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FEDERAL

RESERVE

BANK

OF

NEW YORK

N E W Y O R K , N. Y. < 0 0 ^ 5

P A U L A. V O L C K E R

December 1, 1978

To The Chief Executive Officer of the Member Bank Addressed:
Subject:

New Monthly Survey of NOW Accounts

As you know, on October 15, 1978, the Congress passed the Financial
Institutions Regulatory and Interest Rate Control Act of 1978. President Carter
signed the Congressional bill into law on November 10. Title XIII of the Act
removed, in New York State, the prohibition in federal law with respect to the
offering of interest-bearing accounts against which the depositor may write
negotiable orders of withdrawal (NOW's). In a letter dated November 2, the
Superintendent of Banks for the State of New York indicated that the Office of
Counsel of the Banking Department had reviewed the issue of the authority for
New York State chartered banking organizations to offer NOW accounts and advised
her of their opinion that New York state-chartered commercial banks, savings
banks and savings and loan associations have the authority to offer these NOW
accounts.
Since Congress clearly intended to provide for an experiment with NOW
accounts in the Northeast, the regulatory agencies need to have continuous and
current data to enable them to monitor developments and to report these to
Congress. Because separate data collection by each Federal banking agency
could result in considerable duplication of effort, a cooperative project has
been agreed upon by the Federal Reserve, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
and Federal Home Loan Bank Board. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York has been
selected as the central collecting agency for a monthly statistical report that
is being requested from all depository institutions offering NOW accounts in New
York. As you may be aware, the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston has been the
central collecting agent for all depository institutions in New England since
the inception of NOW accounts in the six states there.




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FEDERAL

RESERVE

BANK OF

NEW

YORK-

Three data items will be requested from all depository institutions in
New York on a monthly basis beginning with December. The items are:
(1) number
of NOW accounts as of the last business day of the reporting month;
(2) balances
in NOW accounts as of the last business day of the reporting month; and (3)
debits to (withdrawals from) NOW accounts during the reporting month, including
both negotiable drafts and over-the-counter withdrawals. A supply of the new
survey forms will be mailed to your bank shortly. The completed form is to be
sent to the Domestic Reports Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
by no later than the tenth of the following month.
The Federal Reserve Bank of New York will publish, on a monthly basis,
aggregate totals by type of institution and perhaps by Standard Metropolitan
Statistical Area (SMSA). Naturally, no individual bank data will be published.
Questions concerning the new survey may be directed to Mr. Richard J.
Gelson, Manager of the Statistics Department. He can be reached by telephone
at (212) 791-6312.
Thank you in advance for your cooperation.
Sincerely yours,

Paul A. Volcker