Gold Book: The Check Reclamation Guide

Section 10: Glossary

Abandonment:
A process where the financial institution is not liable for the reclamation.

Check reclamation
A procedure used by the Financial Management Service to obtain a refund from a financial institution when a U.S. Treasury check is presented for payment over a forgery or unauthorized endorsement.

Cumulative Notice of Discharged Debt
Notifies the financial institution of any canceled debt that is reported to the Internal Revenue Service.

Federal agency
Any United States Federal Government agency.

Federal Reserve Bank
Serves as the nation's central bank. Functions include the handling of federal government deposits and checks, transferring funds through the Automated Clearing House network and Fedwire, and supervising and regulating federally chartered financial institutions.

FedMail
Fedmail is an application that receives large files for distribution via e-mail, Connect:Direct (C:D) or fax to financial institutions depending on how the financial institution prefers to receive the information.

Financial Institution
A bank, savings bank, savings and loan institution association, credit union or similar institution.

Offset
A collection method in which the federal government withholds funds payable by the United States to the financial institution, and applies the withheld funds to a debt owed to the US federal government. The Financial Management Service (FMS) may initiate an offset to collect a reclamation debt by referring the debt to the Treasury Offset Program or to another federal agency currently making payments to the presenting financial institution.

In addition, FMS may direct the Federal Reserve Bank to withhold credits from presenting financial institutions for application to a delinquent reclamation debt, a process known as Treasury Check Offset. Funds payable by the United States that may be offset include federal tax refunds, vendor payments, and credits from the Federal Reserve Bank for a Treasury check.

Presenting financial institution
A financial institution that directly presents checks to a Federal Reserve Bank and receives credit from the Federal Reserve for the check payment;

or,

A depositary which is authorized to charge checks directly to Treasury's General Account and present them to the Department of the Treasury for payment through a designated Federal Reserve Bank.

Protest
A written statement to the Financial Management Service requesting a review of its decision that the financial institution is liable for a check reclamation. It raises a valid legal or factual question and includes any supporting documentation which proves the financial institution is not liable.

Reclamation date
The date on which the Request for Refund (Check Reclamation) was prepared.

Request for Refund (Check Reclamation)
Initial notice sent to the presenting financial institution advising it of the amount due and the reason for the reclamation.

Summary of Debt Statement
A follow-up notice sent to the presenting financial institution listing their outstanding check reclamation debts.

T-CORE
Treasury Check Operations Reengineering Effort - A system located at FRB Richmond that processes declination and reclamation data.

For questions, contact:
Delphine A. Bryant
Collection Specialist
(202) 874-7770
Delphine.Bryant@fms.treas.gov