Main Street Depositor Protection Act

Extra insurance for certain checking accounts

If enacted, this bill would add extra federal insurance for qualifying noninterest-bearing transaction accounts. The additional amount would be added on top of the regular deposit insurance limit and set by an FDIC rule within six months. The FDIC rule must be at least the standard maximum deposit insurance amount on that date and no more than $5,000,000, and only Congress could later change that amount. FDIC and the NCUA would publish plans within one year to phase in full coverage over ten years. The bill defines qualifying accounts (no interest, allow transfers or negotiable instruments, and no institutional right to require advance notice) and would aggregate balances across subsidiaries of a single bank holding company. The expansion would not apply to accounts at subsidiaries of global systemically important bank holding companies (as identified under 12 C.F.R. 217.402) or insured foreign bank branches. During the transition, institutions with $10,000,000,000 or less in assets would be exempt from certain special assessments to offset reserve impacts.