Nobody asks this question on an ordinary Tuesday. You ask it the day a bank makes the front page, like in March 2023 when Silicon Valley Bank and then Credit Suisse wobbled within days of each other. That day, everyone discovers at the same time that guarantee ceilings exist, and that almost nobody knows how they apply to their own money.
Here is the manual, case by case. Nothing theoretical: by the end of this article you will know exactly what is covered in your situation, and what is not.
If your bank fails: €100,000 per bank, per person
In France, bank deposits are covered by the FGDR (Fonds de Garantie des Dépôts et de Résolution) up to €100,000 per person and per institution. Current accounts, term deposits, ordinary bank savings accounts: everything that counts as a deposit shares the same envelope.
Ceilings per person and per institution. French regulated savings accounts are guaranteed by the State directly, with no ceiling, and so do not eat into the FGDR 100,000. Splitting across two banks doubles the ceiling; three accounts at one bank does not.
Three details that change everything:
- It is per bank, not per account. Three accounts at the same bank share one €100,000 ceiling. Two different banks means two ceilings.
- It is per person. A joint account counts double: €200,000 of cover for a couple.
- Watch out for brands within the same group. Two brand names can operate under one banking licence, in which case they share a single ceiling. The information is in your account terms, or on the FGDR website.
Regulated savings accounts: a separate guarantee, on top
The Livret A, LDDS and LEP do not count toward the FGDR's €100,000. They are guaranteed directly by the French state, separately and in full. Concretely, someone with €90,000 in bank accounts and €23,000 in a Livret A at the same bank is fully covered: €90,000 by the FGDR, €23,000 by the state.
Few people know this, and it makes regulated savings accounts even more attractive as an emergency fund, beyond their zero taxation.
If your broker fails: your securities are yours
This is the best-protected case, and the most misunderstood. Your shares and ETFs are not deposits: they are legally your property, held segregated from the broker's own assets. If the broker goes under, your securities get transferred elsewhere. They are not used to repay its creditors.
1The securities are yours
Shares and ETFs are held in an account segregated from the broker's own funds.
2The broker fails
Its creditors have no claim on your securities: they are not part of its estate.
3They are transferred
They move to another institution. You get them back, whatever they are worth.
70,000 EUR as a last resort
Only if fraud or a serious failure prevents them being handed back. Rare, and exactly what the guarantee is for.
This is the best protected case and the most misunderstood: your securities are not deposits, they are your property. The 70,000 EUR guarantee does not cover their value, only the scenario where the broker can no longer hand them back. Watch out for foreign accounts: the guarantee follows the broker's country, not yours.
The €70,000 securities guarantee covers the residual scenario: the one where, because of fraud or a serious failure, the broker cannot return your securities. It is rare, but it is exactly the kind of risk guarantees exist for.
One point of caution for foreign accounts: the guarantee depends on the broker's country, not yours. An Irish broker falls under the Irish scheme (€20,000), an American broker under SIPC ($500,000). Check before concentrating most of your wealth there.
If your insurer fails: €70,000 per insurer, all contracts combined
French life insurance (assurance vie) has its own guarantee fund, the FGAP (Fonds de Garantie des Assurances de Personnes): €70,000 per person and per insurer, all contracts combined, fonds euros and unit-linked holdings included. Because yes, inside an assurance vie even your unit-linked funds are legally a claim on the insurer, not securities in your name.
And here is the trap almost everyone misses: the guarantee applies per insurer, not per contract or per distributor. The name on the brochure is not the name that matters. Two concrete examples:
- Linxea Spirit is underwritten by Spirica. Linxea Avenir is underwritten by Suravenir. Two contracts from the same distributor, two different insurers, so two separate €70,000 ceilings.
- Conversely, a Boursorama Vie contract and a Nalo contract are both underwritten by Generali. Two different brands, one shared ceiling.
If you hold several contracts, take five minutes to check who the actual insurer is on each. It is written in the terms and conditions, usually on the first page.
What this changes in practice
First, keep a sense of proportion. These guarantees cover rare events. There is no reason to panic at €20,000 of savings, or to open six banks as a precaution.
Then, three simple reflexes as the amounts grow:
- Above €100,000 of cash in a single bank, spreading across a second institution costs an hour of paperwork and removes the issue entirely.
- Above €70,000 with a single insurer, a second contract with a different insurer (not just a different distributor) creates fresh room under the ceiling.
- For securities, the real question is not the guarantee but the jurisdiction: a regulated European broker, and you know the rules of the game.
Where IgniFI comes in
The hard part of this story is not understanding the rules, it is knowing where you stand. Who holds your cash, how much, and which insurer actually sits behind each of your contracts.
That is exactly what IgniFI does: your wealth is already organised by account and by wrapper, and the app automatically flags when your cash exceeds the FGDR ceiling at one institution, or when your life-insurance contracts exceed €70,000 with a single insurer, including when two contracts from different distributors actually share the same underwriter. Factual observations, not advice: the decision stays yours, but now an informed one.