Protecting your deposits

With the recent headlines of the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) and Signature Bank in March — as well as the stress that First Republic Bank is currently experiencing — depositors are rightly concerned about the safety of their deposits and their current Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) coverage. It has been reported that 88% of SVB’s deposits and 90% of Signature Bank’s were uninsured. It’s important for you to understand what is covered and how to maximize that protection, as well as understand the different organizations that have been established to protect your financial assets.

The FDIC is an independent agency created by U.S. Congress that protects depositors against the loss of their insured deposits if an insured bank or savings association becomes insolvent. Premiums are paid to the FDIC by the depository institution and deposits are insured up to at least $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category (e.g., single accounts, joint accounts, business accounts, trust accounts etc.) even if held at the same bank. Also, adding or naming beneficiaries to accounts changes the “ownership category” as to where each beneficiary added would have an additional $250,000 of coverage.

You can get a detailed breakdown of your specific coverage by accessing the FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (edie.fdic.gov).