Arkansas Business on Today's THV: Bank Deposits

Because of the economy over the last year, people are putting more and more money up for safe keeping in banks. And that's lead to growing deposits across the country.

Each year, Arkansas Business ranks the biggest banks in the state, by the amount of money people put into them.

We get that information from the federal deposit insurance corporation, the FDIC, which insures your deposits against calamities like the collapse of a bank, which has been a reality in several states.

More than 100 banks nationwide, including ANB Financial here in Arkansas, have failed as the market for sub-prime mortgages and other loans have collapsed.

According to the FDIC, for the year ending June 30, total deposits for banks across the country are up 7.6 percent. In Arkansas, that number is up 2.9 percent.

This year, Regions Financial, based in Alabama, was a key beneficiary of deposits, up 9 percent, about $380 million, to make it the second largest bank in Arkansas in terms of deposits.

Arvest Bank of Fayetteville, controlled by Walton Family members, remains no. 1, with 2.5 percent growth.

Now it's probably safe to say that some of this deposit growth throughout the country came as people, nervous about the stock market, pulled money out of stocks and put them into banks.

And the FDIC helped keep peace of mind by increasing the amount of insurance on deposits from $100,000 to $250,000, an extra layer of protection in an economy that left people looking for safe havens.