The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation today issued tips to help consumers shop for a variety of bank products and services by carefully evaluating their needs, contacting multiple institutions and reading the fine print before making a decision. The advice was published as a special edition of the quarterly FDIC Consumer News (the Spring 2011 issue), which is entitled “Shop and Save…at the Bank: A Buyer’s Guide to Finding the Right Loan, Credit Card or Deposit Account.”

The FDIC publication includes:

• Strategies for choosing a mortgage, credit card, home equity loan, checking account or bank CD (certificate of deposit) that makes sense for the consumer;
• Lower-cost alternatives to traditional — and potentially expensive — overdraft programs.
• Information about escrow accounts for mortgage borrowers and the importance of monitoring the accounts for costly mistakes;
• A suggestion to avoid mistakes when additional services are marketed with a loan or a credit card;
• Information about why consumers should be cautious before using a prepaid card for their basic banking needs;
• A reminder that stocks, bonds, mutual funds, annuities and other non-deposit products sold at banks are not FDIC-insured and that some of these investments can lose money; and
• A basic “to-do” list for shopping at the bank.

The goal of FDIC Consumer News is to deliver timely, reliable and innovative tips and information about financial matters, free of charge. The Spring 2011 edition can be read or printed at www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/news/cnspr11.