safety net

1. A large net for catching one that falls or jumps, as from a circus trapeze.
2. A guarantee, as of professional, physical, or financial security: the safety net of a generous pension plan.

Umbrella protections given bank customers by federal banking regulation. In general, these protections are the following: federal deposit insurance insuring depositor accounts up to $100,000 from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation access to the Federal Reserve Discount Window a source of short-term credit toFinancial Institutions and access to the Federal Reserve payment system for clearing checks and other inter-bank payments. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of 1999 did not change the focus of the safety net, but it segregated the non-banking services such as Broker-Dealer activities, merchant banking, and insurance sales by bank subsidiary companies from insured financial institutions.

The noun has 2 meanings:

Meaning #1: a guarantee of professional or financial security

Meaning #2: a large strong net to catch circus acrobats who fall or jump from a trapeze