Five more banks failed on Friday.  Two of those banks had assets over $1 billion, according to the Wall Street Journal. So far this year nine U.S. banks have failed. Even the best banks continue to struggle in the weak economy and are dealing with customers defaulting on loans.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) seized the assets of five banks on Friday, including:

• Premier American Bank, based in Miami, which had its assets sold to a unit of Bond Street Holdings LLC of Naples, FL.
• Bank of Leeton, based in Leeton, MO– Sunflower Bank of Salina, KS bought $20.4 million of the failed bank’s deposits.
• Charter Bank of Sante Fe, NM had most of its $1.2 billion in assets sold to Beal Financial Corp.
• Evergreen Bank in Seattle, WA had all its deposits and most of its assets transferred to Umpqua Bank of Roseburg, OR.
• Columbia River Bank of The Dalles, OR–Columbia State Bank of Tacoma, WA acquired $1 billion of its deposits and $1.1 billion of its assets.

About 174 banks have failed since 2008. You can search for point of contact information for failed banks on the FDIC website. More banks are expected to fail this year.

Bank deals at smaller lenders are attracting people fed up with policies at large banks. Some customers are angry about big banks jacking up credit card rates and other fees ahead of reform laws that go into effect in February. Others are looking for more personal service.

Credit unions also are getting more interest from consumers looking for competitive savings, checking accounts, and other services. Many small, community banks avoided the predatory lending practices that contributed to so many problems in the U.S. economy. So some of them are still lending money and have competitive bank rates on various products.

However,  not all small banks are doing well. Of the banks that failed last year, 81% were small banks, according to ABC News. More small banks are expected to fail this year. “A lot of the regional and community banks are going to struggle to remain independent. We’re going to see those numbers shrinking,” Terry Moore, a managing director at Accenture, told Fortune.

If you are looking for savings, checking accounts, or other bank deals, make sure  you thoroughly investigate the services being offered and if there are any signs of a possible bank failure. Use the FDIC Bank Find to determine if a particular bank is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).

You may have heard that your savings and checking account deposits are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC).  But do you really know what that means?

The FDIC is an independent agency of the U.S. government. The agency protects you against losing your savings, checking account, and other qualified deposits in case your bank fails. Banks must be insured by the FDIC at the time of failure.

According to the FDIC, no depositor has ever lost money insured by the agency since it was created back in 1934.

When considering whether or not to open an account, it’s important to note that FDIC insurance covers all deposits at insured banks, including:

• Checking accounts
• Savings accounts
• Money market accounts
• Certificates of deposit

The FDIC insurance does not cover:

• Stocks
• Bonds
• Mutual funds
• Life insurance policies
• Annuities
• Safe deposit boxes or their contents

FDIC-insured accounts are covered up to $250,000 per depositor through Dec. 31, 2013. After that the standard insurance amount returns to $100,000 per depositor for all types of accounts except IRAs and certain other retirement accounts.

So how do you know if your bank accounts are FDIC insured and for how much? Use the agency’s EDIE estimator tool to see if your accounts are within FDIC coverage limits.

The recession has made building up savings cool again. The thrifty are no longer looked at as an odd species in American culture. Use the following tips to boost your savings this year to help secure your financial future.

• Stash your emergency fund in a high-yield savings account. This is money that you may need to access quickly. Look for a high-yield savings account  that can help combat inflation.
• Shop for the best CD rates online. Decide how long you can tie up your money and shop for the best rates and other terms. look at penalties and other fees when comparing bank deals.
• Set up regular contributions to a retirement savings plan. Put contributions on auto-pilot and watch your savings grow.
• Pay off pesky credit cards once and for all. If you’re paying too much interest, compare credit card offers to get a better deal. Once credit card debts are wiped out, divert the monthly payment amounts to your savings.
• Shop around for better savings deals at several banks. Being loyal to your local bank doesn’t always result in the highest savings rates. You may even need to take your business online to get the best savings rates.

Take the time to shop around for the best bank deals to improve your personal savings rate.

Government and private reports indicate that personal income grew in November and is expected to continue gaining next year. The 0.4% rise in personal income occurred even as U.S. workers continued to lose jobs, reported the Los Angeles Times.

Americans also are putting more of their income into savings. The personal savings rate was 4.7% in November, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

That’s a huge shift from earlier in the decade when the U.S. savings rate plunged as many consumers spent like crazy and went deep into debt. Many people also took advantage of strong gains in the stock market and rapidly rising home values.

Now more folks are taking negative financial news seriously and looking to pay off debt. Many people also are beefing up their emergency funds and retirement accounts due to the constant economic uncertainty that has touched the lives of many Americans.

However, the unwillingness to spend is likely to slow down economic recovery. Because many people continue to remain concerned about their job prospects and more the overall direction of the economy, the savings rate may continue to rise as tight-fisted consumers sock away money for the proverbial rainy day.

A Gallup poll earlier this year indicated that 32% of Americans who had cut back their spending said they planned to continue that pattern in the future.