Cite as: 516 U. S. 264 (1996)
Opinion of the Court
impeded the expeditious use of their checking accounts. See S. Rep. No. 100-19, pp. 25-26 (1987).
In 1987, Congress responded by passing the Expedited Funds Availability Act (EFA Act or Act), 101 Stat. 635, as amended, 12 U. S. C. §§ 4001-4010. The Act requires banks 1 to make deposited funds available for withdrawal within specified time periods, subject to stated exceptions. See §§ 4002, 4003. To reduce banks' risk of nonpayment, the Act grants the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (Federal Reserve Board or Board) broad authority to prescribe regulations expediting the collection and return of checks. § 4008. The Board and other banking agencies are authorized to enforce the Act's provisions administratively, by issuing cease-and-desist orders and imposing other civil sanctions. See § 4009(a) (incorporating administrative enforcement provisions of 12 U. S. C. § 1818).
The Act's final section contains civil liability provisions, which are the focus of this case. See § 4010. Subsection 4010(a) addresses a bank's liability to persons other than another depository institution. It provides, in pertinent part:
"Except as otherwise provided in this section, any depository institution which fails to comply with any requirement imposed under this chapter or any regulation prescribed under this chapter with respect to any person other than another depository institution is liable to such person in an amount equal to the sum of [a specified measure of damages]."
Subsection 4010(f) governs a bank's liability to another bank for violation of the Act's provisions. It states:
"The Board is authorized to impose on or allocate among depository institutions the risks of loss and liability in connection with any aspect of the [check] payment
1 The EFA Act applies to "depository institution[s]," as that term is defined in 12 U. S. C. § 461(b)(1)(A). See 12 U. S. C. § 4001(12). For simplicity, we often use the term "bank" instead.
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