FDIC ‘Problem List’ Continues To Grow: The Number Now Is…702

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reports today that the number and total assets of institutions on its "Problem List" has continued to rise. At the end of December, there were 702 insured institutions on the list, up from 552 on September 30. In addition, the total assets of problem institutions increased during the quarter from $345.9 billion to $402.8 billion. Moreover, 45 institutions failed during the fourth quarter, bringing the total number of failures for the year to 140, the highest annual total since 1992.

As we reported yesterday, four banks failed on Friday, bringing the total for this year, through mid-February, to 20.