Communities throughout the country are experiencing bank failures at an alarming rate. Typically, FDIC intervention and subsequent takeover by a stronger financial institution appears to be the norm, and happens in a seamless manner (to date).

Access to most accounts are immediately operational under the new bank; however, not all accounts are accessible. If you have a brokerage account with the bank, those accounts may or may not be available for awhile.

There is a firm called Bauer Financial, see www.bauerfinancial.com, that rates financial institutions via a star rating 1-5. This has proven to be a reliable source of information. Any financial institution with a 3 star or less rating should given a second look. I encourage you to visit the site and check on your institution.

Thanks to Tom Pickering from DuPont, Washington for bringing this information to my attention.