1.1: Access to Funds and Services

Customers of failed insured depository institutions have timely access to insured funds and financial services.

Other Information:

Means & Strategies: When an institution fails, the FDIC fulfills its role as insurer by either facilitating the transfer of the institution’s insured deposits to an assuming institution or by paying insured depositors directly. The FDIC’s goal is to provide customers with access to their insured deposits within one to two business days. The FDIC continually monitors changes in financial institution operations and products to ensure its ability to handle potential financial institution failures. The FDIC develops, tests and maintains contingency plans to be prepared to handle potential failures, including the failure of a large financial institution; simultaneous, multiple failures; and technological failures (for example, an Internet bank failure). To educate consumers and institutions about deposit insurance coverage, the FDIC maintains a toll-free call center2 to respond to questions related to deposit insurance. The FDIC provides a list of all FDIC-insured institutions and an Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE), which is an interactive tool to help determine deposit insurance coverage amounts, on its Web site, www.fdic.gov. The FDIC conducts training on various aspects of deposit insurance for financial institution employees. The FDIC also provides financial institutions with educational tools and materials that are designed to assist the institutions in providing their customers with information they need to understand their deposit insurance coverage. External Factors: The failure of a large, complex institution or a sudden failure due to fraudulent activities could affect the FDIC’s goal of paying insured depositors within one to two business days. However, no depositor would lose an insured deposit.

Indicator(s):

Indicator:1

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