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Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance

Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance

Important Note

SUMMARY OF TRUST RULE CHANGE: 

  • As of April 1, 2024, the maximum insurance coverage for a trust owner with five or more beneficiaries is $1,250,000 per owner for all trust accounts (including POD/ITF, revocable, and irrevocable trusts) held at the same bank.
  • Depositors can name as many beneficiaries as they wish, however the coverage limit will not exceed $1,250,000 as of April 1, 2024.
  • This coverage change applies to both existing and new trust accounts, for all deposit products, including CDs regardless of purchase or maturity date.

You can learn more about the new changes by reviewing this fact sheet.

Questions?

You can submit your inquiry using the FDIC Information and Support Center.
You can also call the FDIC at 1-877-275-3342 or 1-877-ASK-FDIC.


Employee Guide Brochure Cover Page

2024 Edition

View the Full Employee's Guide as a PDF

Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance (“Employee’s Guide”)

Note about possible changes to this Employee’s Guide:

This edition of the Financial Institution Employee’s Guide to Deposit Insurance (“Employee’s Guide” or “Guide”) includes regulatory and statutory deposit insurance rules that are effective as of the date of publication. The online version of this Employee’s Guide will be updated upon any regulatory or statutory change that affects the contents of this document.


Introduction

About the Employee's Guide

View Introduction as a PDF

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.


For More Information from the FDIC

Call Toll-Free 
1-877-ASK-FDIC (1-877-275-3342)

Calculate deposit insurance coverage using the FDIC’s Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE)

Read more about FDIC deposit insurance on our Deposit Insurance webpage

View frequently asked questions on deposit insurance coverage

Order FDIC deposit insurance products through the FDIC Online Catalog

Submit deposit insurance questions online using the FDIC Information and Support Center

Submit deposit insurance questions by U.S. Mail
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Attn: Deposit Insurance Unit
550 17th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20429

Last Updated: May 29, 2024