President Biden this afternoon signed legislation recognizing Juneteenth as a federal holiday. The new June 19 holiday commemorates the day in 1865, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation and two months after the end of the Civil War, when hundreds of thousands of enslaved men and women in Texas finally learned they had been freed. Since June 19 falls on a Saturday, the federal government will observe Juneteenth tomorrow, June 18.
Federal government agencies will be closed tomorrow. However, the Federal Reserve announced that its payment services, including fulfillment of orders for currency and coin, will remain open tomorrow, “conform[ing] to our standard practice for any federal holiday that falls on a Saturday,” and that it would incorporate Juneteenth into its future operational schedule. Financial markets are not expected to close.
Banking regulatory agencies have not yet issued guidance on financial institutions closing for Juneteenth, although an OCC spokesman said that “we do not plan to issue additional guidance regarding bank operating status.” The FDIC issued a statement advising FDIC-supervised institutions to “comply with applicable requirements of their state chartering authority and consider the impact on customers” when determining their operating status. Meanwhile, ABA will be closed tomorrow in observance of Juneteenth.
Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include the statement from the FDIC.
