Just have to have them take the next step too. That money stuffed in mattress is at risk from even more reasons. The house could burn down, there might be criminals stealing it or simply the police could get hint and do civil forfeiture.

In the end, bank might be preferable option.

The first $250,000 per person per bank, essentially, is already protected. With investments and real estate living on different balances sheets, any policy change or bailout here isn't for the sake of people who might stuff money in their mattresses. They're already covered.

It's about guaranteeing that the stewards of very large wealth don't have to practice the conservative risk management strategies available to them.

Conservative risk management strategies like "only bank with BofA and JPMorgan"?

Ackman isn't wrong that the practical result of bank runs is that all accounts beyond the FDIC limit will suddenly migrate to one of two or three major "too big to fail" banks.

I'm not sure what the solution to all this is but it sure looks like a good time to buy stock in quasi-monopoly bank companies and short all the rest.

>Conservative risk management strategies like "only bank with BofA and JPMorgan"?

Or: diversify bank relationships, diversify asset classes/types, buy private insurance, etc. Deposit risk is not exactly a novelty.

> Ackman isn't wrong that the practical result of bank runs is that all accounts beyond the FDIC limit will suddenly migrate to one of two or three major "too big to fail" banks.

He might be right that immediate reactionary adjustments will rush these risk-blind deposits into big institutions, but FDIC insurance and bailout-able banks aren't the only ways to keep a liquid portfolio largely secure and money will inevitably spread out more prudently once the dust settles.

He just wants a bailout for SVB depositors because he calculated a bailout into his own risk strategy and is now developing that strategy through its next phase by whipping up the political pressure that could make it happen. It's a game.

As far as I can tell, there's no way to buy private insurance for a bank account. This seems to be a widely-held misconception.