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Deposit Broker's Processing Guide

Broker Input File Requirements

In order to facilitate the processing of your customer information, the FDIC requires that certain data be submitted electronically.

The following tables contain the data layout, format, required data, and additional information (where applicable). Please adhere to the following when constructing your data file:

  1. Data must be in an ASCII-flat, tab-delimited file. The requested media is an electronically uploaded file, USB/thumb drive or DVD.
  2. All files must contain 19 columns (i.e., a tab must be included, even if the field is blank).
  3. Do not include column headers or summary lines. The file must contain only investor/sub-broker records.

Failure to comply with these requirements could delay the processing of your customers' information. Please note the following are examples of common mistakes made when preparing the data file:

Common Mistakes

  1. Ending a record after the Principal column (column 18) (i.e., not including a tab when the Sub-Broker Indicator is blank).
  2. Non-DO broker including CUSIP in the Non-DO file (column 4).
  3. Including column headings on the first line.
  4. Providing miscellaneous information at the bottom of the file.
  5. Leading zeroes of Tax ID (column 5) and Zip (column 14) being dropped. Usually this is caused by exporting from Excel and formatting the field as something other than Text.
  6. Missing cents in Principal (column 18). This usually occurs when exporting from Excel and formatting the field as something other than Text (e.g., Currency, Special, or Custom).
  7. Including currency symbols in the Principal (e.g., "$" or comma). The decimal point must be present.
  8. Including double-quotes around fields.

If you are a deposit broker acting as an agent for others and you have placed funds in account(s) at the failed institution in your company's name, FDIC considers you a Non-DO broker. Non-DO brokers placed funds directly in accounts at the institution. If you have Non-DO brokered accounts at the failed institution, please use the Non-DO Broker Submission File format.

If you are a deposit broker acting as an agent for others and you have placed funds in CUSIPs through the Depository Trust Company (DTC), FDIC considers you a DO broker. DO brokers do not place funds directly in accounts at the failed institution, but instead place funds with DTC who then opens an account at the failed institution. If you are a DO broker participating in a CUSIP under DTC at the failed institution, please use the DO Broker Submission File format.

NOTE: A single deposit broker acting as an agent for others can be both a Non-DO and a DO broker at the same failed institution. In this instance, the deposit broker would have placed funds in accounts directly at the institution AND would have placed funds in CUSIPs under the DTC at the institution. Two separate file submissions (one Non-DO Broker Submission and one DO Broker Submission) would need to be submitted for this institution.

Non-DO Broker Submission File

The file format and field descriptions of the fields contained in the Non-DO Broker Submission File are contained in the table below. Deposit brokers will submit investor and sub-broker information in an electronic format. The file must be submitted in the format specified below:

Non-DO Broker Submission File Format

ColField NameDescriptionValidation Rules
01Broker NumberNot applicable. Only used for DO broker submissions.
  1. Must be blank.
02Account NumberAccount Number at failed institution.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
03Customer Account NumberBroker assigned customer account number.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
04CUSIPNot applicable. Only used for DO broker submissions.
  1. Must be blank.
05Tax IDTaxpayer identification number of the primary account holder. It is usually the customer's SSN (no hyphens). The Tax ID should be for the investor. The broker's Tax ID should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required. Use "999999999" if the primary account holder does not have a Tax ID.
  2. Fixed length of 9 characters.
  3. Must be integer data type.
06Tax ID CodeCode indicates corporate (TIN) or personal tax identification number (SSN).
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Fixed length of 1 character.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. Value must be "S" or "T". Use "S" if the primary account holder does not have a Tax ID.
07Name 1Full name of owner line 1 as it appears on the broker's records.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
08Name 2Full name of owner line 2 as is appears on the broker's records.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
09Address 1Address line 1 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
10Address 2Address line 2 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
11Address 3Address line 3 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
12CityAddress city as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
13StateState postal abbreviation as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. If country, column 15, is "USA", value must be a valid 2-character US postal code (e.g., FL for Florida, IA for Iowa, etc.). If Country, column 15, is not "USA", value must be blank.
14ZipAddress zip as it appears on the customer's statement (no hyphens). The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 10 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. If Country, column 15, is "USA", value must be integer, fixed length, 5 or 9 characters, or field must be blank.
15CountryCountry code as it appears on the customer's statement.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Fixed length of 3 characters.
  3. Must be a valid 3-character ISO code for the nation (e.g., USA for United States of America, AIA for Anguilla, etc.).
16ProvinceProvince as it appears on the customer's statement.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
17IRA CodeCode or flag indicating the type of IRA account.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 1 character.
  3. If present, value must be "Y".
18PrincipalPrincipal balance of the customer's account as of the institution failure date.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters with 2 digits of precision.
  3. Must be numeric data type.
19InterestAccrued interest balance of the customer’s account as of the institution failure date. If left blank, the account balance accrued interest will be proportionately applied. Leave column blank if investment account type is CD’s at failed bank.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters with 2 digits of precision.
  3. Must be numeric data type.
20Sub-broker IndicatorA "Y" (yes) indicates the customer is a broker for others (as opposed to an individual investor). The sub-broker record should only be included if the sub-broker's investors are not included in the file. Additional information is provided below.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 1 character.
  3. If present, value must be "Y".

