FDIC Consumer News - Summer 2008; Going Green
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) recently issued their Summer 2008 issue of FDIC Consumer News.  Not surprisingly, the issue contains answers to common insurance-related questions posed by consumers. For example, the FDIC explains the timeline if a consumer had deposits which were not protected:
Let's say you alone have one deposit account at a bank with a balance of $105,000, including interest earned. If your bank fails, you'll immediately be paid $100,000 covered by FDIC insurance and you'll receive a "claim" against the closed bank for the remaining $5,000 that is not FDIC-insured. The amount you recover on your uninsured deposits will depend on how much the FDIC recovers by selling the bank's assets. While that process can take several years, most payments to uninsured depositors are made within a year or two of the bank failure. In some cases, the FDIC is able to make an advance payment to uninsured depositors."
In the closure of IndyMac Bank, the FDIC paid an advance dividend equal to 50% of their uninsured amount.
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The issue also contains an article entitled "Green" Banking: Saving the Environment as You Save and Borrow Money which highlights many of the advantages (both to the consumer and the financial institution) of going green. One recommendation that caught my eye:
As members' behavior are altered by rising energy prices, credit unions might be able to convince some members who have been otherwise reluctant to make the switch to direct deposit.