http://traderfeed.blogspot.com/2009/02/featured-book-look-dear-mr-buffett-by.html The shareholders are running for the exits, not depositors under the $250 K cap (per person plus I believe another $250 per married couple on top of that for a total of $750K per married couple). This from Steenbarger's book review (linked above) of Tavakoli's book, DEAR MR. BUFFETT http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Mr-Buffe...bs_sr_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1235155881&sr=8-1 "At its core," Tavakoli observes, "the mortgage crisis is no more sophisticated than a schoolyard swindle, and the SEC is the principal." She effectively contrasts the imprudent use of leverage across investment banks, government sponsored enterprises, and hedge funds with the value investing philosophy of Warren Buffet, driving home the point that much of our recent economic activity has been destructive of wealth. "Price is what you pay," Buffett explained, "Value is what you get." Our recent financial system, Tavakoli asserts, has paid high prices for little value. "As long as Wall Street enhances revenues with leverage to prop up kingly bonuses, as long as there are few personal consequences for CEOs (and board members and other top executives) for shoddy risk management, as long as CEOs are allowed to walk away with millions, nothing will change. The fact that shareholders are wiped out is no deterrent, and moral hazard will live on (p. 206)." Of course, now we are bailing out BofA after it discovered Merrill's investment banking losses are $15 billion greater than BofA thought when it first agreed to the purchase.