The US President Barack Obama has signed the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which, in part, permanently raises the current standard maximum Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) deposit insurance amount to $250,000 per depositor.
Earlier, the standard maximum insurance amount of $100,000 had been temporarily raised to $250,000 until December 31, 2013.
The FDIC insurance coverage limit applies per depositor, per insured depository institution for each account ownership category.
The temporary increase from $100,000 to $250,000 was effective from October 3, 2008, through December 31, 2010. On May 20, 2009, the temporary increase was extended through December 31, 2013.
Sheila Bair, chairman of FDIC, said: “With this permanent increase of deposit insurance coverage to $250,000, depositors with CDs above $100,000 but below $250,000 will no longer have to worry about losing coverage on those CDs maturing beyond 2013.
“Insured deposits provide the comfort and peace of mind to depositors that their money is 100 percent safe – provided they keep their deposit balances within the insurance limits.”