How We Protect Our Customers
At F&M Bank, we want you to know we are here for you, as we have been for nearly 115 years. Our focus is on meeting the needs of customers in the Shenandoah Valley through disciplined lending, investing, and management as evidenced by our 5-star Bauer rating.
How is F&M Bank different than the two banks that failed?
While others concentrate on Silicon Valley, our attention is on the Shenandoah Valley. Right where it has been for 115 years. F&M Bank, along with most U.S. banks, operates completely differently than California-based Silicon Valley Bank and New York-based Signature Bank, the two recent bank failures. Silicon Valley Bank focused on high-tech start-ups and Signature Bank operated a payment platform for processing cryptocurrency. By comparison, F&M’s efforts are focused on helping small businesses, local companies, not-for-profits, farmers, neighbors, and friends in the Shenandoah Valley, and we have a long history to prove it.
What is being done to protect depositors at those banks from losing their money?
In responding to what happened to these two banks, the Federal Reserve, the U.S. Department of the Treasury, and the FDIC acted swiftly and confidently to communicate that no depositor at the two banks would lose funds due to the failures. Deposit amounts over and above those insured by the FDIC are covered by the Depositors Insurance Fund (DIF). DIF is funded through quarterly fees charged to member banks, not by taxpayers. Within hours, the Federal Reserve also announced the Bank Term Funding Program (BTFP), which was created to support American businesses and households by making additional funding available to eligible depository institutions to help assure they can meet the needs of all their depositors.
Where can I get information about FDIC insurance?
The FDIC has a helpful and informative website. Specifically this information is available at:
https://www.fdic.gov/resources/deposit-insurance/brochures/documents/deposit-insurance-at-a-glance-english.pdf
Is there a service that can help deposit my funds at other banks to make sure all of my deposited funds are covered, if they are in excess of the FDIC insurance limit?
First, it is important to know that while the general FDIC insurance limit is $250,000, your coverage may be higher depending on how ownership of your accounts is set up. Your F&M banker can help you calculate and understand your coverage, and you can access the FDIC’s “EDIE” (Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator) calculator at https://edie.fdic.gov/calculator.html
And yes, F&M Bank offers the service that places your funds on account with us at other banks to increase your insurance coverage. You can learn about the Insured Cash Sweep (ICS) service and CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service) at: https://fm-bank-updates.stage1.estlandhosting.com/multi-million-dollar-fdic-protection/
Who should I contact if I have other questions?
You can call our corporate office at (540) 896-8941, reach out to us online, or connect with an associate from a branch location. We are here to answer your questions.
