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CRISIS and
RESPONSE

An FDIC History, 2008–2013

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ISBN 978-0-9661808-1-7

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Contents
Foreword....................................................................................................................... vii
Acknowledgments...................................................................................................... viii
Overview........................................................................................................................xi
Part 1: Financial Crisis and Response
Chapter 1. Origins of the Crisis...............................................................................3
Chapter 2. The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program:
A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception................................................................33
Chapter 3. Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual
Institutions during the Financial Crisis................................................................67
Part 2: Banking Crisis and Response
Chapter 4. Bank Supervision................................................................................101
Chapter 5. Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based
Deposit Insurance Assessments...........................................................................151
Chapter 6. Bank Resolutions and Receiverships................................................175
Index ...........................................................................................................................241

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List of Tables and Figures
Note: Readers should note that if no source is given for data, the source is
the FDIC.

Figure 1.1.

S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, 1987–2013............................................... 8

Figure 1.2.

Real Home Price Index, 1890–2013...................................................................... 8

Figure 1.3.

Home Sales and Home Price Index, 2000–2013............................................... 14

Figure 1.4.

Mortgage Loans Past Due, by Type of Loan, 2000–2013................................. 15

Figure 1.5.

Issuance of Mortgage-Backed Securities, 1990–2013...................................... 17

Figure 1.6.

Mortgage Credit Default Swap ABX Indexes.................................................... 21

Figure 1.7.

Markets Heat Map.................................................................................................. 29

Figure 2.1.

Interbank Lending Spreads, December 2006–December 2010...................... 39

Figure 2.2.

Trends in Senior Unsecured U.S. Bank Debt Issuance before and after
September 2008...................................................................................................... 40

Figure 2.3.

DGP Debt Outstanding, October 2008–December 2012............................... 45

Figure 2.4.

Amounts Guaranteed by the TAGP, 2008–2010............................................... 53

Figure 2.5.

DGP Debt Outstanding by Type, October 2008–December 2009................ 54

Figure 2.6.

Maturities of TLGP Debt Outstanding at Month End,
October 2008–October 2009................................................................................ 55

Figure 2.7.

Funding Costs: TLGP Debt vs. Non-Guaranteed Debt,
January 2007–October 2009................................................................................. 55

Figure 2.8.

TLGP vs. Non-TLGP Debt Issuance, October 2008–October 2009.............. 56

Figure 2.9.

The Costs of the TAGP: The 5 Most Expensive Failures vs. All Others
($ Millions, as of December 31, 2016)................................................................ 58

Table 2.A.

Issuers of $250 Million or More in FDIC-Guaranteed Debt.......................... 61

Figure 3.1.

Timeline of Wachovia Events............................................................................... 69

Table 3.1.

Top Ten Banking Organizations by Depository Institution Asset Size,
June 30, 2008........................................................................................................... 70

v
Figure 3.2.

Timeline of Citigroup Events............................................................................... 77

Table 3.2.

Citigroup Asset Guarantee Loss Positions......................................................... 83

Figure 3.3.

Timeline of Bank of America Events.................................................................. 86

Table 3.3.

Bank of America Asset Guarantee Loss Positions............................................ 90

Figure 4.1.

Real Estate Loans as a Percent of Total Loans, 1996–2016
(Banks with Total Assets < $10 Billion)............................................................ 106

Table 4.1.

Number of Problem Banks and Failures, 2007–Q1 2017.............................. 119

Figure 4.2.

Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Ratio of ADC Loans to Capital..... 120

Figure 4.3.

Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Asset Growth.................................... 121

Figure 4.4.

Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Ratio of Wholesale Funding
to Total Assets....................................................................................................... 122

Figure 4.5.

Cumulative Failure Percentage by Equity-to-Asset Ratio, 2003–2016........ 123

Figure 4.6.

Number of Formal Safety-and-Soundness Enforcement Actions
Issued by FDIC, 2000–2016................................................................................ 128

Table 4.2.

Supervisory Focus and Outcomes for Selected Banking Organizations.... 134

Figure 4.7.

Status of Institutions on Problem-Bank List, 2008–Q1 2017........................ 137

Figure 4.8.

Return on Equity, 1869–2014............................................................................. 139

Figure 5.1.

Timeline of Events and Reserve Ratio Trends Q1 2007–Q3 2016............... 156

Figure 5.2.

Contingent Loss Reserve, DIF Portfolio Liquidity, and DIF Balance,
Q1 2007 – Q4 2010.............................................................................................. 159

Table 5.A.1. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q1 2009................................................................. 169
Table 5.A.2. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q2 2009–Q1 2011............................................... 169
Table 5.A.3. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q2 2011–Q2 2016............................................... 170
Table 5.A.4. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q3 2016 to Present (After the reserve ratio
reaches 1.15 percent but is less than 2.0 percent)........................................... 171
Table 5.A.5. Assessment Rate Schedule (After the reserve ratio reaches 2.0 percent
but is less than 2.5 percent)................................................................................ 172
Table 5.A.6. Assessment Rate Schedule (After the reserve ratio reaches 2.5 percent).... 173

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Table 6.1.

Comparison of Franchise Sales and Retained Asset Sales............................. 178

Figure 6.1.

Number of FDIC Bank Resolutions by Year.................................................... 182

Figure 6.2.

Total Assets of Failed Banks by Year of Resolution........................................ 183

Table 6.2.

Common P&A Transactions.............................................................................. 189

Table 6.3.

FDIC Bank Resolutions by Resolution Type, 2008–2013.............................. 200

Table 6.4.

FDIC Losses by Resolution Type, 2008–2013................................................. 200

Table 6.5.

Selected Condition Indicators by Resolution Type........................................ 201

Figure 6.3.

Failed Banks as a Percentage of All Banks by Year from Start of
Each Crisis............................................................................................................. 203

Figure 6.4.

Total DRR Authorized and On-Board Full-Time Staff, 2008−2011............ 204

Figure 6.5.

Loans, ORE, and Subsidiaries in Liquidation, 2008−2013............................ 211

Table 6.6.

LLC Recovery Rates............................................................................................. 218

Figure 6.6.

Loss-Share Asset Portfolio at Resolution, Number and Dollar Amount.... 221

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Foreword
A decade ago the U.S. financial system experienced its worst crisis since the 1930s.
Far from being confined to the U.S. banking industry, the crisis would turn out to be
a global systemic event. Stemming the crisis required unprecedented actions by the
U.S. government, including the FDIC, to restore confidence in financial markets and to
address the problems of systemically important financial institutions.
The purpose of this volume is to present a firsthand account of the important role that
the FDIC played in responding to the crisis. We hope it will serve as a guidepost for future
policymakers who will someday be called upon to respond to the next period of financial
instability. It also conveys an important lesson: We must not become complacent when
economic and banking conditions appear strong. It is precisely during these times that
the seeds can be sown for the next financial crisis.
This study is organized into two parts. The first, Chapters 1 through 3, is an account
of the origins of the crisis and the FDIC’s unprecedented use of emergency authorities to
respond to financial market illiquidity and the problems of systemically important financial
institutions. The second, Chapters 4 through 6, documents the challenges that the FDIC
faced in carrying out its core missions of bank supervision, deposit insurance, and failedbank resolution. This seems to us the best framework for understanding the role that the
FDIC played during the crisis and the lessons for the future.
Executives and staff from across the FDIC made important contributions to this history.
I would like to extend a special thanks to Diane Ellis, Director of the FDIC Division of
Insurance and Research, and to Fred Carns, her Principal Advisor, for leading this effort.
I would also like to acknowledge Sheila C. Bair, the FDIC Chairman during the crisis,
whose leadership was central to the FDIC’s response.
I believe this work will prove to be a valuable account of this extraordinary period in
U.S. financial history and of the critical contributions made by the FDIC.

Martin J. Gruenberg
Chairman, FDIC
Washington, DC, November 30, 2017

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Acknowledgments
One of the FDIC’s strengths as an institution has been a steadfast belief among its staff in
the importance of its mission to maintain the nation’s financial stability. That dedication
has been especially evident when banking crises have occurred, and the crisis years of
2008–2013 demonstrated that commitment yet again.
This study seeks to examine what took place during the recent crisis, with an aim not
only of providing a historical record but also of helping in the development of better
strategies and planning for the future. Every effort was made to ensure the accuracy
of the information presented in the study. This account of the crisis years relies on the
experience and knowledge of staff from across the FDIC, many of whom were personally
involved in the difficult environment the agency faced during the period from 2008 to
2013, and whose perspectives greatly assisted the study’s authors. The study does not
necessarily reflect the views of the FDIC.
The FDIC’s Division of Insurance and Research organized and led the writing of this
history. The history was produced under the direction of Fred Carns, Principal Advisor
to the Director, Division of Insurance and Research. Rosalind Bennett and Lee Davison,
both from the Division of Insurance and Research, were responsible for day-to-day
management of the study.
The study’s primary authors were as follows:
Part 1: Financial Crisis and Response
Chapter 1. Origins of the Crisis
Cynthia Angell and Krishna Patel
Chapter 2. The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic
Risk Exception
Lee Davison
Chapter 3. Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the
Financial Crisis
Whitney Cromie, Myron Kwast, and Ashley Mihalik
Part 2: Banking Crisis and Response
Chapter 4. Bank Supervision
Doreen Eberley and George French
Chapter 5. Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based Deposit Insurance
Assessments
Whitney Cromie, Schuyler Livingston, and Ashley Mihalik
Chapter 6. Resolutions and Receiverships
Lynn Shibut

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Many senior officials and staff from the FDIC provided valuable information through
insightful comments on, or suggested revisions of, drafts of each of the chapters. These
officials and staff include, from the Office of the Chairman: Barbara Ryan, Jason Cave,
and Kymberly Copa; from the Division of Risk Management Supervision: Doreen
Eberley, Patricia Colohan, Lisa Roy, Larissa Collado, Lisa Garcia, Donald Hamm,
Thomas Lyons, Serena Owens, Karl Pagel, Camille Schmidt, Derek Sturtevant, Richard
Thompson, and Toni Wong; from the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships: Bret
Edwards, Penelope Moreland-Gunn, Tom Murray, Martha Duncan, Pamela Farwig,
Sheri Foster, Wendy Hoskins, Phil Mangano, Brandon McGuire, Richard Salmon,
and Sharon Yore; from the Legal Division: Charles Yi, Colleen Boles, Floyd Robinson,
Ruth Amberg, and R. Penfield Starke; from the Division of Depositor and Consumer
Protection: Mark Pearce and Keith Ernst; from the Office of Complex Financial
Institutions: Arthur Murton, Maureen Sweeney, and Herbert Held—and the former
Director of the Office of Complex Financial Institutions, James Wigand, also provided
very helpful comments and suggestions; from the Office of Communications: Barbara
Hagenbaugh and Carly Brewster; and from the Division of Insurance and Research:
Richard Brown, Matthew Green, Jack Reidhill, and Munsell St. Clair. Previous research
by former staff from the Division of Insurance and Research also contributed to the
project: Kenneth Jones, Rose Kushmeider, Heather Etner, and Katherine Wyatt.
A number of FDIC staff provided valuable research and analytical support.
These staff members include, from the Division of Insurance and Research: Chacko
George, Theron Gray, Charles James, Caitlyn Kasper, Mark Kutzbach, and Philip
Ostromogolsky; from the Division of Risk Management Supervision: Kathryn Battle,
Charles Collier, Eugenio Draschner, Colby Thomas, and Kenneth Weber; from the
Legal Division: Rachel Ackmann and George de Verges; and from the Division of
Resolutions and Receiverships: Jianting Hu.
Heather Woods, from the FDIC’s Graphic Design and Printing Unit, prepared all the
chapters for publication and provided design support; Donna Vogel, from the Division
of Insurance and Research, and Alan Levy, from the Office of Communications,
assisted with Web design. Jane Lewin thoroughly edited the text.

Diane Ellis
Director, Division of Insurance and Research

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

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Overview
Introduction
In 2008, the United States was confronted with its most severe financial crisis since
the Great Depression. The financial crisis, in turn, resulted in a prolonged economic
contraction—the Great Recession—with effects that spread throughout the global
economy. Many books and papers have been written on the causes and implications of
the financial crisis of 2008 and 2009.
This volume reviews the experience of the FDIC from 2008 to 2013, a period during
which it was confronted with not one but two interconnected and overlapping crises.
First, the financial crisis in 2008 and 2009 threatened large financial institutions of all
kinds, both inside and outside the traditional banking system, and thus endangered
the financial system itself. Second, a banking crisis, accompanied by swiftly increasing
numbers of both troubled and failed insured depository institutions, began in 2008 and
continued until 2013. For a chronology of significant events over this period, see the
timeline that appears at the end of this overview.
The two crises put the FDIC in the position of having to face multiple challenges
simultaneously. In response to the financial crisis, the basic problem was the need to
contain systemic risk and restore financial stability. To achieve this, the FDIC took
unprecedented actions using emergency authorities. In response to the banking crisis,
the FDIC had to deal with challenges relating to bank supervision, the management of
the Deposit Insurance Fund, and the resolution of failed banks—challenges similar to
those the FDIC had faced in the banking and thrift crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s.
This study examines the FDIC’s response to both crises and seeks to contribute to an
understanding of what occurred and also to present some lessons the FDIC has learned
from its experience. The study is divided into two parts. Part 1 focuses on the financial
crisis of 2008–2009—its causes and the FDIC’s response—and Part 2 focuses on the
FDIC’s response to the banking crisis of 2008–2013.
As delineated in the first chapter of Part 1, the causes of the financial crisis lay partly
in the housing boom and bust of the mid-2000s; partly in the degree to which the U.S.
and global financial systems had become highly concentrated, interconnected, and
opaque; and partly in the innovative products and mechanisms that combined to link
homebuyers in the United States with financial firms and investors across the world.
As delineated in the remaining two chapters of Part 1, the financial crisis that followed
the housing market’s collapse was so severe that, for the first time, the U.S. government
turned to a statutory provision that had been put in place as part of the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 to help it deal with systemic risks.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

This provision prohibited assistance to failing banks if FDIC funds would be used to
protect uninsured depositors and other creditors—but the act also contained a provision
allowing an exception to the prohibition when the failure of an institution would pose a
systemic risk.1 In 2008, by relying on the provision that allowed a systemic risk exception,
the FDIC was able to take two actions that maintained financial institutions’ access to
funding: the FDIC guaranteed bank debt and, for certain types of transaction accounts,
provided an unlimited deposit insurance guarantee. In addition, the FDIC and the other
federal regulators used the systemic risk exception to extend extraordinary support
to some of the largest financial institutions in the country in order to prevent their
disorderly failure.
Accompanying the financial crisis was the banking crisis, which challenged every
aspect of the FDIC’s operations, not only because of its severity but also because of the
speed with which problems unfolded. Focused on specifically in Part 2 of this study are
(1) bank supervision (how significant was industry risk, what were the characteristics
of troubled and failed banks, what role was played by bank examinations and other
supervisory efforts before and during the crisis, and how effective were these efforts);
(2) management of the Deposit Insurance Fund and the methodology used for assessing
banks for deposit insurance coverage, both before and during the crisis (what changes
were made and what extraordinary measures were required); and (3) the resolution of
the hundreds of banks that failed during the six-year period (what methods did the FDIC
pursue and how effective were they).
In the remainder of this overview, a brief account of the magnitude of the problems
the FDIC faced is followed by synopses of the study’s six chapters, a brief conclusion, a
postscript about the banking industry in 2017, and a timeline of the crisis period.

The Magnitude of the Problems
It is important to recall just how significant both of these crises were. The financial crisis
and the recession with which it was associated were the worst economic dislocation
since the Great Depression. There were large losses in economic output and large
declines in employment, household wealth, and other economic indicators. Not only
did the U.S. economy lose 8.8 million jobs, but half of those losses occurred within the
six months that immediately followed the height of the financial crisis in the autumn
of 2008. In 2009, the year when foreclosures peaked, 2.8 million mortgage loans were
in foreclosure, almost four times the number in 2005.2 The cumulative net cost to the
U.S. economy has been estimated by the U.S. Government Accountability Office and
1

See pp. xii-xiii for further explanation of the systemic risk exception.

2

These are FDIC estimates based on data from the Mortgage Bankers Association and the American
Housing Survey.

OVERVIEW

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others to range from more than $10 trillion to $14 trillion in today’s dollars, or up to
roughly 80 percent of an entire year’s gross domestic product.3
As for the financial crisis, its severity was reflected in the size of the government’s
emergency response. The Federal Reserve initiated numerous programs designed
to provide short-term liquidity to banks and other financial institutions as well as to
borrowers and investors. In the six weeks following the September 15, 2008, bankruptcy
of the investment bank Lehman Brothers, the Federal Reserve’s balance sheet doubled
to about $2 trillion.4 On September 19, the Department of the Treasury announced that
it would provide a guarantee for money market mutual funds, standing behind more
than $3.5 trillion in assets.5 On October 3, Congress authorized $700 billion to fund the
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), and about $245 billion of that would be used
to shore up the capital of financial institutions.6 Ten days later the FDIC announced its
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program that would eventually guarantee more than
$600 billion in debt issued by financial institutions and their affiliates.7 At the level of
individual firms, JPMorgan Chase’s acquisition of the investment bank Bear Stearns in
May 2008 was facilitated by a $29 billion loan from the Federal Reserve Bank of New
York.8 The multinational insurance corporation American International Group (AIG)
initially was rescued with an $85 billion credit facility, also from the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York.9 Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two government-sponsored enterprises that
support the mortgage market, were taken into government conservatorships that the
U.S. Treasury would eventually support with a total investment of $189.5 billion.10
The banking crisis, too, was severe. From 2008 through 2013 almost 500 banks failed,
at a cost of approximately $73 billion to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). Among
these failures was that of IndyMac, in June 2008, which, with losses of about $12 billion,
remains the most expensive failure in FDIC history; and, in September 2008, that of
Washington Mutual, which, with $307 billion in assets, remains the largest failure in
3

U.S. Government Accountability Office, Financial Regulatory Reform: Financial Crisis Losses and Potential
Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act, GAO 13-180, February 14, 2013, https://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-13180.

4

Changes in the Fed’s balance sheet are detailed at https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/bst_
recenttrends.htm.

5

The Treasury’s program is described at https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/
hp1161.aspx; for assets in money market mutual funds in 2008, see https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/
MMMFFAQ027S.

6

A discussion of TARP investments in banks can be found at https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/financialstability/TARP-Programs/bank-investment-programs/Pages/default.aspx.

7

See chapter 2 of this volume.

8

For the Bear Stearns transaction, see https://www.federalreserve.gov/regreform/reform-bearstearns.htm.

9

For the initial aid to AIG, as well as additional government actions to assist the firm, see https://www.
newyorkfed.org/aboutthefed/aig.

10

https://www.fhfa.gov/Conservatorship/pages/history-of-fannie-mae--freddie-conservatorships.aspx.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

FDIC history. Although these and other large banks failed, most of the failed institutions
were community banks, often in parts of the country where the subprime mortgage crisis
and the recession made real estate problems more severe than elsewhere. And although the
number of failures during this period was considerably lower than it had been in the 1980s
and early 1990s, this crisis unfolded much more rapidly. The DIF fell to the lowest point
in its history, a negative $20.9 billion on an accounting basis, by year-end 2009. Less than
two years earlier, in March 2008, it had reached what was then an all-time high of $52.8
billion.11 During the same period (between March 2008 and year-end 2009), the number of
problem banks rose from 90 to just over 700. Problem banks would peak in early 2011 at
almost 900, constituting nearly 12 percent of all FDIC-insured institutions.12
The large numbers of troubled and failed banks and the need to successfully manage
the FDIC’s funding requirements contributed to a substantial increase in workload
across all operational areas of the FDIC.

Part 1: Financial Crisis and Response

The first chapter in Part 1 explores the causes of the financial crisis. The remaining two
chapters focus on the ways in which the FDIC confronted the systemic consequences of
that crisis in 2008 and 2009.

Chapter 1. Origins of the Crisis
The U.S. financial crisis of 2008 followed a boom and bust cycle in the housing market
that originated several years earlier and exposed vulnerabilities in the financial system.
The downturn began as a housing crisis that initially seemed concentrated in certain
states but eventually led to a nationwide decline in house prices. The financial system had
been integral to the housing boom and was highly exposed to the housing market. Thus,
when the housing downturn proved to be exceptionally severe, it threatened to drag
down the financial system with it in the absence of significant government intervention.
The collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2007 and the accompanying financial crisis
resulted in a prolonged economic contraction—the Great Recession—the effects of
which spread throughout the global economy.
The nationwide housing expansion of the early 2000s was rooted in a combination of
factors, including a extended period of low interest rates. By mid-2003, both long-term
11

See chapter 5 of this volume.

12

See chapter 4 of this volume.

OVERVIEW

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mortgage rates and the federal funds rate (the rate at which depository institutions lend
reserve balances to each other overnight and which affects other market interest rates) had
declined to levels not seen in at least a generation.13 One response to low interest rates was
an acceleration in U.S. home price appreciation to double-digit rates for the first time since
1980.14 Another response was a series of mortgage market developments that dramatically
weakened credit standards in mortgage lending; the weakened standards were reflected
most prominently in subprime, Alt-A, and hybrid ARM instruments. These market
developments were associated with a glut of savings held by investors seeking high-yield
assets; a complex and opaque securitization process that bundled mortgages into mortgagebacked securities; the use of poorly understood derivative products; and speculation based
on the presumption that housing prices would continue to increase.
Other factors were in play as well in the years leading up to and during the housing
market expansion. Financial innovation and deregulation contributed to an environment
in which the U.S. and global financial systems became far more concentrated, more
interconnected, and, in retrospect, far less stable than they had been in previous decades.
The conversion of housing assets to financial assets through the development of various
mortgage securities and derivatives created risks that were not well understood and that
exposed institutions with higher leverage to greater losses in the event mortgage defaults
were to increase. The factors that helped fuel a housing boom therefore made the U.S.
financial system more vulnerable to collapse in times of stress.
Initial signs of the housing collapse to come emerged in 2006, as the housing market
expansion slowed. The slowdown eliminated the expectation of future investment gains
and, along with it, the ability of borrowers to refinance. Without the expectation of rising
prices, lenders were unwilling to originate new mortgages. As interest rates rose and
house prices began to fall, many homeowners became unable to meet mortgage payments
on their existing loans or refinance into a new loan, and mortgage defaults rose rapidly.
Yet, through the end of 2006, most macroeconomic indicators continued to suggest
that the U.S. economy would proceed uninterrupted on its path of moderate growth.
There was little in the way of financial data to suggest that the U.S. and global economies
were on the verge of a financial system meltdown. In hindsight, however, we know that
by the mid-2000s the United States was experiencing a housing price bubble of historic
proportions, and by 2006 the first signs of trouble were already apparent. In 2007, when
the bubble burst, the financial systems of the world’s most advanced economies were
brought relatively quickly to the brink of collapse.
How did this happen? Ultimately, as house prices declined nationwide and mortgage
defaults began rising, the value of all the mortgage-backed securities deteriorated. The rise
13

In July 2003, the federal funds rate declined to 1.01 percent, its lowest level in 45 years. In June 2003, the
Freddie Mac 30-year conventional mortgage rate fell to 5.21 percent, the lowest level in the 32-year history
of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey.

