REQUEST FOR PROPOSAL
for
banking and merchant services
City of Arroyo Grande
RFP: Banking and Merchant Services
GEneral Information
The City of Arroyo Grande seeks proposals from banks located within the cities of Arroyo Grande or Grover Beach, interested in providing banking services. We encourage banks to submit the most comprehensive proposal possible offering the highest quality of service and enhancements to improve our current management of cash flow. We are also interested in various technological advances and pilots that could improve our banking, cash management and customer service capabilities.
The City’s banking relationship is currently with Bank of America. Our overall experience with our current bank has been satisfactory. The City’s primary objective is to evaluate the current market environment for banking services, and establish a new contract with a financially secure financial institution that best meets the needs of the City and offers the highest quality of service at the lowest overall cost. The City wishes to create efficiencies, make improvements where possible, and take advantage of new technologies. We encourage you to be creative and educational in your responses. Include information about your bank’s community involvement and the dedicated resources for serving the public sector. While your format must be consistent with the requirements of this RFP, if you believe there is additional information that would be beneficial to us, we invite you to include it in your proposal.
It is the City’s intent to maintain all commercial banking services with one financial institution to maximize cash flow and minimize administrative costs; however, the City reserves the right to award multiple banking services contracts if it is deemed to be in the best interest of the City to do so.
This RFP does not cover treasury related investment services, such as custody and safekeeping.
The City intends to establish a five (5) - year contract, with the option to renew annually for an additional three (3) years. Either party can cancel the contract for any reason with 60 days written notice.
Schedule of Proposal activities (ALL TIMES PACIFIC)
Time TableDistribution of RFP / September 17, 2013
Deadline for submission of questions to be addressed at the Pre-Proposal Teleconference / September 23, 2013
Optional Pre-Proposal Teleconference / September 25, 2013 3:00 pm
Proposal submission / October 25, 2013 3:00 pm
Proposal review / October 28 – Nov 1, 2013
Notification to all bidders / Week of November 4, 2013
Oral presentations, as needed / Week of November 18, 2013
Notification to finalists / December 5, 2013
Contract approval by City Council / January 14, 2014
Implementation to begin / January 15, 2014
Implementation to be completed / March 31, 2014
We have made every effort to include sufficient information within this Request for Proposal for a bank to prepare a responsive, comprehensive proposal. In order to achieve an equitable dissemination of information, a pre-proposal teleconference will be held to allow all interested bank representatives to ask questions for the mutual benefit of all involved. The timing of the proposal process is subject to change, depending on the needs of the City, but is anticipated as follows:
a) Distribution of Request for Proposals: September 17, 2013
b) Optional Pre-bid Teleconference: Our staff will meet collectively with bank representatives seeking additional information about the proposal process and the RFP. All banks interested in submitting a proposal are encouraged to attend the pre-bid teleconference. The teleconference is scheduled for September 25, 2013 beginning at 3:00 pm (PST). Teleconference phone number and log in information can be obtained by contacting Debbie Malicoat at no later than September 23, 2013. Additionally, any questions to be addressed at the Pre-bid Conference should be submitted via email to Debbie Malicoat at no later than September 23, 2013
c) Proposal Submission: Proposals must be delivered directly to the Administrative Services Department no later than 3:00 pm, October 25, 2013. Late submissions after the deadline or proposals delivered via fax will not be accepted. A total of three (3) identical proposals must be submitted and labeled as follows:
City of Arroyo Grande
300 East Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93420
Attention: Debbie Malicoat, Director of Administrative Services
Banking Services RFP
d) Proposal Review: Our review committee will evaluate each proposal submitted. It is anticipated that the review process will be completed by November 1, 2013.
e) Notification to all bidders: We anticipate sending written notification to all banks regarding the outcome of the review and contract award process by November 8, 2013.
f) Oral Presentations, as needed: During the notification to all bidders, finalists will be notified to schedule an oral interview during the week of November 18, 2013. Oral Interviews will take place at: City Hall, 300 East Branch Street.
g) Notification to finalists: All finalists will be notified of final decision by December 5, 2013. Upon written request, we will provide a copy of the successful proposal once the contract is executed.
h) Conversion Activities: The awarded bank will be required to coordinate with our staff all the activities necessary to ensure a smooth transition. Conversion activities will begin upon City Council approval of the contract and are projected to be completed by March 31, 2014.
