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> everyone's freaked out about the safety of their deposits Everybody knew that they were insured only until $250,000. At my bank, it's on a plaque at every se

> everyone's freaked out about the safety of their deposits Everybody knew that they were insured only until $250,000. At my bank, it's on a plaque at every self-service ATM at every branch. Every single person who deposited in these banks knew this and decided to live with that risk. The risk came due, and now the FDIC has decided that banks that are too big or influential get an unlimited protection, but small little mom-and-pop banks won't get a penny past $250K if they screw up. I think that if you actually put more than $250K in the bank and got hit, that's on you. You should've gotten insurance from elsewhere or used multiple banks. It literally exists and it's optional, it's called Depositors Insurance Fund Coverage (DIF), and it insures everything over $250K if you opt-in. You could also get MaxSafe, which insures up to $3.75 million. Wealthfront has a bank account with $5 million of insurance for those interested. Regular people should not pay a penny for bad risk-taking. To me, this reeks "Privatize the gains, socialize the losses."

sharemywin 4y ago
I thought it was socialism for the rich?
junofan 4y ago
The FDIC plaque says “at least $250k.” This is how the FDIC works. By the same logic you’re free to use accounts that aren’t FDIC-insured if you have a problem with how the FDIC works.
- gjsman-1000 4y ago
  > By the same logic you’re free to use accounts that aren’t FDIC-insured Unless you are going foreign, FDIC insurance is legally mandatory. But be prepared for a hellish tax return the moment you open a foreign bank account - the IRS will demand a lot of paperwork. Edit for reply: There is NCUA for credit unions; but the limits are the same, still mandatory, and it's the US Government again. Basically off-brand FDIC.
  - RexM 4y ago
    Probably a distinction without a difference, but I have a non-FDIC insured account at a credit union. It's covered by NCUA instead, which probably works similarly as FDIC insured accounts.
  - junofan 4y ago
    The NCUA doesn’t insure too-big-to-fail banks to my knowledge. I feel that’s a reasonable alternative somebody would pick over an FDIC-insured bank were they concerned about insurance assessments. There’s also offshore, as you said.

sharemywin 4y ago

I thought it was socialism for the rich?

junofan 4y ago

The FDIC plaque says “at least $250k.” This is how the FDIC works. By the same logic you’re free to use accounts that aren’t FDIC-insured if you have a problem with how the FDIC works.

gjsman-1000 4y ago
> By the same logic you’re free to use accounts that aren’t FDIC-insured Unless you are going foreign, FDIC insurance is legally mandatory. But be prepared for a hellish tax return the moment you open a foreign bank account - the IRS will demand a lot of paperwork. Edit for reply: There is NCUA for credit unions; but the limits are the same, still mandatory, and it's the US Government again. Basically off-brand FDIC.
- RexM 4y ago
  Probably a distinction without a difference, but I have a non-FDIC insured account at a credit union. It's covered by NCUA instead, which probably works similarly as FDIC insured accounts.
- junofan 4y ago
  The NCUA doesn’t insure too-big-to-fail banks to my knowledge. I feel that’s a reasonable alternative somebody would pick over an FDIC-insured bank were they concerned about insurance assessments. There’s also offshore, as you said.