[bodski]

I didn't say you won't get your money but that legally speaking the money, once deposited, is not yours any more, it is an asset of the Bank. This is why you'd need insurance/government-guarantees during a bank failure, otherwise you'd be treated just like a stock or bond holder who holds no collateral.

"From a legal and financial accounting standpoint, the term "deposit" is used by the banking industry in financial statements to describe the liability owed by the bank to its depositor, and not the funds that the bank holds as a result of the deposit, which are shown as assets of the bank." - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deposit_account

"Bank deposits are simply a record of how much the bank itself owes its customers. So they are a liability of the bank, not an asset that could be lent out." - p.http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/Documents/quarte...

[Nursie]

Your intention was to imply the risk was the same. This is not true.