METROPOLITAN NATIONAL BANK OFFERS FDIC INSURANCE COVERAGE UP TO $50 MILLION ON DEPOSITS THROUGH CDARSR

NEW YORK – Metropolitan National Bank, one of the few banks in the New York region able to offer Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage on deposits up to $50 million through a program called CDARS®, is attracting significant new business in the wake of recent bank closures, according to Mark R. DeFazio, president and CEO.

DeFazio notes that the closures have caused concerns among high net worth individuals, companies, foundations and other organizations with bank deposits in excess of $100,000, which is the maximum amount covered by the FDIC. He says that some of the new deposits that Metropolitan National has been attracting because of its CDARS program have been far in excess of seven figures. The bank has been advertising the service via the Internet and a variety of other outlets, including its Web site [www.MetropolitanBankNY.com].

"Despite the fact that the great majority of banks are sound, the recent seizure of the IndyMac bank in Pasadena, CA by federal regulators caused many people to focus on ways to protect their deposits that exceed $100,000," DeFazio says. It was reported that 10,000 IndyMac customers lost half a billion dollars on a billion dollars in uninsured assets in that incident, he points out.

The CDARS service [Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service] is the creation of Promontory Network, which is comprised of more than 2,000 institutions nationwide, and New York's Metropolitan National is one of the few banks in New York that is part of that network.

"When a client comes in with a large deposit – up to $50 million – we place it in CDs via the CDARS service with as many other network banks as required in order to ensure that the funds are completely covered," Barry Zabell, the bank's operations chief, explains.

According to Zabell, "Clients gain the convenience of managing all of their CD investments through one relationship and Metropolitan Bank gains the ability to attract significant new deposits."