The St. Louis Fed Is the Model for Treasury Check Consolidation

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The St. Louis Fed Is the Model for Treasury Check Consolidation

In 1997, the Federal Reserve System consolidated its 12 processing sites into eight. Because Treasury checks have continued to decrease, the System decided late last year that further consolidations were necessary. Four Fed banks were chosen to continue this service: St. Louis, Atlanta, Philadelphia and Richmond.

The criteria used for identifying and selecting the four sites were low processing costs and quick turnaround time. After information gathered during the first six months of 2001 was received, the St. Louis office was ranked No. 1 in the System.

Consolidations began during the second quarter of 2002. Here are the milestones:

• In late February, the St. Louis office absorbed the volume from Seattle.
• On March 1, St. Louis absorbed the volume from the Indianapolis, Peoria and Des Moines offices.
• On May 16, the Chicago, Milwaukee, Detroit and Minneapolis offices consolidated with St. Louis.
• On June 21, the final office, San Francisco, will consolidate with St. Louis.

Additionally, in late March, the San Francisco archive system was relocated to St. Louis. It was phased into production April 11.

Before the consolidation began, the St. Louis office processed approximately 2.1 million Treasury items annually. Once the consolidation is complete, the St. Louis office estimates it will process a total of 6.5 million Treasury checks. Regardless, the volume of checks absorbed will not affect turnaround or timeliness of transmissions.