When the Ohio Treasury has funds on hand that are not immediately needed, they are available for short-term investments. Those investments are done with qualifying banks through Bid Ohio.

What is Bid Ohio?

Bid Ohio is a competitive "live" auction of interim funds from the Ohio Treasury conducted on a secure Web site.  "Interim funds" are state dollars (tax receipts, fee payments, etc.) which have been received by the Ohio Treasury, but not needed to meet the immediate obligations of state government. As of July 2008, a total of $450 million in interim Treasury funds has been earmarked for Bid Ohio. 

 
How Bid Ohio works

On the first and third Tuesday of each month, the Treasury purchases $50 million worth of  six-month certificates of deposit (CDs) from banks making successful bids.  "Successful bids" are those offering the greatest rate of return on six-month CDs.  Funds are awarded from the highest bid to the lowest bid until the $50 million is exhausted.  Like bids are awarded according to the time submitted (the earliest bid being first). 

Goal

The Treasury promotes a truly competitive bidding process that is safe, accurate, efficient, and equally available to all state depository banks.
 
How it helps

Bid Ohio is about reinvesting in Ohio’s communities. The live online auction process has generated significantly higher interest earnings for Ohio taxpayers than previous processes—netting an additional $3 million in its first year alone.