Your friend, who seems fortunate to be having more than $100K in savings account, should be more skeptical of the “guarantee”. He can’t multiply the insured amount by splitting it, unless it is in different categories of accounts.
Coverage Over $100,000
The FDIC provides separate insurance coverage for deposit accounts held in different categories of ownership.
You may qualify for more than $100,000 in coverage at one insured bank if you own deposit accounts in different ownership categories.
Common Ownership Categories
The most common ownership categories are:
* Single Accounts
* Certain Retirement Accounts
* Joint Accounts
* Revocable Trust Accounts
Considering WaMu is certain to go down soon, he should definitely limit his exposure there to $100K. I am fairly certain, he will lose anything beyond that.
