(NC) — The Canada Deposit Insurance Corporation (CDIC) is the federal Crown corporation that protects Canadians' savings in the event their financial institution goes bankrupt. It provides automatic protection on eligible savings at its member institutions.

When planning your savings, you should know that:

-- CDIC only insures eligible products at its member institutions. Ask where you bank or your financial advisor if your financial institution is a member.

-- Savings must be held in Canadian dollars. Accounts or products in U.S. or any other foreign currency are not insured.

-- Mutual funds, U.S. funds and stocks are not insured.

-- CDIC insures eligible savings from $1 to $100,000 at each of its member institutions.

More information is available online at www.cdic.ca. This site includes a list of eligible savings and an interactive tool to calculate your protection.