What happens to your money if a US bank fails?
If an FDIC-insured bank fails, the FDIC protects deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category, and usually pays the next business day. Credit unions have the same $250,000 cover through the NCUA. An outage or cyber attack does not erase your balance, but it can stop you paying for hours or days.
There are two different worries hiding in the question "is my money safe in the bank?". One is that the bank goes bust. The other is that it is still standing but you cannot reach your money because its systems are down. The protections for each are very different. This guide explains both, using the FDIC, the NCUA and the Federal Reserve as sources, and then looks honestly at what physical gold does and does not add.
Bank safety in 60 seconds
- $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, per ownership category.
- Usually the next business day is when the FDIC pays insured deposits after a failure.
- No losses on insured funds since the FDIC was founded in 1933, it says.
- Credit unions: the NCUA insures federally insured credit union accounts up to $250,000 too.
- Failures still happen: the FDIC's list shows six bank failures in 2026 up to 25 September.
What happens to my money if a bank fails?
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) steps in. It is an independent agency of the US government, and its insurance is backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. You do not apply or pay for it: coverage is automatic when you open a deposit account at an FDIC-insured bank.
The FDIC says it acts in two roles when a bank fails:
- As insurer, it pays insured deposits. Historically it pays within a few days, usually the next business day, either by giving you a new account at another insured bank with your insured balance, or by sending you a check.
- As receiver, it sells the failed bank's assets and settles its debts, including claims for deposits above the insured limit. Uninsured depositors may get some of their money back over time, often in periodic "cents on the dollar" payments, and the FDIC says selling a failed bank's assets can take several years.
Interest counts too. The FDIC insures principal plus interest accrued up to the date the bank fails, all within the limit.
How does the $250,000 limit work?
The standard insurance amount is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category. All your deposits in the same category at the same bank are added together. Different categories are insured separately, so one person can have more than $250,000 insured at one bank.
| Situation | Insured | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Checking and savings in your own name | Up to $250,000 combined | Both are single accounts, the same category |
| Single accounts plus an IRA at the same bank | Up to $250,000 + $250,000 | Certain retirement accounts are a separate category |
| Joint account owned by two people | Up to $500,000 | Each co-owner's share of joint accounts is insured up to $250,000 |
| Payable-on-death account, one owner, three beneficiaries | Up to $750,000 | FDIC example for revocable trust accounts |
| Single accounts at two different insured banks | Up to $250,000 at each | The limit applies per bank |
Source: FDIC Understanding Deposit Insurance and Deposit Insurance FAQs. Use the FDIC's Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator (EDIE) to check your own accounts.
What about credit unions?
Federally insured credit unions are covered by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, run by the NCUA and also backed by the full faith and credit of the United States. Individual accounts are insured up to $250,000, a member's interest in all joint accounts combined up to $250,000, and IRAs separately up to $250,000. The NCUA says no one has lost a penny of insured deposits at a federally insured credit union. A few state-chartered credit unions use private insurers instead, which are not backed by the US government, so check with the NCUA's Credit Union Locator.
What does FDIC insurance not cover?
FDIC insurance only covers deposits, and only at FDIC-insured banks. The FDIC lists these as not covered, even when you buy them through an insured bank:
- stocks, bonds and mutual funds;
- annuities and life insurance policies;
- safe deposit boxes or their contents, which matters if you keep gold, cash or documents in one;
- US Treasury bills, bonds and notes, and municipal securities (these are backed by their issuers instead);
- crypto assets.
Brokerage accounts have a different safety net. SIPC protects cash and securities held at a failed SIPC-member broker up to $500,000, including $250,000 for cash. It does not protect against a fall in value, and it does not cover commodities such as physical gold.
Do US banks still fail?
Yes, though rarely, and most failures are small. The FDIC's Failed Bank List, which runs from October 2000, shows recent failures by year:
| Year | Failures | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| 2023 | 5 | Silicon Valley Bank (10 March), Signature Bank (12 March), First Republic Bank (1 May) |
| 2024 | 2 | Republic First Bank, Philadelphia (26 April); The First National Bank of Lindsay, Oklahoma (18 October) |
| 2025 | 2 | Pulaski Savings Bank, Chicago (17 January); The Santa Anna National Bank, Texas (27 June) |
| 2026 (to 25 September) | 6 | Metropolitan Capital Bank & Trust, Chicago (30 January) to Nano Banc, Irvine, California (25 September) |
Source: FDIC Failed Bank List, checked 29 October 2026. In each 2026 failure listed, another bank acquired the failed bank.
What happened at Silicon Valley Bank?
Silicon Valley Bank in Santa Clara, California, failed on 10 March 2023. On 12 March the Treasury, the Federal Reserve and the FDIC announced a systemic risk exception so that all depositors, insured or not, could reach all their money from Monday 13 March. They did the same for Signature Bank. The joint statement said shareholders and certain unsecured debtholders would not be protected, and that any losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund would be recovered by a special assessment on banks. That was a one-off emergency decision. Nothing guarantees uninsured deposits will be protected next time, so the $250,000 limit is still the number to plan around.
What happens during a bank outage or cyber attack?
Your balance stays the same; your access does not. A bank's IT failure means the record of what it owes you is still there, but you may not be able to log in, pay by card, transfer money or use an ATM until systems are restored. A cyber attack is a cause of disruption, not a change in what you own: your deposit is money the bank owes you, and that debt does not disappear because its systems are offline. If an attack ever made a bank fail, FDIC insurance would apply in the usual way.
The practical lesson is the same as in a power outage. Ready.gov's financial preparedness advice is to keep a small amount of cash at home because ATMs and cards may not work. A second account and card at an unconnected bank also helps. Our guide to how much cash to keep at home works out a figure for three days.
