savings account - fdic insurance question

i will be coming into some money soon (few hundred k) - being that the fdic insurance only goes up to 100k on a savings account, would it be a bad idea to put it all in 1 account? not etrade of course, but something like hsbc? anybody know of any way around it, example if i open 2 different accounts both in my name in hsbc are they both insured up to 100k? Or do i have to open accounts in different banks? or should i just put it all in 1 count, i am assuming the chances of hsbc going out of business is slim to none? what would you do? thanks for any help.

Why don't you just stick it in a big bank like Bank of America or Citibank if you're so concerned?

Logically speaking, you should spread out your money into several accounts. However, this is a pretty irrational thing to do nowaday. HSBC isn't going anywhere any time soon.

i thought hsbc was just as big or bigger then both of them. Either way ive been happy with hsbc and the online savings gives 4.5% interest so i didnt want to change. Thanks for the advice i think im going to just go ahead and put it in there, like you said hsbc isnt going anywhere and if it looked like they were im sure there would be ample warning

the rules are pretty arcane in this area. talk to the bank. It used to be two separate accounts were covered as two separate accounts, but I think now the FDIC changed the rules. go to their website and check, but otherwise, talk to the bank. Why take the risk, even if it is a stable bank?

just looked it up, sorry should have done so before i found it pretty easily. Looks like separate checking or savings accounts in the same bank are not insured separatly. I figured on a site where $1,000 shoes are the norm everybody here should have more then 100k in cash laying around, what do you do? Seperate banks? what do millionaires do??

Originally Posted by james48

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i thought hsbc was just as big or bigger then both of them. Either way ive been happy with hsbc and the online savings gives 4.5% interest so i didnt want to change. Thanks for the advice i think im going to just go ahead and put it in there, like you said hsbc isnt going anywhere and if it looked like they were im sure there would be ample warning

Citibank and Bank of America are #1 and #2 largest banks in the US, respectively.

Originally Posted by james48

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just looked it up, sorry should have done so before i found it pretty easily. Looks like separate checking or savings accounts in the same bank are not insured separatly. I figured on a site where $1,000 shoes are the norm everybody here should have more then 100k in cash laying around, what do you do? Seperate banks? what do millionaires do??

I don't have 100k lying around, but if I did it'd be in an investment account with a big investment firm, e.g. Goldman, JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch. 4.5% interest is pretty good in this environment, but it's not good enough for me. Conservative investments in an index fund or good mutual fund will get you 7-8%, or more, in the long run.