货币英语 06 Answers to Listener Questions

By Laura Adams.

Many of the listener emails and voicemails I've received lately have been about FDIC insurance. I see this is a popular topic, so I'll answer a few specific questions about FDIC coverage¹ in this episode.
Now, let's get to the great listener questions I received...
Time for Payment of Insurance Claims
Ken² writes in,
"Federal law requires the FDIC to make payments to depositors as quickly as possible after a bank fails. Is there a defined time table? How long is the FDIC legally allowed before [making] payment during a wide spread series of bank failures?"
Ken, thanks for the question. The FDIC policy regarding the time for payment of insurance claims is "as soon as possible", with no specific timeframe or payment deadline. But let's consider how payments from the FDIC have been handled in the recent past.

Historically the FDIC has made payment on insured funds within a few days. They typically make arrangements for a bank in good standing³ to open a new account for each recipient⁴ of insured deposits and send their money on the next business day.

In the event that the FDIC cannot send funds to a healthy institution, they issue checks directly to depositors. They indicate that this payable⁵ process can take up to three business days. And with certain type of accounts, such as living trusts or those opened by brokers⁶, the FDIC may need more time to finalize⁷ the insurance payment. But they say that this process usually wouldn't take more than one to two weeks.
Misconceptions about FDIC Insurance
There is a misconception that the FDIC could take up to 99 years to pay depositors. In their Top 10 Misconceptions list, the FDIC website states that this is completely false. Here's a quote from an FDIC claims manager:

"FDIC staff does whatever it takes -- often working long into the night or the weekend -- reviewing thousands of account balances and determining the insurance coverage for each depositor... and that is essential to maintaining consumer confidence in banks, which keeps local economies running smoothly⁸, especially in small communities."

Here's a link to this FDIC consumer information.
Beneficiaries of FDIC Insured Accounts
A listener named Nancy writes in,
"I went to add a beneficiary to my CD account to increase the FDIC insurance to $200,000. I was told .... [a] husband, wife, mother, father, child, sister, [or] brother are the only FDIC recognized beneficiaries. Is that true?"

Thanks for the question Nancy. The answer depends on the ownership type of your account. If you intend to own it as a joint⁹ account with the beneficiary, they become a co-owner and are not required to be related to you.

However, if you intend to own the CD as a revocable trust, also called a "payable on death" or POD account, the beneficiary requirement is different. All beneficiaries of these payable on death accounts must be related to the account owner as either a spouse¹⁰, child, grandchild, parent, or sibling¹¹. Revocable trust accounts are insured up to $100,000 per owner for each beneficiary.

FDIC Recognized Account Ownership Types
Deborah wrote in with another question related to account ownership. She asks,
"How about a savings¹² account [that's] in trust for my daughter, would that also be insured for $100,000 ... [separate from the insurance for] my personal account for $100,000?"

I appreciate the question Deborah. Yes, if the account for your daughter is set up as a revocable or irrevocable trust account, it has separate insurance coverage from a single or joint account.

Any deposits maintained in different categories of legal ownership are separately insured even if held at the same bank. There are eight ownership categories recognized by the FDIC. The first seven qualify for the $100,000 insurance amount:

Single Accounts
Joint Accounts
Revocable Trust Accounts
Irrevokable Trust Accounts
Employee Benefit Plan Accounts
Government Accounts
Corporation/Partnership¹³/Unincorporated Association Accounts
Self-Directed Retirement¹⁵ Accounts (these have an insured total of $250,000) FDIC
Insurance for Corporate¹⁴ Accounts
I received a voicemail from a listener named Rick, who was adversely¹⁶ affected¹⁷ by the failure of IndyMac Bank last month on July 11th. Here's a portion of his message:
[Audio clip] "Yes, we had two money market accounts with IndyMac Bank before it failed. They were under two different taxpayer¹⁸ identification numbers. The first was a corporation sub-chapter S corporation. The second was a LLC company. The way we see it, it's two different corporations, two different companies. So therefore it should not be pooled together. Just wondering if you could state some code that we could look at and possibly try to understand that."

Both of Rick's account names referenced the same company, and therefore may have been regarded as belonging to one FDIC ownership category. The corporation account type that I mentioned includes both Subchapter S and Limited Liability Companies. So even though they're separate entities¹⁹ under the eyes of the law, the FDIC doesn't insure them separately unless they can prove engagement in "independent activity."

 

This means that if a corporation, partnership or unincorporated association is not engaged in independent activity, for insurance purposes the FDIC will only cover a total of $100,000 in deposits.

