US studies increase FDIC bank deposit guarantee to over $250,000 in crisis

US officials are studying ways to expand temporarily Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. coverage for all deposits, a move sought by a coalition of banks that argue it is necessary to avert a potential financial crisis.

Treasury Department staff are considering whether federal regulators have enough emergency authority to temporarily insure deposits larger than the current $250,000 cap on most accounts without formal consent from a deeply divided Congress, according to people with knowledge of the talks.