The Board of Directors of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) yesterday approved an interim rule to extend the Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) program to December 31, 2010 with the discretion to further extend the program to year-end 2011, should economic conditions warrant such action. The program, which was set to expire on June 30, 2010, provides customers of participating depositary institutions full coverage on transaction accounts. The program mitigates the risks that banks would risk unnecessary liquidity failures should businesses diversify their banking deposits among multiple institutions to fall below the deposit insurance cap. Often, as payroll dates or other key payables approach, business banking balances temporarily exceed the account maximum for FDIC-provided deposit insurance. As a consequence of the financial crisis of 2008, small businesses had to consider the possibility of a bank failure occurring at the time of a peak deposit, prompting the FDIC to raise its limits for such business transaction accounts. The extension of this program is expected to continue a stable funding source for banks to secure low-cost, large, locally-sourced deposits. It will also reassure small businesses that they can maintain their existing banking relationships beyond the June 30 expiry date without fear of the loss of FDIC backing.