Rick, thanks for your message, and I'm sorry for your financial loss. I'll put a link in the show notes to the FDIC Corporation regulation.

Administrative²⁰

I'm glad you're listening, and look forward to reading more of your comments and questions. Send email to。。。。。。or call in to the Money Girl voicemail line at 1-877-6-RICHER -- you might just make it on the show!

Chi-Ching, that's all for now, courtesy of Money Girl, your guide to a richer life.
 

1 coverage   

n.报导，保险范围，保险额，范围，覆盖

参考例句：

• There's little coverage of foreign news in the newspaper.报纸上几乎没有国外新闻报道。
• This is an insurance policy with extensive coverage.这是一项承保范围广泛的保险。

2 ken   

n.视野，知识领域

参考例句：

• Such things are beyond my ken.我可不懂这些事。
• Abstract words are beyond the ken of children.抽象的言辞超出小孩所理解的范围.

3 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

4 recipient   

a.接受的,感受性强的 n.接受者,感受者,容器

参考例句：

• Please check that you have a valid email certificate for each recipient. 请检查是否对每个接收者都有有效的电子邮件证书。
• Colombia is the biggest U . S aid recipient in Latin America. 哥伦比亚是美国在拉丁美洲最大的援助对象。

5 payable   

adj.可付的，应付的，有利益的

参考例句：

• This check is payable on demand.这是一张见票即付的支票。
• No tax is payable on these earnings.这些收入不须交税。

6 brokers   

n.（股票、外币等）经纪人( broker的名词复数 )；中间人；代理商；（订合同的）中人v.做掮客（或中人等）( broker的第三人称单数 )；作为权力经纪人进行谈判；以中间人等身份安排…

参考例句：

• The firm in question was Alsbery & Co., whiskey brokers. 那家公司叫阿尔斯伯里公司，经销威士忌。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹
• From time to time a telephone would ring in the brokers' offices. 那两排经纪人房间里不时响着叮令的电话。 来自子夜部分

7 finalize   

v.落实，定下来

参考例句：

• Let us finalize tonight.让我们今天晚上干完
• 。At the same time,industrial designers work with engineers to finalize components and assembly.同时，工业设计师和工程师一道来完成部件和组装部分的工作。

8 smoothly   

adv.平滑地，顺利地，流利地，流畅地

参考例句：

• The workmen are very cooperative,so the work goes on smoothly.工人们十分合作，所以工作进展顺利。
• Just change one or two words and the sentence will read smoothly.这句话只要动一两个字就顺了。

9 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

10 spouse   

n.配偶(指夫或妻)

参考例句：

• Her spouse will come to see her on Sunday.她的丈夫星期天要来看她。
• What is the best way to keep your spouse happy in the marriage?在婚姻中保持配偶幸福的最好方法是什么？

11 sibling   

n.同胞手足(指兄、弟、姐或妹)

参考例句：

• Many of us hate living in the shadows of a more successful sibling.我们很多人都讨厌活在更为成功的手足的阴影下。
• Sibling ravalry has been common in this family.这个家里，兄弟姊妹之间的矛盾很平常。

12 savings   

n.存款，储蓄

参考例句：

• I can't afford the vacation,for it would eat up my savings.我度不起假，那样会把我的积蓄用光的。
• By this time he had used up all his savings.到这时，他的存款已全部用完。

13 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

14 corporate   

adj.共同的，全体的；公司的，企业的

参考例句：

• This is our corporate responsibility.这是我们共同的责任。
• His corporate's life will be as short as a rabbit's tail.他的公司的寿命是兔子尾巴长不了。

15 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

16 adversely   

ad.有害地

参考例句：

• We commented adversely upon the imbecility of that message of telegraphic style. 我们对着这条电报式的愚蠢的留言发泄了一通不满。
• Widely fluctuating exchange rates may adversely affect international trade. 浮动幅度很大的汇率可能会对国际贸易产生有害的影响。

17 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

18 taxpayer   

n.纳税人

参考例句：

• The new scheme will run off with a lot of the taxpayer's money.这项新计划将用去纳税人许多钱。
• The taxpayer are unfavourably disposed towards the recent tax increase.纳税者对最近的增加税收十分反感。

19 entities   

实体对像； 实体，独立存在体，实际存在物( entity的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Our newspaper and our printing business form separate corporate entities. 我们的报纸和印刷业形成相对独立的企业实体。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities. 北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

20 administrative   

adj.行政的，管理的

参考例句：

• The administrative burden must be lifted from local government.必须解除地方政府的行政负担。
• He regarded all these administrative details as beneath his notice.他认为行政管理上的这些琐事都不值一顾。