(Brea) --  At 8:30 this morning, Joe Reilly was already inside this branch of Countrywide bank.  He told the teller to close his account, and he walked out with a check for his retirement money

Reilly didn't want to take any chances.  He heard the stories about Countrywide possibly going broke. 

He knew his account was insured by the FDIC up to $100,000.  But he still couldn't take a risk.

"I don't want to be without funds for a period of time, waiting for the government to get my money back to me," he explained.

Other customers at Countrywide feel the same way.   The company had to borrow 11 billion dollars from other banks the other day just to stay in business and continue lending.

If you've got money in their bank, you're wondering how safe can it be.  And what happens if they declare bankruptcy?

A viewer named Joe from Palm Springs says people need to understand a few things about FDIC-insured deposits:

The FDIC has, in its own discretion, the right to return your money over a 20 year period. The FDIC does not have to pony up the $100k in one lump sum.  Additionally, many people do not realize that the $100k FDIC insurance is for all deposits at one institution, not multiple account at the same institution. So, if you have 3 $100k accounts at Countrywide Bank in the same or 3 different Countrywide bank locations you only get FDIC coverage for $100k not $300k.

I checked the FDIC website and they say, if a bank goes broke, they try and get customers their money "as soon as possible".    But it's worth studying the details very carefully, especially now.