Rest assured. Your funds are insured.

During times of uncertainty, it’s only natural to be concerned about having access to resources when you need them. As we’ve all seen on the news, the rush to purchase consumables like toilet paper, hand sanitizer, and surgical masks left empty shelves in stores across the country. Even online retailers are having trouble keeping enough stock on hand to meet demand. Similar reactions are commonly seen during periods of inclement weather. Sometimes it’s tough to determine why some items are hot (hand sanitizer) while others are not (hand soap), but one thing you can count on is that this type of run leads to one thing - a dangerous shortfall in supply.

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues its inevitable spread across the US, consumers are heading to their financial institutions. Just like consumables, when we think of “needs,” one of our first associations is “money.” We all need money, and we want to be sure it’s available when we do. The best way to do that is to use what you need when you need it, just the way you do right now.

You wouldn’t keep your money under the mattress, and your bank or credit union doesn’t either. It wouldn’t be prudent, secure, or feasible to store all the money customers deposit in the branches. We use banks and credit unions, too, and of course they deposit their excess funds into an even bigger bank – the Federal Reserve. This system is in place for everyone’s protection. When there’s a “run on the bank,” the risk isn’t a shortage of money in general, it’s a shortage of cash<i> on hand</i>. If some of us panic and make large withdrawals, there may not be enough cash <i>on hand</i> to serve others, causing further panic. As we learned through the bank run when the stock market crashed in 1929, panic like this can have a domino effect and lead to, well, a Great Depression. Fortunately, if we all stick together, we can prevent history from repeating itself.

In the wake of the bank run and subsequent depression in the 1930s, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the National Credit Union Association (NCUA) were formed to insure customer deposits. Both institutions are backed by the full faith of the United States government, and that’s something we can all feel good about.

This is a frightening time for all of us. We know how you feel because we’re feeling it, too. While we can’t help with toilet paper and sanitizer, if we all stick together, we can make sure everyone has access to their money when they need it. Rest assured. Your funds at Southeast Financial are safe, sound, available, and insured up to $250,000 by the NCUA.