14

S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. Home Price Index.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

in defaults, by undermining the value of trillions of dollars of mortgage-backed securities,
severely disrupted the securitization funding mechanism itself. That mechanism—the
securitization system that generated mortgage-backed securities from mortgages—
had become opaque and very complex, and the financial institutions involved were
highly leveraged. These securities were further used to create various mortgage assets
and derivatives intended to diversify the risk. However, the lack of transparency and
the complexity of the securities masked the risk, and the high leverage left investors
with little capital to cushion loss. Moreover, the financial institutions had underpriced
risk, having been lulled into complacency by the prolonged period of economic stability
that preceded the onset of problems. When mortgage defaults began to rise, the system’s
interconnectedness, complexity, lack of transparency, and high leverage exacerbated
the effects of the crisis. Eventually, many of the largest financial institutions suffered
catastrophic losses on their portfolios of mortgage-related assets, and these losses
resulted in severe liquidity shortages. Even financial institutions without large exposures
to mortgage assets or derivatives were affected because they were deeply interconnected
with the financial system in which these exposures played so significant a role.
Observing the devastating cascade of falling house prices, subprime mortgage defaults,
bankruptcies, and write-downs in the value of mortgage assets, investors and creditors
lost confidence in the financial markets. The credit markets froze, and at the same time
many overleveraged financial institutions were forced to sell assets at fire-sale prices,
further reducing liquidity. Under the accounting rules of the time, these asset sales
only precipitated further rounds of asset write-downs. Eventually, the situation became
so dire that government interventions on an unprecedented scale were undertaken to
break the downward spiral of defaults and to restore confidence in, and functionality to,
the financial marketplace.

Chapter 2. The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A
Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception
In the fall of 2008, credit markets—particularly short-term markets—were essentially
frozen. Many banks and bank holding companies found it hard to roll over debt at a
reasonable cost. In early October, as these problems continued to worsen in many
nations, the G7 finance ministers announced a plan that focused on maintaining
liquidity, strengthening capital, and preserving market stability. As a result, many
advanced economies chose to both guarantee debt issued by financial institutions and
expand deposit insurance guarantees.
The U.S. government needed to find not only a mechanism by which bank debt could
be guaranteed but also the resources that would be needed to stand behind that guarantee.
The mechanism was provided by the systemic risk exception (SRE) established under

OVERVIEW

xvii

the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991. The act generally
required the FDIC to resolve failed banks in a manner that was least costly to the Deposit
Insurance Fund and required the FDIC not to deviate from this least-cost requirement
in order to protect uninsured depositors and other creditors. But the act also included
the SRE provision that permitted the suspension of this “least cost” requirement if the
FDIC Board and the Federal Reserve Board each voted to recommend the exception to
the Secretary of the Treasury, who, in consultation with the President, then determined
that the exception was warranted. Invoking the SRE required a consensus that closing
the bank in question would have “serious adverse effects on economic conditions and
financial stability” and that providing assistance under the SRE would “avoid or mitigate
such adverse effects.”15
A broad interpretation of the SRE gave policymakers an avenue through which the
FDIC could (1) extend its guarantee to newly issued debt instruments of FDIC-insured
institutions, their holding companies, and their affiliates; and (2) provide unlimited
deposit insurance coverage of non-interest-bearing transaction accounts. The extension
of the FDIC guarantee to the newly issued debt instruments would come under a program
to be called the Debt Guarantee Program (DGP). The unlimited deposit insurance
coverage would come under a program to be called the Transaction Account Guarantee
Program (TAGP). Together, the DGP and TAGP made up the FDIC’s Temporary
Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP), which was designed to preserve and enhance the
liquidity of the banking system during a time of crisis.
It should be noted that the TLGP was integral to a wider U.S. government response
to systemic risk in the banking system. At the same time that the FDIC was developing
the TLGP, the Department of the Treasury, using an authority and funding provided by
Congress, used the TARP to inject capital into the nation’s banks. The Federal Reserve
added the Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) to the series of programs it
had been undertaking since 2007 to provide liquidity to borrowers and investors. The
programs launched by the FDIC, the Treasury, and the Federal Reserve were designed to
work together to restore liquidity to the financial system.
Policymakers had to decide how the specifics of the FDIC’s TLGP would be
implemented. This was particularly true for the debt guarantee component, as it was
unprecedented and thus created challenges for the agency. How broad should the
guarantee be? Should it cover debt already outstanding? Should it cover debt issued by
bank holding companies and affiliates as well as by insured depository institutions? Should
fees be assessed for participation, and if so, how much should be charged? Policymakers
reached a consensus that only newly issued debt would be guaranteed, that bank holding
company debt would be eligible but that participation by thrift holding companies would
be limited, and that applications for debt guarantees by nonbank affiliates would have to
15

12 U.S.C. §1823 (G) (1994).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

be approved by the FDIC. It was also agreed that low but meaningful fees for the FDIC
guarantee were appropriate. The program was designed to be funded by the banking
industry and not by taxpayers or the DIF.
For the two programs to be in place on October 14, 2008—the day the TLGP
would be announced—the FDIC had to work swiftly. As noted above, the debt
guarantee component created the most complex challenges because the FDIC had
never administered a program that guaranteed nondeposit liabilities. But through a
consultative process with the banking industry as well as expedited rulemaking that
provided for public notice and comment, the FDIC was able to significantly improve the
program during its initial months.
Participation in both of these programs was voluntary. After the first month, during
which all eligible entities were covered, eligible entities were able to opt out of either one
of the programs or both. Initially, more than half of the eligible entities remained in the
DGP, but a far greater proportion of insured institutions remained in the TAGP. In the
end, just over 100 mostly large entities issued guaranteed debt.
The DGP capped guaranteed debt issuance in a way that would allow participants to
roll over existing debt and have some capacity to allow debt issuance to grow modestly.
Initially, the DGP was to end on June 30, 2009, and the guarantee was to expire on June
30, 2012, but the FDIC extended the program to facilitate an orderly exit. The end-date
was moved to October 31, 2009, and the guarantee period to December 31, 2012. In May
2009, guaranteed debt outstanding peaked at about $350 billion.
The FDIC at first proposed a flat pricing mechanism but quickly changed to a sliding
scale based on debt maturity. Some economists have suggested that the FDIC’s pricing
method could have been more sophisticated and that the method used led to a larger
subsidy than was necessary. But it is important to note that pricing was not the only tool
with which the FDIC addressed risk: considerations of safety and soundness led the FDIC
to restrict or prohibit the DGP participation of more than 1,600 insured institutions and
1,400 bank holding companies.
The TAGP guaranteed, until year-end 2009, all funds held in non-interest-bearing
transaction accounts at participating banks, but the program was extended twice, first
through June 30, 2010, and then through year-end 2010. This was the first time the FDIC
had offered deposit coverage over the statutory amount, and the increase was designed
to avoid runs at healthy banks. The TAGP charged fees for participation, first a flat
rate but then, with the first extension, at a rate that depended on risk as reflected by an
institution’s deposit insurance assessment category.16
Had fees from the TLGP been insufficient to cover the program’s expenses, the FDIC
would have had to levy an assessment on all insured depository institutions to make good
the loss. However, in the end the TLGP’s fees greatly exceeded the program’s costs: the
16

Assessment categories are discussed in chapter 5 of this volume.

OVERVIEW

xix

FDIC collected $10.4 billion in DGP fees but lost only $153 million because of defaults.
For the TAGP the FDIC collected $1.2 billion in fees, and at year-end 2016 the program’s
costs were $1.5 billion.
The DGP reopened short- and medium-term debt markets to financial institutions,
enabling these institutions to address their financing needs during a period of
unprecedented turmoil in the financial system. The DGP lowered the firms’ cost of
funding because DGP debt received the same ratings that U.S. government securities
received. The program allowed debt markets to stabilize, and starting in early 2009,
banks were able gradually to increase the amount of non-guaranteed debt they issued, so
that by a year after its creation, the DGP was terminated without difficulty.
The TAGP made a difference by stabilizing deposit funding for banks. Many banks,
particularly community banks, depend on transaction account deposits as a source
of funds, but because of the crisis there was a substantial risk that businesses and
municipalities that maintained such accounts would withdraw large amounts of deposits.
The TAGP significantly lessened that risk.

Chapter 3. Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual
Institutions during the Financial Crisis
In late 2008 and early 2009, the systemic risk exception was invoked in response to serious
financial difficulties at three of the nation’s largest banking organizations: Wachovia
Corporation (Wachovia), Citigroup, Inc. (Citigroup), and Bank of America Corporation
(Bank of America, or BofA).17
Wachovia. As of June 2008, Wachovia had the fourth-largest volume of banking assets
in the United States and was the largest holder of payment-option adjustable rate
mortgages (ARMs). On September 25, 2008, Washington Mutual (WaMu), the nation’s
second-largest holder of payment-option ARMs, failed. Wachovia was already having
difficulty meeting its liquidity needs, and WaMu’s failure added to existing concerns
among Wachovia’s depositors and creditors, placing additional funding stress on the
institution. On Friday September 26, the day after WaMu’s failure, Wachovia informed
its lead federal supervisor, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), that
it would be unable to obtain the funds needed to pay creditor claims. Wachovia also
identified Citigroup and Wells Fargo as potential buyers.
This situation highlighted the constraints that were placed on the FDIC’s resolution
options when responding to the failure of a large, complex institution during a time of
severe financial market distress. Although the FDIC had successfully resolved more than
17

The SRE that was recommended for Bank of America (on January 15, 2009) was never formally implemented.

xx

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

2,000 failed banks in the past, it determined that letting Wachovia fail could be highly
problematic for the nation’s economy. Under a standard “least cost” resolution, the FDIC
would be responsible for resolving the banking subsidiary, but the holding company
and other subsidiaries would be resolved under bankruptcy law. Shareholders would
likely be wiped out and creditors would suffer significant losses, in some cases leading
directly to losses at other financial institutions. Moreover, imposing losses on Wachovia
commercial paper held by money market mutual funds, one of which had recently
“broken the buck” (meaning that the fund’s net asset value dropped below the desired
and normally maintained target of one dollar per share), could have led to a general loss
of confidence in financial institutions that might cause short-term funding markets to
virtually cease.18 The purchase offers from both Citigroup and Wells Fargo, however,
called for assistance that would not impose losses on Wachovia shareholders or other
nondeposit creditors. Recognizing the risk that a least-cost resolution could amplify
the systemic financial crisis that was then underway, the FDIC and other policymakers
concluded it was necessary to invoke the SRE and provide assistance to debtholders and
shareholders in addition to insured depositors.
On September 29, the FDIC and the Federal Reserve Board (FRB) recommended
invoking the SRE for the first time since it was created under the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991. After consultation with the President,
the Secretary of the Treasury concurred with this recommendation, and financial
assistance under the SRE was approved. The FDIC Board, estimating that the Citigroup
proposal would result in no net loss to the DIF, chose the Citigroup bid over the Wells
Fargo bid as the least costly of the available methods for avoiding the serious adverse
systemic effects that would have resulted from Wachovia’s failure. The Citigroup bid
included a government guarantee on a pool of approximately $312 billion in assets.
Citigroup and Wachovia signed a short exclusivity agreement to complete an open-bank
acquisition with an assistance package from the FDIC.
Shortly thereafter, however, on October 2, Wells Fargo made a new offer to acquire
all of Wachovia’s operations. This offer required no assistance from the FDIC, and it
provided Wachovia shareholders a higher price than the Citigroup proposal would have
provided. This new proposal by Wells Fargo benefited from a Treasury ruling two days
earlier that limited the tax consequences of the acquisition. Before the end of the day on
October 2, Wachovia’s board had approved the merger with Wells Fargo.

18

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Wachovia,” September 29, 2008,
http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-09-29_Memo_to_the_FDIC_Board_of_
Directors.pdf.

OVERVIEW

xxi

The successful acquisition of Wachovia negated any need for FDIC assistance, and
no assistance was provided under the SRE. Wachovia was able to continue normal
operations, and the projected adverse effects of a least-cost resolution were averted.
Nevertheless, invoking the SRE set an important precedent by signaling to financial
markets that the government was willing to take action to avert systemic problems in
the banking industry.
Citigroup. In 2008, Citigroup was one of the largest financial institutions in the world.
As of September 30, 2008, Citigroup had total consolidated assets of just over $2 trillion,
with approximately $1.2 trillion in assets in its lead bank subsidiary, Citibank, N.A.
(Citibank). Citigroup’s vulnerability lay in its exposure to credit and market losses
coupled with its dependence on international operations for funding.19 Citigroup had
significant amounts of commercial paper and other debt outstanding, and it was a major
participant in payment, clearing, and central counterparty arrangements.
On October 9, Citigroup announced it would stop pursuing the previously announced
acquisition of Wachovia. On October 16, Citigroup reported a net loss of $2.8 billion for
the third quarter of 2008.20 Despite Citigroup’s receipt of substantial government support
through broad-based Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC programs such as the TARP,
Federal Reserve lending, and the DGP, respectively, the company’s financial condition
continued to deteriorate through early November.
By November 20, the banking agencies and the Treasury had begun discussing
additional, institution-specific assistance that would involve an SRE. The next day, the
cost of insurance against a Citigroup default on its bonds more than doubled. Regulators
projected that if deposit outflows continued, Citibank would be unable to pay its
obligations or meet expected deposit outflows by the following week.
The banking agencies and the Treasury agreed that the potential failure of Citigroup
presented a serious systemic risk. On November 23, the FDIC and the FRB each
recommended that the Secretary of the Treasury invoke the SRE to allow open-bank
assistance for Citigroup. There was no viable acquirer for an institution with the size,
complexity, and global operations of Citigroup. The Secretary of the Treasury, having
consulted earlier with the President, concurred with the recommendation for an SRE.
Late on November 23, the Treasury, the FDIC, and the FRB announced an interagency
assistance package for Citigroup that included a $20 billion capital injection by the
Treasury as well as loss protection on a $306 billion pool of Citigroup’s assets, backed by
the Treasury, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. As compensation for
19

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Citigroup,” November 23, 2008, http://
fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-11-23%20FDIC%20Board%20of%20Directors%20
Memo%20re%20Citi.pdf.

20

Citigroup, Inc., Third Quarter 2008 Earnings Review Presentation, October 16, 2008, http://www.citigroup.
com/citi/investor/data/p081016a.pdf?ieNocache=975.

xxii

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

the guarantee, Citigroup issued $7 billion in stock and warrants to the Treasury and the
FDIC. The agreement also imposed restrictions on Citigroup’s dividend payments and
executive compensation, and requirements for loan modifications.21
The announcement that the SRE would be invoked and government assistance
would follow had the intended effect of stabilizing Citigroup and preventing its failure.
Citigroup was able to continue operating, and the announcement gave the private sector
confidence to continue providing liquidity to the company.
Bank of America. As of September 30, 2008, Bank of America owned eight insured
banks and four significant non-insured subsidiaries. With $1.4 trillion in total assets
and as the largest holder of insured deposits, BofA’s largest bank subsidiary, Bank of
America, N.A., was the second-largest bank in the United States.22 By the end of 2008,
two of its prominent acquisitions were having a severely negative effect on the bank’s
financial performance. In January 2008, BofA had announced its $2.5 billion acquisition
of subprime mortgage lender Countrywide Financial, a deal that would eventually cost
the bank much more than $2.5 billion once the full extent of Countrywide’s mortgage
losses became evident. On September 15, 2008, BofA had announced that it would
acquire Merrill Lynch, the weakest of the remaining major investment banks after the
failure of Lehman Brothers (which filed for bankruptcy on that same day). Although
BofA seriously considered renegotiating or canceling the acquisition because of larger
than anticipated losses at Merrill Lynch, BofA ultimately completed the acquisition,
absorbing significant losses as a result.23
On January 9, 2009, anticipating that BofA would announce fourth-quarter results
below market expectations during the earnings call scheduled for January 16, officials
at the Federal Reserve and the Treasury approached the FDIC to discuss whether the
FDIC would participate in providing government assistance to BofA beyond that already
provided through broad-based programs in 2008.
The banking agencies and the Treasury believed that a failure would be systemic because
of BofA’s size and the volume of its counterparty transactions. If BofA proved unable
to meet its obligations, the markets for short-term interbank lending, bank senior and
subordinated debt, and derivative products, among others, could be disrupted, increasing
the likelihood of deposit runs at banks. Moreover, given BofA’s strong reputation, the
banking agencies and the Treasury feared that its failure could lead to a belief that wider
21

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Joint
Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the FDIC on Citigroup,” November 23, 2008.

22

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Bank of America,” January 15, 2009,
http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2009-01-15%20Memo%20to%20the%20FDIC%20
board%20of%20directors%20from%20Mitchell%20Glassman,%20Sandra%20Thompson,%20Arthur%20
Murton,%20and%20John%20Thomas%20re%20Bank%20of%20America.pdf.

23

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report (2011), 383.

xxiii

OVERVIEW

problems existed in the banking industry and could significantly undermine broader
business and consumer confidence, thus weakening the overall economy.24
On January 15, 2009, the FDIC and the FRB each recommended that the Secretary
of the Treasury invoke the SRE.25 The next day, the banking agencies announced an
interagency assistance package that was very similar to the one provided to Citigroup.
The package consisted of a capital injection by the Treasury of $20 billion through the
TARP; $10 billion in loss protection on a pool of BofA’s assets, provided by the Treasury
and the FDIC; and the agreement of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York to provide
a nonrecourse loan to cover 90 percent of any losses that exceeded $21.1 billion. As
compensation for the guarantee, the Treasury and the FDIC together would receive $4
billion in preferred stock and warrants. The FDIC’s portion of risk would be limited in
recognition that most of the exposures lay within the investment banking entities and
not within Bank of America’s insured depository institutions. BofA would be subject to
dividend and executive compensation restrictions and would be required to implement
a mortgage loan modification program on the guaranteed assets.
Bank of America, the FDIC, the FRB, and the Treasury began negotiating the specific
terms of the asset guarantee portion of the package. However, in May, before the parties
could finalize terms and before the Secretary of the Treasury formally approved an SRE,
BofA asked to terminate the asset guarantee. In September, BofA paid $425 million to
the government as compensation for the benefits it received from the perception that the
government would guarantee its assets.26 Although the Secretary of the Treasury never
formally approved an official systemic risk determination for BofA, the January 16 public
announcement of planned assistance had nevertheless benefited the bank.
***
The announcement of each of the three SREs stabilized funding and liquidity at the
individual institution for which it was approved and for the broader financial system.
But the severity of the financial crisis and the extraordinary government assistance that
followed led Congress to enact a number of financial reforms. The 2010 Dodd-Frank
Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act was intended in part to avoid a repeat
of the need to provide taxpayer support to open financial institutions—support that has
the effect of protecting the shareholders, creditors, and management of those institutions.
The reforms sought to reduce not only the likelihood that systemically significant
financial companies would fail in the future but also the adverse effects if such a failure
did occur. Specifically, the reforms imposed higher standards for capital, liquidity, and

24

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Bank of America.”

25

As discussed in chapter 3, the Secretary of the Treasury never made a formal SRE determination for Bank of
America.

26

“Bank of America Termination Agreement,” September 21, 2009.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

margin requirements on large banking organizations. The act also provided expanded
authorities to enable the FDIC to carry out the orderly liquidation of large, complex
financial companies. In addition, the act amended the SRE provision of the 1991 law and
constrained the use of the exception going forward.

Part 2: Banking Crisis and Response

The three chapters in Part 2 examine the FDIC’s key operations—bank supervision, deposit
insurance pricing and Deposit Insurance Fund management, and failed-bank resolution—
before the banking crisis and in response to it.

Chapter 4. Bank Supervision
From the perspective of bank supervision, a good starting point for tracing the history
of the 2008–2013 crisis is the end of the banking and thrift crisis of the 1980s and early
1990s. Important legislative changes that were enacted during and shortly after that
earlier crisis established new mandates for FDIC safety-and-soundness supervisors,
and resulted in accelerated consolidation within the banking and financial industry. In
this new landscape, banks would embark on a significant expansion of lending activity,
particularly real estate lending, and would do so in a way that gave rise to significant new
risks. The FDIC, in turn, would make important changes to its supervisory programs
and its processes for assessing risk.
One of the most important legislative changes triggered by the earlier bank crisis was
the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991, which established
new mandates requiring the banking agencies to take prompt corrective action to resolve
the problems of insured depository institutions at the least possible long-term loss to
the Deposit Insurance Fund. Prominent among these Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
mandates was a set of restrictions that the banking agencies were either required to
impose, or permitted to impose, on undercapitalized banks. Required or discretionary
limitations on undercapitalized banks included dividend restrictions, requirements to
establish a capital restoration plan, limits on growth, and other limitations. The PCA
mandate became an important element of bank supervision before and during the recent
crisis, and remains so today.
Another important legislative change was the Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and
Branching Efficiency Act of 1994, which expanded the interstate branching and
affiliation authorities of banking organizations, thereby accelerating the consolidation

OVERVIEW

xxv

trend that had been underway since the mid-1980s. Finally, in 1999, the Gramm-LeachBliley Act removed most federal restrictions on affiliations between banks, investment
banks, and insurance companies. These changes contributed to an increase in the size
and interconnectedness of financial institutions.
During the generally prosperous decade preceding the crisis, banks enjoyed record
profits fueled by rapid growth in lending, particularly real estate lending. Large institutions’
profitability was driven in part by the origination of subprime and alternative mortgage
products, by the creation and sale of securities backed by such mortgages, or both. Many
smaller institutions greatly increased their holdings of, and concentrations in, loans to
finance the acquisition, development, and construction of real estate (ADC loans). The
rapid growth of these two asset classes—nontraditional mortgage products and ADC
loans—was at the root of the problems that banks would experience during the crisis.
As the banking industry’s risk profile evolved, so did the FDIC’s bank supervision
program and its processes for analyzing risk. Most of the changes were driven by two
broad objectives. First was a desire to learn from the experience of the 1980s and early
1990s by focusing examinations on banks’ risk management practices and the timely
correction of deficiencies where those existed. The FDIC made organizational changes
and other efforts to improve the quality of its risk analysis capabilities and its expertise
regarding more-complex banking activities, and in particular its understanding of risks
posed by the largest banking organizations. The second broad objective driving changes
in bank supervision during the inter-crisis years was the desire to reduce the burden
associated with examinations for small banks believed to have a low risk profile. The
FDIC’s commitment to this objective was reflected in reductions in the number of hours
and the staffing that were devoted to examinations, and in the streamlined examination
procedures used for many small banks.
The stresses that led to the crisis first appeared in the summer of 2006, when the CaseShiller national index of home prices began what would be a nearly six-year decline, losing
27 percent of its value over that period. In 2008, concerns about the value of mortgagerelated assets were the main cause of the liquidity crisis experienced by many large
financial institutions. For smaller banks, the effects of a declining housing market and the
accompanying recession were gradual at first, but in 2009 and 2010 the number of failed
and problem banks—most of them under $10 billion in asset size—increased exponentially.
In all, 489 FDIC-insured banks failed during the crisis years 2008 through 2013. Typical
characteristics of the banks that failed included heightened concentrations of ADC
lending, rapid asset growth, heightened reliance on funding sources other than stable
core deposits, and relatively lower capital-to-asset ratios. In addition, banks chartered in
2000 or after failed at substantially higher rates than banks chartered before 2000.
The factors contributing to bank failures in the crisis and to the resulting losses to the
DIF were documented by Material Loss Reviews (MLRs) conducted by the FDIC Office
of Inspector General (OIG). Mandated by Section 38 of the Federal Deposit Insurance

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Act, MLRs are undertaken for failed banks that imposed losses on the DIF of at least $50
million.27 These audits have two objectives: (1) to determine the causes of the failure and
the resulting material loss to the DIF, and (2) to evaluate the FDIC’s supervision of the
institutions, including the FDIC’s implementation of the requirements of PCA. Reviews
of crisis-era failures documented the decisive role played by bank governance—including
the quality of a bank’s loan underwriting and credit administration, its risk limits, and
its internal controls—in determining the risk profile of the bank and its susceptibility to
fraud or insider abuse. The reviews also highlighted the importance of on-site examination
in evaluating a bank’s internal risk management practices and requiring corrective action
when needed. The OIG has also reported that surviving banks were more likely to have
been responsive to such recommendations for corrective action.28
In fact, the FDIC’s bank examiners and supervisors made significant efforts during
the crisis to work with troubled banks to help them return to health. Given the rapidly
deteriorating conditions facing the banking industry, however, deploying sufficient
examination resources to ensure the FDIC had accurately identified the institutions most at
risk became a challenge. One way the FDIC addressed this challenge was by supplementing
the examination force with employees who were hired for a time-limited term. Many of
these term employees had substantial experience in bank supervision. By 2010, 494 term
employees hired to assist with safety-and-soundness examinations were on board at the
FDIC. More than 75 percent of them were loan review specialists; others were specialists in
investigations, information technology, and the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering.
Some of the term employees were retired FDIC employees, who were rehired under a
special authority granted by the federal Office of Personnel Management. Some of these
rehired individuals were able to pass along the benefit of their extensive examination and
bank supervision experience by helping with the training of pre-commissioned examiners.
For institutions whose quarterly financial reports suggested potential problems, waiting
as long as 24 to 36 months for the next scheduled FDIC examination was not a feasible
supervisory strategy. For such institutions where an examination was not already scheduled
in the near term, the FDIC often conducted a visitation focused on asset quality. These
visitations frequently resulted in downgrades to examination ratings and the establishment
of corrective action plans.29 Formal and informal enforcement actions, and in some cases
letters provided to a bank’s board of directors at the conclusion of the examination, clearly
communicated the steps needed to address the problems of troubled institutions.
27

This threshold for requiring an MLR was established as of January 1, 2014.

