Executive orders: extra days off for federal employees
A president can close federal agencies on a day that is not a legal holiday. Executive Order 14371, signed on December 18, 2025, closed “all executive departments and agencies” on Wednesday, December 24 and Friday, December 26, 2025. Even then, agency heads could keep some offices open for national security, defense or other public needs.
The order did not close the Reserve Banks. The Kansas City Fed announced on December 19, 2025 that all Federal Reserve Banks would be open on both days, explaining that the Reserve Banks are not government agencies and have operational responsibilities that keep them open. Neither day is on the Federal Reserve’s holiday schedule, so both counted as normal Reserve Bank business days.
If a similar order comes out for another year, the order itself covers federal agencies. Whether payments stop depends on the Federal Reserve’s own notice. Our Christmas guide tracks the December days.
Are banks open during a government shutdown?
A lapse in appropriations is about federal agency funding; banks are privately owned, and the Federal Reserve is not funded by Congress. A shutdown happens when Congress has not passed funding for federal agencies, a lapse in appropriations. It affects agencies that depend on that funding. The banking system largely does not:
- The Federal Reserve is funded differently. According to the Federal Reserve Board, it “does not receive funding through the congressional budgetary process.” Its income comes mainly from interest on government securities. So a lapse in appropriations does not affect the Federal Reserve’s own budget.
- Deposit insurance is paid for by the banks. The FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund is paid for by premiums that insured banks pay and by interest on its investments, and it is “backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government,” according to the FDIC. The standard coverage stays at $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, at each insured bank.
- Banks themselves are private businesses. Their branch hours remain each bank’s own decision.
What a shutdown can affect
The money that reaches your bank from federal programs is a different question, and it depends on each agency’s funding and plans. Two sourced examples:
- Social Security keeps paying. The Social Security Administration’s lapse plan (September 2025) says Social Security benefits are paid from trust funds and SSI payments are funded through the first quarter of the following fiscal year, so the agency continues the work needed to pay them on time.
- SBA loan approvals can stop. The Small Business Administration says the 43-day shutdown that ended in November 2025 “halted approvals” in its 7(a) and 504 loan programs. A bank can be open while an SBA-guaranteed loan waits for the agency.
Other services, such as federal grants, permits or payments to federal contractors, depend on the agency involved. Check that agency’s own shutdown notice rather than assuming either way.
Local closures: weather and emergencies
OPM also decides the operating status of federal agencies in the Washington, DC area, for example on snow days. That status covers federal offices; offices outside the Beltway follow their own agency’s announcements. It is not a statement about Reserve Bank payment services or your bank’s branches. If you see a “federal offices closed” alert for weather, check your bank and the Federal Reserve’s status separately.
Which calendar applies to you?
Most confusion comes from using the wrong calendar. A quick guide:
- A payment between banks (ACH transfer, direct deposit, bill payment, domestic wire): the Federal Reserve calendar. Our are banks open today page shows whether today and tomorrow are business days.
- A branch visit or phone support: your bank’s own holiday notice. See bank hours for how branch hours work.
- A federal agency service (an SBA loan, a passport, a benefits office visit): OPM’s schedule and the agency’s own notices.
- A federal payment to you (a benefit or a tax refund): the agency decides when it sends the money, then the Federal Reserve calendar decides when it settles.
- A stock trade: the NYSE calendar, which differs from both. See bank holidays vs. market holidays.
- A deadline in a contract or loan: the definition of “business day” in that document. Our guide to what a business day is covers the common versions.
The 2027 calendar has three Fridays where the first and third rules point in opposite directions: June 18, December 24 and December 31. All three are listed on the 2027 bank holidays page.
Frequently asked questions
Do banks shut down during government shutdowns?
Not because of the shutdown itself. The Federal Reserve, which runs the payment services banks use, is not funded through the congressional budget process, and banks are private institutions that set their own hours. What can slow down are services that depend on a federal agency, such as SBA loan approvals.
Is my money safe at the bank during a shutdown?
FDIC deposit insurance is funded by premiums from insured banks and by interest on the fund’s investments, and the FDIC says that since 1933 “no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds.” Coverage is $250,000 per depositor, per ownership category, at each insured bank.