Deposit insurance

Current rules developed in the early 1990s were driven more by politics than facts.

The FDIC reserve fund is nearing a threshold that will trigger a temporary reprieve on deposit insurance premiums for banks with less than $10 billion of assets.

Since the collapse of IndyMac in 2008, the agency has frequently helped to shield depositors over the $250,000 insurance limit from losses. But it’s a policy that was never formalized, and it remains to be seen whether the agency’s new head, Jelena McWilliams, will follow it.

The promotion of “insured” accounts by nonbanks and fintechs is a worrying trend, because it could leave customers falsely believing their accounts are just as safe as FDIC-insured ones.

The fintech's new products may violate several banking and securities regulations and could mislead the public about the differences between coverage on banking and investment accounts, industry officials say.