Beginning June 1, 2006, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
(FDIC) will change its primary method of distributing Special Alerts (SAs)
to insured financial
institutions from paper-copy delivery through the U.S. Postal Service to electronic
delivery through the FDIC's free secure Web site, FDICconnect. The change
is expected to provide institutions with a number of benefits, including:
- An immediate e-mail notification that a SA has been issued. There
will be no need for routine manual checks of FDICconnect to determine whether
a new SA has been issued.
- The immediate availability of the SA. Through the traditional mail
system, receipt of the paper copy typically takes a week or longer.
- Secure transmission of the SA attachments, which are often electronic
copies of fraudulent and genuine instruments.
- The availability for multiple registrants from the same institution
to receive SAs.
In addition to providing these benefits to the banking industry,
the change to electronic delivery reaffirms the FDIC's commitment to:
- Comply with the Government Paperwork Elimination Act of 1998 (GPEA);
- Address President Bush's Management Agenda, which directs
government agencies to establish electronic alternatives to current paper
processes where
feasible; and
- Provide increased customer service to FDIC-insured institutions by
improving communications.
Approximately 45 percent of insured institutions already subscribe to receive
SAs through FDICconnect. The FDIC is encouraging institutions that have not
yet registered for FDICconnect to do so as soon as possible so that they may
benefit from the opportunities the system provides. Attached is an overview
of the FDICconnect registration process, which includes instructions for registration,
and a FDICconnect Designated Coordinator Registration Form, which includes
instructions for approving and submitting the form.
In addition to receiving SAs, there are other business transactions that institutions
may wish to use. A complete list of available transactions is attached.
To guarantee that the SA notification e-mails are received, institutions should
ensure that their network spam filters are set to accept all e-mails from fdic.gov.
Institutions without Internet access may request to continue receiving SAs
through the mail by completing the attached paper-delivery request form and
faxing it to the FDIC at (703) 465-4314. To ensure that no disruption in delivery
occurs, this form must be submitted to the FDIC by May 15, 2006.
The FDIC also offers electronic distribution of SAs through
its online subscription service. Since this service is not secure, confidential
SA attachments of fraudulent
and genuine instruments are not included. To decrease the number of unnecessary
e-mails, institution users of this on-line subscription service may wish to
discontinue receiving SAs through this mechanism. Discontinuing the receipt
of SAs through the FDIC's online subscription service will not disrupt
the receipt of other important information. To change your user profile on
the FDIC's online subscription service, access the following URL: http://www.fdic.gov/about/subscriptions/profile_intro.html.
For more information, please contact Gina Luckenbill, Information Management
Analyst, Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, at (202) 898-3848
(e-mail, GLuckenbill@fdic.gov).
|
Sandra L. Thompson
Acting Director
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection |