Based on the size of this check, your institution may wish to impose a large item hold. Regulation CC permits banks to place a large item hold on deposits that exceed $5,000 in one banking day. In other words, your bank must make the first $5,000 available for withdrawal according to your availability policy, but the remaining $2,500 could be held.

Additionally, your institution may be able to impose a new account hold, if the account is less than thirty days old (which is unclear from your question). But as with a large item hold, your bank would still have to make the first $5,000 available according to your availability policy.

Your bank also may place a hold on the check if it can show that it has “reasonable cause to doubt the uncollectibility” of the cashier’s check. This determination “requires the existence of facts that would cause a well-grounded belief in the mind of a reasonable person.” There are several examples of such facts provided in the model notice for this check hold, such as the fact that the check is “postdated or has a stale date,” “information on the check is not consistent with other information on the check,” or “confidential information . . . indicates that the check may not be paid.” If your bank can show that one of those circumstances exists, you may be able to place a hold on the entire amount of the check.

For resources related to our guidance, please see:

• Federal Reserve Guide for Financial Institutions, Compliance with Regulation CC (“For certain types of deposits, Regulation CC permits financial institutions to delay, for a ‘reasonable period of time,’ the availability of funds . . . .”)

• Federal Reserve Guide for Financial Institutions, Compliance with Regulation CC (“Large deposits (greater than $5,000) — Any amount exceeding $5,000 may be held. Your institution must make the first $5,000 of the deposit available for withdrawal according to your availability policy and the remainder within the “reasonable” time frames discussed above.”)

• Federal Reserve Guide for Financial Institutions, Compliance with Regulation CC (“Deposits into accounts of new customers (open for less than 30 days) — Next-day availability applies only to cash, electronic payments, and the first $5,000 of any other next-day items; the remaining amount from next-day items must be available by the ninth business day. You may choose any availability schedule for deposits of other checks into the accounts of these new customers.”)

• Federal Reserve Guide for Financial Institutions, Compliance with Regulation CC (“Reasonable cause to doubt the collectibility of a check — Doubtful collectibility may exist for postdated checks, checks dated more than six months earlier, and checks that the paying institution has said it will not honor. The general criterion for doubting collectibility is ‘the existence of facts that would cause a well-grounded belief in the mind of a reasonable person’ that the check is uncollectible. The reason for your belief that the check is uncollectible must be included in your notice to the customer.”)

• Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.13(b) (“Large deposits. Sections 229.10(c) and 229.12 do not apply to the aggregate amount of deposits by one or more checks to the extent that the aggregate amount is in excess of $5,000 on any one banking day. . . .”)

• Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.13(a)(1) (“New accounts. . . . A deposit in a new account . . . (ii) Is subject to the requirements of § 229.10(c)(1) (i) through (v) and § 229.10(c)(2) only with respect to the first $5,000 of funds deposited on any one banking day; but the amount of the deposit in excess of $5,000 shall be available for withdrawal not later than the ninth business day following the banking day on which funds are deposited; and (iii) Is not subject to the availability requirements of §§ 229.10(c)(1)(vi) and (vii) and 229.12.”)

• Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.13(a)(2) (“An account is considered a new account during the first 30 calendar days after the account is established. . . .”)

• Regulation CC, 12 CFR 229.13(e) (“Reasonable cause to doubt collectability. Sections 229.10(c) and 229.12 do not apply to a check deposited in an account at a depositary bank if the depositary bank has reasonable cause to believe that the check is uncollectible from the paying bank. Reasonable cause to believe a check is uncollectible requires the existence of facts that would cause a well-grounded belief in the mind of a reasonable person.”)

• Regulation CC, Appendix C, Model Notice C-13, Reasonable Cause Hold Notice (“. . . . The reason for the delay is explained below:

• We received notice that the check is being returned unpaid.
• We have confidential information that indicates that the check may not be paid.
• The check is drawn on an account with repeated overdrafts.
• We are unable to verify the endorsement of a joint payee.
• Some information on the check is not consistent with other information on the check.
• There are erasures or other apparent alterations on the check.
• The routing number of the paying bank is not a current routing number.
• The check is postdated or has a stale date.
• Information from the paying bank indicates that the check may not be paid.
• We have been notified that the check has been lost or damaged in collection.
• Other: . . .”)