Cape should do more to protect assets
To the editor:
On Oct. 10, 2008 I hand-delivered a request letter to the then Mayor Eric Feichthaler and all commissioners of Cape Coral regarding security of all city financial assets. My letter stated that the city of Cape Coral maybe in jeopardy of losing an exorbitant amount of money if their financial assets are not correctly secured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. The FDIC now insures up to $250,000 per account for individual and government accounts.
Mark C. Mason, Financial Services director of Cape Coral, returned my follow-up call stating the city of Cape Coral had $180 million of financial assets and that Bank of America was their primary bank. Mason also stated that Bank of America is one of the largest banks in the United States, that they are fiscally sound and I shouldn’t worry.
However I do worry being that a year ago there were five large investment banks on Wall Street and now there are none. Fittingly, Bank of America stock has dropped from the mid $50s to single digit values in the last several years.
In my previous conversations with Richard Garner of CNI Bank, he suggested that Cape Coral could utilize the CDARS program. Under CDARS (Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service) up to $50 million Cape Coral’s financial assets can be guaranteed by the FDIC. Deposits of up to $250,000 are dispersed to thousands of banks nationwide by the CARS program guaranteeing maximum FDIC protection.With CDARS you have one rate, one statement, no fees, no collateralization and a wide variety of maturities from four weeks to five years.
I urge all Cape Coral residents to contact their representatives at city hall, 574-0437, and light a fire under their bureaucratic posteriors to protect their assets as I have tried five times to no avail.
Jon Larsen Shiudlick
Cape Coral