28

FDIC Office of Inspector General, “Acquisition, Development and Construction Loan Concentration Study,”
Office of Audits and Evaluations Report no. EVAL-13-001, 2013.

29

The FDIC (and the other federal banking agencies) assigns ratings to banks at the conclusion of a safety-andsoundness examination. The ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with “1” being the best and “5” the worst. The
rating and the report of examination convey to bank management the FDIC’s view of the condition of the
bank and the corrective actions, if any, that the bank needs to undertake.

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xxvii

New institutions were disproportionally represented among troubled banks. New
institutions typically operate with losses during their first few years of operation as they
build up their business, and are more vulnerable to an economic downturn. In addition,
during the pre-crisis period some of these institutions significantly departed from the
business plans that were the basis for their approved deposit insurance applications,
thereby increasing their risk profile and making the likelihood of failure greater. To address
the risks at these institutions, the FDIC lengthened the period—going from three years
to seven years—during which new institutions would be subject to heightened oversight,
including review and approval of their business plans and annual examinations.
Holding-company structures sometimes posed special issues. For some insuredbank subsidiaries of holding companies, heightened supervisory vigilance was needed
to insulate the bank from its affiliates. The liability structure of many bank holding
companies sometimes made it difficult for them to raise capital when it was most needed.
In a number of instances, however, the sale and full recovery of insured banks occurred
even as their parent holding company entered bankruptcy. The FDIC’s ability to require
banks in a holding company to reimburse the FDIC for some or all of the cost of failures
of affiliated banks was helpful in reducing failure costs, and in fact the FDIC’s ability to
require such reimbursement gave financial incentives to troubled institutions to raise
capital or find merger partners to avoid failures.
During the course of the crisis, several private equity investors expressed an interest in
purchasing or investing in failed banks. In 2009, the FDIC’s Board of Directors adopted
a Statement of Policy (SOP) to provide guidance about such acquisitions or investments.
Supervision staff determined the readiness of proposed ownership groups in relation
to the statutory requirements for deposit insurance, and if the purchase or investment
went ahead, supervision staff evaluated the activities of the institutions relative to the
principles contained in the SOP.
The FDIC’s supervisory efforts during the crisis made a beneficial difference to the
ultimate outcomes for troubled banks. The FDIC identifies “problem banks” as those
with examination ratings of 4 or 5—the two lowest ratings, which refer to institutions that
exhibit deficiencies in practices or performance so severe that failure is either a distinct
possibility (4 rating) or likely (5 rating) unless the deficiencies are corrected. Historically
as well as in this crisis, most problem banks have not failed. Instead, a substantial majority
have taken the steps needed to address their problems and have survived or been acquired
without FDIC assistance. Between January 1, 2008, and March 31, 2017, 1,783 insured
depository institutions were designated as problem institutions at one time or another. By
the end of this period, 523 had failed; 112 remained in problem status; 294 had merged
with other institutions without FDIC assistance; and 854 were no longer problem banks.
Nonetheless, as the FDIC concluded through self-assessments and the results of
MLRs, the supervisory response to the risks building up at banks during the pre-crisis
years should have been more forceful. For many banks that failed during the crisis, FDIC

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

examiners drew attention to the risk management deficiencies or issues that ultimately led to
the bank’s failure, often well before the failure. Recommendations to address the deficiencies
typically were included in the examination report that was transmitted to the bank.
However, not until the bank’s financial condition deteriorated did those recommendations
translate to rating downgrades or enforcement actions. The FDIC has taken a number of
steps to ensure that this lesson is incorporated into day-to-day bank supervision, including
training examiners in the importance of proactive supervision to address deficiencies in
risk management at an early stage, providing for a more comprehensive analysis of a bank’s
credit and funding concentrations in reports of examination, and improving guidance to
FDIC bank supervision staff on matters requiring attention by banks’ boards of directors.
A number of lessons for bank supervisors suggest themselves in light of the crisis. First,
prosperous times can mask a building up of significant risks in banking. Before the crisis,
a nationwide collapse in housing prices was viewed by most observers as highly unlikely,
in part because such a thing had not happened in many decades. This suggests a second
lesson, that past performance is not a guide to future performance—and therefore that
bank supervisors must guard against complacency.
The crisis demonstrated that the choices banks made during the pre-crisis years about
how aggressively to pursue earnings growth had significant consequences. The rapid
onset of the crisis after years of record-breaking bank earnings was a reminder that higher
returns are achieved only by taking higher risks. In this respect, the crisis illustrated that
key financial metrics, such as rapid growth or concentrations in riskier loan categories
or potentially volatile funding sources, can give indications about which banks are taking
more risks, and that these metrics warrant serious consideration by bank supervisors.
There also are lessons to be learned from the crisis about the importance of risk
management in banks, of the examination process in reviewing banks’ operations, and
of bank supervisors’ response to identified risks. One such lesson is that the quality of
banks’ internal controls and management of risks drove outcomes at individual banks.
Given the importance of how banks are managed, another key lesson is that only on-site
examinations can provide enough information for bank supervisors to evaluate the safety
and soundness of an insured depository institution and the adequacy of its practices for
managing risk. And, as just suggested, a central lesson of the crisis is that supervisors
should require corrective action when a bank’s risk management is deficient.
Finally, the crisis served as a reminder of the importance of certain programmatic
aspects of bank supervision. First, new banks require extra supervisory attention, because
they typically operate with losses during their early years as they build their business, and
consequently they are more susceptible to downturns. Second, large banks require extra
supervisory attention because of the generally greater complexity of their operations and
the outsized risks they can pose to the Deposit Insurance Fund and the U.S. economy. Third,
changes to the supervision program itself should be managed carefully and incrementally,
to promote the steady focus required for effective supervision. Last, and perhaps above all,

OVERVIEW

xxix

bank supervision and examination require expertise. The FDIC’s seasoned examination
and supervision staff played an important part in the success of its response to the crisis.
This experience therefore highlights the ongoing importance of the hiring and training
of new examiners, and of efforts to ensure they can benefit from the knowledge and
experience of those who came before them.

Chapter 5. Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based
Deposit Insurance Assessments
The FDIC manages the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF, or the fund) by determining the
proper size of the fund and of the DIF reserve ratio (the ratio of the fund balance to
estimated insured deposits), and setting the overall range of assessment rates needed to
achieve that size. Within this range of assessment rates, the FDIC charges banks different
rates for the differing risks they pose to the fund. The banking crisis severely depleted
the fund, quickly sending it more than $20 billion into the red and requiring the FDIC to
respond to the difficulties this entailed.
The FDIC’s strategies for managing the fund (including ensuring that it has sufficient
liquid assets to protect insured depositors at failed banks) and for setting risk-based
assessment rates changed greatly between 2006 and 2016. After a decade of statutory
restrictions on the FDIC’s authority to manage the fund and charge assessments based
on risk, in 2006—on the eve of the banking crisis—the agency took advantage of greater
statutory latitude to revise the risk-based assessment system, and the advent of the
banking crisis led the FDIC to make adaptive changes in its fund management strategy.
The deposit insurance reforms authorized by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act of 2010 (Dodd-Frank) and the lessons learned during the
banking crisis have allowed the FDIC to substantially revamp its approach both to fund
management and to risk-based assessments.
Leading Up to the Crisis (1996–2007). As late as March 2008, the DIF balance stood at a
historic high of $52.8 billion. Yet for much of the previous decade, statutory constraints on
the FDIC’s authority to assess most banks had served to limit growth in the DIF reserve
ratio, despite few bank failures. The Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 restored
the FDIC’s authority to assess all insured institutions, giving the FDIC greater discretion to
manage the size of the fund. As a result, in 2007 the FDIC began charging premiums to all
banks using updated risk-based pricing methods that, for the first time, included separate
assessment methods for small banks and large banks. At the end of 2007, however, the fund
reserve ratio was relatively unchanged compared with a year earlier because of a statutory
requirement that the FDIC provide credits to offset the premiums of many banks that had
helped rebuild the insurance funds in the early to middle 1990s.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Responding to the Crisis (2008–2009). In the second quarter of 2008, the DIF reserve
ratio dropped below the statutory minimum of 1.15 percent of estimated insured deposits.
It continued to decline precipitously as the number of banks that were failing or were in
danger of failing climbed to levels unseen since the bank and thrift crisis of the late 1980s
and early 1990s. In October 2008, as required by statute, the FDIC adopted a restoration
plan that increased assessment rates for all banks at the start of 2009 in an effort to raise
the reserve ratio to 1.15 percent within five years. In the ensuing months, the enormous
stresses on financial institutions prompted the FDIC to twice extend the time frame of
the plan (ultimately, to eight years) and impose a one-time special assessment on all
banks. Instead of imposing a special assessment, the FDIC could have borrowed from
the Treasury, which it had done in the early 1990s during the bank and thrift crisis, but it
chose not to borrow. Borrowing would not have helped maintain a positive fund balance,
or net worth, whereas a special assessment would.
Despite higher assessment rates and the special assessment, mounting losses from
actual failures as well as reserves set aside for anticipated failures caused the fund balance
to fall below zero in the second half of 2009 and hit a low point of negative $20.9 billion
by the end of the year.
With the rise in actual and projected failures, by September 2009 the DIF’s liquidity
needs threatened to exceed its liquid assets as early as 2010. If this potential squeeze
on the liquid assets of the DIF were not addressed, it threatened to compromise the
FDIC’s ability to pay depositors promptly. To address this issue, the FDIC adopted a
novel approach that required the banking industry to prepay its quarterly risk-based
assessments for the fourth quarter of 2009 and for the next three years. In contrast to a
special assessment, a prepaid assessment did not impair bank earnings and capital under
applicable accounting rules. The prepayment was counted on the banks’ balance sheets
as an asset that was reduced each quarter as each prepaid assessment came due.
Because banks were holding significant amounts of cash at the time, the FDIC believed
that most of the prepayments would be drawn from banks’ available cash and excess
reserves at the Federal Reserve without significantly affecting banks’ lending activities.
This approach not only generated sufficient liquidity for the DIF to weather the crisis,
but it also earned widespread banking industry support. Again, the FDIC had decided
not to use its authority to borrow from the Treasury to meet liquidity needs. Prepaid
assessments ensured that the DIF remained directly industry funded; and prepayments,
unlike Treasury borrowing, accrued no interest.
During the crisis, the FDIC also made several changes in the framework for risk-based
assessments. Among these changes were several adjustments to a bank’s assessment rate
based on the bank’s holdings of secured liabilities, brokered deposits, and unsecured
debt. These adjustments were intended to account for liabilities that would increase or
decrease losses to the fund if a bank failed.

OVERVIEW

xxxi

Post-Crisis Reforms (2010–2016). The Dodd-Frank Act, enacted in 2010, raised the
minimum reserve ratio to 1.35 percent but extended the time frame to reach the new
minimum until September 30, 2020. Dodd-Frank also expanded the FDIC’s authority
to manage the fund. This expanded authority enabled the FDIC to adopt, in 2010, a
comprehensive, long-term DIF management plan that would make the fund more likely
to be able to withstand a future crisis. To implement the plan, the FDIC suspended
dividends indefinitely (as allowed by Dodd-Frank) and set the target reserve ratio at
2 percent—consistent with what the agency estimated would have been required to
maintain both a positive balance and stable assessment rates from 1950 through 2010.
Pursuant to the plan, the FDIC set overall assessment rates at a level that would remain
moderate and steady throughout economic and credit cycles, thus reducing pro-cyclical
volatility (i.e., reducing the need to charge the most during periods of crisis, when banks
can least afford to pay). In lieu of dividends, overall assessment rates will decrease once
the reserve ratio reaches its 2 percent target.
Dodd-Frank included provisions designed to reallocate between small and large
banks the costs of supporting the DIF. First, it redefined the assessment base from
domestic deposits to average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity.
This redefinition decreased the proportion of total assessments paid by small banks and
increased the proportion paid by large banks, since smaller banks typically fund more of
their assets with domestic deposits than do larger banks. Second, Dodd-Frank required
that the FDIC, when setting assessments, offset the effect on small banks of increasing
the minimum reserve ratio to 1.35 percent. The FDIC implemented this requirement by
imposing quarterly surcharges on banks over $10 billion in assets once the reserve ratio
reached 1.15 percent—to close the remaining gap to the 1.35 percent minimum—and
crediting small banks for the portion of their regular assessments that was used to meet
the new minimum level.
In another change, this one independent of Dodd-Frank, the FDIC updated its riskbased pricing methods, incorporating data and experiences from the banking crisis
to better estimate the risks that banks pose to the DIF. Specifically, the revised pricing
methodology for large banks uses supervisory ratings and updated financial measures
to predict performance during periods of stress, along with the relative magnitude of
losses in the event of a failure. The revised methodology for established small banks
uses supervisory ratings and updated financial measures to estimate the probability of
failure over three years. Both methodologies rely heavily on data obtained during the
crisis, and backtesting shows that they would have performed significantly better than
the methodologies they replaced.
In the wake of this crisis (the second banking crisis since 1980), the financial reforms
of 2010 provided the FDIC with new authorities allowing the agency to institute a longterm fund management plan designed to (1) reduce the pro-cyclical effect of deposit
insurance assessments, and (2) maintain a positive fund balance even when many banks

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

fail. Implementation of the long-term plan will make assessment costs predictable for
banks and will improve public confidence in the banking system.

Chapter 6. Bank Resolutions and Receiverships
After more than a decade of modest failure activity, the financial crisis of 2008 resulted in
489 bank failures from 2008 through 2013. Among the failures was Washington Mutual,
a $307 billion institution that was (and remains) the largest failure in the history of
the FDIC. Because failed-bank resolution is an important way that the FDIC fulfills its
mission “to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system”30
and because the choices and processes associated with bank resolution have profound
effects on the DIF’s losses, bank customers, and the local economy, the FDIC focused a
great deal of energy on this task. Despite challenges, the FDIC accomplished its primary
resolution and receivership responsibilities: to protect all insured depositors at failed
banks and to meet statutory mandates.
Before the crisis, the FDIC undertook several initiatives to prepare for a potential
increase in bank failures. These initiatives included readiness exercises, large-bank
resolution simulations, rulemaking to clarify bank closing processes and provide timely
access to critical information about failing banks, and enhancements to the FDIC’s IT
systems and business processes. Although many of these initiatives were helpful, they were
not fully successful, for two reasons. First, the crisis was greater than anticipated and—
importantly—unfolded more quickly than anticipated. Second, the FDIC was shorthanded
during the early phase of the crisis, and from 2008 to 2010 some scarce resources were
necessarily diverted from resolution activities to infrastructure development.31
As the scale of the crisis became clear, however, the FDIC Division of Resolutions and
Receiverships (DRR) took a number of steps to quickly ramp up its staffing. Before mid2008, authorized DRR staff numbered just 227, but by the end of 2010 the number of
positions exceeded 2,100. A key element of this staff expansion was a heavy reliance on
temporary employees, who constituted more than 80 percent of DRR employees in 2011.
A few of these temporary employees were veterans of the bank and thrift crisis of 1980
through 1994 and were therefore highly experienced. Much as the FDIC had relied on
consolidated offices (that is, field offices located where there were a lot of failed banks)
in the 1980–1994 crisis, in the recent crisis the FDIC established temporary satellite
offices (TSOs) in California, Florida, and Illinois. The TSOs placed resources for bank
resolution and asset disposition closer to where most of the failures took place, helping to
improve communication with the parties involved and to minimize travel costs.
30

See https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/strategic/mission.html for the FDIC’s mission, vision, and values.

31

Infrastructure development included hiring staff, opening new offices, developing and updating contracts,
and developing and updating IT systems.

OVERVIEW

xxxiii

The FDIC had several options for resolving failed banks, including a payout and a
variety of purchase and assumption (P&A) agreements.32 The FDIC marketed the failedbank franchises (that is, the operating units of the failed banks) to healthy, well-run
institutions, seeking acquirers that would take over some or all of the failed banks’ assets
and deposits. If a potential acquirer submitted a bid that met the FDIC’s criteria, a P&A
agreement was chosen; otherwise, the FDIC executed a payout.
The FDIC made choices about the best P&A transactions to offer potential acquirers
in light of multiple constraints and trade-offs. Some of the key constraints were statutory
requirements about the prompt closure of failed banks and cost-effective resolution.
Some of the key trade-offs involved DIF capital losses, the DIF cash position, potential
disruption to bank customers and local markets, FDIC staffing requirements, and the
financial and operational risks imposed on the FDIC. During the 1980–1994 crisis the
FDIC and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) had retained and managed a large
volume of failed-bank assets—an undertaking that proved to be costly and operationally
complex. Based on this experience, the FDIC sought to return assets to the private sector
quickly. Therefore, the FDIC tried whenever possible to offer P&A transactions that
would allow a large volume of assets to be sold to acquirers on the same day that the
bank failed. As the crisis evolved, the FDIC refined and adjusted its offerings in light of
changes in market conditions and feedback from potential acquirers.
During the 2008–2013 crisis, the FDIC’s primary offering to potential acquirers of
failed banks was a P&A agreement where the FDIC agreed to share losses on loans and
real estate.33 In most cases, the FDIC’s share of the loss was 80 percent, and the acquiring
bank would absorb the remaining 20 percent of losses. The FDIC sold 304 (62 percent)
of the failed banks using this strategy.
Although the marketing of failed-bank franchises was an important component of the
FDIC’s resolution activities, it was just the first step in the receivership process that wound
up the affairs of the failed banks. The FDIC’s receivership responsibilities were broad, and
included liquidating all the failed banks’ assets and addressing all the claims against the
failed banks. The FDIC managed $87.5 billion in assets that were retained in receiverships
(because they were not acquired under a P&A transaction) and as of year-end 2016, it
had liquidated all but $3.2 billion of the assets. Most of the assets were liquidated using
cash sales, securitizations, and joint ventures that were structured as Limited Liability
Companies (LLCs). The FDIC also identified valid claims against the receiverships, and
used the funds that the receiverships collected to pay receivership claims as required by
32

In a payout, the FDIC pays insured depositors directly and sells the failed bank’s assets to recover its costs
and satisfy other legitimate claims of the receivership. In a P&A, a healthy bank (called the acquirer)
purchases some or all of the failed bank’s assets and assumes some or all of the failed bank’s liabilities.

33

Principal losses and certain types of expenses were covered. In a few cases, certain securities were
also covered. Coverage was excluded for consumer loans at many banks, and for single-family loans at
some banks.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

statute. In addition, the FDIC administered the loss-share and LLC contracts to protect
its interests and ensure that acquirers and LLC partners met their responsibilities under
these risk-sharing arrangements. The FDIC relied heavily on contractors to manage the
receiverships, service the loans retained in receivership, and sell the assets.
During the crisis, the FDIC learned several lessons related to its resolution and
receivership function. First, because the FDIC’s mission requires prompt action during
periods of financial crisis and because every financial crisis is unique and can unfold
quickly, robust readiness planning—which includes adequate staff levels, contracts
for critical services, scalable IT systems, and roadmaps for staff and infrastructure
expansion—is important at all times. Because national servicers are especially beneficial
during large-scale crises, readiness plans should consider them as well.
Second, loss-share resolutions allowed the FDIC to sell assets promptly during the
crisis and also benefit from subsequent price improvements. They allowed for asset
management by private-sector institutions, conserved DIF cash, minimized FDIC staff
needs, and reduced disruption to bank customers and local communities.
Third, the FDIC’s use of structured contracts (securitizations and LLCs) as a means to
sell assets held in receivership worked well. By retaining some or all of the risk from these
asset sales, the FDIC received better prices than it would have received if the assets had
been sold outright using cash sales at the time of failure, and the FDIC benefited from
subsequent improvements in asset market values.
Finally, because of the FDIC’s exposure to risk from the loss-share program, careful
oversight of the loss-share agreements was important.
Good information and a well-informed staff are invaluable when a crisis erupts. There
may be opportunities to conduct research, or leverage the research of other parties, to
improve the FDIC’s ability to make good decisions during crisis periods. One area that
merits attention is the trade-offs involved in resolving failed banks (minimizing costs;
minimizing disruption from failures; minimizing the FDIC’s liquidity needs, operational
risk, and financial risk; and encouraging market discipline). Other topics for further
research include the costs and benefits associated with prompt asset sales; the use and
design of risk-sharing contracts; the potential development of early-warning tools that
might be used to trigger readiness plans for resolutions and receiverships; and the effects
of market power wielded by asset buyers during distress periods when there are only a
few potential buyers, as well as options for mitigating the adverse effects of that market
power. Finally, it would be beneficial to examine options for expanding seller financing
as a way to improve asset sale prices.

OVERVIEW

xxxv

Conclusion
The financial crisis of 2008 through 2009 and the banking crisis of 2008 through 2013
presented the FDIC with unprecedented challenges. The systemic threat posed by the
financial crisis demanded creative and innovative responses from the FDIC and other
financial regulatory agencies, while the speed and severity of the banking crisis stretched
to the limit the FDIC’s capacity to supervise problem institutions, manage the Deposit
Insurance Fund, and implement orderly resolutions for failed financial institutions.
There are many lessons to be learned from the FDIC’s experience. The purpose of this
volume is to clearly describe that experience for the public record, and to allow others to
evaluate and gain insight from that history.

Postscript: The Banking Industry in 2017
As this history is being written, the U.S. banking industry has put the crisis behind it
and is in a position of strength. As of June 30, 2017, there were 105 banks on the FDIC’s
problem bank list, the lowest quarter-end number since March 31, 2008, when there
were 90. Noncurrent loans for insured banks were at the lowest level as a percentage of
loans since the third quarter of 2007. Insured banks earned a record $48.3 billion in the
second quarter of 2017. Earnings were at their highest level relative to average assets
since the second quarter of 2007. At the same time, insured banks are supporting the
credit needs of the U.S. economy. Annualized loan growth at U.S. banks during the three
years 2014–2016 averaged 5.7 percent—outpacing nominal GDP growth in each year.
Particularly noteworthy for the safety and soundness of the banking industry and
for financial stability more generally is the fact that large banking organizations have
substantially more capital and liquidity than they had entering the crisis. Bank holding
companies with assets greater than $250 billion have about twice the capital and more
than twice the liquid assets relative to their asset size than they had entering the crisis. The
tier 1 leverage ratio of these institutions increased from 4.46 percent at year-end 2007 to
9.01 percent at mid-2017, while their ratio of liquid assets to total assets increased from
about 8.6 percent to 22.6 percent during the same period.34 The improved capital and
liquidity of these institutions is largely attributable to capital and liquidity regulations the
federal banking agencies issued in response to the crisis.
In addition, there is now in place an enhanced FDIC capability to manage the orderly
failure of a systemically important financial institution without taxpayer support.

