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FDIC Staffs Up to Handle Bank Failures

Agency trying to rehire retired staff

By Truman Lewis
ConsumerAffairs.com

February 26, 2008

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) is staffing up to handle what it fears may be a wave of bank failures as the subprime mortgage mess brings down lenders.

The Wall Street Journal reports that FDIC is trying to rehire at least 25 retired employees who are specialists in dealing with bank failures. Many of the retirees dealt with bank closings in the 1980s and 1990s, following the savings and loan crisis, the newspaper said.

The FDIC identified 76 banks as potential problems during the last quarter of 2007, 11 more than in the third quarter.

“Problem” institutions are put under closer scrutiny but the agency never discloses their identity, hoping to avoid mass withdrawals by depositors. A problem bank is generally one whose capital reserves may not be adequate to meet the bank's obligations while dealing with loan defaults and other liabilities.

Besides trying to lure back retirees, the FDIC is advertising on its Web site for employees with "skill in performing duties associated with a financial-institution closing, such as receivership management, resolutions and/or asset disposition."

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