What can you do to protect your money?
- Check your bank is insured. Use the FDIC's BankFind tool, or the NCUA's Credit Union Locator for credit unions.
- Keep each pot under the limit. If you hold more than $250,000 at one bank, use different ownership categories or different banks. EDIE shows what is covered.
- Have a second bank card. One outage then does not stop all your payments.
- Keep some cash at home. FEMA's kit list includes cash. See our emergency preparedness kit checklist.
- Keep records. Download statements now and then, so you can show what you held.
- Know what is outside the FDIC. Investments, crypto, safe deposit box contents and physical gold are not covered.
Where does physical gold fit in?
Gold answers a different question. A bank deposit is a promise: the bank owes you money, and the FDIC backs that promise up to a limit. Physical gold is not a promise. If you own a coin or an allocated bar, it is your property, and its existence does not depend on any bank staying solvent or online.
That has real limits. Gold has no FDIC or SIPC protection and no guaranteed value: its price moves every day and can fall sharply. You cannot spend it in a store during an outage. Selling it needs a dealer and a working payment system. If you keep it at home, a standard HO-3 homeowners policy covers only $200 of bullion and coins against theft unless you add cover, and if you keep it in a bank safe deposit box, the FDIC does not insure the contents. Our guide to gold as a safe haven looks at how it behaved in past crises.
What happens to vaulted gold if the provider fails?
It depends on whether the gold is allocated (specific bars or coins held in your name) or unallocated (a claim on the provider for an amount of metal). Allocated metal should remain your property and stay off the provider's balance sheet, so its creditors should have no claim on it. Unallocated gold is closer to a bank deposit, without the FDIC. Read the storage agreement before you buy. Our explainer on allocated vs unallocated gold covers the difference, and our US gold storage guide compares home safes, bank boxes and private depositories with fees.
| Feature | Bank deposits | Cash at home | Allocated stored gold | Gold at home |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| If the firm fails | FDIC or NCUA up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per category | Not affected | Metal stays yours; no FDIC or SIPC | Not affected |
| During an IT outage | No access until fixed | Spendable | Cannot sell until systems work | Owned but not spendable |
| Value changes | Fixed in dollars, earns interest | Fixed in dollars, loses to inflation | Moves with the gold price | Moves with the gold price |
| Theft or fire risk | Very low | High | Low (insured depository) | High |
| Running costs | None | None | Storage fee | Safe and extra insurance |
If you decide to buy gold, compare dealer prices first. Both of these are listed for information, not as a recommendation.
For more on buying, storing and the tax rules on gold, start at our US gold hub or read about holding gold in an IRA.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. FDIC and NCUA rules can change; check fdic.gov and ncua.gov for the current position before making decisions.
Frequently asked questions
What happens to my money if my bank fails?
If the bank is FDIC-insured, the FDIC pays insured deposits up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category. It says it usually pays the next business day, either by moving your insured balance to an account at another insured bank or by sending a check. Money above the limit becomes a claim on the failed bank's assets and may be repaid only in part.
Is my money safe in the bank?
Up to the limits, yes. The FDIC says that since it was founded in 1933, no depositor has lost a penny of FDIC-insured funds, and the NCUA says the same of insured deposits at federally insured credit unions. Short IT outages do not change your balance; they stop you reaching it for a while.
What is the FDIC insurance limit?
The standard amount is $250,000 per depositor, per FDIC-insured bank, for each account ownership category. Single accounts, joint accounts, certain retirement accounts such as IRAs, and trust accounts are separate categories, so one person can be insured for more than $250,000 at the same bank.
Are joint accounts insured for $500,000?
A couple can be. The FDIC insures each co-owner's share of all joint accounts at one bank up to $250,000, so two owners can have up to $500,000 of joint deposits insured, separately from their single accounts at the same bank.
What does FDIC insurance not cover?
The FDIC lists stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities, life insurance policies, safe deposit boxes or their contents, US Treasury bills, bonds or notes, municipal securities and crypto assets as not covered, even when bought through an insured bank. That means gold kept in a bank safe deposit box is not FDIC-insured.
What happened to depositors at Silicon Valley Bank?
Silicon Valley Bank failed on 10 March 2023. Two days later the Treasury, Federal Reserve and FDIC used a systemic risk exception so that all depositors, including those above $250,000, could reach all their money from 13 March. That was an emergency decision, not a promise for future failures.
Is gold protected by the FDIC or SIPC?
No. FDIC insurance only covers deposits, and SIPC says it does not protect commodities or commodity contracts. Physical gold you own outright does not depend on a bank's solvency, but its price can fall. If it is held for you, the protection comes from it being allocated, meaning specific bars or coins recorded in your name. See allocated vs unallocated gold.
Sources
We checked these primary and official sources when writing and fact-checking this page.
- FDIC: Understanding Deposit Insurance ($250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category; covered and not covered)
- FDIC: Deposit Insurance FAQs (usually pays the next business day; uninsured claims)
- FDIC: Failed Bank List (failures since 1 October 2000)
- Federal Reserve: Joint Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC, 12 March 2023
- NCUA: Share Insurance Coverage ($250,000 at federally insured credit unions)
- SIPC: What SIPC Protects ($500,000 including $250,000 cash; commodities not protected)
- Ready.gov (FEMA): Financial Preparedness (cash at home, ATMs and cards may not work)
Not financial advice. GoldVetted provides general information to help you compare options. It is not personal financial, tax or legal advice. Gold prices go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you pay. Check tax rules with the official source or a qualified adviser before you act.