Identification and Acknowledgment Form, present it to the QPD for their signature, and then retain the form as an important record. The completed forms are valid indefinitely, but must be replaced if 1) the QPD name changes, or 2) the deposit account number changes. These forms are NOT to be filed with our office unless a QPD fails and a claim for reimbursement of funds is necessary.
   
   
3. File the Public Depositor Annual Report to the Chief Financial Officer each year by November 30th. Please note that in filing this report, the governmental unit is representing that it has in its possession a completed Public Deposit Identification and Acknowledgment Form for each of its accounts.

Current list of active QPDs

The Bureau of Collateral Management ("BCM") directly receives cash, certificates of deposit, letters of credit, and some physical items of value for safekeeping. BCM is also the beneficial owner of securities that are held in book-entry form on BCM's behalf at a variety of 3rd-party custodians.

In administering these assets BCM confirms their eligibility as collateral, makes certain the assets are sufficiently liquid, regularly updates their market value, confirms that 3rd-party custodians are meeting their custody responsibilities, and provides various reports to regulatory authorities and other interested parties.

More information on the assets administered by BCM can be viewed by following the links below which provide details on collateral assets by program and by asset type. 

View details on the value of collateral assets by program.

View details on the value of collateral assets by type.

Public Deposits Program Data

The above link includes the details on the Qualified Public Depositories (QPDs) that are currently authorized to hold public deposits. Entity details include the business name, FEIN, home office location, current collateral pledge percentage, financial ranking, total public deposits, net public deposits, and any associated comments.

Note: Any QPDs marked with an asterisk have limited the amount of public deposits they will administer. Additionally, QPDs having a date beside their name are in the process of withdrawing from the program and shall not receive or retain public deposits after the date shown. They may, however, have certain obligations to the program after that date with which they must comply before concluding the withdrawal process.

Treasury Cash Deposit Income Rates

About BCM

The Bureau of Collateral Management ("BCM") specializes in the administration of various assets that are deposited with or pledged to BCM either as collateral or for safekeeping. Collateral assets are required of various entities by state agencies and other Florida governmental units as a condition of doing business in Florida and BCM is Florida's collateral management service provider under Section 17.59, Florida Statutes ("F.S.") Additionally, BCM administers Florida's public deposits program pursuant to Chapter 280, F.S.

BCM is able to provide specialized services for a variety of state agencies and regulatory authorities that would not be cost effective for any individual authority. BCM conducts the following services when administering collateral on behalf of a Florida agency or regulatory authority:

• Maintains account information
• Evaluates securities or other assets (e.g. CDs) for eligibility
• Confirms collateral held by 3rd party custodians
• Processes cash deposits and disbursements 

Lastly, BCM also ensures minimum collateral values are maintained and notifies participating agencies in cases of collateral deficiencies.

You can read more below about the collateral programs administered by BCM and learn more details about the amount and types of assets we administer in the public information section above.

Collateral programs administered by BCM

As of October 31, 2017, the Bureau of Collateral Management ("BCM") was administering more than $12.1 billion in assets related to the following programs and regulatory agencies: