FDIC Recommends Specific Reforms Of Deposit Insurance System
The FDIC issued a report (the "Report") concerning the FDIC’s recommendations as to how the federal deposit insurance system (the "FDI System") should be reformed. The FDIC states in the Report that it has identified four key weaknesses in the FDI System that require prompt correction: (1) one product, deposit insurance, is provided by two insurance funds – the Bank Insurance Fund (" BIF") and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (" SAIF") – at potentially different prices; (2) deposit insurance is not priced effectively to reflect risk; (3) deposit insurance premiums are highest at an inappropriate time, that is, the weakest point in the business cycle; and (4) the value of deposit insurance coverage does not keep pace with inflation in a predictable fashion. The Report states that under the FDI System, as structured today, 92% of insured financial institutions receive deposit insurance without charge and new and rapidly