CDARS® Program

Our affiliation with the IntraFi® network gives you access to CDARS® and multi-million-dollar FDIC insurance protection and keeps your funds at one bank.

With the CDARS® program you can: 

  • Keep it simple - Avoid opening multiple accounts with multiple institutions to protect your funds. Forgo the need to use repo sweeps, track collateral on an ongoing basis, and manually consolidate statements and disbursements from multiple banks.  
  • Support your community - Feel good knowing that the full amount of funds placed through CDARS can stay local to support lending opportunities that build a stronger community.*

  • Earn Interest

    Put your cash balance to work in CDs.

  • Manage Liquidity

    Select from multiple terms to meet your liquidity needs.

  • Rest Assured

    Know that deposits well into the millions are eligible for FDIC insurance protection.



Frequently Asked Questions About CDARS

  • The standard FDIC insurance maximum is $250,000 per insured capacity, per bank. To protect a larger deposit, you could run around to multiple institutions to deposit your funds, or you could require a bank to collateralize your deposit and track changing collateral values on an ongoing basis. Alternatively, you can have us place your large-dollar deposit using CDARS. Your deposit is divided into smaller amounts and placed with other institutions that use CDARS, each an FDIC-insured institution. Then, those member institutions issue CDs in amounts under $250,000, so that your deposit is eligible for FDIC insurance at each member bank. By working directly with us, you can access coverage from many institutions while receiving a single regular statement.
  • Yes. The FDIC insures deposits according to the ownership category in which the funds are insured and how the accounts are titled. The standard deposit insurance coverage limit is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category.

    Deposits held in different ownership categories are separately insured, up to at least $250,000, even if held at the same bank. For example, a revocable trust account (including living trusts and informal revocable trusts commonly referred to as payable on death (POD) accounts) with one owner naming three unique beneficiaries can be insured up to $750,000. See "Revocable and Irrevocable Trust Accounts" on the FDIC's website for more information about how deposit insurance is calculated for these types of accounts.
  • You can get detailed information about your specific deposit insurance coverage by accessing the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) and entering information about your accounts.

    You can also visit the FDIC Information and Support Center to submit a request for deposit insurance coverage information, or you can call the FDIC at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342) and an FDIC deposit insurance specialist will help you calculate your deposit insurance coverage.
  • When we exchange deposits with other institutions that use CDARS on a dollar-for-dollar basis, the same amount of funds placed through the network returns to us. As a result, the total amount of your original deposit can remain with our bank and be used for local lending. (CDARS Reciprocal transactions only.)

    When deposited funds are exchanged on a dollar-for-dollar basis with other banks that use CDARS, our bank can use the full amount of a deposit placed through CDARS for local lending, satisfying some depositors' local investment goals or mandates. Alternatively, with a depositor's consent, our bank may choose to receive fee income instead of deposits from other banks. Under these circumstances, deposited funds would not be available for local lending.
  • Funds placed through CDARS are deposited only into FDIC-insured banks. We act as custodian for your CDARS deposits, and the subcustodian for CDARS deposits is the Bank of New York Mellon (BNY Mellon).

    Unique to CDARS, you as a depositor can obtain a confirmation of records maintained by BNY Mellon as subcustodian to reconcile those records with the statements received from us. At any time, as often as desired, you as a depositor can obtain a certified statement from BNY Mellon that confirms the exact amount of your CDs, including principal balance and accrued interest, for each FDIC-insured institution that issues a CD through CDARS. 

    You can submit a request for the certified statement, along with BNY Mellon’s processing fee, through us. BNY Mellon will send the certified statement directly to you or to another party designated by you, such as an auditor.
  • No. FDIC deposit insurance only covers certain deposit products, such as checking and savings accounts, MMDAs, and certificates of deposit (CDs). Visit the "Are My Accounts Insured by the FDIC?" on the FDIC's website for a full list of the types of deposit products that are covered by FDIC insurance and the amount of deposit insurance coverage that may be available under FDIC's different ownership categories.
  • You work directly with just us—the bank you know and trust. As always, your confidential information remains protected.
    • Single Accounts (owned by one person with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per owner
    • Joint Accounts (two or more persons with no beneficiaries): $250,000 per co-owner
    • Revocable trust accounts: Each owner is insured up to $250,000 for each unique eligible beneficiary named or identified in the revocable trust, subject to specific limitations and requirements.
  • FDIC deposit insurance protects our TowneBank members. Because of this, our members don’t need to purchase deposit insurance as it is automatic for any deposit account opened at TowneBank. Deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category at TowneBank.
  • CDARS is one of the safest, smartest vehicles for investors looking to protect their large-dollar deposits while earning CD-level returns.

    CDs placed through CDARS offer:
    • access to multi-million-dollar FDIC insurance
    • the ease of working through one trusted relationship, earning one rate per maturity, and receiving consolidated statements
    • relief from ongoing collateralization—because CDARS deposits are eligible for FDIC protection, you can eliminate ongoing collateral tracking
    • a finite maturity date (in contrast to auction-rate or some adjustable-rate securities)
    • the ability to have the amount of your deposit available to support lending initiatives that strengthen the local community
    When deposited funds are exchanged on a dollar-for-dollar basis with other banks that use CDARS, our bank can use the full amount of a deposit placed through CDARS for local lending, satisfying some depositors' local investment goals or mandates. Alternatively, with a depositor's consent, our bank may choose to receive fee income instead of deposits from other banks. Under these circumstances, deposited funds would not be available for local lending.


*When deposited funds are exchanged on a dollar-for-dollar basis with other banks that use CDARS, our bank can use the full amount of a deposit placed through CDARS for local lending, satisfying some depositors’ local investment goals or mandates. Alternatively, with a depositor’s consent, our bank may choose to receive fee income instead of deposits from other banks. Under these circumstances, deposited funds would not be available for local lending.

Deposit placement through CDARS or ICS is subject to the terms, conditions, and disclosures in applicable agreements. Although deposits are placed in increments that do not exceed the FDIC standard maximum deposit insurance amount (“SMDIA”) at any one destination bank, a depositor’s balances at the institution that places deposits may exceed the SMDIA (e.g., before settlement for deposits or after settlement for withdrawals) or be uninsured (if the placing institution is not an insured bank). The depositor must make any necessary arrangements to protect such balances consistent with applicable law and must determine whether placement through CDARS or ICS satisfies any restrictions on its deposits. A list identifying IntraFi network banks appears at https://www.intrafi.com/network-banks. The depositor may exclude banks from eligibility to receive its funds. IntraFi and CDARS are registered service marks, and the IntraFi hexagon and IntraFi logo are service marks, of IntraFi Network LLC.