Course 7 · Advanced
Banking, custody and counterparties
What deposit insurance covers, what happens when a bank fails, and how physical custody differs from a promise.
10 lessons, about 94 minutes
What you will be able to do
- State exactly what your deposits are covered for.
- Explain the creditor order in a bank failure.
- Choose between storage options on the actual trade-offs.
Lessons
Lesson 1 · 9 min · free preview
What a bank deposit legally is
A loan to the bank, recorded as its liability.
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Lesson 2 · 9 min
What FDIC insurance covers, exactly
$250,000 per depositor, per bank, per ownership category — and a defined list of exclusions.
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Lesson 3 · 10 min
What happens in a bank failure
Resolution, transfer of insured deposits, and the queue for the rest.
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Lesson 4 · 10 min
2008 and 2023, compared
Different causes, similar lesson about concentration.
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Lesson 5 · 10 min
Home safe, bank box, or depository?
Access, insurance and privacy pull in different directions.
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Lesson 6 · 8 min
Segregated versus commingled
Whether you own specific items or a share of a pool.
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Lesson 7 · 9 min
How metal is actually insured
All-risk specie policies, with named limits and exclusions.
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Lesson 8 · 10 min
Paper metal, ETFs and unallocated accounts
Convenient exposure, with a counterparty you should be able to name.
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Lesson 9 · 10 min
Central bank digital currencies: the facts
Live retail CBDCs exist in a handful of countries with low adoption; the U.S. has not issued one.
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Lesson 10 · 9 min
Privacy, reporting and what is actually required
Dealer reporting thresholds and what they do and do not cover.
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