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FDIC Insurance

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation coverage that protects deposits at FDIC-insured US banks up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category (single, joint, and certain retirement accounts, for example, are separate categories). If an insured bank fails, the FDIC has historically paid insured depositors within a few days, usually the next business day. Spreading large cash balances across several banks or ownership categories keeps more of it covered. It protects against a bank failure, not against investment losses. The FDIC was created in 1933 in response to the bank runs of the early 1930s; by removing the reason for insured depositors to run on a healthy bank, it made deposits a far more stable source of bank funding. Deposits above the limit -- "uninsured" deposits -- can still be at risk if a bank fails, though regulators have occasionally invoked discretionary backstops (as in March 2023, after the failures of Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank) when a failure threatens broader financial stability.

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