34

“Liquid assets” for purposes of this discussion refers to cash, federal funds sold, Treasury securities, agency
debt securities, and agency mortgage-backed securities.

xxxvi

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The improved condition of the banking industry should not be a cause for complacency,
however. The build-up of risk during the pre-crisis years documented in this history
should be a reminder to banks and their regulators of the risks that can develop during
a period of banking industry prosperity. As the current business cycle has progressed,
more banks have reduced their liquid asset holdings while taking on more credit risk in
their loan portfolios, with some banks financing loan growth with a greater proportion
of potentially volatile funding sources. In the event of a sustained increase in interest
rates, some banks could be faced with declines in the values of their holdings of longterm bonds and mortgages or with increased funding costs, or both. Other risks include
those from large derivatives exposures, developments in foreign banking and financial
systems, and potential cyber-events.
As we learned during the crisis, a safe and sound banking industry is essential to the
successful functioning of a nation’s economy, but it cannot be taken for granted. We
also learned how quickly and unexpectedly conditions can change. It is striking how
much progress has been made since the crisis years of 2008–2013 in fostering a strong
U.S. banking industry that supports our economy. Preserving these gains will require
continued vigilance on the part of bank regulators.

xxxvii

OVERVIEW

Crisis and Response Timeline
2007
February

April

2008

February
March

July

September
October

Feb. 27, 2007

The Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation (Freddie
Mac) announces that it will no longer buy the most risky
subprime mortgages and mortgage-related securities.

Apr.2, 2007

New Century Financial Corporation, a leading subprime
mortgage lender, files for bankruptcy.

Feb. 17, 2008

Northern Rock is taken into state ownership by the
Treasury of the United Kingdom.

Mar. 14, 2008

JPMorgan Chase acquires Bear Stearns with government
assistance.

Mar. 16, 2008

The Federal Reserve creates the Primary Dealer Credit
Facility to aid market liquidity.

July 11, 2008

IndyMac Bank fails.

Sept. 7, 2008

The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA)
places Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac in government
conservatorship.

Sept. 15, 2008

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. files for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection.
Bank of America announces its intent to purchase Merrill
Lynch & Co.

Sept. 16, 2008

AIG obtains $85 billion under a temporary liquidity
facility from the Federal Reserve.
The Reserve Primary Fund, a large money market fund,
announces it “broke the buck.”

Sept. 19, 2008

U.S. Treasury temporarily guarantees money market
funds against losses up to $50 billion.

Sept. 21, 2008

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley become bank
holding companies.

Sept. 25, 2008

Washington Mutual Bank fails and JPMorgan Chase
acquires its deposits and assets.

Sept. 29, 2008

Systemic Risk Exception (SRE) is recommended and
approved for Citigroup to acquire Wachovia. Citigroup/
Wachovia deal is announced but never completed.

Oct. 3, 2008

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008
authorizes the $700 billion Temporary Asset Relief
Program (TARP) and temporarily increases deposit
insurance coverage to $250,000.
Wells Fargo announces its acquisition of Wachovia.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

October

Oct. 14, 2008

The FDIC announces SRE for the Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program (TLGP) and creates the Debt
Guarantee Program (DGP) and the Transaction Account
Guarantee Program (TAGP).
The Federal Reserve announces the Commercial Paper
Funding Facility (CPFF).
The U.S. Treasury Department announces the Capital
Purchase Program (CPP) under TARP.

Nov. 23, 2008

SRE is recommended and approved to provide assistance
to Citigroup, and the U.S. Treasury provides capital
investment via TARP.

Dec. 31, 2008

By year-end, 25 insured depository institutions (IDIs) fail,
and at year-end the number of problem IDIs has risen to
252, up from 76 at year-end 2007.

Jan. 1, 2009

FDIC implements a 7 basis point increase in deposit
insurance assessment rates.
Bank of America announces the completed acquisition of
Merrill Lynch.

Jan. 16, 2009

SRE is recommended and approved to provide assistance
to Bank of America, and the U.S. Treasury provides
capital investment via TARP.

May 7, 2009

Stress tests of 19 largest BHCs completed.

June 30, 2009

The FDIC announces a special assessment of $5.5 billion;
this will temporarily boost the DIF balance.

Sept. 1, 2009

The FDIC extends the TAGP, scheduled to expire in
December, to June 30, 2010.

Sept. 21, 2009

Bank of America terminates the SRE assistance
agreement.

Sept. 30, 2009

The DIF balance and reserve ratio become negative.

Oct. 31, 2009

The DGP expires.

Dec. 30, 2009

$45.7 billion prepaid assessment strengthens DIF
portfolio liquidity.

Dec. 31, 2009

By year-end, 140 IDIs fail, and at year-end the number of
problem IDIs has risen to 702.

June 28, 2010

The FDIC extends the TAGP to December 31, 2010, when
the program ends.

July 21, 2010

The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer
Protection Act of 2010 is enacted.

November
December

2009
January

May
June

September
October

December

2010

June
July

xxxix

OVERVIEW

Dec. 20, 2010

The FDIC Board sets the Designated Reserve Ratio
at 2 percent for the year 2011 (where it remained
through 2017).

Dec. 31, 2010

By year-end, 157 IDIs fail, the most of any year during
the crisis. At year-end, the number of problem IDIs has
risen to 884.

June 30, 2011

The DIF balance and reserve ratio turn positive.

Dec. 31, 2011

By year-end, 92 IDIs fail and the number of problem
IDIs at year-end has dropped slightly from the year
before, to 813.

Dec. 31, 2012

By year-end, 51 IDIs fail, a third the number that failed
in 2010. The number of problem IDIs at year-end has
dropped to 651.

Jan. 1, 2013

There is no longer any outstanding debt guaranteed by
the FDIC’s DGP.

Dec. 31, 2013

By year-end, just 24 IDIs fail, one fewer than during the
first year of the banking crisis. At year-end, the number of
problem IDIs has dropped to 467. The number of failures
and problem institutions continue to drop through 2016.

December

2011

June

December

2012

December

2013

January

December

Sources: FDIC and Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, Financial Crisis Timeline, https://www.stlouisfed.org/
Financial-Crisis.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Part 1:
Financial Crisis and Response

2

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

1
Origins of the Crisis
Overview
The U.S. financial crisis of 2008 followed a boom and bust cycle in the housing market
that originated several years earlier and exposed vulnerabilities in the financial system. As
is typical of boom and bust cycles, this boom was characterized by loose credit, rampant
speculation, and general exuberance in the outlook for the market—in this instance, the
housing market. The subsequent downturn began as a housing crisis that initially seemed
to be concentrated in certain states and in the subprime mortgage market. Eventually,
however, the seemingly circumscribed housing collapse spread to the entire U.S. housing
market, as house prices declined nationwide. And because the financial system had
been integral to the housing boom, it was highly exposed to the housing market, whose
downturn would prove to be so severe that it threatened to drag down the financial
system with it in the absence of significant government intervention. Inexorably, the
collapse of the U.S. housing market in 2007 became the most severe financial crisis since
the Great Depression, and the financial crisis, in turn, resulted in a protracted economic
contraction—the Great Recession—whose effects spread throughout the global economy.
The nationwide housing expansion of the early 2000s was rooted in a combination
of factors, including a prolonged period of low interest rates. By mid-2003, both longterm mortgage rates and the federal funds rate had declined to levels not seen in at least
a generation. One response to low interest rates was an acceleration in U.S. home price
appreciation to double-digit rates for the first time since 1980. Another response was a
series of mortgage market developments that dramatically weakened credit standards
in mortgage lending. These market developments were associated with a glut of savings
held by global institutional investors seeking high-quality and high-yield assets; loose
underwriting standards; a complex and opaque securitization process; the use of poorly
understood derivative products; and speculation based on the presumption that housing
prices would continue to increase.
Other factors were in play as well in the years leading up to and during the housing
market expansion. Financial innovation and deregulation contributed to an environment
in which the U.S. and global financial systems became far more concentrated, more
interconnected, and, in retrospect, far less stable than in previous decades. These factors

4

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

and the ones mentioned in the preceding paragraph helped fuel a housing boom while also
making the U.S. financial system more vulnerable to collapse in times of stress.
One set of key players in fueling the boom was real estate investors. Attracted by the
expectation of future house price appreciation and the availability of cheap credit, many real
estate investors entered the housing market,1 motivated to buy and re-sell homes to make
short-term gains. Investors’ speculative behavior contributed to the striking house price
appreciation, which in turn spurred potential homebuyers to act before prices increased
further. In the end, when house prices collapsed, many of these real estate investors realized
losses and many homeowners lost their homes.
Also fueling the boom was the role mortgage companies played in the steady rise of house
prices. Mortgage credit was cheap, so when high house prices limited the pool of low-risk
borrowers who could qualify for conventional mortgages, mortgage lenders expanded the
group of potential borrowers by offering new and innovative mortgage products designed
to reach less-creditworthy borrowers. However, many of these borrowers became the
targets of predatory lending practices that placed borrowers into mortgage products that
would eventually create financial hardship for them, as they ended up building debt rather
than wealth, either through repeat refinancings that took equity from homes or through
adjustable rate features that challenged their repayment abilities.
The housing boom was fueled, as well, by the financialization of housing assets: illiquid
real estate (housing) was turned into a financial asset that could be traded more easily and
therefore made it possible for investors to participate in new and innovative ways. One form
of financialization was securitization, or packaging of securities backed by mortgages2—a
process that allowed investors to invest in the U.S. housing market and that therefore
linked individual homeowners to the global financial system of large banks, shadow
banks (explained below in the section “Financial Market Disruptions”), and institutional
investors. Participants in the securitization process had short-term incentives to profit
without accounting for the risk; they largely passed the inherent risk of the underlying
mortgage to the next participant in the securitization chain. While the securitization
process had been around for decades before the housing boom, its scope expanded as new
types of securities were generated.
A number of the new types of securities were liquid and were assigned a high credit
rating, despite being backed by pools of risky mortgages. As the housing boom progressed,
the financial system continued creating various mortgage securities that were aimed at
transforming the risk and meeting investor demand. For example, financial institutions
transformed lower-rated tranches of mortgage-backed securities (explained below in
the section “Mortgage Securitization”) into collateralized debt obligations that were
1

Karl E. Case and Robert J. Shiller, “Is There a Bubble in the Housing Market?,” Brookings Papers on
Economic Activity 2 (2003): 321, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2003/06/2003b_bpea_
caseshiller.pdf.

2

A detailed explanation of securitization is given in footnote 8.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

5

often AAA-rated. It was thought that by generating securities with different risk profiles,
financial engineering of this kind could diversify and transform the risk associated with
the underlying mortgages. Furthermore, derivatives that referenced these mortgage
securities were created, spreading and amplifying the risk further into the system. These
derivatives did not have cash flows based on actual mortgages but tracked the performance
of mortgage securities, enabling investors to speculate on mortgage security performance.
Financial institutions also began to issue credit default swaps to insure investors against
losses on these securities. The risk of these securities, however, was not well understood.
Nevertheless, the securities were held throughout the financial system, and because
the financial system was highly interconnected, even institutions that were not directly
involved with mortgage securitizations had some exposure to the mortgage market. As
risk spread throughout the financial system, therefore, the entire system ultimately became
exposed to the housing market.
Another source of risk, besides exposure to risky mortgages, was high leverage.
Financial institutions increased leverage by relying more on debt to finance their balance
sheets. Although higher leverage enabled institutions to earn a higher return on equity, it
also made them more vulnerable to greater losses if mortgage defaults should increase—
as they ultimately did.
Initial signs of the housing collapse to come emerged in 2006, as the housing market
expansion slowed. In the middle of 2005, mortgage rates began to rise and, by the middle
of 2006, had increased more than 100 basis points. Higher mortgage rates reduced housing
market activity, causing home price growth to slow. After rising at double-digit annual
rates for 27 consecutive months through early 2006, home prices peaked in mid-2006. The
housing market slowdown eliminated the expectation of future investment gains and,
along with it, the ability of borrowers to refinance (for without the expectation of rising
prices, lenders would be unwilling to provide new funds); housing activity slowed even
further. As interest rates rose and house prices began to fall, many homeowners became
unable to meet mortgage payments on their existing loans or refinance into a new loan,
and mortgage defaults rose rapidly.
Yet, through the end of 2006, most macroeconomic indicators continued to suggest that
the U.S. economy would proceed uninterrupted on its path of moderate growth. Indeed,
aside from some concerns about an overheated housing market,3 there was little in the
way of financial data to suggest that the U.S. and global economies were on the verge of
a financial system meltdown. In hindsight, however, we know that by the mid-2000s the
United States was experiencing a housing price bubble of historic proportions and that
already in 2006 the first signs of trouble were apparent. In 2007, when the bubble burst, the
financial systems of the world’s most advanced economies were brought relatively quickly
to the brink of collapse.
3

Throughout 2006 and even into 2007, there was considerable and ongoing debate as to whether a housing
price bubble actually existed. A consensus would not be reached until the collapse was well underway.

6

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

How did this happen? Ultimately, as house prices declined nationwide and
mortgage defaults began rising, the value of all the mortgage-backed securities
deteriorated. The rise in defaults, by undermining the value of trillions of dollars of
mortgage-backed securities, severely disrupted the securitization funding mechanism
itself. That mechanism—the securitization system that generated mortgage-backed
securities (MBS) from mortgages—had become opaque and very complex, and the
financial institutions involved were highly leveraged. The lack of transparency and the
complexity of the securities masked the risk, and the high leverage left investors with
little capital to cushion loss. Moreover, the financial institutions had underpriced risk,
having been lulled into complacency by the prolonged period of economic stability that
preceded the onset of problems. When mortgage defaults began to rise, the system’s
interconnectedness, complexity, lack of transparency, and leverage exacerbated the
effects of the crisis. Eventually, many of the largest financial institutions suffered
catastrophic losses on their portfolios of mortgage-related assets, resulting in severe
liquidity shortages. As noted above, even financial institutions without large MBS
holdings were affected because they were deeply interconnected with the financial
system in which MBS played so significant a role.
Observing the devastating cascade of falling house prices, subprime mortgage
defaults, bankruptcies, and write-downs (or reductions in the value of mortgage
assets), investors and creditors lost confidence in the financial markets. The credit
markets froze, and at the same time many overleveraged financial institutions were
forced to sell assets at fire-sale prices, further reducing liquidity. Under mark-tomarket accounting rules,4 these asset sales only precipitated further rounds of asset
write-downs. The mounting losses strained financial institutions, causing many of
them to fail. Eventually the situation became so dire that government interventions on
an unprecedented scale were undertaken to break the downward spiral of defaults and
to restore confidence in, and functionality to, the financial marketplace.

4

As noted in Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of
the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States (2011), 226–
27, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/fcic_final_report_full.pdf, mark-to-market is
the process by which the reported value of an asset is adjusted to reflect the market value. The process had a
detrimental effect during the crisis, as mark-to-market accounting rules required firms to write down their
holdings to reflect the lower market prices. Firms claimed that the lower market prices did not reflect market
values but, rather, reflected fire-sale prices driven by forced sales.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

7

Housing Market Bubble and Mortgage Crisis (2006–2007)
By the end of the 2000–2006 period, the rapid rise in U.S. house prices had transformed
from a boom to a nationwide housing market bubble. Like all bubbles, this one could
not be sustained forever, and the bursting of the bubble was devastating to many recent
homebuyers, who (like many other people) had expected home prices to continue rising.
In that expectation, many borrowers had taken out mortgages on which they were
unable to continue making payments when the terms of their mortgages changed and
housing prices fell (as noted above, falling prices meant lenders would not refinance).
The bubble was fed not only by people taking out mortgages for homes, however.
Also feeding the bubble was a system, created by financial institutions, that linked
homebuyers’ demand for housing with investors’ demand for highly rated assets with
high yields. Financial institutions purchased mortgages from mortgage originators,
packaged the mortgages into securities, and sold the securities—whose credit quality,
in retrospect, was inaccurately assessed by the rating agencies—to investors needing a
safe place for their funds. These transactions, in turn, then provided the liquidity and
short-term funding from the capital markets that mortgage lenders depended on to
continue to originate loans.
The chain linking homebuyers who were taking out mortgages with investors who
were buying securities that were backed by pools of such mortgages was only as strong
as its weakest link. When mortgage defaults rose, all the other links in the chain were
irreparably weakened.

The Rapid Rise in House Prices

Coming out of the bank and thrift crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s, the United
States experienced an expansion of housing construction, a rise in home prices, and
an increase in housing credit, all of which persisted through the 2001 recession and
accelerated in the early 2000s. By the time national house prices peaked (in the middle
of 2006), they had increased at double-digit annual rates for 27 consecutive months—
from early 2004 through the first three months of 2006—culminating in a 14.2 percent
annual gain in 2005 (see Figure 1.1). Reinhart and Rogoff observe that “between 1996
and 2006, the cumulative real price increase was about 92 percent—more than three
times the 27 percent cumulative increase from 1890 to 1996.”5 Their research found no
housing price boom during that 106-year period comparable in sheer magnitude and
duration to the one that ended in the subprime mortgage crash that began in 2007.
Indeed, the extremes of housing value during the housing boom and bust of the mid2000s stand out starkly, as Figure 1.2 illustrates.

5

Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial Folly (2009), 207.

8

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Figure 1.1. S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index, 1987–2013
National Index Value 2000 = 100, NSA

Year-Over-Year Percent Change
20

200

Peak: July 2006

175

15

150

10

125

5

100
0

75

-5

50

Change in Home Price, Year-Over-Year (L)

-10

Home Price Index (R)

25

-15
1987 1989 1991 1993 1995 1997 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013

0

Source: S&P/Case-Shiller (Haver Analytics).

Figure 1.2. Real Home Price Index, 1890–2013
Great Depression
and World War II

Index (1890 = 100)
200

2000s
Boom

180
160
140
120
100
80
60

1890

1900

1910

1920

1930

1940

1950

1960

1970

1980

1990

2000

Source: Robert J. Shiller, http://robertshiller.com.
Note: Index is based on inflation-adjusted sale prices of standard existing homes, not new construction, to track the
value of housing as an investment over time.

2010

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

9

Several factors contributed to the run-up in housing prices. One was low interest rates: in
July 2003, the federal funds rate declined to 1.01 percent, its lowest level in 45 years, while
in June 2003, the Freddie Mac 30-year conventional mortgage rate fell to 5.21 percent, the
lowest level in the 32-year history of the Primary Mortgage Market Survey. This prolonged
period of low rates after the 1991–1992 recession made mortgages less expensive, thus
increasing demand, and, with increased demand, house prices began rising. Another factor
in the price run-up was the origination of mortgage products that increased demand by
enabling less-creditworthy borrowers to qualify for mortgages (see the box titled “Types of
Mortgage Products”). Financial institutions, including a number of large thrifts, investment
banks, and commercial banking organizations, acted as originators of subprime and Alt-A
mortgages and also as underwriters and issuers of securitizations backed by these loans.6
A third factor in driving up prices was the influx of investors into the housing market:
drawn by the expectation of future house price appreciation, investors bought homes for
investment gain, not residence. All of this was consistent with Case and Shiller’s description
of a housing bubble. “The notion of a bubble,” they write, “is really defined in terms of
people’s thinking: their expectations about future price increases, their theories about the
risk of falling prices, and their worries about being priced out of the housing market in the
future if they do not buy.”7
As interest costs fell and, in response, the demand for mortgages increased, the funding
for mortgages increased significantly, allowing lenders to offer credit to more borrowers.
Behind this increase in funding were (1) a heavy demand of investors worldwide for highly
rated assets with high yields, and (2) the satisfaction of that demand through the mortgage
securitization process, which allowed the financialization of mortgage assets.8
The heavy worldwide demand for safe assets was brought about by an increase in global
savings. This glut of global savings reflected many factors, including the buildup of foreign
exchange reserves in emerging market economies and the aging populations in industrial
economies (retirees have higher savings).9 The securitization process that served to satisfy
the worldwide demand involved the packaging of pools of mortgages into securities that
6

Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, The 2010 Mortgage Market Statistical Annual, vol. 2, 2010.

7

Case and Shiller, “Bubble in the Housing Market?,” 301.

8

As explained in the overview section, financialization of housing assets means that “illiquid real estate was
turned into a financial asset that could be traded more easily and therefore made it possible for investors
to participate in new and innovative ways.” Securitization is the process by which assets with generally
predictable cash flows and similar features are packaged into interest-bearing securities with marketable
investment characteristics. Investors buy the right to future cash flow, thus providing increased liquidity back
to the seller, who then has additional monies to lend. Over time, securitized assets have been created using
diverse types of collateral, including home mortgages, commercial mortgages, mobile home loans, leases,
and installment contracts on personal property. The most common securitized product is the mortgagebacked security (MBS).

9

Ben Bernanke, “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit,” remarks at the Sandridge
Lecture, Virginia Association of Economists, Richmond, VA, March 10, 2005, https://www.federalreserve.
gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/200503102/.

10

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

could be sold to institutional and individual investors as a way to transfer risk among
investors; the investors received rights to cash flows of the underlying mortgage pools.
The relatively illiquid mortgage asset could be quickly bought or sold in the market
without the asset’s price being affected, and innovations in finance supplied different types
of assets with different risk profiles to suit different investor requirements, not only the
need for safety. Securitization, which came to dominate mortgage funding, was the vehicle
by which global savings contributed to the decline in longer-term interest rates and, in
addition, helped finance the U.S. residential market (investment in MBS increased the
liquidity available for financing additional mortgages, as explained in the next section).

