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Sep.26

5:07 PM ET

Friday, 26 Sep 2008

Carmen's Mergers & Premonitions: Is Your Bank Next?

Posted By:Carmen Wong Ulrich

Topics:Personal Finance | Politics & Government | Economy (U.S.) | Federal Reserve

Sectors:Insurance | Banks

Companies:Citigroup Inc | Wachovia Corp | JPMorgan Chase and Co | Washington Mutual Inc

I admit it. I got shaken for a quick second last night when my BlackBerry went off just before the show to tell me (really, tell us all) that the largest bank failure ever had just happened. The FDIC popped in to seize Washington Mutual [WM Loading... () ] (“seize” is a scary word) and moments later; another big fish came in—JPMorgan Chase [JPM Loading... () ] —to take over.

But that was the good news: The Fed didn’t have to bail another big business out.

With Wachovia [WB Loading... () ] now talking to Citigroup [C Loading... () ], it’s like one big banking love-fest on Wall St. for those left standing.

Now what does this all mean to you?

Well, it means you’ve got to keep paying attention. By the time all this bank-eats-bank, bank-bails out-bank, bank-on-bank love is over, the rules still stand when it comes to your money.

If you haven’t already, take some time to poke around the FDIC site and use their EDIE tool to see how much of your money is covered. And if the bank mergers and buy-outs have you wondering if your Chase checking and savings account fits under the FDIC rules along with your WaMu CD’s (after all, now they’re under the same ‘roof’!), the FDIC site is where to go to get the scoop. Once two banks become one, what total money of yours insured and up to how much changes. But instead of losing money by cashing out CD’s that are over the insurance limits, change the designation of your account into a POD or living trust to add more insurance coverage to your money. Again, that trusty FDIC site has the scoop on those designations and how the additional insurance works. Not the most engaging stuff, but well worth the time spent getting it right.

Knowing the rules and paying attention is more than half the game of keeping up with our daily economic news and making sure your money is safe. Let your confidence come from being in control of what you can control—what you do with your money.

So as this cleansing process (ahem) in the banking industry and Wall St. and Washington continues, what do you fear is next? What answers are you still not getting? Ask away! I can’t wait to hear from you…

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