We will make every effort to administer the proposal process in accordance with the terms and dates discussed in this RFP. However, we reserve the right to modify the proposal process and dates as deemed necessary.
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
To be considered for selection, proposing banks must have at least the following qualifications:
a) Be a Federally or State of California chartered financial institution.
b) Be a member of the Federal Reserve System and have access to all services.
c) Be a qualified depository for public funds pursuant to the applicable State of California codes. All balances must be fully collateralized through the pool collateral system required under the State of California Financial Code Section 53630 et. seq. The bank must also be FDIC insured.
d) Be able to, and have experience with, processing transactions with the State of California Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF).
e) Be a full service bank in good standing among other comparable banks.
f) Be capable of providing the services sought by the City.
g) Agree to assign experienced and dedicated staff that is committed and capable of servicing our accounts.
h) Be in compliance and good standing with the Community Reinvestment Act.
i) Be sufficiently capitalized to accommodate our cash/investment management needs.
ACCOUNT DESCRIPTION
We deposit over $14 million annually through our demand accounts. We issue payroll bi-weekly in excess of $225,000 to approximately 140 employees, and accounts payable checks of approximately $350,000 weekly.
Our general business requires one (1) demand accounts:
· General Account
There are additional minor account requirements which perform as subsidiary zero-balance accounts to the General Account:
· Payroll Account
Our General Account is used for all deposits including cash, checks, credit cards and online credit card payments, investment, disbursement and money transfer activities. The Payroll Account is for disbursement activity only. For pricing purposes, we have provided a Pro-forma Pricing Matrix (Attachment A) indicating our estimated monthly transactions.)
Required Services and format of proposal
In order for us to adequately compare and evaluate proposals objectively, all proposals must be twenty-five (25) pages or less, not including required exhibits, and must be submitted in accordance with this format:
Tab 1 - Table of Contents (Table of Contents should follow the RFP format)
Tab 2 - Transmittal Letter (one page maximum): The letter should address the bank’s willingness and commitment, if selected, to provide the services, and why the bank believes it should be selected. The letter should be addressed to Debbie Malicoat and signed by the Client Manager assigned to our accounts. It should include the bank’s principal business address and where the relationship will be managed.
Tab 3 - Bank and Staff Profile (three page maximum): Please respond to the following sections:
Overview: Provide a general corporate overview of your bank and governmental client service philosophy. Also identify the number of branches within our City, and the nearest full service branch that can assist us with our immediate banking needs. The bank must have at least one full service branch in the city of Arroyo Grande to meet our needs.
Experience: Describe the bank’s direct experience in providing services to the public sector. Include exclusive resources dedicated for the public sector. Provide three references most comparable to our size and financial needs that we may contact. Include a brief description of the services provided, how long such services have been provided and a contact person and telephone number for each client described.
Relationship Management: Describe the relationship team that will be assigned to service our relationship. Describe individual roles, responsibility and briefly detail credentials and related banking experience.
CRA Rating and Other Community Involvement: Provide the bank’s CRA rating and describe the bank’s Community Reinvestment Act programs. Are donations or in-kind contributions made to public agencies? If so, please give examples of recent contributions. Please also provide other ways the bank supports local community organizations and activities.
Tab 4 - Deposit Processing: The City currently deposits cash and checks two to three times per week at the banking center. The City currently does not use armored car service for deposit. Cash is bundled by currency and coin is generally loose. Checks are batched. Deposit items are not encoded.
