It is possible for banks to sell CDs. For example, large depositors may authorize their banks to participate in the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service (CDARS), which distributes CDs to multiple banks to ensure that the customer’s total deposits are fully insured by the FDIC. But if your bank has no intentions of selling this customer’s CDs, we do not see any problem with informing the customer of your intent not to sell his CDs.
In lieu of using a special “FDIC Guarantee” stamp, we recommend providing the customer with some of the FDIC’s many resources on deposit insurance directed at consumers, which we link to below. Your bank also may already display the official FDIC advertising statement (such as “Member FDIC”) on the CDs.
For resources related to our guidance, please see:
- FDIC Advisory Opinion 03-03: (Describing the CDARS program as “a deposit-placement service designed to allow FDIC-insured depository institutions to accept deposits of more than [the maximum FDIC deposit insurance coverage] and obtain full coverage for the depositor by spreading the funds among as many separate FDIC insured institutions as necessary so that no institution holds more than [the maximum FDIC deposit insurance coverage] (principal plus interest) for each depositor.”)
- FDIC Advertising Statement Rules, 12 CFR 328.3(d) (“The following types of advertisements do not require use of the official advertising statement: . . . (2) Insured depository institution supplies such as stationery (except when used for circular letters), envelopes, deposit slips, checks, drafts, signature cards, deposit passbooks, certificates of deposit, etc.”)