Do we have to report abandoned certificates of deposit to the State Treasurer? If so, when should they be reported?

Yes, certificates of deposit (CDs) must be reported to the State Treasurer once they are deemed abandoned. Subsection 2(c) of the Uniform Disposition of Unclaimed Property Act [Repealed effective 1/1/18] covers “[a]ny sum payable on checks or on written instruments on which a banking or financial organization or business association is directly liable including, by way of illustration but not of limitation, certificates of deposit. . . .” 765 ILCS 1025/2(c) [Repealed effective 1/1/18].

Because many CDs can be automatically renewed, there are special rules that apply when determining the date on which a CD can be presumed abandoned. Savings accounts (and other non-deposit accounts) are presumed abandoned five years after the “final maturity date” for the account. 765 ILCS 1025/2(e) [Repealed effective 1/1/18]. For accounts that automatically roll over on their maturity date, the law clarifies that the final maturity date is the maturity date after the account is extended for the first time for an “additional like period.” The regulations define “additional like period” as “one extension or rollover with the date of the expiration of the extension or rollover period becoming the final maturity date for the deposit.” 74 Ill. Adm. Code 760.200.

Because the term “additional like period” applies only to the first rollover of a CD, the five-year period (after which the CD will be deemed abandoned) begins to run after the maturity date of that first rollover or renewal. For example, if a customer opens a five-year certificate of deposit account in Year 1, and the bank automatically renews the account for another five-year term in Year 6, then the dormancy period would not begin to run until Year 11 (the final maturity date of the renewal). Assuming there is no customer contact or activity on the account at any time, the CD would be presumed abandoned in Year 16.