Describe how the bank will accommodate the volume associated with our account. Indicate deposit options, including cash vault centers. The bank should have a centralized cash vault operation that can accommodate the security, deposit volume and change order demands associated with our accounts. Also include information on the bank’s processing of returned/recleared items in this section.
Tab 5 - FDIC Charges and Float: Provide information on applicable FDIC charges and the bank’s availability schedule. Also present any float advantages by converting our relationship to your bank.
Tab 6- Account Reconcilement and Positive Pay: The bank must provide monthly account reconcilement reports, bank statements, account analysis statements, confirmations and other report related features. The bank must be able to provide various reports and statements in a computer media and also provide specialized reports, where feasible, as needed. Describe the account reconciliation services offered by the bank. Also, describe the Positive Pay services available from the bank. Additionally, describe the bank’s check truncation services, including estimated savings if used.
Tab 7 - Electronic Money Transfers: Describe the bank’s incoming and outgoing electronic money transfer services. Include safeguards and security measures offered by your service.
Tab 8 – LAIF Transfers: The City maintains Local Agency Investment Fund (LAIF) accounts and funds are transferred on a regular basis. Verify that your institution is an approved State of California depository and indicate if you have an office in Sacramento, which maintains a direct banking relationship with the State Treasurer’s Office and the State Controller’s Office. Detail your LAIF transfer process, including how the accuracy of the transfers is assured. Indicate the charge per transfer to and from the LAIF.
Tab 9 - Balance Reporting: The bank must have an electronic communication/file transmission system to allow us to receive, no later than 5:30 a.m. Pacific Time, previous day balance and transaction information for each designated account. The information shall be available by computer through secure Internet access. Describe the balance reporting system offered by the bank, its features, including “user-friendliness.”
Tab 10 - Direct Deposit of Payroll and Other ACH Services: The bank must have the capability to accommodate a wide range of electronic payment and deposit services. We utilize direct deposit services for our bi-weekly payroll. Approximately 110 of our total 140 employees take advantage of the payment mechanism. Describe the bank’s direct deposit services and any employee benefit program for our employees. Describe other ACH services offered.
Tab 11 - On-line Bill Paying: The City is interested in offering on-line bill payment services to its residents for City services. Describe the services offered.
Tab 12 - Credit Card Processing: The City currently accepts credit card payments for water and sewer utility bill payments only. However, the City is exploring the possibility of accepting credit cards for additional transaction types. The current average transaction is about $175.00, with approximately 550 transactions each month. The bank must be able to provide an electronic system that will accommodate credit card authorizations. Describe the electronic system(s) available for processing credit card transactions.
Tab 13 - Controlled Disbursement: Described the controlled disbursement program offered by the bank.
Tab 14 - Overnight Sweep Account Facility: Describe the overnight sweep account offered by the bank.
Tab 15 - Collected Balances and Earnings Allowance: Describe the bank’s calculation of collected balances and calculation of charges for funds advanced. Also describe the methodology that would be used to give credit to the City for bank balances.
Tab 16 - Daylight Overdraft Protection: Describe any issues, concerns and charges associated with the use of a daylight overdraft facility.
Tab 17 - Pricing Terms and Conditions: Include in this section, the bank’s proposed terms of contract.
Tab 18 - Pricing Schedule: Provide in this section, using our pro-forma (Attachment A), the pricing for services proposed by the bank.
Tab 19 - Conversion Plan: Describe the overall plan your bank would coordinate to ensure a smooth transition from the current provider. The bank must also provide on-site training to our personnel for the operation and use of the bank’s services and automated systems for all areas of service.
Tab 20 - Service Enhancements: Based upon information presented in our RFP and your bank’s knowledge of the public sector, describe any enhancements, technological or otherwise, that we should consider to improve operational or cash management efficiencies.
Tab 21 - Additional Information: Describe any other information not previously mentioned that the bank believes should be given consideration.
EXHIBITS TO BE INCLUDED IN PROPOSAL: