The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) was created in 1933, during the Great Depression. It was created due to all the bank failures from the 1929 stock market crash. The FDIC is an independent government agency. It insures depositor funds for up to $250,000 per depositor. If a depositor has more than $250,000 to deposit, they can spread funds across multiple banks, never exceeding $250,000 per bank, to get more FDIC protection.
Banks pay for FDIC insurance. Depositors must check that a bank is a member of the FDIC. If not, their funds will not be FDIC insured. As of 2018, there were over 4,700 FDIC insured banks.