Definition for: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
The "Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation" or "FDIC" is a government corporation that insures (guarantees) depositors' savings, checking, money market, and certificate of deposit accounts against bank insolvency. Generally speaking, the FDIC will reimburse each depositor up to $100,000 per bank (one depositor with accounts at two separate banks would have double the maximum amount of insurance), or up to $250,000 for retirement accounts. The FDIC does not insure all types of financial instruments, and it only insures deposits at FDIC-member banks, which includes most U.S. banks. The FDIC was founded in response to the bank failures of the Great Depression.
