Net Gains: Are All of Your Savings Insured?
Don't let what happened to Hume Bank depositors happen to you.
April 2, 2008 — -- Two small banks have failed so far this year, and there are concerns that others could go belly-up as the fallout from the sub-prime mortgage crisis spreads.
If you have a large amount of cash parked in your bank, you should take note of what happened to 33 account holders when the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation took control of one of those failed banks.
When state regulators shut down Hume Bank, a single-branch institution in Hume, Mo., on March 7, 33 unlucky customers may have lost a total of $1.1 million because their deposits exceeded the bank's coverage by the FDIC .
The account owners may still recover part or all of their uninsured funds, but it will be a long process with no guarantees.
The episode underscores why it is critical for bank customers with deposits of $100,000 or more to understand how federal deposit insurance works. Knowing the basics can help you make sure your money is safe during uncertain times.
Few of us born after the Great Depression worry that the bank where we do business will collapse. Such failures are a rare occurrence these days.
Last year, just three banks failed among more than 8,500 insured by the FDIC. But the Hume Bank takeover was the second one already this year.
Though the rapid Bear Stearns downfall did not touch retail banking customers, it still shook confidence in the nation's financial system. I heard directly from worried readers wanting to know about what FDIC insurance covers and what it does not.
The bottom line is that there is no reason to put your bank deposits at risk by exceeding the limits for insurance provided by the FDIC or its regulatory cousin, the National Credit Union Administration.
With a little attention to detail, it is possible for a single person to park more than $500,000 in fully insured deposits at a single bank, even though the basic insurance amount is $100,000.
Before reviewing deposit insurance basics, let me pause to say I don't necessarily advocate holding $500,000 in cash unless you have a short-term use for it in mind, like buying a home or business. If it's your long-term nest egg, then you probably want to allocate a portion of it to stocks and bonds along with cash as part of an appropriately diversified portfolio.
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