Maximizing Your FDIC Insurance

FDIC Insurance Coverage Increased to $250,000

On October 3, 2008, FDIC deposit insurance was temporarily increased from $100,000 to $250,000 per depositor through December 31, 2009.

Non-Interest Bearing Deposit Transaction Accounts Now Fully Insured
Vectra Bank has elected to participate in the Federal Government’s Transaction Account Guarantee Program. What this means is that your noninterest-bearing checking account balances are fully insured by the FDIC, regardless of the balance, through December 31, 2009. Noninterest bearing accounts include Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts and transaction accounts earning 0.50% interest or less.

Special Rule for Sweep Investments
If you have a noninterest-bearing checking account that “sweeps” funds into another account, you should be aware that funds swept to an interest-bearing account, a non-transaction account or overnight investment account will not be covered by the FDIC Transaction Account Guarantee Program.

HOW TO INCREASE THE AMOUNT OF YOUR FDIC INSURANCE AT VECTRA BANK BEYOND $250,000.

As a depositor in Vectra Bank, you should know how your deposits are insured, and how the amount of insurance protection can be increased beyond $250,000 through a combination of accounts. The following questions and answers provide you with information you need to make informed decisions regarding your deposits. For more information, we encourage you to use the FDIC Federal Deposit Insurance Estimator, available online at www.fdic.gov/edie/.

Q: What is the basic amount of FDIC insured protection for each depositor?

A: The basic insured amount for each depositor has temporarily been increased to $250,000. The FDIC insurance protection is extended to deposits at Vectra Bank, including savings, NOW accounts, cashiers checks, official checks, pension accounts, letters of credit, checking, certificates of deposit, money orders, IRA and Keogh accounts.

Effective October 14, 2008, the FDIC will fully insure non-interest bearing transaction deposit accounts held by FDIC-insured banks until December 31, 2009. Deposit funds held in interest bearing accounts remain insured under the basic FDIC insurance as described above.

Q: What is the basic amount of FDIC insured protection for each depositor?

A: The basic insured amount for each depositor has temporarily been increased to $250,000. The FDIC insurance protection is extended to deposits at Vectra Bank, including savings, NOW accounts, cashiers checks, official checks, pension accounts, letters of credit, checking, certificates of deposit, money orders, IRA and Keogh accounts.

Q: How can I increase the amount of my FDIC insurance at Vectra Bank beyond $250,000?

A: If your account balances exceed $250,000, there are several quick and easy ways to increase or maximize your insurance coverage. Deposits maintained in different categories of legal ownership are separately insured. So you can have more than $250,000 insurance coverage in a single institution through a combination of different categories of ownership. The most common categories of ownership are single (or individual) ownership, joint ownership, and testamentary accounts.

In addition to the FDIC insurance on your other deposits, each depositor is also separately insured up to $250,000 for funds held for retirement purposes (i.e. Individual Retirement Accounts or Keoghs).

You cannot increase FDIC insurance by dividing funds owned in the same ownership category among different accounts. The type of account - whether checking, savings, certificate of deposit, or outstanding official check such as a cashier's check, or other form of deposit - has no bearing on the amount of insurance coverage. Furthermore, the use of Social Security numbers or taxpayer identification numbers does not determine insurance coverage.

EXAMPLES:

#1 $2,000,000 FDIC-Insured Deposits for a Married Couple

#2 $3,500,000 FDIC Insured Deposits for a Family or Group of Four

Q: How is FDIC insurance calculated for my family living trust?

A: Accounts in the name of a living trust set up by a lawyer, also referred to as totten, testamentary, or revocable trusts, are insured separately from any individual or jointly-owned funds of the owner(s). For the purposes of FDIC insurance coverage, a beneficiary is defined as a natural person, a charitable organization, or a non-profit entity properly organized under IRS code. Each owner is insured to $250,000 for each entitled beneficiary. Take a look at the following example:

The Family Trust
Trustees: Husband and Wife
Beneficiaries: Their two children

NOTE: This trust states that the beneficiaries' share will pass to the beneficiaries' children if the beneficiary dies before the trustee(s). These grandchildren are not entitled to any trust assets or insurance coverage while their parent is alive.

For more information about the FDIC, please click here to visit their website. To understand how to maximize your own FDIC coverage, you can speak to a helpful Vectra Bank representative by calling 877-932-3342 (877-WEB-FDIC).

* These illustrations also apply to other beneficiaries. A beneficiary is defined as a natural person, a charitable organization, or a non-profit entity properly organized under IRS code. For other qualifying combination accounts, check with a bank representative, or ask for the FDIC brochure, "Your Insured Deposit."