Turmoil among US banks has depleted the government-backed fund that protects depositors, giving it the least firepower in almost a decade to cover losses from future lender failures.
The federal Deposit Insurance Fund contained $116bn in assets at the end of the first quarter, down from $128bn at the end of 2022, according to data released on Wednesday. The ratio of assets to insured deposits fell to 1.1, the lowest since 2015.
The number of banks on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation’s so-called “problem list” stood at 43 at the end of the first quarter, up from 39 at the end of the year, the agency said as it released the data. The FDIC discloses the number of banks on its problem list, but not the names.