Georgia bankers said Wednesday they welcome the move to raise Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. backing from $100,000 to $250,000, an effort to reassure business owners who need to maintain payroll accounts above the current insured limit.

But bankers also caution that the move may not make much difference in lending activity among banks and their customers.

“The financial industry is getting a lot of adverse publicity that sometimes causes consumers to be uneasy about their deposits, so increasing the insurance limits would give some people a great deal of comfort,” said Wesley Smith, chairman and CEO of Northwest Georgia Bank in Ringgold and a director for the American Bankers Association. “But this would have no effect upon us making a loan.”

Bank deposits will be insured up to $250,000 under the Senate-approved bailout plan designed to ease consumer fears and help banks maintain some of their small business accounts.

Joe Brannen, president of the Georgia Bankers Association, said his group supports the change and “hopefully it will ease some concerns and help reassure the public” after two weeks of tumult on Wall Street.

“There is plenty of money to lend and the 370 banks in Georgia are still making plenty of loans under traditional bank underwriting criteria,” he said.

Since 2006, the FDIC has insured Individual Retirement Account deposits up to $250,000, and depositors also can set up revocable trusts, known as payable-on-death accounts, that are insured for up to $500,000. Depositors can make withdrawals or change heirs at will on those accounts.

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