California’s Banks: Strong, Safe and Secure
This summer there has been an endless flow of news stories across the state that may have given many Californians the mistaken impression that we are in the midst of a financial meltdown, centered on the faltering health of our banks. Headlines following an infrequent bank failure in California this summer asked readers, is your bank next? Is your money safe? While California’s economy is under-performing in part due to fall-out related to failures from the sub-prime mortgage lending situation, the banking industry in California remains strong, safe and secure. In fact, capital levels at California banks are at or near all-time highs, with double the amount of capital today as compared to the last significant economic downturn in the early 1990’s.
First and foremost, customers’ deposits at traditional banking institutions are protected by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance, up to $100,000 with additional protection for joint accounts and $250,000 on individual retirement accounts. The FDIC has more than $50 billion in assets available to protect depositors, and in the 75-year history of the FDIC, not one cent of customer money in an FDIC-insured bank account has been lost.