With the unusual and turbulent stock market conditions and the crisis of confidence in the financial and banking industry, let me be the last to tell you that if you have $100,000 or less in an FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation) member bank your money is insured and safe.
I’ll share an experience with you from a client that stood in line at a local Baltimore bank. As my client tells me her experience I am shocked by the actions and pondered that not enough is being done to lessen the fear that so many people have right now. The same fear that often makes them react, wrongly, to market conditions and headlines. So my client is in line at the bank and quickly strikes up a conversation with the two patrons in front of her. She learns that the patrons are at the bank to withdrawal all their money because they are fearful they will lose all their money. After asking what they are going to do with the money, my client learns that each patron is taking their money and “stashing” it at home. I was floored! The obvious question I would have asked is what would you do if the house burns down? But more obviously, I can’t imagine that these patrons actually believe their money is at risk in an FDIC bank. When your deposits are 100% FDIC-insured, you can’t lose a penny, no matter what. The FDIC insurance limit of $100,000 is across all accounts, not per account.
Find out if your bank is insured by clicking
here.
The FDIC takes it one step further and provided a calculator that will estimate your FDIC insurance coverage for your bank and your account. If you have over $100,000 at a member bank, you may have more-or-less deposit insurance coverage than you think. Find out how much insurance you have
here.
Even at failed banks, most notably IndyMac in California, depositors got all their money back up to the $100,000 limit. In addition, 50% of the uninsured deposits were covered as well. So don’t take your money out of the bank and put it under the mattress.
Tom Taylor, CPA is a Certified Public Accountant and Financial Planner and can be contacted here. He is a member of NAPFA and the MACPA.