The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation insures all deposits at insured banks, including checking, money market deposit accounts, NOW and savings accounts, and certificates of deposit (CDs), up to the insurance limit. Mutual funds, securities or other similar types of investments offered by banks and other thrift institutions are not insured by FDIC. What is and is not protected by FDIC is distinguished by the institution Insured and Uninsured Investments.

If there's a bank failure, the FDIC is responsible for liquidating the assets of that bank. Among these assets you can find real estate, loans or furniture and fixtures.

As an example, here are the banks that crashed in November 2008

- PFF Bank and Trust, Pomona, California - $3.7 billion in assets, $2.4 billion in deposits
- Downey Savings and Loan Association, F.A., Newport Beach, California - $12.8 billion in assets, $9.7 billion in deposits
- The Community Bank, Loganville, Georgia - approximately $681.0 million in total assets, $611.4 million in total deposits
- Security Pacific Bank, Los Angeles, California - approximately $561.1 million in total assets, $450.1 million in total deposits
- Franklin Bank, SSB, Houston, Texas - approximately $5.1 billion in total assets, $3.7 billion in total deposits