The History of FDIC
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The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation was created in 1933 during the economic turmoil of
                            the Great Depression in order to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s
                            financial system.


Between 1886 and 1933, Congress considered 150 proposals to create a national deposit insurance
                    system.





Since 1933, the FDIC has worked to make certain America’s banks can provide a strong foundation for
                    our nation’s growth, in good times and during moments of economic uncertainty. ...and since the FDIC’s creation, no one has lost a penny of their FDIC-insured deposits.














When the Great Depression began, people panicked and raced to withdraw their money from banks. These
                    bank runs forced many institutions to suspend their operations...many never reopened, and countless
                    families and businesses lost everything.


Learn more about
                    banking in the 1920s


From 1930 to 1933, approximately 9,000 banks suspended
                            operations.











MARCH 6, 1933
 MARCH 12, 1933  Your browser does not support the audio element. 
 Transcript





June 16, 1933








January 1, 1934  The first-ever national system of deposit insurance begins, protecting up to $2,500 per depositor
                        at FDIC-insured banks. At its start, FDIC deposit insurance guarantees $11 billion in deposits.





June 16, 1934








July 5, 1934 The FDIC makes its first deposit insurance claim payments to insured depositors of the Fon Du
                            Lac State bank in East Peoria, Illinois. Lydia Lobsiger is the first depositor to receive an FDIC payment which restores her life
                            savings of $1,250.











August 23, 1935 President Roosevelt signs the Banking Act of 1935 into law making the FDIC’s deposit
                            insurance program a permanent part of the U.S. financial system.


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                    banking and the FDIC in the 1930s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees $27 billion in deposits. During World War II, the FDIC continues its mission to support the nation’s financial system and
                        give Americans the peace of mind their funds were protected.


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                    banking and the FDIC in the 1940s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees $91 billion in deposits.


September 21, 1950





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                    banking and the FDIC in the 1950s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees $150 billion in deposits.


December 23, 1969





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                    banking and the FDIC in the 1960s











October 8, 1974  Franklin National Bank of Long Island, New York fails with total assets of $3.6 billion. At the
                        time, this is the largest single bank failure in the FDIC’s history.


October 28, 1974








October 12, 1977 President Jimmy Carter signs the Community Reinvestment Act into law after Congress found that communities need “credit
                        services as well as deposit services.” The Act was designed to encourage federally insured financial institutions to
                        reinvest in their communities, including low- and moderate-income communities.


Learn more about
                    banking and the FDIC in the 1970s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees $950 billion in deposits.


March 31, 1980  The Depository Institutions Deregulation and Monetary Control Act of 1980 is signed into law by
                        President Jimmy Carter. The statute increases the FDIC’s basic deposit insurance limit to $100,000 per depositor.
                        At the time, Congress justified this increase to the FDIC’s coverage as necessary to help meet
                        inflationary needs and to stem the outflows of deposits from depository institutions.





January 12, 1984  th








May 17, 1984 Financially troubled Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust of Chicago, then the
                            nation’s seventh-largest bank, requires significant assistance from the FDIC, the Federal
                            Reserve, and other commercial banks to remain operating. The bank’s resolution would
                            ultimately cost the FDIC $1.1 billion. The government’s open bank assistance package to Continental Illinois sparks a new policy
                            debate over whether some financial institutions are “too big to fail.”





1980 - 1994  Rising interest rates and poor lending practices force nearly 1,300 Savings and Loans (S&Ls)
                        to fail. Meanwhile, the nation experiences a series of rolling regional recessions in the
                        agriculture, energy and real estate sectors causing 1,618 banks to fail. During this period, the FDIC and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC)
                        retained and managed a large volume of assets from failed banks and thrifts. In the years
                        following this crisis, the FDIC adopted a resolution strategy to sell the assets of failed banks
                        back into the private sector as quickly as possible.





August 9, 1989 In the wake of the S&L crisis, President George H. W. Bush signs the Financial
                            Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) into law. The Act gives the FDIC responsibility to insure the deposits of S&Ls creating two FDIC
                            deposit insurance funds...one for thrifts and one for banks. In 2006, these funds were
                            merged into a single Deposit Insurance Fund.


Learn more about
                    banking and the FDIC in the 1980s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees approximately $2.8 trillion in deposits.





1991 For the first time in its history, the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund falls below zero on an
                            accounting basis. Losses related to bank failures forced the agency to impose higher
                            premiums on banks to replenish reserves.





December 19, 1991 The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 is signed into law by
                            President George H.W. Bush. The law requires the FDIC to resolve failed banks promptly and at the least cost to the
                            Deposit Insurance Fund. However, the law also provides an exception to this ‘least-cost’
                            resolution method should the Federal government determine the failure of an institution
                            would have serious adverse effects on economic conditions or financial stability.


October 7, 1994





November 12, 1999 The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act is signed into law by President Bill Clinton. Among its provisions, this statute repeals the parts of the Banking Act of 1933 (the
                            Glass-Steagall Act) that restricted banks from affiliating with securities firms. The statute also requires financial institutions to explain their information-sharing
                            practices
                            to consumers and to safeguard their sensitive information.


Learn more about
                    banking and the FDIC in the 1990s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees approximately $3 trillion in deposits.
 Between June 26, 2004, and February 1, 2007, the FDIC experienced the longest period in its
                        history without having to resolve a failed bank.





