Federal Insurance (run by a woman!)
Both savings and checking accounts are federally insured through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation or FDIC.
FDIC insurance protects you from losses if your bank goes bankrupt. Although banks are usually very safe places to keep your money, they do loan your money out and invest it in a variety of ways. The people in charge of banks are not always as careful with your money as you are. As we saw in 2008, banks can go out of business so it’s important to be protected. The federal government guarantees up to 250,000 dollars per depositor (that’s you) and up to 250,000 dollars for retirement accounts (401Ks and IRAs). Credit unions are insured up to the same level through the National Credit Union Administration or NCUA.
As head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., you can thank Sheila C. Bair for the security of your bank account balance. FDIC-insured products typically include checking and savings accounts: You can find out if your bank is insured by the agency by following this link http://www2.fdic.gov/idasp/main_bankfind.asp.
Add comment December 20th, 2009