Sarah Walker, owner of Nuance Interior Design Showroom in Bellevue, Washington, thought she had her banking arrangements fairly well protected. She kept deposits at Wells Fargo and a brokerage account at Fidelity under the federal insurance cap of $250,000.
But after the recent banking turmoil, she moved about 5% of her total savings into Certificate of Deposits, or CDs, at Barclays. They offer 5% interest rates on deposits, much higher than traditional accounts, if a customers keeps money in the CDs for a year. She also invested more in Treasury bonds.
