REQUEST FOR PROPOSALS (RFP) #08-018 BANKING SERVICES FOR THE VIRGINIA RAILWAY EXPRESS AND THE POTOMAC AND RAPPAHANNOCK TRANSPORTATION COMMISSION QUESTIONS & ANSWERS Below are questions with responses that VRE has received as of July 15, 2008 at 10:00 A.M. EST. Whenever possible, questions are presented as originally asked. Otherwise, the question is presented to capture the main thrust or idea of the question or inquiry. 1. Will Word or Excel versions of the pricing schedules be provided via the VRE website? Word and Excel versions are not provided for VRE solicitations. See Addendum No. 1 for revised pricing schedules 2. In Attachment N.4 on page 5, line items 12, 13, 18 23 all have volumes based on item count. Since pricing is based on dollar amounts, can the average dollar amounts for those line items be provided? PRTC s recent average monthly dollar amounts for the line items specified are as follows: 12 Branch currency order/strap $14,000 13 Branch coin order/roll 250 18 Vault coin deposit full bag 28,000 19 Vault coin deposit mix bag 0 20 Vault automatic change order included in the others 21 Vault currency order full strap 45,000 22 Vault currency order loose bill 5,000 23 Vault rolled coin order 1,250 1 of 5
3. Custody Services: What will the average annual market value be? How many securities will be held in an account on an annual basis? What is the average number of stocks and bonds? What is the average number of mutual funds, ETF's, and alternative investments on average? How many trades will be executed on a monthly basis? VRE may or may not utilize custody services. If utilized, the market value at any time is estimated to be $5 million or less. The number of securities held in the account is estimated at three (3) or less. VRE does not purchase stocks. Custody services would be needed for treasury or agency securities only. At most there would be one (1) trade per month. PRTC has not utilized custody services to date and may or may not utilize them during the term of the Contract. 4. How many escrow accounts will be required? VRE s need for escrow account services will depend on what funding or financing becomes available that needs to be held in escrow. VRE had one (1) escrow account over the last three (3) years. PRTC has no current need for escrow services, and these services may or may not be utilized during the term of the Contract. 5. Will PRTC provide a copy of its investment guidelines and its compliance code, and if not included in the code, any restrictions on security types, maximum block sizes and maximum maturity range? See Attachment 1 PRTC Investment Policy and Guidelines (to be updated after an investment strategy is selected, as indicated in the RFP.) See the following sections of the Code of Virginia on the Commonwealth of Virginia s website: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgibin/legp504.exe?000+cod+toc0202000 a. Virginia Security for Public Deposits Act, Section 2.2-4400 et.seq b. Investment of Public Funds Act, Section 2.2-4500 et seq c. Local Government Investment Pool Act, Section 2.2-4600 et seq d. Government Non-Arbitrage Investment Act, Section 2.2-4700 et seq 2 of 5
6. In reference to B.4C. Investment Services, how much of the capital accounts is needed in cash reserves or other short term instruments, in order to assure sufficient liquidity exists to maintain operational requirements? PRTC needs to allow approximately $3 million a month for accounts payable and payroll disbursements. 7. In reference to B.1 E., will VRE clarify checks presented for deposit shall not be encoded? Does this mean VRE will not pre-encode checks prior to deposit? VRE s practice is to encode checks before deposit. 8. Will average deposit balances be provided for VRE as they were provided for PRTC? See Attachment 2. 9. Will VRE clarify Sections J.3B. and J.4? Section J.3.B - Offerors who wish to submit proposals prior to the closing date and time may deliver to VRE between the hours of 9:00 A.M. to 5:00 P.M. EST, Monday through Friday. VRE will not accept responsibility of proposals delivered via postal service, express mail or in person before 9:00 A.M or after 5:00 P.M, Monday through Friday Section J.4 - Offerors who submit proposals on the closing date must deliver to VRE by 10:00 A.M. 10. Describe the purchases intended to be made using procurement cards for both PRTC and VRE. No plan has yet been developed for the implementation of a purchasing card program. The intention would be to use the cards initially for purchases under $2,000 and then consider using the cards for larger routine purchases. 3 of 5
11. In reference to B.1 G. Payroll Services, will PRTC generate a payroll file for the bank to process? The outside payroll service currently provides a payroll file to the bank. Once PRTC begins processing payroll in-house, it will provide a payroll file to the bank. 12. In reference to Section K.2 Tab 11 - Providing this information: Contract No. and original contract amount, the bank would be in violation of the Bank Secrecy Act. Will this requirement be amended? See Addendum 1 for modification. 13. What type of software is used to process credit cards and what are the specifications of this software? VRE s credit cards are processed through a separate merchant services contract that is not part of this RFP. PRTC currently uses Verifone Tranz 380 equipment for credit card processing. Various offers from Banks will be considered if this option is chosen to act upon. PRTC may be converting to WMATA owned hardware in the future related to the processing of regional SmarTrip transactions. However, it remains uncertain at this time. 14. Are credit card transactions swiped or hand keyed? If a combination, what is the percentage of each? PRTC - Approximately 99% swiped and 1% hand keyed. 15. What credit cards are currently accepted? PRTC accepts Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. 16. Can three (3) months of credit card statements be provided? Attachment 3 includes three (3) months of card processing for PRTC. 4 of 5
17. Is there a need for debit card acceptance or gift cards? Currently PRTC does not accept debit cards, but may want the option to offer this in the future. 18. Are there any current merchant services concerns or needs? PRTC does not have any concerns. 19. What is the average transaction amount? In the RFP, PRTC provided an estimate of 150 monthly transactions totaling $8,000 prior to March 2008. For April June 2008, PRTC s average is about 230 transactions for about $45 a transaction, with a monthly total of approximately $10,000. List of Attachments: Attachment 1 PRTC Investment Policy and Guidelines Attachment 2 VRE Average Balances in Sweep Account Attachment 3 PRTC Monthly Card Processing Summary 5 of 5
ATTACHMENT 2 VRE Average Balances in Sweep Account Fiscal Year 2008 Jul-07 1,305,258 Aug-07 961,032 Sep-07 1,108,933 Oct-07 1,134,258 Nov-07 916,533 Dec-07 984,452 Jan-08 3,722,549 Feb-08 1,418,138 Mar-08 2,041,968 Apr-08 1,498,233 May-08 1,570,968 Jun-08 857,233