At each Pacific Trust Bank location, you'll see signs like the one above that say your deposits are insured to at least $100,000 per depositor by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, an agency of the U.S. Government.

In addition, your IRA funds on deposit at Pacific Trust Bank will now be separately insured up to $250,000 by the FDIC.

Certain retirement accounts at FDIC-insured banks and savings institutions are now insured up to $250,000, up from $100,000 previously.

The higher insurance coverage applies primarily to traditional and Roth IRAs (Individual Retirement Accounts). Also included are self-directed Keogh accounts, "457 Plan" accounts for state government employees, and employer-sponsored "defined contribution plan" accounts that are self-directed, which are primarily 401(k) accounts. In general, self-directed means that the consumer chooses how and where the money is deposited.

Under the FDIC's new rules, which are effective beginning April 1, 2006, all of your deposits at the same insured bank that are in this broad category of retirement accounts are added together and the total is insured up to $250,000. Your retirement accounts also are separately insured from any other deposits you may have at the same institution.

This increase to $250,000 for retirement accounts is important because many people saving money for their retirement have accumulated well in excess of $100,000. With the higher FDIC coverage, more Americans who rely on banking institutions for safety and easy access will know that more of their money for retirement will be completely protected if their banking institution were to fail. There's also the added convenience for people who, previously, might have gone to more than one institution to get full coverage of retirement deposits of more than $100,000.

Throughout Pacific Trust Bank's web site, and on our advertising materials, forms and other documents, you'll see statements that your deposits at our Bank are safe because they are FDIC insured, or state that we are a member of the FDIC.

Just what does all this really mean? If you have more than $100,000 at Pacific Trust Bank, is the amount in excess of insured limits safe? Is there any way to have more than $100,000 covered by FDIC insurance?

These are all good questions.

First, let us say that all of your funds at Pacific Trust Bank are safe because Pacific Trust Bank is well managed, we maintain a "well capitalized" position as defined by banking regulators, and we are continuously subjected to independent audits and examinations to ensure that the bank operates in a safe and sound manner.

Many of the answers to your other questions about the safety of your funds on deposit at Pacific Trust Bank and other financial institutions can be found on the FDIC web site: http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/index.html

Your Insured Deposits

Your deposits are insured to at lest $100,000 per depositor. And your IRA and other qualifying retirement funds on deposit at Pacific Trust Bank are separately insured up to $250,000.

The FDIC is an independent agency of the U.S. Government. It was established by Congress in 1933 to insure bank deposits, help maintain sound conditions in our banking system, and protect the nation's money supply in case of financial institution failure. FDIC-insured deposits are backed by the full faith and credit of the United States.

Find out how FDIC deposit insurance works. Here are tools for estimating insurance coverage for your deposits.

Your Insured Deposit on the FDIC's own web site is an on-line booklet that describes the deposit insurance coverage provided by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to depositors of insured banks and insured savings associations. http://www.fdic.gov/deposit/deposits/index.html

The booklet, with questions and answers explaining how FDIC deposit insurance works, is available in English, Spanish, Korean and Chinese versions. Topics in the "Your Insured Deposit" booklet include:

• General Questions
  
• Basic Insurance Limit
  
• Single Ownership Accounts
  
• Joint Accounts
  
• Testamentary (Payable-On-Death) Accounts
  
• Revocable Living Trusts
  
• Irrevocable Trusts
  
• Retirement Accounts
  
• Executor, Custodial, & Agent Accounts
  
• Business Accounts
  
• Merged Institutions
  

EDIE: The Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator

Do you have $100,000 or more in deposit accounts? You may have more - or less - deposit insurance coverage than you think. EDIE estimates your coverage based on your answers to a series of questions about your accounts in an FDIC-insured financial institution.

At this site you can learn about deposit insurance and estimate the adequacy of your deposit insurance using EDIE, your Electronic Deposit Insurance Estimator.

EDIE can help you...

• determine if you have adequate deposit insurance for the accounts you have at a single FDIC-insured financial institution;

• estimate the deposit insurance coverage you have for all your Personal Accounts including Sole Proprietorship Accounts at a single financial institution; and
  

• EDIE can be used to estimate deposit insurance for most types of accounts.

How do you check to see if a financial institution is insured by the FDIC?

The FDIC maintains a listing on its web site of all insured institutions.

To find out if your financial institution is insured, click here: FDIC Institutions and then enter the institution name and click Find My Institution.

If you have questions about how you can structure the ownership of your deposit accounts to maximize FDIC insurance coverage, please call us at (877) 441-BANK or visit a Pacific Trust bank office near you.

Deposit Insurance: Which Investments Are NOT Insured?

Not every product offered by a bank is FDIC insured. Learn which financial products are not insured by the FDIC -- including non-deposit investment products. Also learn about investment counseling and the process of filing a complaint. Click here: Insured or Not Insured to find out more from the FDIC.