The DC Bar Foundation administers the District of Columbia's Interest on lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTA) Program, which was created by the District of Columbia Court of Appeals in 1985.  The IOLTA program provides an important source of funding for local legal services.

An IOLTA account is a trust account made up of client funds that are either small in amount or held for a short period of time.  Examples include fee advances or settlements for multiple clients whose money would not, on its own, net interest for that client.  The DC Bar Foundation receives any interest earned on these accounts and distributes the funds to legal aid offices in the District of Columbia.

How can a lawyer or law firm open a DC-IOLTA account?

Identify a bank on the list below and bring the form available here to the bank.  Make sure to comply with the relevant rules governing IOLTA accounts: Appendix B, Rule X and Rules 1.15 and 1.19 of the Rules of Professional Conduct.  More information on how to open an IOLTA account is available here, or by contacting Daniel Mills, the Manager of the D.C. Bar Practice Management Advisory Service at 202-737-4700 ext. 212, or dmills [@] dcbar.org.

Banks and financial institutions should review and follow the Guidelines for Financial Institutions  available here or by contacting the Bar Foundation.  Please use the IOLTA Remittance Form to report to the Foundation.

What financial institutions can hold DC-IOLTA accounts?

DC lawyers need to open their DC-IOLTA accounts at financial institutions approved by the DC Bar; all are listed below.  The Foundation also encourages patronage of banks that participate in our DC-IOLTA Preferred Bank Initiative, as they provide the most favorable interest rates, ensuring the greatest return to local legal services.  For information on how your institution can become a DC-IOLTA Preferred Bank, click here.  Remember to ask for a favorable rate on your firm's IOLTA account!

Is my law firm’s IOLTA account insured by the FDIC?

For the purpose of FDIC insurance, IOLTA accounts are fiduciary accounts. As such, EACH CLIENT is insured as if the funds were deposited directly by the principal (the client), provided certain requirements are met. Generally, this means each client will be insured up to the maximum (temporarily increased from $100,000 to $250,000 through December 31, 2009) if the client has no other deposits at that institution, and if the account has been set up properly. PLEASE NOTE:  Through December 31, 2009, IOLTA accounts are fully-covered, without regard to a client's additional holdings, at banks participating in the FDIC's Transaction Account Guaranty Program (TAG). 

For information on the TAG program, see:  http://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/TLGP/faq.html#deposits  

For the FDIC's list of banks that have opted out of the TAG program, see:

http://fdic.gov/regulations/resources/TLGP/optout.html 

The following are  links to the FDIC website, which describe the temporary increase in the insurance level, and which specifically identify IOLTA accounts for this treatment and provide the other (fairly straightforward) requirements  that an IOLTA account must meet to qualify for this treatment:    http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/insured/faq3.html#fiduciary  

http://www.fdic.gov/news/news/financial/2008/fil08102a.html

How do I know the bank holding our IOLTA account is safe?

In all cases, bank selection is key.  One resource available to assess financial institution risk is Veribanc, a bank rating company. Veribanc rates every institution in the US on a quarterly basis. See:  http://www.veribanc.com/Business%20Reports.html  Another resource is Standard & Poor’s, which provides a range of ratings on financial institutions, usually updated weekly.  See:   http://www.standardandpoors.com  (Select “United States” and “Ratings” from the menus.)  The FDIC also posts a list of failed banks at:  http://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/banklist.html 

Please note that the DC Bar Foundation is not in a position to comment on banks’ ratings.  Our job is to let you know which banks have been approved by the District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility to hold D.C. trust funds, including IOLTA funds. . 

DC-IOLTA Preferred Banks

DC IOLTA Preferred Banks offer favorable interest rates on IOLTA accounts and do not assess service fees on the accounts.  The DC Bar Foundation encourages your patronage of any or all of the services offered by DC IOLTA Preferred Banks. Banks paying the highest rates as of 3/01/09 are listed first.

PNC Bank

Congressional Bank

City First Bank of D.C.

ColomboBank

American Bank

SunTrust

Adams National Bank

BB&T

Citibank

Honor Roll of IOLTA Participating Financial Institutions

We salute the financial institutions listed below that do not assess service fees on IOLTA accounts.

Access National Bank
Bank of Georgetown
Chevy Chase Bank
Commerce Bank

Fidelity & Trust Bank
First Liberty National Bank

HSBC Bank USA, NA
Independence Federal Savings Bank
Industrial Bank of Washington
National Capital Bank

Presidential Savings Bank
United Bank
Wachovia
Washington First Bank

Other Participating IOLTA Financial Institutions
Alliance Bank

Bank of America

Capital Bank, N.A.

Cardinal Bank
Century National Bank

Chain Bridge Bank, N.A.
Chase Manhattan Bank

Comerica Bank

Esquire Bank
First Bank, N.A.

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.

First National Bank, Omaha

John Marshall Bank

LaSalle Bank Midwest, N.A.

Main St. Bank
M&T Bank

Mercantile Potomac Bank

Monument Bank

OBA Bank
Providence Savings & Loan, F.A.

Rappahannock National Bank
U.S. Trust Company, N.A.

The DC Bar Foundation updates the information on this page periodically.  For current information, contact your financial institution.