By Jeff Clabaugh - Washington Business Journal
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is boosting its budget by 55 percent and will increase its work force by 23 percent as it struggles to keep up with bank closings. The new budget is a prudent and measured response to current conditions in the banking industry" said FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair in a statement.
It will ensure that we are prepared to handle an ever-larger number of bank failures next year if that becomes necessary and to provide greater regulatory oversight for an even larger number of troubled financial institutions."
The FDICs board of directors Tuesday approved a $4 billion corporate operating budget for fiscal 2010 $1.4 billion higher than its 2009 budget. The receivership funding component of the 2010 budget will nearly double from $1.3 billion to $2.5 billion.
So far this year 133 banks have failed and been seized by the FDIC compared to 25 bank failures in 2008.
The FDIC board also authorized increasing its staffing level in 2010 from the current 7010 to 8653. It says the majority of those 1643 new jobs will be temporary and will be hired to help with bank closings and examinations.
The FDIC funded by deposit insurance paid by banks covers almost 8100 financial institutions in the U.S.
