Introduction:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Rural Development (RD) Business Center (BC) in St. Louis, MO, is holding a virtual Industry Day to provide requirement details and solicit information on potential sources to provide Escrow and Investment Fund Management Support Services. The anticipated NAICS Code (North American Industry Classified System) 522110 – Commercial Banking.

THIS IS A VIRTUAL INDUSTRY DAY NOTICE ONLY.

This is not a solicitation or a request for proposal and no contract will be awarded from this notice. No solicitation or specifications are available currently. This virtual Industry Day may not be linked to the solicitation.

Description:

The principal purpose of this performance work statement is for Escrow and Investment Fund management support services for USDA’s RD-BC. The awardee will maintain, administer, and report USDA RD-BC’s disbursement, banking, custody, and investment activity services as they relate to deposits and disbursements. The awardee will provide professional banking services, ensure timely and accurate reconciliation of the various investment and disbursement bank accounts, and provide professional investment advice to ensure maximum return on investments while preserving principal. The awardee shall provide all personnel, compatible software, access to reconciliation tools, financial system administrative set-up, supervision and other items and services necessary to perform the disbursement, banking, custody and investment services, and management reports (i.e., "Full" month-end (M/E) Account Reconciliation Plan (ARP) to include the prior months activity for cleared, voided, stop paid and outstanding checks, miscellaneous bank adjustments, M/E bank statements for each bank account, quarterly investment review for both Custody Accounts, etc.) as defined in this Performance Work Statement (PWS).

In accordance with section 4.2 of the PWS, “this scope of work must be contracted directly with, and performed directly by, a bank rather than any third-party service providers. This contract is completely self-funded from the interest earned from the supported accounts, and there are no federal funds available to cover third-party costs. Additionally, the federal government must retain total authority and control of these account and the processes covered in this PWS, and all servicing actions and financial reporting must be directed and performed by Rural Development (RD) personnel. Subsequently, performance by a third-party other than a bank is not feasible in accordance with Rural Development’s mandated policies and procedures.”

It is expected that the banks responding to this virtual Industry Day Notice possess the qualifications, expertise and understanding to fulfill the above mentioned services. It is also expected that the banks will follow the compliance and remain consistent with all Federal, State and local statues, regulations and standards.

AGAIN, THIS IS NOT A REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS.

This virtual Industry Day notice is for planning purposes only, and is a market research tool for seeking sources to meet all requirements in the attached Performance Work Statement (PWS).

The virtual Industry Day will be held on September 24, 2023 at 11:00AM ET through Microsoft Teams.

*If you do not have Microsoft Teams you will still be able to attend by dialing in via phone.

The virtual Industry Day will cover the following:

• Introductions (Government Teams)
• Procurement Team Objective Statement(s)/Outcome(s)
• Program Stakeholder Objective Statement(s)/Outcome(s)
• PWS Overview
• Review of Q&As from Sources Sought Notices (will be distributed to all attendees)
• Open Live Q&A (will be transcribed and distributed to all attendees)

***Any Questions not immediately responded to will be responded to as soon as feasible

• Next Steps and Closing

If your bank can provide these services as set forth in the PWS and would like to attend the virtual Industry Day, please respond to this notice via email with your capability statement(s), any anticipated questions or clarifications related to the attached PWS, and a list of attendees whom the Industry Day calendar invite should be emailed to.

For all attendee requests, please ensure you include their first name, last name, position/role within company, complete email address, and contact number. Failure to include all of this information for every attendee requested may result in no invitation being sent.

Email responses should be directed to both brookelyn.nelson@usda.gov and ryan.shappell@usda.gov.

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