Certificate of Deposit Acct. Registry Savings: one-stop shopping for

If you're still depositing $100,000 into umpteen different banks to get Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage, then it's time to take advantage of the CDARS network.

The Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service was launched by Promontory Interfinancial Network during January 2003 and gives individuals, public entities, homeowners associations, trust attorneys and others the ability to invest up to $50 million with one bank, resulting in one rate and one statement -- all covered by FDIC. State and local government agencies in Colorado also are allowed to use CDARS to invest public money.

Glenn Martin, Promontory's business development adviser for the Rocky Mountain States, said the network has more than 2,000 affiliated banks, including Adam's Bank & Trust, Citadel Bank and The Bank at Broadmoor in Colorado Springs.

Maturities for CDARS range from four weeks to five years, offering investors a wide range of possibilities.

Barbara Walker, executive director for Independent Bankers of Colorado, said that the CDARS network offers a safe alternative to brokered CDs, in which the money flows to institutions that pay the highest rates of interest, regardless of location or other factors.

"CDARS are less volatile, core-like deposits, because the depository institution has a direct relationship with the depositor," Walker said.

CDARS have a reciprocal nature, she said, because local banks can reinvest money into their communities in the form of loans, which is important during times of concern about a credit crunch.

For people in a fiduciary capacity, such as executors of estates or HOA treasurers, CDARS are ideal, said Jim Oaks, executive vice president of The Bank at Broadmoor.

"People investing somebody else's money cannot be criticized for not having FDIC (protection)," he said. "And this is a great tool for our clients -- it gives them the convenience of one bank."

Perhaps the best endorsement is that banks take their own medicine.

The Bank at Broadmoor, Oaks said, invests its own excess money in CDARS because "the rate is better than the overnight bank rate."

For more information, visit www.cdars.com.

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