Most likely, you won’t lose money in a CD if your bank or credit union is federally insured. This means that if the bank were to fail, the federal government will insure up to $250,000 in your CD. The amount you deposit into the account will be returned to you when the CD matures. If you’ve chosen a CD with a variable interest rate, the amount of interest earned may go down while the account is accruing interest, but this isn’t a loss of money. It’s a reduction in the amount of new money earned.