Chris Rowe

Another Reason to Trade Options

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The first three paragraphs come directly from the FDIC Web site:

"The FDIC insures deposits in most banks and savings associations located in the United States. The FDIC protects depositors against the loss of their deposits if an FDIC-insured bank or savings association fails. FDIC insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States government.

"The basic insurance amount is $100,000 per depositor, per insured bank except for owners of certain retirement accounts, which are insured up to $250,000 per owner, per insured bank.

"Deposits maintained in different categories of legal ownership at the same bank can be separately insured. Therefore, it is possible to have deposits of more than $100,000 at one insured bank and still be fully insured."

There are eight different account categories:

• Single Accounts
• Certain Retirement Accounts
• Joint Accounts
• Revocable Trust Accounts
• Irrevocable Trust Accounts
• Employee Benefit Plan Accounts
• Corporation/Partnership/Unincorporated Association Accounts
• Government Accounts

WAYS TO MAXIMIZE DEPOSITS

First, understand that each account category has its own FDIC coverage. For example:

A "single account" is one account category that includes deposits in checking, Negotiable Order of Withdrawal (NOW) accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts and time deposits such as certificates of deposit (CDs).

A "joint account" is another account category.

So, one way to get FDIC insurance of up to $400,000 between you and your spouse is to each have your own individual account, and to also have a joint account for a total of three accounts.