Epsten, APC

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) preserves and promotes public confidence in the U.S. financial system by insuring deposits in banks and thrift institutions for at least $250,000; by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to the deposit insurance funds; and by limiting the effect on the economy and the financial system when a bank or thrift institution fails.

An independent agency of the federal government, the FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the thousands of bank failures that occurred in the 1920s and early 1930s. Since the start of FDIC insurance on January 1, 1934, no depositor has lost a single cent of insured funds as a result of a failure.

The FDIC receives no Congressional appropriations – it is funded by premiums that banks and thrift institutions pay for deposit insurance coverage and from earnings on investments in U.S. Treasury securities. The FDIC insures trillions of dollars of deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts – deposits in virtually every bank and thrift in the country.

The standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per insured bank, for each account ownership category. The FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimatorcan help you determine if you have adequate deposit insurance for your accounts.

The FDIC insures deposits only. It does not insure securities, mutual funds or similar types of investments that banks and thrift institutions may offer. (Deposit Insurance: What’s Covered distinguishes between what is and is not protected by FDIC insurance.)

The FDIC directly examines and supervises about 4,000 banks and savings banks for operational safety and soundness, more than half of the institutions in the banking system. Banks can be chartered by the states or by the federal government. Banks chartered by states also have the choice of whether to join the Federal Reserve System. The FDIC is the primary federal regulator of banks that are chartered by the states that do not join the Federal Reserve System. In addition, the FDIC is the back-up supervisor for the remaining insured banks and thrift institutions.

The FDIC also examines banks for compliance with consumer protection laws, including the Fair Credit Billing Act, the Fair Credit Reporting Act, the Truth-In-Lending Act, and the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act, to name a few. Finally, the FDIC examines banks for compliance with the Community Reinvestment Act (CRA) which requires banks to help meet the credit needs of the communities they were chartered to serve.

To protect insured depositors, the FDIC responds immediately when a bank or thrift institution fails. Institutions generally are closed by their chartering authority – the state regulator, or the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. The FDIC has several options for resolving institution failures, but the one most used is to sell deposits and loans of the failed institution to another institution. Customers of the failed institution automatically become customers of the assuming institution. Most of the time, the transition is seamless from the customer’s point of view.

The FDIC is headquartered in Washington, D.C., but conducts much of its business in regional and field offices around the country.

The FDIC is managed by a five-person Board of Directors, all of whom are appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate, with no more than three being from the same political party.

For more information, visit: https://www.fdic.gov/

The association is required to keep and maintain a variety of financial records pursuant to Civil Code sections 5200 et seq. and 4525. Under these sections, the association must maintain financial documents including balance sheets, income and expense statements, budget comparisons, the general ledger and all of the documents required to be provided as part of the annual disclosures. The association must retain these financial records and make them available to members upon demand for the current fiscal year, plus the prior two fiscal years.

The board is required to prepare or cause to be prepared an annual financial statement that includes a pro forma operating budget comprised of estimated revenue and expenses on an accrual basis, a summary of the association’s reserves and various statements by the board regarding reserves and a reserve funding plan. The financial statement must be delivered to the members not less than 30 days or more than 90 days immediately preceding the beginning of the association’s fiscal year.

Fines are also referred to as monetary penalties. Fines may be levied only after adoption and distribution to the membership of a reasonable fine schedule pursuant to the rule-making procedures of Civil Code section 4360, and after due process is afforded to the member being disciplined, including notice and hearing. (Civ. Code §§5850, 5855) Fine schedules frequently include varying levels of penalties depending upon the frequency and/or severity of the violation, continuing and/or repeated nature of the violation or other similar factors, and vary from community to community, depending upon demographic and related factors.

The fiscal year is an accounting period of 12 consecutive months, which may or may not be the same as the calendar year. For example, a community association’s fiscal year might run from October 1 to September 30. The exact timing of the fiscal year is important to calculate deadlines for filing documents such as tax returns or exemption statements, performing annual reviews or audits (Civ. Code §5305), calculating time frames for member access to specified records (Civ. Code §5210(a)(b)), and determining the amount of allowable assessment increases (Civ. Code §5605). Boards are advised to consult with their association’s C.P.A. or tax advisor regarding applicable filing or reporting requirements.

Anything of an accessory character annexed to houses and lands, so as to legally constitute a part thereof. While the term has no fixed definition, it includes items of a permanent nature, often those actually attached to the real property, or constructively attached by virtue of weight or immobility. In the association context, “fixture” often refers to exterior shutters, cabinetry, lighting, and similar items. Depending on the actual design of the system, “fixture” may include water, sewer or electrical installations as well.

The Civil Code and the U.S. Constitution protects owners’ rights to display the American flag within an owner’s separate interest or within their exclusive use common area. The display of other flags is subject to reasonable rules and regulations established by the board, but oftentimes cannot be banned all together if they do not exceed 15 square feet in size.

Common known as Freddie Mac, this enterprise was established by Congress to compete with Fannie Mae and provide banks with federal money to finance home mortgages. Freddie Mac purchases loans from lenders. It does not make loans directly to home buyers. Freddie Mac loans requirements can differ from Fannie Mae requirements and are subject to change.

To verify current address contact the Franchise Tax Board, Exempt Unit (916-845-4171). When filing the Association’s annual tax statements, you can update the address on those forms {nonprofit tax return (FTB Form 100); annual nonprofit information return (FTB Form 199)].

See Federal National Mortgage Association