News & Newsletter

News

Transaction Account Guarantee Program

Dairy State Bank is participating in the FDIC's Transaction Account Guarantee Program. Under that program, through June 30, 2010, all noninterest-bearing transaction accounts are fully guaranteed by the FDIC for the entire amount in the account. Coverage under the Transaction Account Guarantee Program is in addition to and separate from the coverage available under the FDIC's general deposit insurance rules.

RATES ARE LOW ON MORTGAGE LOANS

Mortgage rates are at or near record lows. Now may be the time to refinance your home mortgage or buy a new home and save thousands! We have a variety of products available to meet your needs. Contact one of our mortgage professionals today and discover the Dairy State Bank difference.

CDARS - Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service

With CDARS, you can access FDIC protection on multi-million dollar CD investments through Dairy State Bank. There are few guarantees in life - FDIC insurance is one of them. CDARS can be a valuable cash management or longer-term investment tool for you.

Why CDARS?

It's one-stop shopping. With help from CDARS, you can access:

Safety - Your money can access multi-million dollar FDIC insurance coverage.
Convenience - You work directly with us. You earn one interest rate and receive one regular statement, and one year-end tax form.
Community Investment - The full value of your money can support lending opportunities in your local community. (2)
CD-Level Rates - Your money earns CD-level returns which may compare favorably with other investment alternatives, including Treasuries, corporate sweep accounts and money market funds.

How does CDARS work?

We are a member of a special network. When you place a large amount with us, we place your funds into CDs issued by other banks in the same network - in increments of less than the standard FDIC insurance maximum - so that both principal and interest are eligible for complete FDIC protection. As a result, you can receive coverage from many banks while working with just one. (1)

These exchanges, which occur on a dollar-for-dollar basis, can bring the full amount of your original deposit back to our bank. As a result, we can make the full amount of your deposit available for community lending purposes. (2)

What else should I know?

Now, you no longer have to spend time managing multiple bank relationships, administering various interest rates, organizing interest disbursements from various sources, or manually consolidating monthly statements. This reduces your administrative burden, especially during tax and financial reporting seasons.

And with CDARS, you can eliminate the need to monitor changing collateral values - another time savings convenience.

Of course, your confidential account information remains protected.

Ask us about how CDARS can work for you the next time you visit Dairy State Bank or for more information, check out cdars.com.

(1) Funds may be submitted for placement only after a depositor enters into the CDARS Deposit Placement Agreement with Dairy State Bank. The agreement contains important information and conditions regarding the placement of funds by us.

(2) This benefit applies to some, but not all types of CDARS transactions. Let us know if this benefit is important to you, so that we can explain the relevant terms and conditions in more detail.

G2G:) got to go checking

Healthy relationships and good saving habits develop early. That's why Dairy State Bank is offering G2G, a checking package for young adults 14 - 25. It delivers card-carrying convenience plus the access that many parents and guardians want. The G2G checking account includes:

No minimum balance and no monthly service charge
Free Check Card. A Photo Check card is available for a one-time fee of $5
Free Online Banking
Free Online Bill Pay ($5 monthly inactivity fee is not used at least one time per month)
Every month as little as $10 can be automatically transferred from your G2G account to a savings account
Free First Box of Basic Checks

To set up your new G2G checking account, stop in to any of our branches and talk to a Customer Service Representative!

Get the Picture for better security!

Now you can add your photo to your Check Card for extra security! There is a small $5 one-time fee for the Photo Check Card.....a small price to pay to protect your identity! Regular check cards are still available at no charge. Ask for details at all of our locations!

HSA accounts

Do you have a High Deductible Health Plan? Then you may be eligible for a Health Savings Account!

A Health Savings Account (HSA) is a tax-exempt custodial account opened exclusively for the purpose of paying or reimbursing qualified medical expenses for you, your spouse or your children.

To be eligible, you must:

Be covered under a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) on the 1st day of the month
Are not also covered by any other health plan that is not an HDHP
Are not enrolled in Medicare
Cannot be claimed as a dependent on another person's tax return
Your HDHP plan has an annual deductible of at least $1,200 for single coverage and $2,400 for family coverage

The tax benefit to the customer is that the contributions are tax-deductible and the distributions are tax free if used for qualified medical expenses. The maximum annual contribution is $3,050 for single coverage and $6,150 for family coverage. An additional catch-up contribution of $1,000 can be made for people 55 and over. Non-qualifying expenses are subject to federal income taxes and an additional 10% penalty tax by the IRS.

Interest is also tax-free if used to pay for qualified medical expenses and tax-deferred if it is held in the account until the age of 65 and then used for purposes other than qualified medical expenses.

If you think that you may qualify for this account, please call or stop by any of our locations for more information.

What Is Check 21?

The Check Clearing Act for the 21st Century was signed into law by President Bush on October 28, 2003 and went into effect October 28, 2004. As of today, most checks must be physically transported before they can be cleared, which is expensive and time-consuming. Under this law, checks that you write should clear sooner, raising the possibility that some checks will be returned NSF if there were non-sufficient funds in the account when you wrote the check. You should not write checks for amounts that can't be covered by funds already in your checking account.

Check 21 also creates a new legal document, called the "substitute check", which can be used for proof of payment or for any other reason that might require an original canceled check. A substitute check is a legally sanctioned document, with all the rights and obligations given the original check written from your checkbook. These checks are paper copies created from electronic images of original paper checks (front and back, with all endorsements) although not all images meet the "substitute check" requirements. (Typical check image statements are not considered substitute checks.) Each substitute check also includes a statement identifying it as a legal copy of the original check. Beginning October 28, 2004, every bank will be required to accept substitute checks and at least some of the checks or check copies you receive from us may be substitute checks.

Not only will Check 21 speed up check clearing, it will also detect check fraud faster. Faster fraud detection means faster resolution for customers. Another safeguard is that the bank that creates a substitute check must warrant that the check is accurate. The bank also has to make sure the substitute check is produced in accordance with industry standards for quality.

Long story short, efficient check clearing allows for faster payment processing, decreased fraud, less paper and increased security for you, the banking customer!

Dairy State Bank's newsletter, Notes of Interest, is now available to you online. The Winter 2009 newsletter includes "A year-end Reflection" by CEO Mike Bock, information on IRA Rollovers, scams and tricks that happen to our customers and information on how to receive your free credit report. Follow the link below for further details!