Bonds obtained from surety companies.

§ 17.103 Bonds obtained from surety companies. (a) The bond may be obtained from any surety company authorized by the Secretary of the Treasury to be a surety on Federal bonds. Surety companies so authorized are listed in the current revision of Department of the Treasury Circular 570 (Companies Holding Certificates of Authority as Acceptable Sureties on Federal Bonds and as Acceptable Reinsuring Companies), and subject to such amendatory circulars as may be issued from time to time. Bonds obtained from surety companies are also governed by the provisions of 31 U.S.C. 9304, and 31 CFR part 223. (b) A bond executed by two or more surety companies shall be the joint and several liability of the principal and the sureties; however, each surety company may limit its liability, in terms upon the face of the bond, to a definite, specified amount. This amount shall not exceed the limitations prescribed for each surety company by the Secretary, as stated in Department of the Treasury Circular 570. If the sureties limit their liability in this way, the total of the limited liabilities shall equal the required amount of the bond. (c) Department of the Treasury Circular No. 570 is published in the Federal Register annually on the first workday in July. As they occur, interim revisions of the circular are published in the Federal Register. Copies of the circular may be obtained from: Surety Bond Branch, Financial Management Service, Department of the Treasury, Washington, DC 20227. (Sec. 1, Pub. L. 97–258, 96 Stat. 1047 (31 U.S.C. 9304))