Sub-broker Indicator (additional information)

The sub-tier broker should be included as a sub-broker record in the first-tier broker's submission file only if the sub-tier broker's investors are not included in the first-tier broker's submission file. In this case the sub-broker indicator value should be "Y" on the sub-tier broker's record in the first-tier broker's submission file.

If the first-tier broker's submission file contains the sub-tier broker's investors, the sub-tier broker should not be included as a sub-broker in the file, as the sub-tier broker's investors represent the total of the sub-tier broker's investment. In this case the sub-broker indicator value should be blank on all of the investors as they are not sub-brokers. In this instance, including the sub-tier broker's record would be double-counting the sub-tier broker's investment.

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DO Broker Submission File

The file format and field descriptions of the fields contained in the DO Broker Submission File are contained in the table below. Deposit brokers will submit investor and sub-broker information in an electronic format. The file must be submitted in the format specified below:

DO Broker Submission File Format

ColField NameDescriptionValidation Rules
01Broker NumberDTC assigned broker participation number.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Fixed length of 4 characters.
  3. Must be integer data type.
  4. Must be the same on all records in the file.
02Account NumberNot applicable. Only used for Non-DO broker submissions.
  1. Must be blank.
03Customer Account NumberBroker assigned customer account number.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
04CUSIPCUSIP Number.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 15 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
05Tax IDTaxpayer identification number of the primary account holder. It is usually the customer's SSN (no hyphens). The Tax ID should be for the investor. The broker's Tax ID should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required. Use "999999999" if the primary account holder does not have a Tax ID.
  2. Fixed length of 9 characters.
  3. Must be integer data type.
06Tax ID CodeCode indicates corporate (TIN) or personal tax identification number (SSN).
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Fixed length of 1 character.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. Value must be "S" or "T". Use "S" if the primary account holder does not have a Tax ID.
07Name 1Full name of owner line 1 as it appears on the broker's records.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
08Name 2Full name of owner line 2 as is appears on the broker's records.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
09Address 1Address line 1 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
10Address 2Address line 2 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
11Address 3Address line 3 as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 255 characters.
  3. Must be ASCII printable characters data type.
12CityAddress city as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
13StateState postal abbreviation as it appears on the customer's statement. The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. If Country, column 15, is "USA", value must be a valid 2-character US postal code (e.g., FL for Florida, IA for Iowa, etc.). If Country, column 15, is not "USA", value must be blank.
14ZipAddress zip as it appears on the customer's statement (no hyphens). The address information should be for the investor. The broker's address should not be used for all of the investors.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 10 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
  4. If Country, column 15, is "USA", value must be integer, Fixed length, 5 or 9 characters, or field must be blank.
15CountryCountry code as it appears on the customer's statement.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Fixed length of 3 characters.
  3. Must be a valid 3-character ISO code for the nation (e.g., USA for United States of America, AIA for Anguilla, etc.).
16ProvinceProvince as it appears on the customer's statement.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 100 characters.
  3. Must be alphanumeric data type.
17IRA CodeCode or flag indicating the type of IRA account.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 1 character.
  3. If present, value must be "Y".
18PrincipalPrincipal balance of the customer's account as of the institution failure date.
  1. Column cannot be blank. Data is required.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 20 characters with 2 digits of precision.
  3. Must be numeric data type.
19InterestNot applicable. Only used for NON-DO broker submissions.
  1. Must be blank.
20Sub-broker IndicatorA "Y" (yes) indicates the customer is a broker for others (as opposed to an individual investor). The sub-broker record should only be included if the sub-broker's investors are not included in the file. Additional information is provided below.
  1. Column can be blank.
  2. Variable length but cannot exceed 1 character.
  3. If present, value must be "Y".

Sub-broker Indicator (additional information)

The sub-tier broker should be included as a sub-broker record in the first-tier broker's submission file only if the sub-tier broker's investors are not included in the first-tier broker's submission file. In this case the sub-broker indicator value should be "Y" on the sub-tier broker's record in the first-tier broker's submission file.

If the first-tier broker's submission file contains the sub-tier broker's investors, the sub-tier broker should not be included as a sub-broker in the file, as the sub-tier broker's investors represent the total of the sub-tier broker's investment. In this case, the sub-broker indicator value should be blank on all of the investors as they are not sub-brokers. In this instance, including the sub-tier broker's record would be double-counting the sub-tier broker's investment.

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Last Updated: June 18, 2024