Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance

About the Employee's Guide

This Employee’s Guide is intended to assist depository institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) in providing accurate information about FDIC insurance coverage to their depositors.

Note: For simplicity, the term “insured depository institution” (“IDI”) is used throughout this Employee’s Guide to mean any bank or savings association that is FDIC-insured.

Important Disclaimers

The information contained in this Employee’s Guide is intended to assist IDI employees in determining FDIC deposit insurance coverage for deposits held in IDIs. The information in this resource is based on the FDIC’s deposit insurance rules and regulations found at 12 C.F.R. Part 330.

The Employee’s Guide is not intended to provide legal, financial, or estate planning advice, nor is it intended to provide guidance for the creation of revocable or irrevocable trust agreements. For legal, financial or estate planning advice, it is recommended that depositors contact a financial advisor or an attorney.

The examples provided in this Employee’s Guide are drawn from thousands of questions received by the FDIC. The examples are not intended to describe every situation that may arise. This is especially true for revocable or irrevocable trusts.

Use caution when applying the examples in this Employee’s Guide to determine FDIC deposit insurance coverage for a specific trust agreement. Although the trust described in an example may appear to be similar to an actual trust, there may be subtle differences in the terms and conditions that could result in a different answer when calculating deposit insurance coverage. The modification of a trust agreement at some future date also may affect the calculation of coverage for a particular trust. In addition, the death of an owner or beneficiary will significantly affect FDIC deposit insurance coverage. This Employee’s Guide may use examples or terminology that may not be applicable to a specific individual’s trust because of regulatory or statutory provisions in the state in which the depositor resides.

Federal law expressly prescribes the specific amount and limits of deposit insurance the FDIC can pay to depositors and no representation made by any person or organization can increase or alter that coverage.

The Employee’s Guide should be used in conjunction with the FDIC deposit insurance reference materials found at the FDIC Deposit Insurance webpage. For help from an FDIC deposit insurance subject matter expert, call the FDIC toll free at 1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342).

All names used in the examples in this Guide are fictitious and do not represent real persons.

Effective Date

This edition of the Employee’s Guide describes the deposit insurance rules in effect at publication. Included in this Employee's Guide is current information on all deposit insurance coverage regulations effective through the publication date of this Employee’s Guide. Additional information can be found at FDIC’s website.