Not all companies with bank-sounding names are actually FDIC-insured banks

BankFind is a tool that helps you find current and former FDIC-insured banking institutions

The tool from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (also known as the FDIC) allows users to search for these institutions by name, location, and more.

Certificates of deposit are low-risk savings tools that offer a stable way to grow your money over time

Unlike standard savings accounts, CDs require you to lock in a fixed deposit for a set term, earning higher interest rates in exchange for limited access to your funds.

For every $100 you deposit, your bank puts a few cents in the FDIC insurance fund

This is a result of the 1933 Banking Act that established the Federal Deposit Insurance Fund. The law sought to prevent bank runs like those that decimated the banking industry amid the Great Crash and subsequent major depression. Today, individual depositors are insured up to $250K at each bank where they have an account.

Master the banking basics

Before deciding on a credit union, it’s important that you understand the basics. That way you can know exactly what’s happening with your hard-earned money behind the scenes. Flip through these flashcards to make sure you understand key terms like “deposit” and “checking account.” Then, you can read up on top banking products and start to find a credit union that works for you. Click here, then scroll down the page to find the cards.

Banks make money by loaning customer deposits and earning interest

This means the interest you earn on your deposits is lower than what the bank earns on the same amount. Banks often keep cash reserves (though a minimum requirement was rescinded in 2020) but generally invest in government bonds, corporate securities, and loans to other banks. During bank runs, depositors withdraw more than the bank has on hand.

The concept of CDs dates back to the 1600s in Europe

Banks in the US started issuing CDs in the early 1800s as the banking system began to take shape following the Revolutionary War. The federal government did not formally insure CDs until the FDIC was formed in 1933.

Near-universal banking masks a large underbanked shadow system

FDIC data indicates 128 million households have a checking account, the vast majority (96% in 2024). But more than 14% of households are underbanked, meaning they have accounts but also rely on nonbank services such as check cashing, payday loans, or prepaid cards.

Financial institutions check for lots of things before authorizing a purchase

Before authorizing a purchase, card issuers consider whether or not the cardholder has a high enough available credit limit to make the purchase, where the purchase is being made in order to reduce fraud, and more.

Are credit unions living up to DEI promises?

Credit union insiders often say their institutions better serve minority bankers through a combination of a not-for-profit ethos and community focus. However, a recent probe found that the largest US credit union rejected more than half of all Black applicants for conventional mortgages. To dive deep into Navy Federal Credit Union’s mortgage practices, read this journalistic investigation.

From bartering to banking, temples to electronic transactions, here’s banking has evolved significantly since ancient times

A few historical facts about banking (like that one day, not long ago, certificates of deposit were physical pieces of paper) may not surprise you. But did you know that the church was the original lender? And that Julius Caesar himself invented foreclosure?

Some private credit funds trade on the stock market

These funds, which trade at market prices, are called "public BDCs," which stands for "business development companies." For instance, the global alternative investment manager Ares Management Corp. has a public BDC.

Just because a big name company is going public doesn’t guarantee a successful stock

A reporter dove into how highly anticipated IPOs can still be risky, and why retail investors should be wary of investing right away.

Accredited investors are people or other entities allowed to participate in investments that aren’t registered with the SEC

The accreditation is meant to protect retail investors from potential losses. Financial professionals with Series 7, 65, or 82 licenses qualify, but so do individuals with over $1M in net worth.

Investing in bonds comes with a few risks

Think: changes in interest rates that impact the bond’s value, or a bond issuer completely defaulting on a loan. There are steps investors can take to lower their initial and future risk when investing in the bond market, such as checking a company's bond rating before investing.

Securitization has become common practice in home financing

When a homebuyer finances with a lender, they aren’t necessarily the one footing the bill. After a buyer secures a home loan, the lender can sell the loan to another financial institution or a private institution. That group can later sell that mortgage to investors. This is called securitization.

Learn how to read a prospectus, the juicy document that any company must file with the SEC before going public.

How a failed investment bank almost became the name of a whiskey line

In the fallout of the Great Recession of 2008, Barclays bought several assets from the failed investment bank Lehman Brothers in a fire sale and maintained the company's trademark, despite the bank's collapse. Tiger Lily Ventures attempted to launch a whiskey line parodying the name, but the product was rejected in court due to questions over Barclays' maintenance of the trademark.

The worst things to buy at the dollar store, according to a financial expert

Some dollar store products can be low quality, and experts advise not purchasing them. This list includes 17 products to avoid at dollar stores, including batteries, toys, costumes, and more.

33% of Americans say they don’t know very much about what the Fed does

While most Americans grasp the central bank’s impact on curbing inflation, they don’t know that the Fed is tasked with what is called a “dual mandate” to provide price stability and maximum employment. Furthermore, few understand the Fed is independent—it does not answer to Congress or the US president.

