No need to run to the bank, the FDIC will insure your first 100K, but how much does the FDIC have?

[NightWatcher]

I have "heard" that the FDIC has only 45 - 50 Billion on hand. How far will that 50 billion go when there are numerous people that will have to be paid from that fund?

Has anyone heard anything about the actual levels that the FDIC has on hand and whether or not the claims will surpass the reserves that they have?

[Naturyl]

1. Will the FDIC insure my first $8.73?

I sure hope so.

Seriously, "your first $100k?" Wow...

[hfojvt]

7. that is not so much

even I have $30,000 in my local Credit Union and another $6,000 in local banks. One credit union or bank showed how two people could have $1.3 million in insured deposits. With Individual A, Individual B, Joint account, individual A with B as a trustee, etc. I cannot remember how they did it but supposedly they had 13 different accounts. One of my neighbors growing up was complaining because she had the maximum at every bank in town and did not know where to put her money, and it was not a ritzy neighborhood at all.

[Speck Tater]

2. If WaMu sinks, then FDIC is out of money.

So the treasury will fire up the printing presses and create inflationary money out of thin air.

[redqueen]

3. $50 billion to insure around a trillion?

IIRC anyway.

[Zynx]

4. Congress would certainly bailout depositors. They couldn't afford not to.

No bank can sustain a large run on it.

[Frosty1]

5. How Safe Is My FDIC-Insured Bank Account?

How Safe Is My FDIC-Insured Bank Account?
04/09/2008

Your bank account may not be as safe as you think (or hope). Taking a deeper look at the legal details and the financial depth of the FDIC reveals several troubling details that call into question how the FDIC would fare during a true banking crisis.
The US is coming out of a period of unusually low banking stress and failures. Since it is typical human behavior to let one’s guard down during tranquil periods, we might legitimately ask if this has happened with respect to the FDIC.
http://www.chrismartenson.com/how-safe-my-fdic-insured-bank-account

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

6. the FDIC is intended to address individual bank failures

and most banks in the United States are pretty small - the FDIC is not intended to backstop the entire financial system. I have moved all but about $15,000 of my assets to HSBC.

[Frosty1]

8. What is HSBC?

[jannyk]

9. It used to be called: Hong Kong Shanghai Bank Corporation

My sister worked for them in London in the early 70's.

[Frosty1]

11. Thanks

I learn something new every day.
:hi:

[Captiosus]

10. Most banks are small?

No disrespect but did you miss all of the massive bank mergers of the last 10 years?

In my area we went from a handful of small local banks to nothing but very large regional or large national banks. Banks like Crestar and Central Fidelity were bought out or merged with larger banks (in these two examples, SunTrust and First Union respectively). Some of those larger banks, in turn, were bought by or merged with even larger banks (eg. First Union merged with Wachovia; Nationsbank with Bank of America).

We have one "local" bank that remains and a handful of credit unions, but most of our commercial banks are all big banks: SunTrust, Wachovia, Bank of America.

If a large regional bank like SunTrust were to be seized by the FDIC, it would probably single-handedly bankrupt the FDIC. That's just a southeast U.S. regional bank. Imagine if Wachovia went bust and had to be seized. We still have no idea how much IndyMac, alone, took out of the FDIC's insurance bankroll.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

12. yes, most banks are small

There are about 8500 banks in the FDIC/Federal Reserve system, most of them extremely small.

[defendandprotect]

13. Why to HSBC? If in US, doesn't FDIC stll ensure? ...And ...

Commerce Bank chain here in NJ bought out by a Canadian Bank -- IT? --

but savings in these banks will still be covered by FDIC ... I asked.