A recent survey by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) found that about 9 million U.S. households (7.7%) don’t have a savings or checking account.

The survey also found that 17.9%, or 21 million households, are underbanked, which means they have bank accounts but regularly rely on alternative financial services such as payday lenders.

People who are underbanked have used nonbank money orders, check-cashing services, pawn shops, or rent-to-own agreements at least once or twice a year. They also have used refund anticipation loans at least once over the past five years.

Certain racial and ethnic populations are more likely not to have savings or checking accounts, or to be underbanked, according to the study. According to the survey, approximately 21.7% of African-Americans, 19.3% of Hispanics, 15.6% of American Indian/Alaskans, 3.5% of Asians, and 3.3% of Caucasians are unbanked.

The survey also found that 31.6% of African-Americans, 28.9% of American Indians/Alaskans, and 24% of Hispanics are underbanked.

The South has the highest percentage of people who are unbanked and underbanked. Not surprisingly, the lower a household’s income, the more likely it is to be without bank accounts. Households with an income of $30,000 or less make up 71% of unbanked households.

People who are younger and with less education are also more likely not to have bank accounts.

Yesterday, the Federal Reserve granted GMAC bank status.  What does this mean for GMAC now?  With a “bank status”", they are now entitled to tap into the $700 billion federal bailout package.

Read the full story on Bloomberg.com.

I’ve been a big fan of GMAC bank for a few years now and I personally bank with them and have nothing but good things to say. 

Here are GMAC CD and Savings Rates as of 12/25/2008 –

3 month - 2.50% APY

6 month - 3.50% APY

12 month - 4.00% APY

2 / 3 / 4 year - 4.05% APY

5 year - 4.35% APY

Savings account - 3.75% APY

Money market - 3.25% APY

The savings account in my opinion is one of the best on the market.  All of GMAC’s products are FDIC insured and only require a $500 minimum initial investment.

For more information on GMAC, visit GMACBank.com.

I often get e-mails asking me about banks that are rated high and I can understand with today’s economy condition and with the 23rd bank failing in the past week, you probably want to know the bank’s star rating.

At gotalkmoney.com, we use Bankrate.com’s star rating system.  Their safe and sound system assesses the financial condition of the banks.  The star system ranges from “NR” to a 5 star, meaning it has a superior rating.  To get more information on these star definitions, visit Bankrate’s star rating defintion page.

For the week of 12/7/08, here are the banks with a 5 star superior rating –

Capital One Banking ($5,000 min.) 

Discover Bank ($2,500 min.)

Unfortunately, if you’re were looking for more than 2 banks, you’re going to have to look at other banks that have a rating less than a five.  There are plenty of banks that have a four star rating and are just as good.  To get more information on Capital One’s CD rates, visit their website at CapitalOne.com/directbanking and for more information on Discovers CD rates, visit them at DiscoverBank.com.

Yesterday (12/5/2008) marked another bank failure in the United States.  This marks the 23rd bank failure in 2008.  First Georgia Community Bank is located in Jackson, Georgia and had only 4 branches with $237.5 million dollars in assets, as well as $197.4 in deposits.

United Bank will be acquiring the failed bank, First Georgia Community Bank.  To get more information on United Bank, visit their website at AccessUnited.com.

For those who are wondering, here is the complete list of failed banks for the year of 2008 –

• First Georgia Community Bank, Jackson, GA
• PFF Bank and Trust, Pomona, CA
• Downey Savings and Loan, Newport Beach, CA
• The Community Bank, Loganville, GA
• Security Pacific Bank, Los Angeles, CA
• Franklin Bank, SSB, Houston, TX
• Freedom Bank, Bradenton, FL
• Alpha Bank & Trust, Alpharetta, GA
• Meridian Bank, Eldred, IL
• Main Street Bank, Northville, MI
• Washington Mutual Bank, Henderson, NV and Washington Mutual Bank FSB, Park City, UT
• Ameribank, Northfork, WV
• Silver State Bank, Henderson, NV
• Integrity Bank, Alpharetta, GA
• The Columbian Bank and Trust, Topeka, KS
• First Priority Bank, Bradenton, FL
• First Heritage Bank, NA, Newport Beach, CA
• First National Bank of Nevada, Reno, NV
• IndyMac Bank, Pasadena, CA
• First Integrity Bank, NA, Staples, MN
• ANB Financial, NA, Bentonville, AR
• Hume Bank, Hume, MO
• Douglass National Bank, Kansas City, MO

We have now implemented a new feature on our website that’s quite simple, yet very informative.  The new bank rating system is based around BankRate.com’s star system.  This star system will give you a good idea on how safe the bank really is.  Keep in mind that all bank’s on our website are FDIC insured. 

Follow this link for information on the star system and what each star means.