There are many things going on that are changing the face of banking. You’ve heard all the news reports…bank failures of corporate giants no one ever thought would, or could fail, down to local community banks. There are 3 things you need to be aware of now to safeguard your cash. This bank ratings report covers all three. “Protect your cash like a junkyard dog,” is a recommendation from Martin Weiss who accurately predicted the crash of the markets, the failures of banks, the wiping out of pensions and retirement funds. You owe it to yourself to protect your cash that is in any bank. One way to stay on top of a possible failure of your bank(s) is to know their rating. This is a rating system that the banks and the government do not want you to be aware of, but financially savvy individuals have known about this rating report system for years. Ask your bank personnel what their “Weiss Rating” is and they will more than likely tell you that they don’t have that information. But you can get it without even asking your bank. The rating system is as easy to understand as a student’s report card. A = Excellent B = Good C = Fair D = Weak E = Very Weak A plus sign means the rating is in the upper third of the range for each grade; and the minus sign means it is in the lower third. So, a C+ is better than a C or C-. How to find out and monitor the rating of your bank: Go to http://www.thestreet.com/bank-safety/ In the Weiss Ratings pane, near the top left of the window, select the Search For A Rating button. There is a form on the left to enter your information, and search by bank name to find the rating of your current banks. To search for highly rated banks, leave the bank name blank and use the dropdown menu for “ratings”, you can search by state or in all states at once.   (Rating report illustration date 10-19-2009) ► To the right of each bank name, you will see its rating. If your bank is rated C+ or      lower, you may want to consider avoiding the risk and inconvenience of a possible      future failure by switching to another institution. ► To find higher rated banks for your general banking needs, leave out the bank name,      and in the “State” cell use the drop down arrow to select your state.      In the “Rating” cell use the dropdown menu and select “A — Excellent,” and in the      cell to the right, select “Only.” You will immediately see any banks in your state with      an A+, A, or A- rating. ► Check your bank’s ratings frequently in this current economic climate. (Rating  report illustration date 04-18-2009) BONUS TIP: While you’re on TheStreet.com, why not check out your insurance and HMO’s too and find out if they are at risk? Check on life, health, property & casualty and HMO insurers while you are on the website. Yes, if an insurance company fails, the states usually pick up the insurance, but what if your state is at risk of going under like some are today? Forewarned is forearmed! These options are right under the bank ratings window. The first question you’ll no doubt be asking is, “How safe is my money?” One prudent money management principle is to not have over $100,000 in any one bank.  If you have over $100,000 in a bank account(s) in your name in the same bank, then move some of the funds into another bank immediately to get your cash below that level. Here’s why. The $250,000 FDIC temporary insurance cap is exactly that – TEMPORARY – the government can rescind this without warning, and you can lose a lot of money. The FDIC needs money to insure depositors. Don’t think they won’t use yours when they move the insurance cap back to its previous lower level. If you have multiple personal accounts in the same name in one bank, generally these are all added together to determine whether the balance exceeds the FDIC insurance limit. If it does, you lose the overage in a bank failure. One way to protect your cash asset is to have a separate account in your spouse’s name, as that is covered by its own FDIC insurance limit. Corporate or business accounts are treated separately from personal accounts. Check with your bank to see how they view your accounts and ask for their policy in writing if you have any doubts. The FDIC has taken over many failing banks just in the first quarter of 2009. As of this writing, there are over 1,500 more banks “at risk” and the number is growing. The danger is this: they usually plan a bank takeover to begin as soon as the bank closes on Friday night and a huge team of people work all night to try to get the bank open by the next business day. But with bank failures becoming more and more frequent, the planning time and staff needed to accomplish a fast re-opening of the bank may overwhelm the capabilities of the FDIC, and it could take longer than just a day or two for a bank to re-open. Many individuals and small businesses who live from deposit to deposit could suffer because they cannot get to their cash to operate. One safeguard is to buy a safe and keep some cash on hand for emergencies. The two questions that beg to be asked are 1) can the FDIC’s budget for insuring deposits cover all the future losses, and 2) if many more banks fail at once, does the FDIC have the staff to reopen them in hours, or will it take days, perhaps, weeks to reopen them? A friend of mine sent me this video of a “60 Minutes” TV report that shows the FDIC actually planning and executing the takeover of a bank with multiple branch locations. Also included is an interview with the head of the FDIC who assures the reporter that the FDIC is backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. Government.” Somehow, that’s not too reassuring considering the U.S. government has already  borrowed trillions from the Federal Reserve to fund the bailout of private companies and pay for the billions worth of pork barrel projects that congress stuffed into the bailout bills. Watch this video so you are informed about exactly how the FDIC takes over a failing bank. Do your research on your banks and decide where you feel your money is the safest. A final word of caution.…if you are invested in the stock/bond market and have moved your money into a money market at your brokerage firm, that money market is NOT usually insured by the FDIC unless it is in a money market fund invested in U.S. Government Treasury Bills. Otherwise it is usually only insured against fraud. Check with your bank and your securities broker/manager and find out for sure whether your Money Market accounts are, in fact, insured by the FDIC. Suggested Reading: The Ultimate Depression Survival Guide: Protect Your Savings, Boost Your Income, and Grow Wealthy Even in the Worst of Times Here’s to your financial health, The Money Management Team Money Management Solutions, Inc.  611 S. Fort Harrison Avenue, #318 Clearwater, FL 33756 727-448-1011 Copyright 2009 Money Management Solutions, Inc.