The FDIC vs NCUA vs SIPC Cheatsheet That Most Banks Skip

FDIC: Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation

The FDIC insures deposits at member banks up to $250,000 per depositor per institution per ownership category. 'Deposits' means: checking accounts, savings accounts, money market deposit accounts, and certificates of deposit. It does not cover: mutual funds, stocks, bonds, annuities, or life insurance products sold at the bank's brokerage desk. Membership is compulsory for nationally chartered banks (OCC) and optional for state-chartered banks — most state-chartered banks join. To verify: look for the FDIC logo, or search at banks.data.fdic.gov.

NCUA: National Credit Union Administration

The NCUA provides equivalent coverage to the FDIC for federally chartered credit unions through the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). Coverage is $250,000 per member per credit union per account category. State-chartered credit unions may carry private share insurance instead of NCUA — acceptable in most states but not equivalent. To verify: search mycreditunion.gov/about-credit-unions/credit-union-locator. If a credit union is not NCUA-insured, ask what insurance covers your deposits.

SIPC: Securities Investor Protection Corporation

SIPC protects brokerage account customers against the failure of the brokerage firm itself — not against investment losses. It covers up to $500,000 per customer, including $250,000 in cash. This matters for cash sitting in your brokerage account between investments. SIPC coverage does not apply if your brokerage's investments go to zero; it applies if the brokerage firm becomes insolvent and your assets cannot be located or transferred. Notably: SIPC does not cover uninvested cash swept to a money market fund — those shares are considered securities, not cash, and are covered by SIPC as securities (up to $500,000 total).

The Matrix

Bank savings account: FDIC. Credit union share account: NCUA. CD at a bank: FDIC. CD at a credit union: NCUA. Money market deposit account (MMDA): FDIC. Money market mutual fund (MMMF): SIPC (as a security). Brokerage cash sweep to partner bank: FDIC (if programme is set up correctly). Brokerage cash in default sweep account: SIPC only (up to $250,000 cash sub-limit).

How to Maximise Coverage Across Institutions

The $250,000 FDIC limit is per institution, not per account. A married couple with joint accounts can hold $500,000 at a single institution under joint ownership. Adding individual accounts at the same bank each adds another $250,000 per person. For deposits exceeding what a single institution can insure, distribute across multiple FDIC-insured banks. CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service) and IntraFi Network allow large deposits at a single bank to be distributed across member institutions while maintaining the bank relationship.

Primary Sources

1. [1] FDIC: Understanding Deposit Insurance — fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/
2. [2] NCUA: Share Insurance — ncua.gov/consumers/share-insurance-overview
3. [3] SIPC: What SIPC Protects — sipc.org/for-investors/what-sipc-protects.html