'Consumers should not worry' after turbulent month for New York Community Bank, former FDIC chair says
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More bank failures could be looming

NYCB's woes come about one year after Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank collapsed, followed by First Republic in May. More bank failures are likely looming amid recession risks, uncertain interest rate forecasts and weakness in the commercial real estate market, Bair warned in a recent editorial in The Washington Post that she co-authored with Charles Goodhart, emeritus professor at the London School of Economics. Recent bank failures were largely caused by bank mismanagement. Yet legislation to increase accountability for those leaders has stalled on Capitol Hill, they wrote.

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Consumers can take comfort in the fact that banking regulators have been working overtime since last year to review the banks and ensure they are carefully monitored, particularly if they have concentrations of risky loans or other types of activities that may cause stress, said Dennis Kelleher, president and CEO of Better Markets, a non-profit organization focused on building a more secure financial system. "If you're a depositor, 99% of depositors have no worries, because deposits up to $250,000 are fully insured by the FDIC," Kelleher said.

How to check your deposit coverage

It's important for consumers to make sure they are below the uninsured deposit limits, Bair said. To help with that, FDIC provides a tool on its website to help consumers test their coverage. In the event of a failure, consumers who are below the insured deposit limits can generally expect continued access to their deposits, according to Bair. "The FDIC has a perfect track record of protecting those deposits," Bair said. "When a bank fails, in almost all situations, they provide immediate seamless access, there's no disruption at all in the access to the bank account."