A deposit that is mobilized or obtained through a deposit broker (by means of assistance or mediation). A brokered deposit is an investment created when a broker buys deposits (as per certain features and conditions) from a bank and resells them in the market to ultimate depositors (investors) at attractive interest rates. Brokered deposits provide an alternative source of funding for banks that do not want to encumber their assets for deposit-taking.

Brokered deposits were developed (in the 1980s) as a means to offer insured deposits as an investment vehicle through brokerage accounts. Insured banks offer the certificates of deposits (CDs) in wholesale-sized denominations, which are then sliced up into insurable amounts (i.e., below the maximum level for deposit insurance) and sold by broker-dealers to their investors.