The Foundations of the Mortgage Crisis

Just when the increased liquidity provided by securitization allowed lenders to offer credit
to more borrowers, the rapid increase in home prices reduced affordability—but also
fed buyer interest in purchasing a home (either to own or to turn a profit) before prices
rose further. Lenders, competing to attract customers and to meet the financing needs of
prospective homebuyers, diversified their mortgage offerings and eased lending standards.
Both of these practices—offering nontraditional mortgages and the relaxation of lending
standards (see the box titled “Types of Mortgage Products”)—helped homebuyers bridge
the affordability gap and facilitated lending to less-creditworthy borrowers.
Accommodating borrowers was made easier by the mortgage securitization system.
Banks and other mortgage originators originated loans, then distributed them by
selling them in the secondary loan market; the purchasers of the loans were mortgage
securitizers, who paid the originators, or lenders, high fees for mortgages; and the high
fees created incentives for lenders to fill the securitization pipeline by relaxing lending
standards and in some cases by aggressively marketing mortgages. The securitization
process is described in more detail below, in the section “Mortgage Securitization.” This
“originate to distribute” model led to a rise in predatory lending that targeted a wide
spectrum of consumers who might not have understood the embedded risks but used
the loans to close the affordability gap. In the end (see the next section, “The Housing
Market Collapse”), the originate-to-distribute model, with the misaligned interests of
all parties, undermined responsibility and accountability for the long-term viability
of mortgages and mortgage-related securities and contributed to the poor quality of
mortgage loans and, ultimately, to the riskiness of the securities backed by the loans.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

Types of Mortgage Products

Mortgages fall into two broad categories: prime and nonprime. Prime loans are
issued to borrowers whose more pristine credit is considered most creditworthy.
Such borrowers receive the best rate. Nonprime is the generic term for loans whose
mortgage interest rates are substantially higher than the prevailing prime rate. The
two types of nonprime loans are subprime and Alternative-A, or Alt-A.
Subprime loans are higher-interest loans that involve elevated credit risk and
are generally viewed as higher risk. Alt-A mortgages are made to borrowers with
credit ranging from very good to marginal, but they are made under expanded
underwriting guidelines that make these loans higher risk and also higher interest.
When strong home price appreciation and declining affordability helped drive up
the demand of borrowers for mortgage products that would allow them to stretch
their home-buying dollars, lenders—flush with mortgage credit—accommodated
by offering nontraditional (alternative) mortgage products. Nontraditional
mortgage loans have some features that differ from a plain-vanilla prime loan.
Among the nontraditional mortgages originated during the boom were interestonly mortgages (IOs), adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) with flexible payment
options (option ARMs, or payment-option mortgages), simultaneous secondlien or piggyback mortgages, and no-documentation or low-documentation
loans. IO and payment-option loans were specifically designed to minimize
initial mortgage payments by eliminating or relaxing the requirement to repay
principal during the early years of the loan. Piggyback mortgages were a lending
arrangement in which either a closed-end second lien or a home equity line of
credit was originated at the same time as the first-lien mortgage loan to take the
place of a larger down payment. In no-documentation or low-documentation
loans, the documentation standards for verifying a borrower’s income sources or
financial assets were reduced or minimal.
Any of these loans—prime, subprime, nontraditional—could be structured as
an adjustable rate mortgage. ARMs have an interest rate and payment that change
periodically over the life of the loan, the changes being based on changes in a specific
index. In addition, there are hybrid ARMs and option ARMs. The former, also
known as short-term hybrids, have an initial fixed rate for two or three years and
then turn into an adjustable rate loan with an annual adjustment in rate or payment
or both. The option ARMs allow borrowers to set their own payment terms on a
monthly basis. The borrower could, for example, make a minimum payment lower
than the amount needed to cover interest; or pay only interest, deferring payment
of principal; or make payments calculated to have the loan amortize in 15 or 30
years. Interest typically was reset every month, and interest payments that were
deferred were added to principal through negative amortization.
continued

11

12

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Problems escalated when risk layering occurred—that is, when a loan combined
several risky features. An example of such a loan was a subprime hybrid ARM:
a variable-rate loan offered to a subprime borrower, with an initial rate that was
probably quite low (to tease the borrower in) but that after a short period increased
to monthly payments that were often unaffordable. Another example was a nonamortizing interest-only mortgage made to a borrower on the basis of little or no
documentation to validate the borrower’s income or assets. When risk layering
occurred, products grew in complexity, and the total risk was heightened.

Among the new, nontraditional mortgage offerings, many were structured as
adjustable rate loans, not fixed rate. More than three-fourths of the subprime mortgages
that were originated during the period 2003 through 2007 were short-term hybrids
(the interest rate is fixed for the first couple of years and then becomes adjustable and
benchmarked to short-term rates).10 Most Alt-A loans were also adjustable rate loans, as
were most option adjustable rate mortgages. Option ARMs, as noted, offered borrowers
the choice of making full payments, interest-only payments, or minimum payments that
were less than the interest due. About 94 percent of option ARM borrowers made only
the minimum monthly payment, creating negative amortization.11 Like the subprime
short-term hybrid mortgages, ARM loans had interest rates that were fixed for the
first couple of years but then were benchmarked to the LIBOR rate.12 Under the more
relaxed underwriting standards at the time, many borrowers qualified for adjustable
rate mortgages based only on their ability to pay the low initial monthly payments as
determined under the introductory teaser rate. Hence, their ability to afford the mortgage
after the teaser rate expired was predicated on their ability to refinance the mortgage
before the higher payments became effective.
The ability to refinance—counted on by many investors, homebuyers, and originators—
depended critically on house prices. As long as house prices were rising, lenders were
generally willing to supply new funds with new terms. And even after house prices at the
national level peaked, in mid-2006, housing market participants generally did not expect
house prices to crash. After all, the United States had not experienced large nationwide
declines in house prices since the Great Depression. In mid-2006, some observers saw the
10

Christopher J. Mayer, Karen M. Pence, and Shane M. Sherlund, “The Rise in Mortgage Defaults,” Federal
Reserve Board Finance and Economics Discussion Series 59 (2008): 5, https://www.federalreserve.gov/pubs/
feds/2008/200859/200859pap.pdf.

11

Austin Kilgore, “Subprime Problems Persist, as Alt-A, Option ARM Crisis Brews,” HousingWire, January 11,
2010, https://www.housingwire.com/articles/6208-subprime-problems-persist-alt-option-arm-crisis-brews.

12

LIBOR stands for the London interbank offered rate; this rate is set daily and is the interest rate at which
banks offer to lend funds to one another in the international interbank market.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

13

turning point (identified as such only in retrospect) as nothing more than a correction,
not the presage of a precipitous decline:
With interest rates rising and speculative demand cooling,
the housing boom is coming under pressure … As long as the
economy continues to create jobs and builders trim production
to match slowing demand, house prices will keep climbing and
the housing sector will likely achieve a soft landing. Although
house price growth will likely moderate in many areas, sharp
drops in house prices are unlikely anytime soon. Major house
price declines seldom occur in the absence of severe overbuilding,
major job loss, or a combination of heavy overbuilding and
modest job loss. Fortunately, these preconditions are nowhere in
evidence across the nation’s metropolitan areas.13
In hindsight, optimism in the housing market outlook in mid-2006 was based on a
major misreading of the market. Pressures had already been building against further
house price appreciation. In 2004, the Federal Reserve had started to tighten monetary
policy by raising the target federal funds rate in response to the increasing pace of
economic activity. Nevertheless, through 2005 and into 2006, despite the rise in interest
rates, a continuing flow of funds into the mortgage market maintained the easy credit
conditions and, even as the housing market expansion began to slow, homeowners
remained able to refinance. However, in 2006, with interest rates rising and (as shown in
Figure 1.3) house prices beginning to decline, homeowners whose mortgage payments
were indexed to interest rates were unable to refinance. Many homeowners and housing
investors were stuck with homes they could neither afford nor sell. Thus, the stage was
set for increasing numbers of delinquencies, defaults, and foreclosures.

The Housing Market Collapse

According to the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), one of the first signs of the
impending collapse was an increase in the number of early payment defaults—defined as
occurring when a borrower becomes more than 60 days delinquent within the first year
of a mortgage. Defaults on subprime and Alt-A mortgages began to rise in late 2005. As
house prices declined further, default rates on higher-quality mortgages also rose, as shown
in Figure 1.4. By mid-2010, almost one out of every ten mortgage loans was past due, with
almost 30 percent of subprime ARM borrowers and almost 14 percent of prime ARM
borrowers in delinquency.14 In addition, the decline in house prices resulted in negative
13

Joint Center for Housing Studies, “Affordability Problems Escalating Even as Housing Market Cools. 2006
State of the Nation’s Housing Report Is Released,” Press Release, Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School
of Government, June 13, 2006.

14

Mortgage Bankers Association, “Delinquencies and Foreclosure Starts Decrease in Latest MBA National

14

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

equity for many homeowners who had bought homes with little or no down payment.
These homeowners were underwater on their mortgages (i.e., the value of the outstanding
mortgage exceeded the value of the home). The share of underwater homeowners out of
all homeowners with a mortgage rose drastically as, eventually, house prices at the national
level declined more than 30 percent from their peak—and in some areas of the country,
they fell more than 50 percent. By 2010, more than 12 million homeowners—about 1 in 4
with a mortgage—owed more than their homes were worth.15
Figure 1.3. Home Sales and Home Price Index, 2000–2013
S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Index

Existing Home Sales
Thousands of units

National Index Value 2000 = 100, NSA

8,000

200
Existing Home Sales (L)

7,000

Home Price Index (R)

175

6,000

150

5,000

125

4,000

100

3,000

75

2,000
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

50

Sources: S&P/Case-Shiller and National Association of Realtors (Haver Analytics).

Of the players linked in the securitization chain, one of the earliest to feel the effects
of the downturn in housing prices was mortgage originators, for which subprime loans
represented a significant portion of revenue and assets. As subprime loan originations
plummeted from 20 percent of total mortgage production in 2006 to 8 percent in 2007,16
subprime originators faltered. By the spring of 2008, with the failure of many subprime
originators (including top lenders Countrywide Financial Corporation and Ameriquest
Mortgage Company), the U.S. subprime mortgage industry had essentially collapsed.
Delinquency Survey,” August 26, 2010, https://www.mba.org/x73818.
15

CoreLogic, CoreLogic® Equity Report, 4Q 2013 (2014), 8.

16

Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, The 2010 Mortgage Market Statistical Annual (2010), vol. 1, 2010.

15

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

Figure 1.4. Mortgage Loans Past Due, by Type of Loan, 2000–2013
Percent
35
30

All Loans
Conventional Prime ARM
Conventional Subprime

25

Conventional Subprime ARM

20
15
10
5
0
2000

2001

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

Source: Mortgage Bankers Association (Haver Analytics).

From the Mortgage Crisis to a Financial Crisis (2008)
The ramifications of the mortgage crisis went far beyond mortgage originators, as the
securitization chain also involved (among others) mortgage servicers, underwriters,
guarantors, and securitizers. The chain stretched across many players from depository
institutions to investment firms, with interconnections that were extensive and opaque,
and risks that were magnified by the increased use of financial leverage in a generally
deregulatory climate. Because of the high interconnectedness within the financial
system, the collapse of the subprime mortgage industry undermined the securitization
system itself and the financial markets.
The central element of the securitization chain, as has been noted, was pools of
mortgage-backed securities. But the pivotal role played by these securities depended on
the assurance investors received from rating agencies that these securities were priced
appropriately for the risk they contained—and as mortgages defaulted, the MBS and
securities derived from them had to be downgraded. Firms that were heavily invested in
such securities and at the same time highly leveraged were caught in a vise, and even the
reputations of the rating agencies themselves were tarnished.

16

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Mortgage Securitization

The securitization process was a way to pool individual mortgages into a bond, that
is, a security, to be sold to investors. The resulting mortgage-backed security was often
carved into different pieces, or tranches, with a range of risk and return to appeal to
investors’ differing appetites. Investors bought the tranche(s) that served their needs.
The senior tranches were the highest rated and were considered to have the lowest risk
and the highest priority for payment. The equity tranches were the lowest tranches; they
had the highest return but also the highest risk because they would be the first to lose
money if mortgage loan borrowers defaulted.
Historically, securitization for the mortgage market was provided primarily by Fannie
Mae and Freddie Mac, which are Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs) created by
Congress to provide the U.S. housing market with liquidity, stability, and affordability.17
Fannie and Freddie, private companies at the time of the boom,18 purchase and securitize
mortgages, selling the securitized mortgages to outside investors and holding some
mortgages and MBS as investments. With the housing market heating up, however, nonagency (or private label) securitization activity—until then a relatively small share of
the market—ramped up to exceed the securitization activity of the GSEs. Figure 1.5,
showing MBS issuance from 1990 to 2013, displays the striking rise in the volume of
private label MBS issued beginning in 2002. Private label MBS doubled in dollar volume
from 2003 to 2005, increasing to over half of total MBS issuance in 2005 and 2006.
The increase in private label securitization activity, which involved many different types
of firms within the financial system, created tremendous capacity for new mortgages. To
fill the pipeline, as noted above, mortgage originators began to lower credit standards or
ease documentation requirements or both. One result was that mortgage pools became
more risky. In an attempt to generate securities that were low risk, financial institutions
turned to creative re-securitizations by securitizing the tranches of risky mortgage
securities into higher-rated securities. (The fundamental assumption was that although
all the tranches were backed by risky mortgages, some of the mortgages would pay out,
and as long as they did, they would satisfy the payments needed to pass through to the
newly securitized higher-rated security.) Ultimately, however, despite the higher ratings,
the securities proved very risky—and at the end, defaults were so large and so numerous
that the payment stream to these securities dried up.
The basic security—the mortgage-backed security—became the building block of
more-complex products, as MBS themselves were re-securitized into securities and sold
to investors as well as traded among the financial institutions that created them.19 For
17

Fannie’s formal name is Federal National Mortgage Association (FNMA). Freddie’s is Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation (FHLMC).

18

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were put into government conservatorship in September 2008. This is covered
in more detail below, in the section “Institutions in Crisis in 2008.”

19

A financial “product” is an instrument that involves moving money from one party to another. Thus, the

17

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

example, lower-rated MBS were repackaged into collateralized debt obligations (CDOs).
Like MBS, CDOs were issued in tranches that varied in risk and had ratings that ranged
from high to low,20 with investors in the lowest rated of these securities being exposed to
the highest risk. In this manner, mortgage risk appeared to be further diversified. Adding
to the perceived reduction of risk were credit default swaps (CDS), which provided
investors with insurance against losses on MBS, as explained in the next section.
Figure 1.5. Issuance of Mortgage-Backed Securities, 1990–2013
Billions of Dollars
3,000
2,500

Private-Label
Fannie Mae
Freddie Mac
Ginnie Mae

2,000
1,500
1,000
500
0
1990

1992

1994

1996

1998

2000

2002

2004

2006

2008

2010

2012

Source: Inside MBS & ABS, Inside Mortgage Finance.
Reprinted with permission. Inside Mortgage Finance Publications, Inc. www.insidemortgagefinance.com.

Another source of risk was a technique, also involving MBS, that banking companies
often used to increase their leverage without running afoul of regulatory requirements.
They would retain MBS in structured investment vehicles (SIVs), which were highly
leveraged entities held by banking companies but which, as separate legal entities,
were off the banks’ balance sheets and were therefore not subject to regulatory capital
requirements, even if a SIV’s parent holding company was under federal supervision.
SIVs were designed to generate cash flows by issuing short- to medium-term debt—
including asset-backed commercial paper21—at a low interest rate to raise funds that the
term can refer equally to a simple loan or a complex security. A home equity line of credit is a financial
product, and so are collateralized debt obligations, which are securities made up of repackaged MBS.
20

FCIC, Final Report, 127–29, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/fcic_final_report_full.
pdf.

21

Asset-backed commercial paper is a short-term promissory note whose repayment is backed by cash flows

18

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

institution could invest in longer-term assets, such as MBS. SIVs were first established in
1988 and remained relatively unscathed during pre-2007 periods of financial distress. By
2007, there were 36 SIVs and, between 2004 and 2007, the total assets held in SIVs had
tripled to $400 billion,22 meaning that SIVs had come to have substantial exposure to the
mortgage market. The exposure would lead to their demise.
In sum, by generating a variety of complex financial products based on pools of
mortgages, private label securitizers created within the financial system an additional
level of complexity, opacity, and interconnectedness. Investment entities and financial
institutions were heavily involved in securitizing and underwriting MBS, investing in
derivatives, and generally creating and investing in new financial products.23 But the
opacity of these instruments and activities masked the underlying systemic risk, which
derived both from the riskiness of the mortgages backing the securities and from the
highly leveraged nature of many of the institutions involved. Investment banks (part of the
shadow banking system) were not subject to the types of restrictions on the use of financial
leverage that banks were subject to, and were therefore able to expand their balance sheets
by increasing leverage to a greater extent than federally supervised banks were allowed
to.24 Finally, although the deep interconnectedness among investment entities and financial
institutions spread risks across the securitization chain, it also created conflicts of interest
within the chain: originators and underwriters (at the front of the chain) were not acting in
the best interest of the investors and bondholders (at the end of the chain).25

The Role of Rating Agencies and the Devastating Effect of Downgrades

During the years when subprime losses were materializing, one group critical to the entire
mortgage-based investment process was credit rating agencies. Credit rating agencies
assign credit ratings to a variety of financial institutions and financial assets, and during
the period in question, the agencies were rating MBS. The reason these ratings were critical
is that both investors and insurers of investment contracts relied on them. Investors relied
(and still rely) on credit ratings—particularly on those issued by one of the Nationally
from specific pools of assets such as trade receivables or mortgages. This commercial paper plays a prominent
role in the section below titled “Financial Market Disruptions.”
22

FCIC, Final Report, 252.

23

According to the FCIC, derivatives are financial contracts whose prices are derived from the performance
of an underlying asset, rate, index, or event. The use of derivatives grew significantly during the 2000s as a
way to ensure payment (losses due to price movement could be recouped through gains on the derivatives
contract). The resulting growth in leverage made financial institutions “vulnerable to financial distress or
ruin if the value of their investments declined even modestly” (ibid., xix, 45–51).

24

For a more detailed discussion of the shadow banking system and financial interconnections, see Zoltan
Pozsar et al., “Shadow Banking,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Staff Report 458 (2010), https://www.
newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/media/research/staff_reports/sr458.pdf.

25

International Monetary Fund, “Navigating the Financial Challenges Ahead,” Global Financial Stability
Report (2009), 77–115.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

19

Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs)26—to assess the credit quality of
their investments. Many investors (for example, pension funds) are required to adhere
to mandates on the quality distribution of assets they hold, and the quality distribution
is typically determined by the credit ratings from an NRSRO. In addition, credit rating
agency ratings are often used in investment contracts to protect investors against a
possible credit downgrade. For example, if investors bought AAA-rated securities (such
as mortgage derivatives) because they believed—on the basis of the rating—that the
securities were risk free, but the securities were subsequently downgraded, the contract
might have entitled the creditor to demand collateral from the debtor. Insurers, too,
relied on credit ratings when they started guaranteeing the AAA ratings of MBS, putting
their own reputation and financial strength on the line because of confidence in the
credit ratings issued by the agencies.
In 2007, subprime defaults were increasing, and the performance of MBS and other
structured financial products started deteriorating. According to Benmelech and
Dlugosz, deterioration in the credit ratings of such products began likewise in 2007. In
that year, there were more than 8,000 downgrades, eight times the number in 2006.27
In the first three quarters of 2008, there were almost 40,000 downgrades, far exceeding
the cumulative number of downgrades for the period 2000 through 2007. Moreover,
the magnitude of the downgrades—the number of levels, or “notches,” by which
each rating was lowered—became much more severe in 2007. In 2005 and 2006, the
average downgrade each year was 2.5 notches, but in 2007 the average downgrade was
4.7 notches, and in 2008 it was 5.6 notches.28 The sharp increase in the number and
severity of downgrades was devastating for the holders of the securities affected, for the
reputation of the rating agencies themselves, and for insurers.
The holders of the securities found that their previously AAA-rated investments—the
highest rated, considered the safest of investments—had become unmarketable.29 Under
mark-to-market accounting rules, institutions that held these now-unmarketable mortgagebacked bonds had to write them down.30 Investor demand plummeted and securitization
activity dropped precipitously. Private label securitization—which, as noted, had provided
much of the funding for new mortgages—continued dropping until, in 2008, it virtually
disappeared. As a result, many underwriters were stuck holding large portfolios of mortgages
and MBS that could not be sold and were quickly losing value. This downturn would have
significant implications for the financial markets, as discussed in the next two sections.
26

NRSROs are credit rating agencies registered as such with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

27

Efraim Benmelech and Jennifer Dlugosz, “The Credit Rating Crisis,” NBER Macroeconomics Annual 2009 24
(2010): 172.

28

Ibid., 170.

29

Carl Levin, Hearing of the U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, “Wall Street and the
Financial Crisis: The Role of Credit Rating Agencies,” Opening Statement, April 23, 2010, 4.

30

FCIC, Final Report, 227–30.

20

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Among the many reasons mentioned above for the puncturing of the housing
bubble was new pricing information that contributed to the decline in MBS values.
Gorton makes an important point about the role that information about the MBS
market played in puncturing the housing and mortgage-backed securities bubble. He
observes that information about the pricing of residential mortgage-backed securities
was not commonly available in real time until the ABX index was introduced, at the
start of 2006.31 The ABX index measures the value of subprime mortgages. He states,
“The introduction of these indices is important for two reasons. First, they provided
a transparent price of subprime risk, albeit with liquidity problems. Second, [the
transparent price of subprime risk] allowed for [the efficient] shorting of the subprime
market,”32 enabling investors to hedge their positions. As seen in Figure 1.6, new vintages
in 2007 declined sharply upon issuance. Gorton states that “it is not clear whether the
housing price bubble was burst by the ability to short the subprime housing market or
whether house prices were going down and the implications of this were aggregated
and revealed by the ABX indices.”33 Regardless, he makes a compelling case that the
ABX index provided transparency for the pricing information on subprime MBS,
revealing deterioration and playing an important role in the decline of house prices, as
investors pulled out of the housing market.
As financial stress continued and investors increasingly questioned the credibility of
the credit ratings, the reputation of rating agencies declined. As they kept downgrading
MBS and CDOs, it became apparent that the high ratings previously assigned to these
securities had been overstated and were overly optimistic. Part of the problem was that
the models used by credit rating agencies were based on more traditional mortgage
products than the ones in the market at the time and on historic data that did not cover
an episode of a nationwide downturn. The data covered the recent period characterized
by low delinquency and default rates, and housing downturns that were concentrated
in just some states. The models did not account for the risk scenario of a massive,
nationwide decline in home prices.34 Another part of the problem was that financial
institutions that issue securities paid rating agencies to rate their products, and the
institutions typically shopped around for favorable ratings. Many observers have noted
that the desire to retain business encouraged credit rating agencies to provide securities
ratings that were agreeable to the issuing institutions.35
31

The ABX index is a financial benchmark that references 20 equally weighted residential mortgage-backed
security tranches. There are also sub-indexes for bonds based on their rating level: AAA, AA, A, BBB, and
BBB–. The “vintage” of an ABX index refers to the date it was introduced.

32

Gary Gorton, “The Subprime Panic,” European Financial Management 15, no. 1 (January 2009): 32.

33

Ibid., 34.

34

Markus K. Brunnermeier, “Deciphering the Liquidity and Credit Crunch 2007–2008,” Journal of Economic
Perspectives 23, no. 1 (Winter 2009): 81, http://pubs.aeaweb.org/doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.23.1.77.

35

See, for example, Simon Johnson and James Kwak, Thirteen Bankers (2010), 139.

21

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

The rating downgrades also affected monoline insurers, companies whose single line
of business was to guarantee financial products and whose role in the mortgage market
had increased during the years leading up to the financial crisis. Monoline insurers
traditionally insured municipal bonds against default, but during the years preceding
the financial crisis, they started to insure mortgage securities, issuing CDS that insured
against declines in the price of CDOs and MBS. As noted above, this insurance
guaranteed the AAA ratings on these securities. The value of the guarantee was based
on the AAA status of the insurer.
Figure 1.6. Mortgage Credit Default Swap ABX Indexes
ABX Index 7-1 Series Price
100

80

60

40

AAA
AA
A

20

0
1/19/2007

BBB
BBB-

5/19/2007

9/19/2007

1/19/2008

5/19/2008

9/19/2008

Source: Bloomberg.
Note: The 7-1 series started January 1, 2007.

As mortgage CDO and CDS issuances grew, investment banks created synthetic
CDOs. These synthetic CDOs referenced mortgage securities but were not actually
backed by them or by mortgage assets. Instead, they were backed by credit default swaps.
In essence they reflected bets on the mortgage market—bets that increased leverage in
the system without actually financing mortgages (see the box titled “CDOs and CDS”).
Weakness in the mortgage markets challenged the profitability of monoline insurers,
and the challenge to the insurers’ profitability worried holders of CDS guarantees.
Because many insurers did not expect to incur losses, they were thinly capitalized. In
late 2007, one of the smaller insurers, ACA, reported a net loss of $1.7 billion due to

22

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

losses on CDS contracts.36 In January 2008, Fitch Ratings downgraded monoline insurer
Ambac, and rating agencies then began downgrading other monoline insurers; the
downgrades continued through the end of the summer. In June of that year, Standard
and Poor’s downgraded monoline bond insurer MBIA, which at that time was liable for
$2.9 billion to satisfy potential termination payments and for approximately $4.5 billion
in underlying collateral.37 Markets reacted by selling MBS, CDOs, and related securities,
and the stock prices of monoline insurers (as well as of other financial institutions that
were exposed to mortgage securities) continued to decline.

