General Counsel's Opinion No. 12, Engaged in the Business of Receiving Deposits Other Than Trust Funds

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Section 5 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act provides that an applicant for deposit insurance must be "engaged in the business of receiving deposits other than trust funds." The statute has included this phrase since 1950. During the past half century the FDIC has construed the phrase so as to accommodate the evolving nature of banking. The phrase has been interpreted on a case-by-case basis to encompass non-traditional banks that do not accept unlimited non-trust deposits from the general public. This long-standing interpretation is confirmed in this General Counsel's opinion. As set out in this opinion, the statutory requirement of being "engaged in the business of receiving deposits other than trust funds" is satisfied by the continuous maintenance of one or more non-trust deposits in the aggregate amount of $500,000.