2008 - 2013  In 2008, the U.S. was confronted with its most severe financial crisis since the Great
                        Depression. The crisis resulted in a prolonged economic contraction that impacts the global
                        economy for years. During this period, millions of households would lose their homes to foreclosure and more than
                        500 banks would fail. But through it all, no depositor lost a penny of their FDIC-insured deposits.





July 11, 2008 IndyMac Bank, a California thrift with total assets of $31 billion, fails. At the time,
                            IndyMac’s failure is the costliest in FDIC history with estimated losses of about $12
                            billion.





September 25, 2008 Washington Mutual Bank fails. With assets of $307 billion, “WaMu” is the largest
                            failure in FDIC history. JPMorgan Chase acquires Washington Mutual with no cost to the FDIC’s Deposit Insurance Fund.





October 3, 2008 The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 is signed into law by President George W.
                            Bush. The law authorizes the $700 billion Temporary Asset Relief Program (TARP) and temporarily
                            increases FDIC’s basic deposit insurance coverage to $250,000.





October 14, 2008 The FDIC announces, part of a broader effort by the federal government to stabilize the U.S.
                            financial system, the creation of an unprecedented new program — the Temporary Liquidity
                            Guarantee Program (TLGP). Made possible under a systemic risk determination, the emergency program allows the FDIC, for
                            the first time in its history, to guarantee certain bank, bank holding company, and other
                            affiliate debt. The temporary program also allows the FDIC to offer unlimited deposit
                            insurance on certain business accounts.





November 23, 2008 The federal government determines Citigroup, one of the world’s largest banks, is at risk of
                            failure presenting a systemic risk to the U.S. financial system. The bank receives a complex
                            package of “open bank assistance.” Two months later, regulators determine Bank of America’s possible failure would also present
                            a systemic risk and move to assist the bank. Bank of America ultimately declines this offer
                            but is later required to pay $425 million for receiving the benefit of the federal
                            government’s having approved the assistance.


Learn more about
                    banking and the FDIC in the 2000s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees approximately $6.3 trillion in deposits.





July 21, 2010 President Barack Obama signs the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act
                            into law, the most comprehensive legislative reform of the U.S. financial sector since the
                            Great Depression. The law sought to improve supervision of systemically important nonbank financial companies
                            and large bank holding companies. The Act also attempted to improve consumer financial
                            protection, mortgage lending practices and enhance the transparency of financial
                            derivatives. Among its many provisions, the law grants the FDIC the authority to manage the orderly
                            failure of large financial firms, prohibits government assistance to open and operating
                            institutions, and limits systemic risk determinations to resolve failed banks only. “Dodd-Frank” also permanently increases the FDIC’s basic deposit insurance
                            coverage to $250,000.





March 2016  As required under the Dodd-Frank Act, the FDIC approves deposit insurance assessment surcharges
                        on banks with total assets of $10 billion or more. The surcharge was intended to increase the FDIC’s fund while limiting the impact of
                        that increase on smaller banks.


Learn more about
                    banking and the FDIC in the 2010s











FDIC deposit insurance guarantees approximately $9 trillion in deposits.





March 2020 In the face of a global coronavirus pandemic and corresponding shutdowns across the globe,
                            financial markets and the broader economy experienced significant stress and volatility. In response, the FDIC instituted a number of regulatory flexibilities and supervision
                            measures to mitigate the impact of the pandemic on the U.S. financial system and to support
                            American households, communities, and small businesses.





December 2021  The FDIC reports 4.5% of U.S. households lacked a bank or credit union account in 2021. This is the lowest reported
                        “unbanked rate” since the survey began in 2009. Expanding Americans' access to safe, secure, and affordable banking
                        services is an important part of the FDIC's mission
                        of maintaining the stability of and public confidence in the U.S. financial system. The *FDIC National Survey of Unbanked and Underbanked
                            Households* is one contribution to this mission. Conducted every two years since 2009, the FDIC and the U.S. Census
                        Bureau seeks to measure the share of U.S. households that lack a basic bank or credit union
                        account.





March 2023 On March 10th, Silicon Valley Bank of Santa Clara, California is closed by the
                            California Department of Financial
                            Protection and Innovation. Two days later, the New York Department of Financial Services closes Signature Bank of New
                            York, New York. To avoid further bank runs, the Federal government determines these large regional bank
                            failures pose a systemic risk
                            to the U.S. financial system and moves to protect all depositors of these banks, including
                            uninsured depositors. On March 19th, the FDIC enters into an agreement with Flagstar Bank, a subsidiary
                            of New York Community Bancorp, to assume all deposits and certain assets of the failed
                            Signature Bank On March 26th, First-Citizens Bank & Trust Co. of Raleigh, North Carolina
                            agrees to purchase all deposits and loans of the failed Silicon Valley Bank.





May 2023 On May 1st, state bank regulators in California close First Republic Bank of San
                            Francisco. JP Morgan Chase agrees to
                            assume all deposits and to purchase nearly all of the assets of the failed institution The failures of First Republic Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Signature Bank during the
                            spring of 2023 represent the
                            second, third and fourth largest bank failures in FDIC history, respectively.


Learn more
                    about banking and the FDIC in the 2020s


June 16, 2023 
                        The FDIC celebrates its 90th anniversary. 
 
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