The West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act is codified at W. Va. Code §12-1B-1, et. seq. which establishes the acceptable methods of collateralizing funds: the Dedicated Single Bank Method and the Multibank Pooled Method. The Act is available at West Virginia Code (wvlegislature.gov).

The West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Program will commence on July 6, 2026.

No. There will be no exemptions or exceptions to the West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act. All public funds will be collateralized through the State Treasurer’s Office in accordance with the West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act.

The Pledge WV Collateral System is a program developed by the WV State Treasurer’s Office aimed at streamlining the management of pledged collateral for securing public deposits. The System provides a centralized portal for financial institutions to upload their public fund balances on a monthly basis. Additionally, on a monthly basis, the State Treasurer’s Office uploads the pledged collateral report from its Safekeeping Agent. The State Treasurer’s Office compares public fund balances to the pledged collateral to ensure proper collateralization in accordance with WV State Code.

An entity must have a username and password in order to access the Pledge WV Collateral System. Our software is designed with security as a top priority, employs industry-standard encryption protocols to protect sensitive user data both in transit and at rest. Through rigorous testing and continuous monitoring, we ensure robust defense mechanisms against potential threats such as SQL injection, cross-site scripting, and other common vulnerabilities. Regular security updates and patches are promptly deployed to address emerging risks, bolstering the resilience of our system. Additionally, our software implements strict access controls and authentication mechanisms, following the principle of least privilege to restrict unauthorized access and safeguard confidential information. With a dedicated team of security experts overseeing our development process and adhering to best practices in secure coding, our software offers a reliable and trustworthy solution for our users’ data protection needs.

The Treasurer’s Office has established a phased-in schedule for onboarding financial institutions and public depositors which will begin on July 6, 2026. The Treasurer’s Office will notify your entity of your official onboarding date.

You may contact the West Virginia State Treasurer’s Office at CollateralGroup@wvsto.gov, call 304-340-5020.

A Designated State Depository is any state or national bank or any state or federal savings and loan association in this state meeting the requirements of this Act. A depository must be approved by the State Treasurer’s Office to accept public fund deposits.

A published list of approved Designated State Depositories is on the Pledge WV Collateral System website (insert link here). The State Treasurer’s Office will work with financial institutions on becoming an approved Designated State Depository. Please contact the State Treasurer’s Office at 304-558-3599 if you do not see your current financial institution bank on the list. Please take note of the restricted financial institution list also published on the State Treasurer’s Office website at https://wvtreasury.gov/Financial-Institutions/Restricted-Financial-Institutions-List.

Details on becoming a designated state depository can be found on our website at Designated State Depositories. If your financial institution is interested in becoming an approved depository, please send an email to DepositoryGroup@wvsto.gov to begin the process.

The following eligible securities are acceptable forms of collateral to be pledged by banks for deposits held for the State of West Virginia. Securities, such as bonds and notes shall be rated as an AA+ by S&P or equivalent by any other national rating service. Bonds of this state or any other state of the United States shall be rated as an A+ by S&P or equivalent by any other national rating service.

Please see the complete list of acceptable collateral on the Pledge WV Collateral system website here (Eligible Collateral).

Public deposits of funds due the State of West Virginia or held in an approved outside bank account approved by the State Treasurer’s Office are NOT allowed to be held in a deposit placement program such as CDARS or ICS. Public funds for other entities under the West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act may be held in a deposit placement program.

The Dedicated Single Bank Method of collateralizing public fund deposits collateralizes public deposits at 102% over the FDIC, IntraFi/CDARS/ICS coverage. There is no contingent liability in the Dedicated Single Bank Method of collateralizing; therefore, depositories will not be liable for losses of public deposits held by other Designated State Depositories.

The Multibank Pooled Method of collateralizing public fund deposits allows for a contingent liability of the proportionate share of losses of uninsured and uncollateralized public fund deposits held by a Designated State Depository in default. Eligibility to participate in the Multibank Pooled Method will be determined by meeting a qualifying bank rating of 2.75. Ratings are determined quarterly by the State Treasurer’s Office financial rating service, FedFis. Entities qualifying for the Multibank Pooled Method will pledge collateral using a graduated tiered approach for all public funds over the FDIC, IntraFi/CDARS/ICS coverage. The tiers are as follows:

Important Note: During the onboarding process, financial institutions may only choose the Dedicated Single Bank Method until all financial institutions are enrolled and properly using the system. The State Treasurer’s Office will notify financial institutions when the Multibank Pooled Method is available for participation.

The State Treasurer’s Office uses the FedFis Rating service. FedFis is a comprehensive proprietary rating system that considers factors such as liquidity, asset quality, capital adequacy and earnings to determine a financial institution’s overall creditworthiness. The FedFis rating system ranges from one to five, where one is the highest and five is the lowest rating.

Yes. The Designated State Depository may change from one method to another, each quarter, if desired.

There are no fees being charged at this time. However, the State Treasurer’s Office reserves the right to charge fees if costs to run the program become excessive.

Yes. The Treasurer may rescind the authority of a Designated State Depository to receive further public fund deposits and penalties may be assessed for failure to comply with the West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act. Information regarding penalties may be found in W. Va. Code §12-1B-7.

Information about restricted financial institutions can be found on our website at https://wvtreasury.gov/Financial-Institutions/Restricted-Financial-Institutions-List

A Public Depositor is defined as the state or any county, municipality, spending unit, or other political subdivision of the state. The Public Depositor needs to determine if funds are public fund deposits and is responsible for informing the Designated State Depository of such funds. Some questions to ask to help determine if your funds are public:

1. ) Are you audited by the State Auditor’s Office?
2. ) Are your funds provided by the Federal, State, or Local Government?

The State Treasurer’s Office will be the final authority for the determination as to whether funds are classified as public funds.

Public fund deposits are moneys held by a Public Depositor by entity of the state or any county, municipality, spending unit, or other political subdivision of the state. Deposits include, but may not be limited to, time deposits, demand deposits, savings deposits, or any other transaction account.

The West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act covers all public fund deposits of a public depositor held at a Designated State Depository. This includes, but may not be limited to, time deposits, demand deposits, savings deposits, or any other transaction account.

Yes. All public fund deposits will be collateralized by a Designated State Depository approved by the State Treasurer’s Office and held in the name of the State Treasurer’s Office. If provisions of the Act are inconsistent with the provisions of any other state or local law relating to the pledge of collateral by the state or any county, municipality, or other political subdivision for purposes of securing public deposits in financial institutions, the provisions of the West Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act shall control.

Public fund deposits are safe under both methods allowed under the Act because the funds are collateralized. For the funds collateralized below 100%, the Designated State Depositories in the Multibank Pooled Method have assumed the contingent liability to cover for potential losses. Legislative Rule Title 112, Series 21, Section 17 outlines the payment of losses due to insolvency.

Yes, public depositors are responsible for periodically reviewing the balance of their public deposits reported by their financial institution for accuracy. Additionally, by July 31st of each year, the public depositor must attest to the State Treasurer’s Office.