Have you completed this webinar? Please tell us what you think.

Course description

Failure to process a garnishment correctly can leave a financial institution directly liable for the funds it failed to deliver.  In some states, that failure can make it liable for the entire amount of the judgment.   In this compliance arena, decisions must be made quickly and correctly based on pre-established mechanisms.

When an account subject to garnishment receives certain identified federal recurring payments, Treasury Department regulations require that special routines be used to determine whether any of the funds in the account are protected under the regulation and to how to proceed in responding to the garnishment order. Failure to follow these special routines can result in remitting protected funds to the garnishor, which can cause an avoidable hardship for your depositor, or failing to remit the funds required, either of which risks liability for the bank.

Attendees at this webinar will receive information on –

  • Which types of federal payments can be “protected funds” under Treasury’s rule
  • The types of deposits covered by the rule
  • What types of accounts are affected
  • What happens to “protected funds” if they are transferred to other accounts
  • How to recognize levies or garnishments covered by the rule
  • How to recognize garnishments or levies exempted by the rule
  • How to respond to garnishments when “protected funds” are involved
  • How to complete an “account review” under the rule
  • When the account review must be completed
  • How many months of federal payments can be protected
  • Multiple garnishment orders


This presentation does not address state rules on garnishments and levies. It focuses only on the Treasury Department’s regulation on Garnishment of Accounts Containing Federal Benefit Payments, 31 CFR Part 212.

Instructor(s)

John Burnett

John Burnett is a 1979 alumnus of the ABA National Compliance School, and served on its faculty for several years. He graduated with honors with the Class of 1990 from ABA's Stonier Graduate School of Banking, and is also a graduate of the BAIs and the Massachusetts Banker Associations Schools of Banking.John began his banking career in high school when he started as a teller at a $15 million bank that didn't have account numbers for its checking accounts (he says they actually filed by signature!) He joined Cape Cod Bank and Trust Company in 1971 and assumed the position of Compliance Officer in 1976. He also served as corporate secretary and secretary of CCBT's Board of Directors, as well as Clerk of the bank's holding company. John joined Glia Group, Inc. and the BankersOnline.com team in June, 2004. He is a frequent presenter of BOL Learning Connect webinars, and at BOL Conferences events.He was a member of the Massachusetts Bankers Association Legal and Regulatory Compliance Committee, and a former member of the American Bankers Association Compliance Executive Committee and NCS/NGCS Advisory Board. He served on ABA's Truth in Savings Task Force as Regulation DD was being written, and has served on several ABA and Massachusetts Bankers seminar panels.

Course curriculum

  • 1

    Webinar

    • Access Webinar

  • 2

    Materials

    • Slides

    • Materials

Reviews

5 star rating

Garnishment of Protected Funds

Dawn Hippensteel

I found this webinar to be very beneficial, and it was presented in a way that was easy to understand. The speaker was very knowledgable, and the handouts ...

Read More

I found this webinar to be very beneficial, and it was presented in a way that was easy to understand. The speaker was very knowledgable, and the handouts are great to have as a reference going forward. Thank you!

Read Less