Florida Rural Water Association

Ameris Bank opened its doors as American Banking Company on October 1, 1971. What started as one location, with $1 million in capital, in Moultrie, Georgia, has now blossomed into a publicly traded bank that provides innovative products and personal service to customers across the Southeast.

Ameris Bank remains one of the strongest and soundest financial institutions in our peer group, with over $11 billion in assets and a vast network of full-service banking and mortgage locations. Ameris Bank provides business and individual customers with a full range of products and services, including personal and commercial banking, residential financing solutions, treasury and cash management, commercial real estate financing, SBA (Small Business Association) preferred lending, equipment financing, agricultural banking and premium finance solutions.

Ameris Bank offers a solid combination of high-performance community banking along with exceptional customer service. We are FDIC insured and are a member of the Federal Reserve System. Click here to review Ameris Bank's financial statements.

Ameris Bank is a member of the ICS Network. When we place your deposit through the ICS service, that deposit is divided into amounts under the standard FDIC insurance maximum of $250,000 and is placed in demand deposit accounts (using the ICS demand option) and money market deposit accounts (using the ICS savings option) at multiple banks. To participate, you simply set up a transaction account with Ameris Bank, sign the agreements and deposit funds. Deposits are sent to deposit accounts at other ICS Network member institutions in amounts under the standard FDIC insurance maximum of $250,000¹. Funds placed using the ICS demand option enjoy unlimited program withdrawals and funds placed through the ICS savings option are allowed up to six program withdrawals per month.

All deposits owned by a corporation, partnership, or unincorporated association at the same bank are added together and insured up to $250,000, separately from the personal accounts of the owners or members. For more information on FDIC coverage click here.

The funds are placed into money market deposit accounts or demand deposits through ICS, all in amounts under $250,000, so that your deposit is eligible for FDIC insurance at each ICS member bank.

Yes.  Public fund deposits may be placed using Insured Cash Sweep. See section 17.75(7) of the Florida statute outlined below.

Title IV.  Executive Branch

Chapter 17. Chief Financial Officer

§17.57. Deposits and investments of state money

http://m.flsenate.gov/Statutes/17.57

Yes. To see a list of qualified public depository institutions, please visit the Florida Department of Financial Services website.

Funds placed through Insured Cash Sweep^® (ICS) are deposited only in FDIC-insured banks. Your bank acts as custodian for your ICS deposits, and the sub custodian for ICS deposits is The Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon), the largest custodian in the world with $30.6 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration and $1.7 trillion in assets under management²

Through Insured Cash Sweep^®, funds are placed in deposit accounts at ICS Network members, and those Network members provide you with access to the additional FDIC insurance coverage. Working directly with just one bank, you can access coverage through many.

Your confidential information remains protected, and the relationship remains between you and Ameris Bank.

The Insured Cash Sweep^® (ICS) service has been thoroughly tested (with many billions of dollars) and has been designed to comply with every relevant FDIC requirement. Since its inception, thousands of depositors have successfully submitted funds for placement through ICS. Use of the Insured Cash Sweep^® service makes it possible for depositors to gain access to multiple millions of dollars of FDIC insurance on funds that are placed in demand deposit accounts, money market deposit accounts, or both. No depositor has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured deposits. The service is provided by Promontory Interfinancial Network, chosen by more than 3,000 banks across the nation and has received an exclusive endorsement from the American Bankers Association, following a comprehensive due-diligence review process.

Since the creation of the FDIC more than eight decades ago, depositors have always had the option of depositing funds at multiple FDIC-insured banks to gain access to deposit insurance coverage more than the standard single-bank insurance amount, which is now $250,000. The FDIC has always known of this practice and at times has even encouraged it. Deposit placement services, such as Promontory Interfinancial Network's Insured Cash Sweep^® service (and its CDARS^® service, which enables funds to be placed in CDs), help depositors to achieve the same familiar result more easily and with added benefits The FDIC routinely acknowledges that deposit placement services can be used to provide access to expanded deposit insurance coverage. For example, in a November 2015 frequently asked questions document, the FDIC specifically describes how a participating bank can place funds at other participating banks through a bank network to give its customer full insurance coverage on a deposit more than $250,000. Some banks receiving deposits placed through a Promontory Interfinancial Network service have failed during Promontory Interfinancial Network's history, and every resulting claim for deposit insurance has been paid in full by the FDIC. Insured Cash Sweep^® has been thoroughly tested, and reciprocal deposit placement services are recognized both in the FDIC regulations and in state statutes and regulations throughout the United States.

There are two options when it comes to the number of withdrawals. The ICS demand option, in which funds are placed into demand deposit accounts, allows unlimited program withdrawals. With the ICS savings option, in which funds are placed into money market deposit accounts, there is no minimum balance and you can have up to six withdrawals per month.

No. A Local Government Investment Pool (LGIP) is established by a state or local governmental entity or instrumentality that serves as a vehicle for investing public funds of participating governmental units. Unlike mutual funds, however, local government investment pools (LGIPs) are not registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and are exempt from SEC regulatory requirements because they fall under a governmental exclusion clause. While this exemption allows pools greater flexibility, it also reduces investor protection. Investments in these pools are not insured or guaranteed and substantial losses have occurred in the past. These pools typically combine the cash of participating jurisdictions and invest the cash in securities allowed under the state's laws regarding government investments. By pooling funds, participating governments benefit from economies of scale, full-time portfolio management, diversification, and liquidity (especially in the case of pools that seek a constant net asset value of $1.00). Interest is normally allocated to the participants on a daily basis, proportionate to the size of the investment. Most pools offer a check writing or wire transfer feature that adds value as a cash management tool. Any funds placed through ICS or CDARS^® have access to multimillion-dollar FDIC insurance. Source:  Government Finance Officers Administration https://www.gfoa.org/ 

The Depositor Control Panel (DCP) is a secure website specially created to help you manage your ICS account. Using the DCP, you can:

• Check current balances
• View a list of Destination Institutions (where your MMDA funds could be placed)
• Review and manage daily proposed fund placements
• Track monthly program withdrawals (savings option only)
• View your transaction history

You will receive monthly statements for both ICS and CDARS^® accounts.

The choice is yours.  With CDARS^®, you negotiate one interest rate per maturity on CD investments placed through CDARS^®. There is no need to negotiate multiple rates per maturity or tally disbursements manually for each CD. With the ICS, or the Insured Cash Sweep^® service, your funds are placed into demand deposit accounts and/or money market deposit accounts. This option provides liquidity in the event you wanted to access your funds as your cash needs change.

No. You have the option of placing only a portion of your funds using ICS or CDARS^® through Ameris Bank.

Please reach out to either Kevin Strickland to get started on the transition to Ameris Bank. Our implementation team will assist with any technical questions or concerns that may arise during the transition period.  The FRWA member benefit contacts are:

• Kevin Strickland, Member Benefits Program Manager at 850.661.3972  (cell) or 850.300.6586 (direct) or [email protected]