Welcome to FirstState Bank!
The Independent Community Bankers of America (ICBA) and
FirstState Bank are reminding community bank customers of the
extraordinary stability of the community banking industry as
the troubles of large Wall Street financial institutions and
investment firms dominate mainstream headlines.
“Our customers may be watching the news and reading the papers
and, naturally, they worry about their own banks,” said Ken
Vaughan, President of FirstState Bank. “We understand their
concern, but want to reassure our customers that they need not
worry about the stability of their bank and safety of their money.
“These are challenging times for our nation’s economy and
financial system – one of the most challenging in many, many
years. We have seen the
failure of some large financial firms and investment banks,” said Vaughan.
“However, the challenges
are primarily on Wall Street, not Main Street, and investment
banks are not commercial or savings institutions.
The reality is there are
more than 8,400 commercial banks in our country and insured
deposits are safe in an FDIC-insured institution.
No depositor has ever lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds.
Investments banks are not FDIC-insured.”
Deposits held in FDIC-insured community banks are
guaranteed by the federal government for up to $250,000 through
December 31, 2013. On January 1, 2014, the standard insurance
amount for deposits held in FDIC-insured community banks will return
to $100,000 per depositor for all deposit accounts
except certain retirement accounts, which will remain at $250,000 per
depositor.
FDIC deposit insurance temporarily increased from $100,000
to $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2013.
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FirstState Bank is participating
in the FDIC’s Transaction Account Guarantee (TAG) Program. Under
that program, through December 31, 2010,
all non-interest bearing transaction accounts are fully
guaranteed by the FDIC for the entire amount in the account.
Coverage under the TAG Program is in addition to and separate
from the coverage available under the FDIC’s general deposit
insurance rules.
Another part of the TAG Program is the
Debt Guarantee Program, in which the FDIC will, for a fee,
guarantee certain unsecured debt of the bank or its affiliates.
Since neither the bank nor its parent holding company has any
qualifying unsecured debt, FirstState Bank has decided to not
participate in this portion of the program.
“When it comes to community banks, the vast majority have been
and continue to be some of the safest, soundest and most secure
financial institutions in our nation,” said Vaughan.
“Community banks follow responsible business practices.
Community banks are risk-averse; they are sensible businesses that work
every day to support their customers, communities and local markets.
“We encourage customers to call us if they are
concerned,” said Vaughan. “We
value our relationship with our customers and our communities,
and we want everyone to feel secure – both now and well into the
future.”
Founded in 1971, FirstState Bank is one of the largest financial
institutions in its area.
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