The Federal Government’s takeover of IndyMac has spotlighted a possible growing trend for other banks that may not be as safe as we thought. This will in turn cause major concerns in American’s mind that the money they have in bank is not safe.

Americans are right to worry about the possible bank failures of a Wachovia or Bank of America, and specially the small local banks in every town and county throughout the US. This is to say they’re closing or failing, but there’s a pattern that much watched specially now.

Below are links and reports that will shed some light on this issue.

Warning

INDYMAC BANK MAY JUST BE THE FIRST IN A STRING OF UP TO 150 BANK FAILURES!

WHAT YOU MUST KNOW AND THE STEPS YOU MUST TAKE – NOW!

At least 150 banks will fail in the U.S. during the next two to three years – read the full article here: http://tinyurl.com/bank-failure-surge

Many more US bank failures likely after IndyMac - Jul 13, 2008 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/7649271

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. anticipates as many as 150 bank failures in the next few years… http://www.investors.com/editorial/IBDArticles.asp?artsec=27&issue=20080702

“The FDIC receives no Congressional appropriations – it is funded by premiums that banks and thrift institutions pay for deposit insurance coverage and from earnings on investments in U.S. Treasury securities. With an insurance fund totaling more than $49 billion, the FDIC insures more than $3 trillion of deposits in U.S. banks and thrifts – deposits in virtually every bank and thrift in the country.” http://www.fdic.gov/about/learn/symbol/index.html

Q: How much is held in reserve to protect each dollar of deposits?

A: A little more than 1.5 CENTS PER DOLLAR! $49 billion divided by $3 trillion = $0.01633

Q: What happens if several banks all fail within a short period of time?

A: Your guess is as good as mine.

“Savings, checking and other deposit accounts, when combined, are generally insured to $100,000 per depositor in each bank or thrift the FDIC insures. Deposits held in different categories of ownership – such as single or joint accounts – may be separately insured. Also, the FDIC generally provides separate coverage for retirement accounts, such as individual retirement accounts (IRAs) and Keoghs, insured up to $250,000.”

Consider limiting the amount you hold in any one bank or thrift to no more than $100,000.00

Consider other financial products with minimum guaranteed interest rates and unlimited upside potential with stronger safety provisions than FDIC insurance

There is an industry required by the Legal Reserve System to keep one dollar in reserve for every one dollar on deposit. Those reserve requirements give this industry a very high degree of stability and gives safety-first citizens a very high level of peace of mind. Because of the massive reserves of these companies, best selling author Gordon K. Williamson points out that during the Great Depression, it was not the U.S. Government that bailed out the banking industry – it was these private companies. If there were ever a financial collapse in the United States, this industry will be the second to the last entity to fold (second only to the government). This ‘second billing’ is because the government has taxing power and, of course, the ability to print money.”

Through devastating world wars, financial recessions and depressions, sweeping epidemics, earthquakes and fires, inflation and deflation, the one industry has protected people to a degree unmatched by any type of financial institution in the history of the world.

Suggestion: Place assets in financial products with guaranteed interest rates, upside potential with no downside exposure and greater safety provisions than those offered by the FDIC.

Wait and see vs. take action NOW! Which make most sense?

Other posts from the around the web regarding the safety of your money:

Predictions on Bank Failures - Recently Intrade added US Bank Failures as a trading category on banks identified by Intrade as potentially troubled. Recent prices on the contracts for individual banks failing include: Bank United Financial 45 …

safety of your bank deposits - from the Sun Sentinel - A: John Bovenzi, the former chief operating officer of the FDIC who now is in charge of IndyMac, said last week that bank failures have been rare, and that if more banks do fail, the government has enough in reserve. …

Bank Failures - By my count, the credit crunch - August 2007 to present, almost a full year - has caused one more bank failure than the first quarter of 2002, a period of only three months. I have no idea what happened in the first quarter of 2002. …

Is My FDIC Insured Checking Or Savings Account Safe If My Bank Fails? - But yet, I still felt the inevitable emotional ripples that made me question my faith and trust in my bank and the economy at large. While bank failures are incredibly rare, they do happen - especially when there is a significant and …

Predictions on Bank Failures - Intrade (http://www.intrade.com/) is a prediction market website where visitors can trade on the likelihood on the outcome of current events in the areas of politics, economics, finance,…

Bank Failures: Is your money safe? The skinny on FDIC insurance … - Regardless of your political views, Elizabeth’s weekly roundup (post below) directs readers to the Consumerist where they offer these telling side-by-side photos of then & now and asks the question: What Does A Bank Run Look Like In …

More bank failures ahead (video) - FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair says more banks will fail this year and next. She tells MarketWatch’s Andrea Coombes what consumers and small business owners need to do.

More Bank Failures Ahead? - According to the Paris-based publication International Herald Tribune, a number of analysts are predicting more US bank failures in the aftermath of the IndyMac tragedy. IHT’s Louise Story wrote Monday: …