A “check clearance pattern” projects the amount subtracted from a state’s bank account each day after the state makes a disbursement of federal funds. That is, the clearance pattern reflects how those checks clear the bank account in the days following the date the checks are mailed.

Under the CMIA, the U.S. Treasury may require states to develop check clearance patterns for the purpose of:

• Timing the drawdown of selected federal programs, as with Medicaid beneficiary payments; or
• Use when calculating CMIA interest owed to the Federal Government for the time that federal funds are held in state bank accounts.

Guide to Financial Operations

REV. 03/19/2012