FDIC chair: Deposits in nation's banks are safe

[July 15, 2008]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation says the nation's banking system is sound and Americans' deposits in banks are "overwhelmingly" safe.

Sheila Bair, the FDIC chairman, said Tuesday that people worried about their money should not be overly concerned because the FDIC is their safety net. The FDIC insures bank deposits of up to $100,000 and up to $250,000 for funds in retirement accounts such as an IRA

Bair said in an interview on CBS' "The Early Show" that "no insured depositor has ever lost a penny of insured deposits throughout the FDIC's 75-year history."

[Associated Press]

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