Aug. 3--OK, more likely than not, you don't need easy access to $50 million in FDIC insurance. But some Michigan banks and others nationwide are promoting a one-stop banking solution for small-business owners, nonprofit organizations, retirees and others who demand FDIC insurance when they invest huge sums in certificates of deposits.

Flagstar Bank is running ads: "Have it all. One bank. One rate. One statement. And access to $50 million in FDIC insurance for your CDs."

Concerned about safety

After federal regulators seized California-based IndyMac Bank in July, retirees and other savers with serious money are increasingly concerned about the safety of their savings above $100,000.

"We're not really seeing customers concerned about Flagstar Bank, but they are concerned about other relationships," said Trenton Hancock, Flagstar assistant vice president and product manager for retail banking in Troy.

Flagstar and others are taking part in what's called the CDARS network -- the Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service -- which essentially creates a way for the banks to share coverage through the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.

Huge deposits are split into CDs of less than $100,000 that are spread across the network and thus insured through several banks. CD terms range from 4 weeks to 5 years, depending on the customer's needs.

Flagstar launched a pilot program at its Indiana branches in 2007, offered the service in Georgia earlier this year and began offering the service in Michigan in May.

The CDARS network was launched in 2003 by three big names in the financial services arena, including Alan Blinder, a former vice chairman of the board of governors of the Federal Reserve in the 1990s. The Web site is www.cdars.com.

More than 2,200 banks nationwide, including about 20 in Michigan, participate. On Monday, Level One Bank in Farmington Hills expects that it will be able to offer CDs as part of the network as well.

Patrick Fehring, Level One CEO and president, said the bank had applied for CDARS coverage and expects the process to be finalized by Monday.

"It really is a response to customer inquiries about how to maximize FDIC coverage," said Fehring, 51, who used to be with Fifth Third Bank in Michigan. Level One, which opened less than a year ago, has one branch on Orchard Lake Road and about $45 million in assets.

Other banks, such as Comerica Bank, say they're reviewing how CDARS could work. Comerica, which has met with representatives of the Promontory Interfinancial Network, has not made a decision on whether to participate. The network runs CDARS and charges banks an initiation fee to join and fees based on the size of transactions.

Larger depositors that use CDARS can include municipal governments in about 40 states, but not Michigan.

The Michigan Bankers Association is backing proposed legislation that would allow municipalities to invest money in CDs issued through banks in the CDARS network.

CDARS network CDs safe

A CD issued through any bank in the network is never for more than $100,000, so every penny is eligible for full FDIC insurance.

If one of the banks fails, the FDIC pays out the bank's depositors. The FDIC would handle CDARS certificates of deposits in the same way as it would handle other fully insured CDs at the bank, said Phil Battey, a spokesperson for the Promontory Interfinancial Network in Arlington, Va.

Battey said two network members were closed by regulators: Douglass National Bank in Kansas City, Mo., in January and 1st National Bank of Nevada in July. The FDIC sold those banks to other institutions, including their CDARS deposits.

The FDIC guarantees bank deposits, if you follow the limits, in the case of bank failures. Check out www.fdic.gov.

Savings accounts, checking accounts and certificates of deposit are insured by the FDIC up to the legal limit of $100,000 and sometimes more for special kinds of accounts or ownership categories.

Yet consumers who want to deposit more money often have to go through several banks to guarantee adequate coverage.

So the CDARS option could be something some savers will consider. Even so, savers who use a CDARS service must review their own paperwork. They need to make sure they don't already have other deposits at one or more of the CDARS network banks that would hold their CDs. If they do, they need to strike that bank or banks from the list of institutions where their money might be placed.

Contact SUSAN TOMPOR at 313-222-8876 or stompor@freepress.com.

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Story Source: Detroit Free Press