CDOs and CDS

Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) and Credit Default Swaps (CDS) played
integral roles in spreading and amplifying the risk of the mortgage market
throughout the financial system.
CDOs were a type of mortgage asset structured from lower-rated tranches of
MBS tranches that were individually difficult to sell to investors, who demanded
highly rated securities. CDOs were structured to further diversify the risk of a given
pool of lower-rated tranches of MBS, on the assumption that payments would flow
from some of the MBS tranches, even if other tranches were to bear losses. CDOs
were structured like MBS, with a waterfall of payments going first to the AAArated tranche. About 80 percent of the tranches of these CDOs were highly rated,
despite the fact that their value was based on lower-rated tranches of MBS. Lowerrated tranches of CDOs were further bundled and packaged into new CDOs, called
CDO squared. The CDO process exposed risk not only to CDO investors but to the
securities firms that issued CDOs, as they held the lower-rated MBS tranches until
the CDO was issued. The risk was further spread throughout the financial system
as these securities were used as collateral in short-term funding markets.
In addition, key financial institutions issued CDS to insure against losses on
MBS, CDOs, and other mortgage securities. CDS were a type of financial contract
in which the issuer retained the risk of default and paid the CDS purchaser in the
event of default. The CDS served as insurance to the purchaser, who did not need
to own the security. CDS issuance ramped up along with the rise of CDOs and
other mortgage securities. CDS issuance was profitable as long as the mortgage
market remained strong and the insured mortgage securities were considered low
risk. By providing insurance against losses on mortgage securities, CDS furthered
continued

36

FCIC, Final Report, 276.

37

FCIC, “Credit Ratings and the Financial Crisis,” Preliminary Staff Report, (2010) 8, http://fcic-static.law.
stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/2010-0602-Credit-Ratings.pdf.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

23

the perception of the safety of the system and perpetuated investor demand for
what were, in fact, precarious mortgage securities.
Synthetic CDOs consisted of CDS that referenced MBS and CDOs without
containing cash flows from these mortgage securities. Since they only referenced
mortgage securities, synthetic CDOs did not directly finance mortgage issuance,
but enabled investors to speculate on the mortgage market. For example, "short"
synthetic CDO investors who bought a CDS agreement on a referenced CDO paid
premiums to the CDO and received payment from the CDO if the referenced
CDO did not perform. "Unfunded long" synthetic CDO investors who bought a
CDS agreement on a referenced CDO received premiums if the referenced CDO
performed, but had to pay out if it did not perform.
The financial system aimed to diversify mortgage risk by creating new highly
rated mortgage securities to meet investor demand. The demand for highly
rated mortgage securities further supported mortgage issuance. Ultimately, the
performance of the different tranches of the MBS securities upon which CDOs and
CDS were based, were highly correlated. When MBS losses mounted, the losses
were amplified throughout the financial system.
Source: FCIC, Final Report, Chapter 8.

Financial Market Disruptions: Illiquidity and Fire Sales

As financial distress spread across the securitization chain, the ripple effects from the
troubles in the housing market began to reach deeper into the financial system. Uncertainty
over collateral value, asset quality and asset liquidity, and counterparty creditworthiness
caused a rapid withdrawal of short-term liquidity, especially in the shadow banking
system (see second paragraph below). Illiquidity, on top of high leverage, forced firms to
engage in asset fire sales, which depressed asset prices even further. 38
With so much of short-term lending based on collateral composed of now-discredited
structured products, the market completely shut down. Some nonbank entities were able
to obtain liquidity support for their mortgage-related assets from their banking affiliates,
which had access to Federal Reserve liquidity facilities.39 For financial institutions with
38

Brunnermeier, “Deciphering Liquidity,” 77–100.

39

When market liquidity dried up during the crisis, concerns about financial stability prompted the Federal
Reserve to grant exemptions to Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act, which limit transactions
between banks and their nonbank affiliates such as broker-dealers and insurance companies. The 23A
and 23B restrictions are intended to limit the exposure of a bank to its nonbank affiliates (a bank is
regulated, protected by FDIC deposit insurance, and allowed access to Federal Reserve liquidity facilities;
a nonbank affiliate is not). The exemptions allowed bank holding companies to obtain liquidity for their
nonbank subsidiaries from bank subsidiaries that could access the Federal Reserve’s liquidity facilities. See
U.S. Government Accountability Office, Government Support for Bank Holding Companies, GAO-14-18,

24

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

limited access to funding markets, the only way to raise collateral was by selling assets
at steep discounts, but these fire-sale prices were then used to mark-to-market similar
assets, beginning another round of fire sales. These market disruptions caused distress in
the financial system, particularly in the shadow banking system.
The shadow banking system consists of broker-dealers, money market mutual funds
(MMFs), hedge funds, insurance companies, and other nondepository financial institutions
(including investment banks) that match short-term investor cash with longer-term assets.
The complex web of financial linkages among these entities was an important channel
for propagating the mortgage crisis. These entities, as well as banks, relied heavily on
short-term funding, which they accessed through a variety of instruments that were based
in some way on MBS or the underlying mortgages.40 Two examples of such short-term
funding vehicles are repurchase agreements (repos) and commercial paper.
Repos are contracts under which the repo holder (a hedge fund, for example) sells
securities to another financial firm (an MMF, for example) with the agreement to buy
back the securities at a later date (usually overnight), typically at a higher price. In effect,
repos are short-term, collateralized loans. Commercial paper is a short-term, unsecured
promissory note. Asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP) is a short-term promissory
note for which payment is based on cash flows from securitizations or the underlying
assets. Institutions that rely on repos and commercial paper can continue to roll over
both of these short-term instruments as long as the demand for them is strong, but cash
providers can withdraw funding very quickly by refusing to roll over the agreements.41
In the period leading up to the financial crisis, broker-dealers and hedge funds relied
heavily on repos for funding, and many more financial institutions relied on the issuance
of commercial paper.42 On the demand side were MMFs, which invest in short-term debt
securities with funding from investors seeking a safe, deposit-like asset. MMFs were a
large and, before the crisis, steady source of demand for the repos and commercial paper
that other types of financial firms were issuing in their need for short-term funding.
Since MMFs offer their investors a stable net asset value of one dollar per share regardless
of the value of the underlying assets, they seek to invest in safe assets. Short-term debt
securities issued by investment banks were considered safe, and MMFs held them.
In the summer of 2007, as mortgage defaults rose and the value of MBS fell, demand
for the short-term instruments rapidly declined. Cash providers no longer wanted to
enter into repos collateralized by MBS, fearing that if the other party to the contract (the
November 2013, https://www.gao.gov/assets/660/659004.pdf.
40

Martin Baily, Robert Litan, and Matthew Johnson, “The Origins of the Financial Crisis,” Initiative on Business
and Public Policy at Brookings (2008), 27–31, https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/11_
origins_crisis_baily_litan.pdf.

41

Gary Gorton, “Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand: Banking and the Panic of 2007,” Federal Reserve
Bank of Atlanta 2009 Financial Markets Conference: Financial Innovation and Crisis, 30, http://citeseerx.ist.
psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.189.1320&rep=rep1&type=pdf.

42

Pozsar et al., “Shadow Banking,” 35.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

25

counterparty) defaulted, they would be left holding an asset with a declining value. As for
ABCP, since it was based on the cash flow from underlying mortgages and MBS, it was
suddenly seen as more risky than before. Eventually, many banking companies with offbalance-sheet SIVs—which financed MBS and mortgage purchases by issuing ABCP—
were forced to bring these entities onto their own balance sheets to prevent the entities’
insolvency and the legal and reputational damage that could result from default.43
In late 2007 the ABCP market collapsed, and in 2008 a number of hedge funds and SIVs
were forced to liquidate their portfolios, having become unable to roll over short-term
debt. In the course of 2007 and into 2008, SIV balance sheets had continued to weaken,
and liquidity had become a major issue. For highly leveraged institutions like SIVs and
hedge funds, steep markdowns of assets under mark-to-market rules initiated increased
margin and collateral calls. Because of the general opacity of SIVs, the increased calls on
some SIVs prompted investor withdrawal from other, potentially safer SIVs.
During the crisis, with illiquidity crippling the financial system, distress was
exacerbated by the high level of leverage present in many financial institutions. Higher
leverage amplifies gains when the assets bought with the borrowed money increase in
value, but it also magnifies losses when the value of the assets declines.44
Leveraged investors are required to hold some minimum level of cash or collateral
with a broker institution to guard against losses. Financial institutions purchased assets
on margin, holding the minimum level of cash or collateral that was required and
borrowing most of the funds needed to purchase assets. As noted, the higher the margin,
the higher the profits from a rise in the asset price—but the larger the losses from a price
decline. For example, a financial institution that purchases $100 in assets with $10 of its
own capital and $90 of borrowed funds has a leverage ratio of 10 and has purchased the
asset at a 10 percent margin. If the value of the asset falls to $90, the firm realizes a $10
loss and has no capital remaining. If the price falls below $90, the firm needs to sell assets
to meet its margin requirement of 10 percent.
As securities fall in value and losses mount, the leveraged investor is required to
provide more cash or sell a portion of the securities. Highly leveraged firms may have
less access to cash and be more likely to experience collateral calls or funding outflows.
If many leveraged firms must meet these calls all at the same time and are forced to
raise capital by selling assets whose prices are declining, the supply of assets for sale may
increase enough to drive the price down even further. This additional drop may trigger
additional margin and collateral calls.
In 2007, the markdowns of assets by highly leveraged institutions caused increased
margin and collateral calls, which started a vicious cycle of falling prices and fire sales.
43

Baily, Litan, and Johnson, “Origins,” 29. For a table describing the outcomes for the major structured
investment vehicles, see Gary Gorton, “The Panic of 2007,” NBER Working Paper 14358 (2008), appendix B,
http://www.nber.org/papers/w14358.pdf.

44

FCIC, Final Report, xix.

26

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

According to the FCIC, in that year the major investment banks—Bear Stearns, Goldman
Sachs, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley—were operating with a
leverage ratio as high as 40.45 This ratio indicates the magnitude of the effect that asset
price declines had on the balance sheets of major financial institutions precisely when
short-term funding dried up.

Institutions in Crisis in 2008

As described above, concerns over the exposure of financial institutions to MBS grew
during 2007 and into 2008, and large banks reported write-downs on mortgage products.
Starting third quarter 2007, major financial institutions—including two commercial
banks (Bank of America and Citigroup) and four investment banks (Bear Stearns,
Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, and Morgan Stanley)—began to report declines in net
earnings. Bear Stearns had substantial exposure to mortgages and mortgage products
beyond the two Bear Stearns-managed hedge funds that declared bankruptcy in 2007,
and investors grew increasingly concerned about the firm’s solvency. On March 12, 2008,
these concerns precipitated a run on the investment bank by its hedge fund clients and
other counterparties. The next day, the bank lost its ability to borrow in the repo market.
To avert panic among investors, the Federal Reserve coordinated the acquisition of Bear
Stearns by JPMorgan Chase—granting a $30 billion loan to JPMorgan to cover potential
losses on Bear’s asset portfolio.
In the ensuing months, a general lack of transparency in exposures to risky assets
greatly increased uncertainty over counterparty credit risk, and fears mounted over the
solvency of other major financial institutions.46
Throughout the summer of 2008, persistent declines in asset values continued
to weigh on financial institution balance sheets. Eventually, several major financial
institutions neared insolvency. Among them were the two giant GSEs, Fannie Mae and
Freddie Mac, which together held about $1.5 trillion in bonds outstanding. Finally, on
September 7, 2008, growing losses and ongoing deterioration in MBS prices prompted
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to put these two GSEs into federal conservatorship,
while explicitly guaranteeing all outstanding GSE securities.47
Within days, Lehman Brothers, another investment bank heavily exposed to MBS,
experienced funding problems similar to those Bear Stearns had experienced. Like Bear
Stearns, Lehman Brothers was not exceedingly large but was deeply interconnected with
other financial institutions. Concerned about Lehman’s solvency, investors withdrew
their funds, refused repo funding, and demanded more collateral on outstanding
45

Ibid. Here the leverage ratio is expressed as a 40 to 1 multiple, meaning that for every $40 in assets, there was
only $1 in capital to cover losses. In discussions of bank regulation, the leverage ratio is generally calculated
as a ratio of equity to assets.

46

Brunnermeier, “Deciphering Liquidity,” 96–98.

47

Ibid., 89.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

27

commitments. On September 15, 2008, unable to meet investor demand—and without
government assistance or the presence of an acquiring institution—Lehman Brothers
declared bankruptcy. Lehman’s failure triggered panic throughout the U.S. and global
financial systems. Coming on the heels of the previous stages of financial market
turbulence, the panic resulted in one of the most severe financial crises in U.S. history.
The ensuing panic was similar to previous financial panics in the sense that investors lost
confidence in the financial system. Unlike the previous ones, however, this one involved
a run on financial firms not by individual depositors but by other financial firms.48
When exposure to mortgage-backed securities and derivatives was spread throughout
the financial system, counterparties did not know where the risk was concentrated and
which institution would be next to fail. Widespread uncertainty over the solvency of
major financial institutions led investors to quickly withdraw their exposures to the
financial sector and to hoard cash. In turn, the withdrawal of exposures and the hoarding
of cash led to a general breakdown of intermediation—the “matching” of the funding
market to investors by an agent or third party, such as a bank. For creditors, it was much
easier and safer to withdraw their positions than to check the safety of their investments.
During the weeks after Lehman’s bankruptcy, the general perceived riskiness of private
lending to banks was reflected in a spike in interbank lending rates.49
The day after the Lehman bankruptcy, another highly interconnected institution—
the American Insurance Group (AIG)—also encountered an acute liquidity shortage.
Like the investment banks, AIG was heavily involved in the credit derivatives business,
particularly in selling CDS. AIG had issued tens of billions of dollars of CDS to insure
against declines in asset values. It had also written CDS to protect against default on
more than $440 billion of bonds. After Lehman declared bankruptcy, nervous investors
demanded additional collateral on AIG’s insurance and derivatives contracts. AIG did
not have the cash. The Federal Reserve quickly organized a rescue, providing an $85
billion loan in exchange for an 80 percent equity stake in the company.
After the Lehman bankruptcy, short-term funding markets, already stressed as
described above, nearly collapsed. MMFs were one market that experienced panic and a
run.50 Investor redemption requests on MMFs surged, causing a severe liquidity crisis. The
Reserve Primary Fund—an MMF that held debt securities issued by Lehman Brothers—
fell to 97 cents per share, becoming the first money market fund in 14 years to “break
the buck” by falling below $1 per share. This event spread panic throughout the MMF
48

Gary Gorton, “Questions and Answers about the Financial Crisis,” NBER Working Paper 15787 (February
2010), 2, http://www.nber.org/papers/w15787.pdf.

49

FCIC, Final Report, 355.

50

MMFs were historically perceived to be safe, liquid investment vehicles that were slightly higher-yielding
substitutes for bank deposits. However, unlike bank deposits, MMFs were not federally insured. MMFs
invested in short-term debt that typically included government securities, certificates of deposit, commercial
paper, repurchase agreements, or tax-exempt securities issued by state or local governments.

28

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

industry, prompting MMF investors to redeem their investments. For example, Putnam
Investments closed its $15 billion Prime Money Market Fund because of “significant
redemption pressure.”51 During the week when Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy,
MMF net outflows totaled $169 billion. These outflows caused MMF funding for shortterm debt to drop, affecting sectors that relied on the funding.
In some cases, the investment banks that sponsored MMFs stepped in to support
MMFs facing significant redemptions. The Reserve Primary Fund, however, did not
have a parent company that could provide support. Ultimately, the U.S. government
provided liquidity and guarantees to the entire MMF industry. The Federal Reserve
made liquidity available to money markets through two facilities, the Asset-Backed
Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility and the Money Market
Investor Funding Facility, to support the commercial paper market, to help MMFs meet
redemption requests, and to enhance money market investors’ willingness to invest in
money market instruments. In addition, the Treasury provided a temporary guarantee
for MMF shareholders. The guarantee lasted for one year and protected the shares of all
MMF investors for amounts that they held in participating MMFs. The Treasury did not
incur any losses under the program, and its actions helped stabilize the run on MMFs.52
For the several days that followed Lehman’s bankruptcy, investors’ panic continued
to permeate the financial markets and led to a more rapid deleveraging process to
reduce debt on balance sheets. The process exacerbated the declines in asset values and
spread them across all major financial markets. As noted above, the panic conditions
were sustained by the lack of liquidity and transparency with regard to the underlying
assets on institutions’ balance sheets. The panic led to the downfall of Washington
Mutual (WaMu)—a major thrift institution with total assets of $307 billion, an amount
that made it the largest bank failure in U.S. history. In the days after WaMu’s failure,
Wachovia experienced a liquidity crisis and the federal government was prepared to
provide assistance, but ultimately the bank was acquired by Wells Fargo without the
assistance being necessary. The panic persisted until the government implemented a
series of emergency measures to address the crisis (see chapter 2). Following WaMu’s
failure, other financial institutions became illiquid or neared insolvency but were
rescued or provided with support by the government. Among them was one of the largest
commercial banks in the country: Citibank. Then in January the government assembled
an assistance package for Bank of America, but it was not implemented. (For a discussion
of Wachovia, Citibank, and Bank of America, see chapter 3.)
The U.S. financial crisis affected investors and financial institutions around the world.
Many foreign financial entities (including foreign banks, governments, and sovereign
51

Diana Henriques, “Professional Money Fund Is Closed by Putnam,” New York Times, September 18, 2008.

52

Christian M. McNamara, “Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds,” Yale Program on
Financial Stability, Yale School of Management, January 13, 2016.

29

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

wealth funds) had invested directly or indirectly in U.S. mortgage derivatives.53 Even
emerging market economies—with financial systems less exposed to the U.S. financial
system and relatively little exposure to mortgage derivatives—were affected by the fallout
from the crisis, experiencing the economic aftershock as global trade declined drastically
and as foreign investors, who had become extremely risk averse, pulled out of their
investments in emerging markets. Figure 1.7 shows the severity of the crisis across major
global markets from January 2007 through September 2010.
Figure 1.7. Markets Heat Map
Subprime RMBS
Money Markets
Global Financial
Institutions
Commercial MBS
Prime RMBS
Corporate Credit
Advanced
Sovereigns
Emerging Markets
2007

2008

2009

2010

Source: International Monetary Fund, October 2010.
Note: The heat map measures both the level and one-month volatility of the spreads, prices, and total returns of each asset
class relative to the average during 2003–2006 (i.e., wider spreads, lower prices and total returns, and higher volatility). The
deviation is expressed in terms of standard deviations. Light green signifies a standard deviation under 1, yellow signifies 1
to 4 standard deviations, orange signifies 4 to 9 standard deviations, and red signifies greater than 9 standard deviations.
MBS = mortgage-backed security; RMBS = residential mortgage-backed security.

53

International Monetary Fund, “Crisis and Recovery,” World Economic Outlook, April 2009, 101.

30

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Conclusion
The housing market expansion of the 2000s masked deeply rooted vulnerabilities in the
financial system that were exposed when house prices stopped rising and began falling.
Conditions that contributed to a housing bubble of historic proportions were ample
liquidity, strong demand for high-yielding financial assets, financial deregulation, loose
underwriting standards for mortgages, and financial innovation. Double-digit increases
in nationwide house prices and cheap credit attracted homebuyers into the housing
market, as well as speculative real estate investors intent on making short-term gains.
When house prices fell and mortgage terms changed, borrowers began to default on
their mortgages, institutional investors pulled out of buying mortgage-backed securities,
and financial institution balance sheets began to deteriorate as asset values weakened.
For some institutions, the stress was so great that it threatened their continued viability.
Though the crisis began with the bank and nonbank lenders who originated highrisk, often inappropriate mortgage loans to borrowers, it spread across the securitization
chain, involving many different financial institutions. The securitization of nontraditional
mortgage products was conducted by large investment banks, thrifts, and commercial
banking organizations, with private label securitizations constituting a growing share
of the product. A number of these financial institutions relied on short-term funding to
finance the purchase of long-term securities, which the institutions later sold to other
financial institutions. Some of the financial institutions involved in these activities were
highly leveraged, and the subsequent decline in housing prices made clear the extent
of credit risk and liquidity risk that these institutions had taken on. Simultaneous
deleveraging by many firms amplified the fire sales of assets and further depressed asset
prices. One by one, major investment banks were acquired (Bear Stearns and WAMU)
or failed (Lehman Brothers) or converted to bank holding companies (Goldman Sachs
and Morgan Stanley).54
With Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, the markets realized that government bailouts
were not guaranteed, and concerns grew about which major institution would be the next
to fail. What had begun as an overheated homebuyers’ market ended up reverberating
throughout the U.S. financial markets and well beyond, affecting the global financial
system and pushing the U.S. economy into the Great Recession.

54

Becoming a bank holding company means becoming subject to regulation and supervision by the Federal
Reserve.

CHAPTER 1: Origins of the Crisis

31

Bibliography
Baily, Martin, Robert Litan, and Matthew Johnson. “The Origins of the Financial Crisis.”
Initiative on Business and Public Policy at Brookings. 2008. https://www.brookings.edu/wpcontent/uploads/2016/06/11_origins_crisis_baily_litan.pdf.
Benmelech, Efraim, and Jennifer Dlugosz. “The Credit Rating Crisis.” NBER
Macroeconomics Annual 2009 24 (2010): 161–207.
Bernanke, Ben. “The Global Saving Glut and the U.S. Current Account Deficit.” Remarks
at the Sandridge Lecture, Virginia Association of Economists, Richmond, VA, March 10,
2005. https://www.federalreserve.gov/boarddocs/speeches/2005/200503102/.
Brunnermeier, Markus K. “Deciphering the Liquidity and Credit Crunch 2007–2008.”
Journal of Economic Perspectives 23, no. 1 (Winter 2009): 77–100. http://pubs.aeaweb.org/
doi/pdfplus/10.1257/jep.23.1.77.
Case, Karl E., and Robert J. Shiller. “Is There a Bubble in the Housing Market?”
Brookings Papers on Economic Activity 2 (2003). https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/
uploads/2003/06/2003b_bpea_caseshiller.pdf.
CoreLogic. CoreLogic® Equity Report. 4Q 2013. 2014.
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC). “Credit Ratings and the Financial Crisis.”
Preliminary Staff Report. 2010. http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicreports/2010-0602-Credit-Ratings.pdf.
———. The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report: Final Report of the National Commission on the
Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States. 2011. http://fcic-static.law.
stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/fcic_final_report_full.pdf.
Gorton, Gary. “The Panic of 2007.” NBER Working Paper 14358, September 2008. http://
www.nber.org/papers/w14358.pdf.
———. “The Subprime Panic.” European Financial Management 15, no. 1 (January 2009):
10–46.
———.“Slapped in the Face by the Invisible Hand: Banking and the Panic of
2007.” Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta 2009 Financial Markets Conference:
Financial Innovation and Crisis. May 2009. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/
download?doi=10.1.1.189.1320&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
———. “Questions and Answers about the Financial Crisis.” NBER Working Paper 15787,
February 2010. http://www.nber.org/papers/w15787.pdf.