Some people don't like talking about life insurance—perhaps because they fear death

But CBS News business analyst Jill Schlesinger makes a case for why life insurance is worth discussing anyway on this "CBS Mornings" segment. She also reviews the different types of life insurance, who can be a beneficiary, and other basics.

Stablecoins like USDC are backed by real assets including US Treasurys and cash

While Tether (USDT) is primarily backed by US Treasury bills (64.9%), USDC is mostly backed by US Treasury repurchase agreements (49.6%). USDC also goes by the name Circle, given that it is owned by the company Circle Internet Financial.

Filing for Chapter 7 bankruptcy can be complex

Debtors must know whether their liabilities are secured or unsecured and what type of assets they have. They also need to know what a filing can and can’t help them with.

Each design detail on the US $1 bill has significance

The eye in the triangle floating above the pyramid, for instance, is “the Eye of Providence watching over and ensuring the endurance of the structure of the American government.” This article details every design choice’s significance on the dollar—and a few conspiracies around these choices as well.

Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholders

From the Dutch East India Company paying out the first dividends over 400 years ago to the word “dividend’s” ancient Latin roots, Dividend.com has a full explainer of this investing perk and how individuals can earn income while holding dividend-paying stocks or ETFs.

Company names you may have been mispronouncing

Global company names often get Americanized or anglicized to the point where they’re unrecognizable. Here's a helpful explainer on how to say a dozen of them, from Adidas to Huawei.

Trademarks are a form of consumer protection

Trademarks help brands distinguish their products from competitors, but they also give consumers clarity around the product they are buying and where it comes from. Distinguishable names help prevent consumer confusion and maintain a consumer's ability to choose their preferred product and brand.

The idea for the Federal Reserve was conceived in secret in 1910—with bankers donning duck hunt gear for disguise while traveling to a remote country club on Georgia's Jekyll Island

Some coin denominations have ridges etched on their sides, partly to prevent counterfeiting, in a practice called 'reeding.'

Dozens of S&P 500 stocks, including Coca-Cola and Walmart—known as the dividend aristocrats—have increased dividends every year for 25 years

Meet the 56 signers of the Declaration of Independence—most of whom didn't put pen to paper until August 2, 1776—and see their original signatures.

Corals are themselves not coral reefs—the term refers to the tiny marine invertebrates that build the rigid reef.

Netflix profits when you're not watching, and its movies are designed that way—read a detail-rich critical essay exposing lesser-known Netflix takes

The first steps to rebuilding your credit score include getting to know exactly what's on your credit report and figuring out how far you are from the '700 club,' or 'good score' range.

Some Pokémon have been named after real and fictional organisms, while some real-world species have been named after Pokémon, such as Chilicola charizard and Binburrum zapdos.

The United States is one of only around two dozen countries with a fully federal system of government, in which power is divided between national and state governments.

Explore fun facts from the USPS, including unique post office buildings, a stamp that traveled past Pluto, and more.

Doctors differentiate between a phobia and fear by asking patients whether their fear interferes with their day-to-day activities.

The price of gas is a composite made up of several different factors, with the federal gas tax making up less than 20% of what drivers pay at the pump.

Prince's sexually explicit 1984 track 'Darling Nikki' attracted the ire of the Parents Music Resource Center, an advocacy group that inspired the Parental Advisory sticker, even though the song ends with a Christian message.

An investigation suggests a Scottish island became awash in forever chemicals via seafoam and seaspray—raising questions about what that means for the safety of other coastal areas.

A Yale student wrote a profound essay about the consulting industry's influence on elite college students that was published in a book of her writing after she died in a post-graduation car accident.

When you complete a CAPTCHA on a website to prove you are human, you may be unknowingly training algorithms for self-driving cars, whose systems require training data to help identify crosswalks, bicycles, and other outdoor objects.

Sears sold DIY house kits starting at $600 in its famous catalog from 1908 through the 1940s, resulting in roughly 10,000 'Sears and Roebuck houses' being built.

For centuries, Niagara Falls has been a magnet for daredevils seeking to conquer one of nature's most powerful wonders, with its 200-foot drop and water rushing at 32 feet per second with 280 tons of force.

Studies suggest when you sleep is as important as how much you get, and syncing with your circadian rhythms may lead to less fatigue and improved long-term health outcomes

Ebola is a filovirus, meaning it resembles a thread under a microscope, though it sometimes twists and can resemble a bowl of spaghetti.

'Silent' fireworks have gained more interest in recent years as a quieter celebratory option.

Pure water does not conduct electricity because this flow of energy requires the movement of charged particles, and water is a neutral molecule.

Objects can be 3D printed with light by projecting 2D computerized tomography (CT) scans onto rotating cylinders of resin, which solidify upon exposure.

Domino's Pizza's 30-minute delivery guarantee was responsible for the chain's 1980s surge, but it was discontinued after the company was found liable for delivery driver accidents.