Where should I put my money?

That's the question many consumers are asking themselves following last month's takeover of IndyMac Bancorp Inc. by federal regulators.

The collapse of IndyMac - which now operates as IndyMac Federal Bank FSB under control of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. - sent a wake-up call to consumers that the housing crisis is taking a serious toll on the nation's banking sector.

And fears have intensified in the wake of dismal earnings reports from other banks, including Wachovia Corp., which last month posted an $8.9 billion second-quarter loss, coupled with an announcement that it would cut 10,750 jobs as part of a turnaround plan.

Washington Mutual Inc. likewise reported a $3 billion quarterly loss due to increases in its loss reserves to cover loan defaults in its mortgage portfolio.

All of this has left many depositors wondering if their money is safe.

"It's a very valid concern," said Paul Wiener, business development officer for Community Bank, a Pasadena-based commercial business bank with 13 branches. "First and foremost, people need to inform themselves and educate themselves when it comes to their money."

Wiener said consumers are sometimes too trusting of the institutions that hold their money. In much the same way that a patient assumes the doctor is always right, bank depositors often take for granted that their financial house is in order, he said.

"You need to look for secure places that are FDIC-approved," he said. "There are obvious limits to what a bank can hold for you. The fdic.gov Web site offers a lot of good information on that."

Generally speaking, individuals with $100,000 or less in FDIC- insured banks are fully covered. But some customers are insured for far more.

It all comes down to the way the accounts are structured. FDIC spokesman David Barr said a couple could theoretically have as much as $1.1 million in funds that are all FDIC-insured.

A husband and wife - each with FDIC-insured individual accounts - could also have a joint account with $200,000 that would be covered.

The couple could also have individual retirement accounts of up to $250,000 that are fully insured. And they could each have a $100,000 "payable upon death" trust account for a family member.

Those accounts could apply to parents, siblings, spouses, children and grandchildren, according to Barr.

All told, that equates to $1.1 million in funds for the couple that are fully FDIC-insured.

Wiener said his bank's Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service program also permits depositors to have more money insured.

"If I have a client with $500,000, we can take the entire amount in one person's name attached to it," he said. "The first $100,000 is FDIC-insured and we can put the remaining $400,000 in other FDIC- secure banks. And you only get one statement - we manage it for you. We've gotten very big in this since IndyMac tripped."

Babette Heimbuch, chairwoman and CEO of First Federal Bank of California, agreed that bank customers need to be proactive when it comes to protecting their money.

"They need to know that they can insure a heck of a lot more than $100,000," she said. "Your bank can work wonders. All you have to say is, 'Maximize my insurance coverage,' and they will be happy to do it. They don't want people pulling their money out."

But could the FDIC fail? Not a chance, according to Heimbuch.

"That's our federal government," she said. "That kind of failure would undermine our entire banking system, which would ruin our credibility in the world. They are in no danger of failing or paying out when they have to."

As if to punctuate that statement, The FDIC announced late Friday that it has taken control of the First Priority Bank of Bradenton, Fla., and that SunTrust Banks Inc. will assume the bank's deposits.

First Priority is the eighth U.S. bank to fail this year in the aftermath of the mortgage crisis, and the first Florida bank failure since March 2004.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

kevin.smith@sgvn.com

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Story Source: San Gabriel Valley Tribune