[JamesianP]

How much is the total liability they are guaranteeing?

And $119 billion where exactly? In US treasuries? If so it's about as safe as the social security "fund". What if the "customer issue" includes a govt default?

All you're saying here is that we can treat an FDIC guarantee like a govt guarantee, which is probably true, but still not the same as a case where the guarantor has actual assets which the prior poster was suggesting. The FDIC is making promises and backing those promises with other promises. There's not cash laying around anywhere to back it up. I'm not saying the only response is run for the hills like the other poster, but I find these defenses rather naive. The likelihood of any insurance scheme failing is not zero. Same for a government's finances.

[iamthirsty]

> There's not cash laying around anywhere to back it up.

Did you not read the part where they have $119.4 Billion dollars? And that was a year-and-a-half ago, it's probably closer to $130B now. It seems like you didn't read any of the source material, let alone my comment, before replying.

[JamesianP]

...yes I did. Your post at least, which was short and sweet. Bravo. I did not read the wiki article and don't plan to, but I skimmed the other one. Got as far as this at least: "Means and Strategies: The FDIC maintains the viability of the DIF by investing the fund, monitoring and responding to changes in the reserve ratio, collecting risk-based premiums, and evaluating the deposit insurance system in light of an evolving financial services industry."

"DIF fund" being the $119B. In my post I presumed that 119 billion is in US Treasuries. I'm also presuming US treasuries are not the same thing as cash. Whatever the case, generally people don't refer to "cash laying around" as an investment.

EDIT: Try this much more readable doc: https://www.fdic.gov/about/financial-reports/reports/2020ann....

The $119B in assets includes only $3B in cash, with $110B in treasuries.