FDIC-Insured

'FDIC insured' -- this is an imporatnt phrase that we must always check out before we put our cash into any bank in any form. But, as we know, its coverage is upto $100,000. For many of our senior citizens who are already retired or are approaching that soon, this is a problem, if they wish to keep most of their wealth in safe deposits rather than investing in stock market.

Nevertheless, just 60% of our $4.4 trillion in deposits are FDIC- insured today. That's down from 77% of $2.5 trillion in deposits that were insured in 1992. There are a few ways to get more than $100,000 of FDIC insurance coverage on your bank deposits, despite the agency's insurance limits:

(i) Visit http://www.fdic.gov/ or call 1-877-275-3342 to find out how you might obtain more FDIC-coverage by splitting your money into different ownership categories including single accounts, joint accounts, self-directed retirement accounts and revocable trust accounts.

(ii) Visit http://www.cdars.com/. CDARS stands for Central Deposit Account Registry Service, a CD placement service owned by Promontory Interfinancial Network LLC, Arlington, Va. One can get coverage upto $20 million through this program. Through this service, you select a participating bank which arranges to split your deposits among member institutions. You get the rate paid by the bank at which you open the account. Bridge payments are made between that bank and the other participating banks to compensate for any interest-rate discrepancies.

(iii) Some companies -- including The Calvert Group and Merrill Lynch -- automatically provide extra FDIC insurance through specific accounts. The Calvert Group may split-up bank money-market deposit account funds among four participating banks through its"Insured Market Plus" account. This means as much as $400,000 of FDIC insurance per person. Merrill Lynch's "Insured Savings" Account is available through certain types of accounts. Twenty-five banks currently participate in this program.