32

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Henriques, Diana. “Professional Money Fund Is Closed by Putnam.” New York Times,
September 18, 2008.
Inside Mortgage Finance Publications. The 2010 Mortgage Market Statistical Annual. Vols.
1 and 2. 2010.
International Monetary Fund. “Crisis and Recovery.” World Economic Outlook. April 2009.
———. “Navigating the Financial Challenges Ahead.” Global Financial Stability Report.
October 2009.
Johnson, Simon, and James Kwak. Thirteen Bankers. 2010.
Joint Center for Housing Studies. “Affordability Problems Escalating Even as Housing
Market Cools. 2006 State of the Nation’s Housing Report Is Released.” Press Release.
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Kilgore, Austin. “Subprime Problems Persist, as Alt-A, Option ARM Crisis Brews.”
HousingWire, January 11, 2010. https://www.housingwire.com/articles/6208-subprimeproblems-persist-alt-option-arm-crisis-brews.
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Mayer, Christopher J., Karen M. Pence, and Shane M. Sherlund. “The Rise in Mortgage
Defaults.” Federal Reserve Board Finance and Economics Discussion Series 59 (2008).
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McNamara, Christian M. “Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds.” Yale
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Mortgage Bankers Association. “Delinquencies and Foreclosure Starts Decrease in Latest
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Reinhart, Carmen, and Kenneth Rogoff. This Time Is Different: Eight Centuries of Financial
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GAO-14-18. November 2013. https://www.gao.gov/assets/660/659004.pdf.

2
The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee
Program: A Systemwide Systemic
Risk Exception
Introduction
During the unprecedented financial-market disruptions in the United States and abroad
in the fall of 2008, government officials took extraordinary measures to calm market
fears and encourage lending. One of these measures was the Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation’s (FDIC) Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP). The TLGP had
two components. It provided a limited-term guarantee for certain newly issued debt
not only of banks and thrifts but also of bank, thrift, and financial holding companies
and eligible bank affiliates (the Debt Guarantee Program, or DGP). Additionally, the
TLGP fully guaranteed certain non-interest-bearing transaction deposit accounts (the
Transaction Account Guarantee Program, or TAGP).
During the first half of October 2008, U.S. policymakers made the decision to
implement these programs and achieved consensus both about the mechanism for
creating them and about the policy trade-offs involved in their design. During this same
short period, the FDIC worked to ensure that the two voluntary programs would be in
place at the time of their announcement on October 14, and during the last months of
2008, the FDIC refined the programs to increase their effectiveness.
Of the approximately 14,000 entities eligible to participate in the DGP, about half
opted into the program (though almost all the debt guaranteed was issued by fewer than
50 such entities), and a significant majority of eligible institutions signed on to the TAGP.
At their height, the DGP guaranteed almost $350 billion in outstanding debt and the
TAGP covered over $800 billion in deposits. The programs were designed in such a way
that expected fees would cover potential losses, but as it turned out, the fees charged to
participating entities far outstripped the losses attributable to the TLGP as a whole.1 The
DGP ended on October 31, 2009, a year after its introduction (though guaranteed debt
1

If the TLGP’s fees had been insufficient to cover losses, a systemic risk assessment would have been levied on
all insured institutions; see the section below titled “The TLGP: Effects and Costs.”

34

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

remained outstanding until 2012). The TAGP, after two extensions, ended on December
31, 2010. The TLGP proved effective in stabilizing financial markets, with the DGP
reopening frozen debt markets to participating entities and the TAGP stabilizing deposit
funding for insured depository institutions.

The Policy Debate in October 2008
With financial markets in turmoil, governments around the world sought to formulate
and coordinate responses designed to return stability to those markets. In the United
States and many other countries, the responses involved guaranteeing debt issued by
banks and expanding deposit insurance coverage. In the United States, these two courses
of action occasioned a policy debate among financial regulators, leading to the decision
to use the systemic risk exception under the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Improvement Act of 1991 as the mechanism for providing the debt guarantees and the
increased deposit insurance coverage. The box titled “The Systemic Risk Exception:
Origins, Definition, and Procedure” provides background on the systemic risk exception.

The G7’s Response to the Financial Crisis: Implications for the United States

Faced with badly deteriorating conditions in financial markets, the Group of Seven
finance ministers met in Washington, DC, and developed a plan to address these
problems, focusing on liquidity, capital, and market stability. The plan was announced
on October 8, 2008, and one of its goals was to “take all necessary steps to unfreeze
credit and money markets and ensure that banks and other financial institutions have
broad access to liquidity and funding.”2 To achieve this goal, the governments of many
advanced economies decided to guarantee debt issued by banks and other financial
institutions, and to expand deposit insurance guarantees.3
Given the frozen credit and money markets and the need to coordinate with the
international response to the financial crisis, the United States had to determine what
mechanism was appropriate for guaranteeing bank debt. The U.S. Treasury Department
2

See G7 Finance Ministers, “G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Plan of Action,” October
10, 2008, http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm081010.htm. The members of the Group of Seven are the
United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom.

3 In addition to the program in the United States, some form of debt guarantee was put in place in Australia,

Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, New
Zealand, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. See Sebastian Schich, “Expanded Government
Guarantees for Bank Liabilities: Selected Issues,” OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, 2009, no. 1, 5,
http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/42779438.pdf. For the expansion of deposit insurance
coverage internationally, see International Association of Deposit Insurers, “Discussion Paper on Cross
Border Deposit Insurance Issues Raised by the Global Financial Crisis,” March 2011, 13–15, http://www.iadi.
org/en/assets/File/Papers/Approved%20Research%20-%20Discussion%20Papers/IADI_CBDI_Paper_29_
Mar_2011_(Final_for_publication).pdf.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

35

(Treasury) later stated that if the United States were not to take actions similar to those
being undertaken in Europe, “global market participants might turn to institutions and
markets in countries where the perceived protections were the greatest.”4

The Policy Response by U.S. Financial Regulators

For approximately ten days in October, primarily over the weekend of October 11 and 12,
senior officials from the FDIC, the Federal Reserve System, and Treasury debated how
to respond to the paralysis throughout the credit markets. These officials had to reach
agreement on what mechanism would be appropriate for guaranteeing bank debt, if any,
and they had to agree on the extent of a transaction account guarantee. Guaranteeing bank
debt was seen as the more consequential of the two actions, for two reasons. First, large
banks needed access to the debt markets, and needed it right away. Second, guaranteeing
bank debt would be an unprecedented foray into a type of guarantee that was totally new
for the FDIC, whereas extending the deposit guarantee would be an incremental change.
Underpinning the need to agree on the mechanism for guaranteeing bank debt and
on the details for extending deposit coverage was the need to choose the resources that
would stand behind these guarantees. The FDIC’s resources would clearly back insured
deposits, but the debt guarantee was more problematic. One possible channel of funds
was an appropriation by Congress. However, policymakers believed that Congress would
not authorize funds over and above those it had—most reluctantly—just provided to
the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Policymakers also considered TARP itself
an unlikely source of funding for the debt guarantee. In addition, they believed that the
Federal Reserve Board (FRB) had no authority to guarantee bank debt directly.5 In their
view, the only available method of providing broad guarantees of bank debt (and the only
way to expand deposit insurance coverage without congressional action) was to use the
systemic risk exception (SRE), which allowed open-bank assistance through the FDIC.6
4

U.S. GAO, Federal Deposit Insurance Act: Regulators’ Use of Systemic Risk Exception Raises Moral Hazard
Concerns and Opportunities Exist to Clarify the Provision, GAO-10-100, 2010, 18, http://www.gao.gov/
products/GAO-10-100. For discussion of the scope and design of foreign debt-guarantee programs, often
in comparison with the U.S. program, see Schich, “Expanded Government Guarantees”; Fabio Panetta et
al., “An Assessment of Financial Sector Rescue Programmes,” BIS Papers 48, 2009, http://www.bis.org/publ/
bppdf/bispap48.pdf; Aviram Levy and Sebastian Schich, “The Design of Government Guarantees for Bank
Bonds: Lessons from the Recent Financial Crisis, OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, 2010, no. 1, https://
www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/45636972.pdf; Aviram Levy and Andrea Zaghini, “The Pricing of
Government-Guaranteed Bank Bonds,” Banks and Bank Systems 6, no. 3 (2011), https://businessperspectives.
org/media/zoo/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/js/pdfjs/web/4126; and Giuseppe Grande et
al., “Public Guarantees on Bank Bonds: Effectiveness and Distortions,” OECD Journal: Financial Market
Trends, 2011, no. 2, 47–72, http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/49200208.pdf.

5

See Sheila Bair, Bull by the Horns: Fighting to Save Main Street from Wall Street and Wall Street from Itself
(2012), 113; Timothy Geithner, Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises (2014), 226; and Ben S. Bernanke,
The Courage to Act: A Memoir of a Crisis and Its Aftermath (2015), 340.

6

The TLGP was not the only use of the systemic risk exception during the financial crisis. For its application in
the cases of the individual financial institutions Wachovia, Citigroup, and Bank of America from September

36

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The Systemic Risk Exception: Origins, Definition, and Procedure

The roots of the SRE can be found in concerns that FDIC resolutions during the
banking crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s had frequently protected uninsured
depositors and creditors in addition to insured depositors. In February 1991, a
congressionally mandated study of the deposit insurance system recommended
that the FDIC should, in order to minimize the cost of resolving failed banks, seek
to limit its protection to insured depositors whenever possible. To accomplish this
goal, any failed-bank resolution was to be undertaken at the least cost to the deposit
insurance fund. The study noted, however, that “the presence of systemic risk could
require a decision to protect uninsured depositors even if it is not the least costly
resolution method.” Although the report acknowledged the FDIC’s practice of
consulting both the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB) and
Treasury when it chose to protect uninsured depositors, the report stated that a
systemic risk decision demanded “a broader government consensus that systemic
risk exists and requires extraordinary government action” and recommended that
the FRB and Treasury jointly make a systemic risk determination if they agreed on
the need to protect uninsured depositors.a
Congress incorporated the systemic risk determination into the Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA), but amended the
regulatory process that Treasury recommended.b Unless the SRE was invoked,
FDICIA prohibited protection for uninsured depositors and other creditors if
protecting those depositors and creditors would increase a resolution’s cost to the
deposit insurance fund. It also required that the decision to grant an SRE be made
by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the President, but only after
a written recommendation by a two-thirds majority of both the FDIC Board of
Directors and the FRB. After an SRE determination was made, the FDIC would be
authorized to act or assist as necessary to avoid the potential adverse effects of a
major-bank failure. The SRE was not used until 2008.
a
b

See U.S. Department of the Treasury, Modernizing the Financial System: U.S. Treasury Department
Recommendations for Safer, More Competitive Banks (1991), especially 27–28.
For policymakers’ views on the SRE as it was being considered, see Economic Implications of the
“Too Big to Fail Policy,” Hearing Before the U.S. House of Representatives, Subcommittee on Economic
Stabilization, Committee on Banking, Finance, and Urban Affairs, 102nd Cong. (1991).

By October 13, after days of intense negotiation, the agencies reached agreement on
the basic elements of the emergency program to guarantee bank debt and insure a broad
subset of transaction deposits. The agreement immediately set in motion the process of
requesting a systemic risk determination, in keeping with the procedure set forth in the
2008 through January 2009, see chapter 3.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

37

Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991: the FDIC Board and
the FRB voted to recommend a systemic risk exception to the Secretary of the Treasury,
and the Secretary—after consulting with the President—quickly determined that a
systemic risk existed.
The resulting program—the two-part Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program
(TLGP)—was announced on October 14 in a joint press conference by the FDIC,
the U.S. Treasury Department, and the Federal Reserve. In announcing the program,
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair emphasized that it was needed to stabilize the financial
system and that it would be funded through fees charged to participating financial
institutions, not taxpayers and not the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), which was
intended to protect the deposits of bank customers.7 The TLGP was a crucial element
of a three-part U.S. government response to the financial crisis. The other two parts
were the Treasury’s capital injections into banks under the TARP, and the Commercial
Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) under the aegis of the FRB. The three programs were
designed to work together.8

Policy Discussions: The Details of the TLGP

To reach agreement about the details of the debt guarantee program, policymakers
had to resolve several complex issues.9 One was whether to guarantee bank debt that
was already outstanding. There was concern that such a broad guarantee might prove
too large a liability to cover and might create a windfall for those institutions that had
invested in bank debt, but arguments were also made that the guarantee needed to be as
wide as possible. Another issue was whether to guarantee debt issued by bank holding
companies (BHCs) and their nonbank affiliates. Some worries were expressed that there
might have been legal impediments to guaranteeing such debt, and questions were raised
about whether such a guarantee was in fact desirable. However, the view was also held
that not guaranteeing debt issued by BHCs would leave U.S. banks at a competitive
disadvantage, since European debt guarantee programs would cover the debt issued by
the large universal banks in those countries. A third area of debate was whether to assess
a fee for guarantees, and a fourth was whether creditors should bear any loss on bonds
whose issuers defaulted. On the question of fees charged to entities that would issue
guaranteed debt, there was agreement that a fee should be assessed but a spectrum of
opinion on how much the fee should be. Arguments were made for (1) a minimal fee
7

See FDIC, “Statement by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair,” FDIC Joint Press Conference with U.S. Treasury and
Federal Reserve, Press Release, October 14, 2008, https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08100a.
html.

8

For an overview of the CPFF, see Tobias Adrian et al., “The Federal Reserve’s Commercial Paper Funding
Facility,” Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, May 2011, 25–39.

9

This discussion is based on Bair, Bull by the Horns, 109–20; Geithner, Stress Test, 226–38; and Bernanke, The
Courage to Act, 339–42.

38

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

to encourage participation, (2) a fee calibrated to replicate funding costs during normal
market conditions, and (3) a fee that took into account the cost of potential defaults.
As for creditors bearing loss if a bond issuer defaulted, an early proposal suggested that
creditors bear a 10 percent loss on such bonds, but many policymakers viewed this as
undercutting the purpose of the guarantee.
In the end it was agreed that the debt guarantee program would cover only newly
issued debt and for a limited range of maturities. BHC debt would be covered, but with
a limitation on thrift holding companies’ ability to participate in the debt guarantee
program and with the proviso that the FDIC would approve applications for guarantees
of debt issued by nonbank affiliates of BHCs on a case-by-case basis. These restrictions
were necessitated by the large number of thrift holding companies and BHC affiliates
and the attendant difficulty in assessing the risk to the FDIC from guaranteeing their
debt. The costs to program participants would be low but meaningful, and creditors
would not face a loss on bonds whose issuers defaulted.
To reach agreement on the expansion of deposit insurance coverage, policymakers had
to decide whether to expand deposit insurance coverage beyond what the FDIC already
offered and, if so, to what extent. Bank deposits were an important form of liquidity for
many smaller banks, and such banks faced risk from potential runs by entities holding
deposits above the insurance limit, such as small businesses and municipalities. To
forestall such runs, the FDIC had argued several weeks earlier that the agency should
extend an unlimited guarantee to transaction accounts at banks, believing that such
a guarantee would promote public confidence in banks, but at that time the proposal
for such a guarantee was not adopted. It was later noted that there had been a general
opposition to such an expansion of deposit insurance because of moral hazard, but that
during the crisis, expansion of the insurance guarantee was thought to be warranted
because, without it, there could be rapid deposit outflows from smaller banks into banks
that were perceived to be too big to fail.
In the end, the proposal for an unlimited guarantee of transaction accounts at banks
was agreed to as part of the TLGP. The policymakers therefore ended up striking a
balance among their varying views on providing these two forms of assistance to the
financial system.

The Case for a Systemic Risk Exception

At the same time that these policy discussions were being held, FDIC staff was
gathering data and other information to support the case for a systemic risk exception.
The information was assembled in a memorandum that the FDIC Board would
consider before voting on the issue.10 The memorandum documented the growing and
10

This section is largely based on that memo: FDIC, “Memorandum to the Board of Directors: FDIC Guarantee
of Bank Debt,” October 13, 2008. For further discussion of the events and trends during the second half of
2008, see chapter 1.

39

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

unprecedented disruption in credit markets and the concomitant effects on banks’ ability
to obtain funding and to extend credit. Banks had responded to the crisis by retaining
cash and tightening lending standards. Borrowing by businesses, households, and state
and local governments had slowed significantly, and the trend was likely to continue.
The interbank market as defined by the TED (Treasury-Eurodollar) spread was normally
stable at just below 25 basis points (bps), but the spread had been rising significantly
since 2007; by August 2008 the spread had risen to 238 bps, and by October 9, to 415 bps
(see Figure 2.1). At this level almost no interbank lending was taking place, and banks
had ceased lending in the federal funds market.11
Figure 2.1. Interbank Lending Spreads, December 2006–December 2010
Percent
5
TED Spread
LIBOR-OIS 1-Month Spread
4

3

2

1

0

Dec

-06

Jun

-07

Dec

-07

-1

Jun

-08

Dec

-08

Jun

-09

Dec

-09

Jun

-10

Weekly

Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis.

In addition, since Lehman Brothers Holdings, Inc., filed for bankruptcy, on
September 15, even creditworthy companies had been having difficulty successfully
issuing commercial paper, especially at longer maturities, and any debt that was being
issued carried extremely high interest rates even for very short-term instruments.
11

The federal funds market allowed commercial banks that had excess reserves on deposit at regional Federal
Reserve banks to lend those funds to financial institutions that had liquidity needs.

40

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Securitization markets for both residential and commercial mortgage-backed securities
had essentially shut down, and issuances of other types of asset-backed securities
had also fallen drastically. Flight to safety had greatly increased Treasury “fails” (the
failure to deliver Treasury securities), demonstrating both increased demand for U.S.
government securities and the scarcity of these securities.
Short-term funding markets in particular were essentially frozen, and in this
environment many banks and BHCs found it hard to replace funding at a reasonable
cost. The short-term funding channels that were normally available to financial
institutions had become problematic and expensive, when they were available at all.
Figure 2.2 shows the unusual length of time during which almost no bank senior
unsecured debt was issued after the Lehman bankruptcy. Had the TLGP not been
implemented, that situation could have continued.
In addition, the FDIC had examined the effect that a 5 percent run on uninsured
deposits would have on economic activity and found that a stressed environment could
reduce GDP growth by nearly 2 percent per year, a reduction that could either create or
prolong a recession.12 Although no evidence suggested that such a large run was happening,
uninsured deposits were leaving banks that were perceived to be troubled, and the FDIC
had anecdotal evidence that even healthy banks were experiencing deposit outflows.
Figure 2.2. Trends in Senior Unsecured U.S. Bank Debt Issuance before and after
September 2008
Billions of Dollars
16
Issued under TLGP
14

Senior Unsecured

16
14
12
10
8

12

6
4

10

2
0
2005

8

2006

2007

2008

6
4

Lehman Bankruptcy:
September 15, 2008

2
0
Jan 2008

Apr 2008

Source: Bloomberg.

12

See 73 Fed. Reg. 64180 (Oct. 29, 2008).

Jul 2008

Oct 2008

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

The Systemic Risk Exception Reinterpreted

41

Before the 2008 crisis, policymakers and industry observers generally thought that
FDICIA’s systemic risk exception was intended to apply to an individual troubled
institution. The situation that policymakers were confronting in 2008, however,
involved not only the possible failure of a single institution, or even of a single market,
but dysfunction throughout much of the financial system. These circumstances led
policymakers to reexamine the scope of the systemic risk exception.
Their rationale for viewing the systemic risk exception as appropriate in this set of
conditions was, first, that the intent of the proposed two-part TLGP was to mitigate
the effects of credit market disruption and lessen the losses to the FDIC that would
likely result from inaction. Second, safeguards were built into the two component
programs: the guarantees would be limited in duration and scope; the programs would
be industry funded, with a fee structure that was expected to protect the DIF; and
the participating institutions would be subject to careful oversight. Finally, the total
proposed program was integral to the overall three-part U.S. response to systemic risk
in the banking system (as noted above, the other two parts were the Treasury’s TARP
capital infusions and the Federal Reserve’s CPFF).
The FDIC’s Board of Directors, while unanimously approving the systemic risk
exception and strongly supporting the TLGP, was well aware that the agency was
heading into new territory: then Vice Chairman Martin Gruenberg remarked that “this
action being proposed today … is perhaps the most extraordinary ever taken by an
FDIC Board.” Given the innovative nature of the action, House and Senate leaders had
been consulted in advance about the steps the regulatory agencies were going to take
and their support was obtained. More than one Board member observed that Congress
would need to examine the statutory framework of the systemic risk exception to see if
the exception as originally conceived was adequate to cover circumstances not foreseen
in 1991, when the law was written.13 The box titled “Questions about the Statutory
Authority for the TLGP” discusses the legal underpinnings for the guarantees provided
by the FDIC under the new program.

Questions about the Statutory Authority for the TLGP

In 2010, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) examined the use of
the systemic risk exception in 2008–2009. The report noted that the height of the
financial crisis was the first time the government had used the exception and that
the TLGP was created at a time of “volatile economic circumstances.”
continued

13

FDIC, Board of Directors Meeting Minutes (Oct. 13, 2008).

42

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The report went on to explain that the agencies (the FDIC, FRB, and Treasury)
believed that FDICIA as drafted was unclear on how the systemic risk determination
should be applied. Holding this belief, they thought the law’s provisions could
be interpreted to allow a systemic risk determination when either the banking
industry as a whole or just a single institution was in danger of causing the entire
financial system to collapse. Moreover, the agencies believed that “a systemic risk
determination waives all of the normal statutory restrictions on FDIC assistance, as
well as creating new authority to provide assistance, both as to types of aid provided
and as to the entities that may receive it.” Given these interpretations, the agencies
chose to make what they called a “generic systemic risk determination.” They
based their choice on two assumptions about bank-by-bank assistance: it would be
ineffective, and it would be more costly to the FDIC than would the TLGP.
The GAO acknowledged that it found some support for the agencies’ positions
that the systemic risk exception could be used both to authorize the TLGP and to
provide assistance of the scope that the TLGP provided, but the GAO also found
that the agencies’ interpretations were open to question and raised significant policy
issues. The report recommended that Congress clarify the statutory language about
the requirements for, and assistance provided under, a systemic risk exception.a
Congress revised the language as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and
Consumer Protection Act in July 2010 (see the conclusion of this chapter).
a

For a detailed analysis, see U.S. GAO, Federal Deposit Insurance Act: Regulators’ Use of Systemic Risk
Exception (2010), 43–57.

The Creation of the TLGP and Initial Participation
The TLGP was a complex program that needed to be created quickly. Normally any
FDIC program, let alone one entirely new for the agency, would go through a relatively
long rulemaking process before being put in place. But because of the emergent nature
of the financial crisis, the TLGP took effect as soon as it was announced, on October
14; the announcement was based on the FDIC’s best attempts to assemble an intricate
program during the first two weeks in October. Immediately after announcing the two
component programs of the TLGP, the FDIC briefed potential participants on how the
Corporation expected the programs to work.14
Just two weeks later, on October 29, the FDIC issued an interim final rule that
elaborated on the broad outlines and specific elements previously presented, and at the
same time the agency sought comments, though on a much more expedited schedule
14

The transcripts of the conference calls can be found at https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/tlgp/
archive.html.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

43

than usual.15 The interim final rule was amended on November 7 (again with a request
for comments), and the final rule was adopted on November 21, only five weeks after the
TLGP had been announced.16 Many of the comments helped improve the effectiveness of
the program, particularly the debt guarantee component, as a tool for bringing stability
to the financial markets.17
The TLGP was structured as a voluntary program. When it began, all eligible entities18
were automatically enrolled for the first 30 days at no cost, after which fees would be
assessed to participants, and eligible entities would be allowed to opt out of either the Debt
Guarantee Program (DGP) or the Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP) or
both.19 To eliminate an adverse selection problem (only the weakest entities would opt in,
while stronger ones would opt out), all entities within a holding company were required to
make the same decision about the DGP.
More than half of the over 14,000 eligible entities decided to remain in the DGP during
its initial period (the DGP would later be extended beyond its initial period, as discussed
below), and more than 7,100 banks and thrifts, or 86 percent of FDIC-insured institutions,
decided to remain in the TAGP. Most of the institutions that opted out of the DGP were
those that had less than $1 billion in assets and issued no appreciable amount of senior
unsecured debt. In addition, the FDIC placed restrictions on many entities’ participation
in the DGP (see the next section for more detail).
15

If an agency has enough reason to issue a final rule without first publishing a proposed rule, such a rule
is often called an interim final rule; this kind of rule becomes effective on publication, but an agency may
amend it later in response to public comments, as was the case with the TLGP interim final rule.

