What if your bank is seized?

Customers sweltered in long lines outside IndyMac Bank branches as word spread that regulators had shut down the once highflying institution.

The scene -- folks fanning themselves in the July heat, some even bringing along beach chairs for the wait -- made great images for the media.

But the whole waiting-in-line thing was supremely pointless.

The vast majority of IndyMac depositors were fully insured and didn't lose a dime. Customers could still use ATMs, debit cards and checks to access their money over that weekend as the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. sorted out the failed bank's business. By Monday, customers could resume all other transactions, including transferring their accounts to another bank if they wanted.

The fact is, we're out of practice when it comes to failing banks. Nearly two decades have passed since the savings and loan crisis took out more than 1,000 financial institutions at a cost to taxpayers of $125 billion.

Unfortunately, we're about to get a refresher course:

• Thirteen banks have failed so far this year, including IndyMac, the second-largest institution ever to fail.

• The FDIC's list of "problem" institutions grew to 117 at the end of June (the latest total was released Aug. 28), compared to 90 at the end of March. The agency doesn't release the names of banks it worries about, fearing such disclosure will contribute to bank runs, but said assets held by the troubled banks swelled from $26 billion to $78 billion, including the $32 billion held at IndyMac.

• Bank analysts predict dozens and perhaps hundreds more failures will come in the coming months, driven by bad mortgage loans, falling home prices and the credit crunch.

Here's what you need to know about the safety of your bank accounts:

Don't expect to call it. It's virtually impossible to tell in advance which institutions will fail. Some can limp along for years and then recover; some can plunge from seeming strength into chaos virtually overnight.

You can (and should) consult ratings services such as Bankrate.com's Safe and Sound system or TheStreet.com ratings so that you have some idea of your institution's relative strength, said longtime banking analyst Bert Ely of Ely & Co. But you should understand that these ratings are largely based on the banks' own reports of their financial condition, known as "call reports." Fraud and other problems can be hidden for months or even years.

"I've been reading call reports for 25 years, and every once in a while I still get surprised," Ely said. "The rating services are not bad, but they're not foolproof."