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[–]Alan_Crowe 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Man who robbed bank to get "his own" money back ...

That is not how fractional reserve banking works. Suppose the reserve ration is 20%. You deposit $100 with the bank. Then it is entitled to lend out $80 of newly created money, while still recording your bank balance as $100.

In the ideal case, the $80 is paid back with interest, say $10. Then you withdraw your $100. That leaves the banker with $10 of revenue.

But the money lent out might be lost. Suppose the borrower becomes bankrupt and the bank only recovers $40. You try to withdraw your $100, but the bank only has $60. The bank itself becomes bankrupt. You discover that technically you lent the bank your $100. Now you are a creditor of the bankrupt bank and can expect to eventually recover 60 cents on the dollar.

People say "As safe as money in the bank" implying that money in the bank is safe. This has always been a lie, intended to conceal the fact that you making a loan to the bank, which you risk losing if the bank fails.

Now-a-days retail bank deposits are covered by government guarantees. Some of your money is covered, but only to the extent that you are relying on the government to remain solvent, not the bank. That doesn't help in Lebanon.