16

See 73 Fed. Reg. 64179 (Oct. 29, 2008); 73 Fed. Reg. 66160 (Nov. 7, 2008); and 73 Fed. Reg. 72244 (Nov. 26,
2008).

17

Some of the most significant changes made in response to comments were the following: the definition
of senior unsecured debt was revised; an alternative cap was provided for banks that had either no senior
unsecured debt outstanding or only fed funds purchased; the debt guarantee limits of a participating insured
depository institution and its parent BHC were combined; the timely payment of principal and interest
following payment default was guaranteed; and the transaction accounts guarantee was broadened to cover
both Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) and negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts.
Many of these changes are discussed below in the sections on the DGP and the TAGP.

18

Eligible entities were (1) an insured depository institution; (2) a U.S. bank holding company, provided
that it controlled (directly or indirectly) at least one subsidiary that was a chartered and operating insured
depository institution; (3) a U.S. savings and loan holding company (with certain limitations), provided
that it controlled (directly or indirectly) at least one subsidiary that was a chartered and operating insured
depository institution; and (4) any other affiliates of an insured depository institution that the FDIC in its
discretion designated an eligible entity. See 73 Fed. Reg. 64181 (Oct. 29, 2008) and 73 Fed. Reg. 72266 (Nov.
26, 2008).

19

When the nine largest banks were informed on the afternoon of October 13 that they had to accept capital
infusions under TARP, they were also told that they had to opt in to the DGP. See Henry Paulson, On the
Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global Financial System (2010), 364. Several months later,
one observer would note that while some of the largest banks eagerly sought to exit the TARP, they were
not similarly eager to abandon the TLGP. See Andrew Bary, “How Do You Spell Sweet Deal? For Banks, It’s
TLGP,” Barrons, April 20, 2009.

44

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The Debt Guarantee Program
The DGP provided liquidity by guaranteeing participating entities’ newly issued senior
unsecured borrowing, thereby allowing participants to roll over maturing debt or issue
additional debt.

Ground Rules and Extensions

The program excluded certain types of debt instruments, as it was specifically designed not
to encourage exotic or complex funding structures and not to protect lenders who sought
to make risky loans.20 Generally the FDIC capped guaranteed debt issuance at 125 percent
of an entity’s senior unsecured debt that was outstanding as of September 30, 2008, and
was scheduled to mature on or before June 30, 2009. The cap was set at this level to allow
participants to roll over existing debt and have some room for their debt issuance to grow.
For entities with no senior unsecured debt outstanding as of September 30, 2008, or with
only federal funds outstanding, the limit was set at 2 percent of consolidated total liabilities
as of September 30, 2008.
As a condition of participation in the program, entities agreed to comply with any
FDIC request that they provide relevant information about their debt issuances under
the program. Another condition was that entities agreed to be subject to periodic FDIC
on-site reviews (after the FDIC consulted with the appropriate federal banking regulator)
to determine the entity’s compliance with the terms and requirements of the DGP. The
FDIC also had discretion to terminate an entity’s continued participation in the DGP
after consulting with the entity’s primary federal regulator.21
Initially the DGP allowed participating entities to issue guaranteed debt until June 30,
2009, with the guarantee set to expire on the earlier of the maturity of the debt or June
30, 2012. In May 2009, however, the FDIC extended the program to reduce potential
market disruption and to facilitate an orderly phase-out of the program.22 The issuance
deadline was extended four months, to October 31, 2009, and the guarantee period
was extended six months, expiring December 31, 2012. Participating entities that had
issued DGP debt on or before April 1, 2009, could use the extension automatically,
but others had to receive FDIC approval to use it. No entities that had opted out of the
20

Debt eligible for the guarantee included federal funds purchased, promissory notes, commercial paper,
unsubordinated unsecured notes (including zero-coupon bonds), and certain U.S. dollar-denominated
certificates of deposit. From the program’s inception through December 5, 2008, the DGP covered debt with
a maturity of 30 days or less, but in response to comments on the interim rule, the FDIC excluded debt with
a maturity of 30 days or less and focused on stable, longer-term sources of funding, where liquidity was most
lacking. The DGP was extended in 2009 to cover mandatory convertible debt. See 74 Fed. Reg. 9522 (Mar. 4,
2009). The guarantee for such debt was set to expire on the earlier of the maturity of the debt, the conversion
date, or June 30, 2012.

21

Both the on-site review authority and the termination authority were rarely used.

22

74 Fed. Reg. 26521 (Jun. 3, 2009).

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

45

initial phase were permitted to make use of the extension. Debt outstanding over the
course of the program is presented in Figure 2.3.
Figure 2.3. DGP Debt Outstanding, October 2008–December 2012
Billions of Dollars
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

8 8 9 9 9 9 9 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2 2
t-0 c-0 b-0 r-0 n-0 g-0 t-0 c-0 b-1 r-1 n-1 g-1 t-1 c-1 b-1 r-1 n-1 g-1 t-1 c-1 b-1 r-1 n-1 g-1 t-1
Oc De Fe Ap Ju Au Oc De Fe Ap Ju Au Oc De Fe Ap Ju Au Oc De Fe Ap Ju Au Oc

Pricing and Limits on Participation

To compensate for the FDIC’s risk, entities that issued debt were assessed fees. Initially the
Corporation proposed an annualized flat-rate 75 basis point fee, after determining (by using
credit default swap [CDS] spreads) that that amount would be substantially above the cost
of “normal” credit protection but much lower than the very wide CDS spreads in October
2008. This proposed fee structure was the product of consultation with the Federal Reserve
and Treasury. In response to industry comments, however, the FDIC altered the flat-rate
fee to a sliding fee schedule, with fees ranging from 50 to 100 basis points, increasing for
longer-maturity debt.23 In addition, for holding companies whose affiliated banks’ assets
constituted less than half of the holding company’s consolidated assets, the FDIC increased
DGP fees by 10 basis points. Finally, in conjunction with the program’s extension in May
2009, the FDIC added a surcharge to the guarantee fee on debt with a maturity of one
23

An annualized fee of 50 basis points was applied to debt with a maturity of 180 days or less. The fees increased
to 75 basis points for debt with a maturity of 181 to 364 days, and to 100 basis points for debt with a maturity
of 365 days or more. 73 Fed. Reg. 72244 (Nov. 26, 2008).

46

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

year or greater issued after April 1, 2009. The surcharge varied depending on the type of
institution issuing the debt, with banks paying the lowest fees.24
Some economists have suggested that the FDIC might have been better served by adopting
a more discriminating pricing method, such as the market-based pricing mechanisms used
by many similar European programs. For example, pricing for the UK program started
with a flat base charge supplemented by an institution’s median five-year CDS spread in
2007, the year before the program’s implementation. One study, using a sample of banks in
both countries (U.S. and UK), calculated a “fair price” for the guarantee by using an average
three-year CDS spread in November 2008, and compared the calculated fair price with the
average UK guarantee fee and with the flat U.S. fee. The study found that the average UK fee
was higher than the average calculated fair price (133.7 bps vs. 109.6 bps) but that the flat
U.S. fee was substantially lower than the calculated fair price (75 bps vs. 255.4 bps).25 These
results imply that the U.S. DGP provided a large subsidy to U.S. banks. A later study sought
to quantify the subsidy, using a sample of almost $200 billion in guaranteed debt issued by
six large U.S. entities. The study found that the six institutions saved almost $20 billion over
the life of the bonds compared with what they would have spent for nonguaranteed debt; in
other words, they saved substantially more than they paid the FDIC for the guarantee.26 As
mentioned above, when the FDIC extended the DGP for four months beyond the original
intended expiration of the program, surcharges were added for certain types of guaranteed
debt, not only to encourage banks to exit the program but also to “reduce the subsidy
provided by the DGP.”27
It is important to understand that pricing was not the only tool the FDIC had available
to address DGP-related risks. Not all institutions were permitted to participate in the DGP,
and the FDIC limited others’ ability to do so. Specifically, the rule implementing the DGP
permitted the FDIC, working with an entity’s primary federal regulator, to make exceptions
to the entity’s debt guarantee limit—to increase, reduce, or restrict in some way the entity’s
24

The surcharge was intended to compensate members of the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) (including those
that did not issue FDIC-guaranteed debt) for bearing the risk that TLGP fees would be insufficient and that,
as explained in the section below on the TLGP’s effects and costs, a systemic risk assessment would be levied
on all insured institutions. Unlike the initial DGP guarantee fees, which were reserved for possible DGP
losses and segregated from the DIF, the amount of any surcharge collected in connection with the extended
DGP was to be deposited into the DIF and used by the FDIC when calculating the fund’s reserve ratio. See
74 Fed. Reg. 26521, 26523 (Jun. 3, 2009). For an explanation of the fund’s reserve ratio, see chapter 5.

25

See V. Acharya and R. Sundaram, “The Financial Sector Bailout: Sowing the Seeds of the Next Crisis?,” in
Restoring Financial Stability: How to Repair a Failed System, ed. V. Acharya and M. Richardson (2009), 327–
39. The authors wrote before the FDIC changed its pricing from 75 bps to the 50–100 bps scale depending
on maturity; although this change would have altered their results somewhat, it would not have altered their
conclusions.

26

Levy and Zaghini, “The Pricing of Government-Guaranteed Bank Bonds.” The authors note that the total
issuance was $184.9 billion, so even if all of the debt had incurred a fee of 100 bps, the total fee would have
been less than $2 billion.

27

74 Fed. Reg. 26523 (Jun. 3, 2009). The surcharges were also added to compensate DIF members, see note 24.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

47

ability to issue debt.28 The Corporation used this discretion extensively to mitigate its risk
of loss from the DGP.
In using this discretion, the FDIC and the other federal banking agencies developed a
consultative process to review the debt limits of otherwise eligible entities that had adverse
regulatory ratings29 or poor financial metrics, such as very high past-due ratios or poor
capitalization, and in the case of several hundred weak institutions, the Corporation
reduced to zero the amount of guaranteed debt they could issue. From the very start of the
program, no troubled entities (those with supervisory ratings of 4 or 5) had been allowed
to issue guaranteed debt, and soon thereafter the restriction was expanded to include many
3-rated entities as well as de novo banks (the latter have a significantly higher likelihood
of failure than do established institutions). In all, the FDIC restricted the participation of
more than 1,600 banks and thrifts and 1,400 BHCs, or approximately 35 percent of banks
and thrifts and 39 percent of bank holding companies and other eligible affiliates that had
opted into the program as of year-end 2008.

Challenges: Payment of Claims and Legal Issues

Of the several challenges the FDIC faced in creating the DGP, the most significant one
was how to address the payment of claims under the program. Another was how to handle
numerous technical details.
Having never undertaken such a guarantee before, the Corporation was confronted with
both a novel problem and a natural tendency to think in terms of its longstanding methods
for handling insured deposits. As a result, the initial interim rule the FDIC put forward
for the payment of claims relied for triggers on the receivership process for banks and
on bankruptcy filings for BHCs—but neither of those adequately took into account the
expectations of market participants for prompt payment.30 In addition, the issue of timely
payment could have had serious implications for how the rating agencies treated TLGPguaranteed debt.
Indeed, Euroweek described the program as having been “on the brink of collapse” in
early November and noted that senior bankers were “highly dissatisfied with the scheme
as it then stood and predicted disaster for it.”31 After the initial interim rule was published,
28

73 Fed. Reg. 72267 (Nov. 26, 2008).

29

The regulatory agencies rate both insured depository institutions and BHCs on a scale of 1 to 5, with 1 being
the highest rating and 5 the lowest.

30

Initially, the FDIC proposed two different methods for the payment of claims, one for insured depository
institutions (IDIs), the other for BHCs. For IDIs, the FDIC expected to use its established receivership
process, which the agency believed would in most cases lead to payment of claims the next business day
after failure so long as the claim was determined to be valid. For BHCs, the FDIC stated it intended to pay
principal plus interest to the debtholder when the BHC filed for bankruptcy, but only after the claim was
allowed under the bankruptcy code. If the FDIC did not pay within one business day of the filing, the agency
would pay interest on the debt at the 90-day Treasury bill rate in effect at the time of the filing. 73 Fed. Reg.
64184-85 (Oct. 29, 2008).

31

Euroweek, “FDIC Fiddling Rescues Bank Liquidity Plan,” November 28, 2008, 10.

48

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

parties that commented on it—including representatives of Bank of America, Bank of
New York Mellon, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, and
Wells Fargo—urged that FDIC regulations provide that payment be made as principal and
interest became due and payable, and they noted that if the FDIC failed to make payment as
soon as an issuer defaulted, the demand for DGP debt would be severely curtailed because
likely purchasers would be very concerned about timely receipt of scheduled payments
with minimal risk exposure.32
Standard & Poor’s (S&P) stated that in order for FDIC-guaranteed debt “to qualify for
rating substitution treatment [in other words, for FDIC-guaranteed debt to receive the same
rating as debt of the U.S. government], the terms of a guarantee had to be unconditional,
irrevocable, and timely.” S&P warned, however, that the initial interim rule made it
“uncertain whether payment of interest and principal under [the FDIC’s] guarantee would
have to be made on a timely basis” and that, indeed, “there appears to be the potential for a
significant delay in payment beyond the terms specified in the debt, even though ultimate
repayment is expected.” S&P indicated that under the interim rule, guaranteed debt would
“result in, at most, limited rating elevation for guaranteed obligations” and that unless
the proposal was amended, “we would be unable to rate the debt of financial institutions
qualifying for the FDIC guarantees at the ‘AAA’ rating of the U.S. government.”33 Such an
outcome would have greatly reduced the effectiveness of the DGP.
The FDIC recognized the validity of the commenters’ concerns, and the final rule, in
November 2008, incorporated changes that assured debtholders they would continue to
receive timely payments following payment default without compromising the FDIC’s
ability to obtain enough information to pay claims appropriately.34
The trigger for the payment obligation was changed from a bank failure or a bankruptcy
filing to a payment default.35 In addition, the FDIC’s satisfaction of the guarantee would be
32

See, for example, the comment letter at https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2008/08c39AD37.
pdf. The FDIC sought to acquire knowledge about the debt markets, and during the week of October 27 staff
met with representatives of both S&P and Fitch to discuss their methods of rating debt securities.

33

Tanya Azarchs and Scott Sprinzen, “U.S. Guarantees of Bank Debt under Interim Rules Do Not Promise
Timely Payment,” Standard & Poor’s Ratings Direct (November 10, 2008), 2. Quotations from this publication
are reproduced with permission of Standard & Poor’s Financial Services LLC. Standard & Poor’s Financial
Services LLC (S&P) does not guarantee the accuracy, completeness, timeliness or availability of any
information, including ratings, and is not responsible for any errors or omissions (negligent or otherwise),
regardless of the cause, or for the results obtained from the use of ratings. S&P gives no express or implied
warrantees, including, but not limited to, any warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose
or use. S&P shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, exemplary, compensatory, punitive,
special or consequential damages, costs, expenses, legal fees, or losses (including lost income or profits and
opportunity costs) in connection with any use of ratings. S&P’s ratings are statements of opinions and are not
statements of fact or recommendations to purchase, hold or sell securities. They do not address the market
value of securities or the suitability of securities for investment purposes, and should not be relied on as
investment advice.

34

73 Fed. Reg. 72260 (Nov. 26, 2008).

35

For the changes described here, see 73 Fed. Reg. 72263–4 (Nov. 26, 2008).

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

49

such that the agency would continue to make scheduled interest and principal payments
under the terms of the debt through its maturity.36 These changes addressed the concerns
of both the industry and the rating agencies.37 With the program improvements in place,
eligible entities quickly responded and, instead of claiming that the DGP was near
collapse, Euroweek described it as having gotten off to “a scorching start,” with several
large U.S. banks issuing $17 billion in guaranteed debt in late November after having
been denied access to the market for months. The publication continued: “Clearly the
once-reviled plan [had] … been given a clean bill of health by the market.38 (The box
titled “Institutions Using the Debt Guarantee Program” provides information about the
use of the DGP by the largest financial institutions in the country—the group that issued
the bulk of guaranteed debt. The appendix lists all the issuers of $250 million or more in
debt guaranteed under the program.)
Another important challenge was how to address numerous legal issues having to do
with participation in the DGP. The final rule dealt with these difficulties by requiring
an issuing entity to execute and file with the FDIC a “Master Agreement” that (1)
acknowledged the establishment of a debt to the FDIC for any payment made under the
program and agreed to honor the FDIC’s demand for payment on the debt immediately;
(2) arranged for the DGP debtholder (a) to assign to the FDIC all rights and interests in
that debt upon the FDIC’s payment under the guarantee and (b) to release the FDIC from
any further liability with respect to that particular debt issuance; and (3) provided that
the issuer could elect to designate an authorized representative to make claims on behalf
of debtholders (claimants could choose, instead, to file with the FDIC individually, but
the existence of an authorized representative for a class of debtholders was expected to
permit a much faster response to a claim).
***
By mid-2009, financial markets were stabilizing, and DGP issuance was down
significantly. In October, the FDIC approved a final rule ending the DGP on the last day of
that month (on October 31, 2009), but with an emergency guarantee facility available on a
36

For debt with final maturities beyond the DGP’s expiration, the FDIC could elect at any time after that date
to pay all outstanding principal and interest under the debt issuance.

37

For example, on November 24, Moody’s Investors Service announced that it would assign TLGP-guaranteed
debt a rating of “Aaa,” the same rating it assigned the U.S. government, noting that the changes made to the
program ensured timely payment (Moody’s Investors Service, “Moody’s Will Assign Backed-Aaa Ratings to
Debt Securities Covered by the FDIC’s Guarantee,” Global Credit Research, November 24, 2008, https://www.
moodys.com/research/Moodys-will-assign-backed-Aaa-ratings-to-debt-securities-covered--PR_167951).
There remained some operational questions about how parties would proceed in the event of a default
on DGP-guaranteed commercial paper. These questions were settled in April 2009 by a Memorandum of
Understanding agreed to by the FDIC, the Depository Trust Clearing Corporation, the Federal Reserve Bank
of New York, and the U.S. Treasury.

38

Euroweek, “Goldman Leads TLGP Off to a Flying Start,” November 28, 2008, 9.

50

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

case-by-case basis through April 30, 2010.39 The emergency facility carried very high fees
(300 basis points). In announcing the availability of the emergency guarantee facility, Bair
stated, “It should be clear that this is not a continuation of the program, but an ending of
the program with just a short-term facility that is only available for clearly unforeseen and
unexpected events.”40 The FDIC had always intended that the program be temporary; the
emergency facility was never used and the DGP ended as scheduled on October 31, 2009.

Institutions Using the Debt Guarantee Program

Entities using the DGP ranged from small community banks to the largest financial
institutions in the country, with the latter group issuing the bulk of guaranteed debt.
The largest issuer was Citigroup, including Citibank and eligible affiliates, which
issued almost $176 billion of guaranteed debt over the course of the program. Among
banking organizations, the second-largest issuer was Bank of America Corporation,
including its bank and eligible affiliates, which issued almost $131 billion; and
the next-highest issuers among banking organizations were JPMorgan Chase &
Company, its bank and affiliates; Goldman Sachs Group Inc.; and Morgan Stanley.
Each of the three issued over $30 billion in guaranteed debt.
Top Ten DGP Issuers by Dollar Amount ($ Billions)

$175.90

$130.85

$130.84

$42.51

$37.65

$30.26
$10.02

Citigroup, Inc.

General
Electric
Capital
Corporation

Bank of
America
Corporation

JP Morgan
Chase
& Co.

Goldman
Sachs
Group, Inc.

Morgan
Stanley

Wells Fargo &
Company

$7.40

$7.28

$5.90

GMAC LLC U.S. Bancorp American
Express
Bank, FSB

continued
39

74 Fed. Reg. 54743 (Oct. 23, 2009).

40

Emily Flitter, “Way Out Gets Clearer as TLGP to End,” American Banker, October 21, 2009, 1.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

51

The second largest issuer of DGP debt overall was General Electric Capital
Corporation (GECC), which was a savings and loan holding company by
a
virtue of its indirect ownership of GE Money Bank, Salt Lake City, Utah. The
FDIC’s TLGP rule allowed such holding companies to participate in the DGP,
but only if they were engaged solely in activities permissible for a financial
holding company under section 4(k) of the Bank Holding Company Act.b
GECC was, however, not solely engaged in those permitted activities, and so
instead it applied (as was also allowed) to participate based on its status as an
affiliate of an insured depository institution that had received the requisite
endorsement from the appropriate federal banking regulator (in this case,
the Office of Thrift Supervision). After some discussion between GECC’s
parent, General Electric (GE) and the government, the FDIC approved the
firm’s participation. The FDIC judged GECC’s capital and risk management to
be solid, and since GE agreed to guarantee the FDIC against loss, GECC’s fees
c
would help bolster the FDIC’s reserves and offset potential losses in the DGP.
A number of U.S. bank subsidiaries of very large foreign banking organizations
also issued guaranteed debt; these included Union Bank (the U.S. subsidiary of
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc.); HSBC Bank USA, National Association (the
U.S. subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, PLC); and Bank of the West (the U.S. subsidiary
of BNP Paribas).
a

GECC’s two bank subsidiaries (GE Money Bank and GE Capital Financial, Inc.) were direct, wholly
owned subsidiaries of GE Consumer Finance, Inc., which was wholly owned by GECC.

b

12 U.S.C. §1843(k).

c

On GECC, see Paulson, On the Brink, 373, 400; and Bair, Bull by the Horns, 118.

The Transaction Account Guarantee Program: Purpose, Fees,
and Extensions
Under the TAGP, the FDIC provided a guarantee of all funds held in non-interest-bearing
transaction accounts at participating banks until December 31, 2009 (the guarantee was
extended twice, first through June 30, 2010, and then through December 31, 2010, as
discussed below).41 The program was intended to encourage customers to keep their
41

The interim rule defined a qualifying account as “a transaction account with respect to which interest is
neither accrued nor paid and on which the insured depository institution does not reserve the right to require
advance notice of an intended withdrawal”(see 73 Fed. Reg., 64182 [Oct. 29, 2008]). But after receiving
comments on the interim rule, the FDIC extended the TAGP to cover certain other types of deposit accounts

52

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

deposits in their bank and thereby avoid runs at healthy banks. More particularly, the
TAGP addressed the concern of bankers and others that, given the uncertain economic
conditions, without the guarantee banks could lose many small-business accounts
(including payroll accounts), which frequently exceed the insurance limit of $250,000.42
The TAGP marked the first time the FDIC had offered deposit insurance above the
statutory limit. In effect, the program gave institutions the option of purchasing deposit
insurance for the otherwise uninsured balances of non-interest-bearing transaction
accounts. In this way, assistance could be provided to smaller institutions that did not
benefit from the DGP. This is not to say that larger institutions did not also participate in
and benefit from the TAGP, for they did, but it is noteworthy that during the program’s
extension through 2010, the proportional participation of banks with more than $10
billion in assets dropped far more than did the proportional participation of smaller banks.
Like the DGP, the TAGP imposed fees for using the program. The TAGP initially applied
a 10 basis point annual assessment rate surcharge on non-interest-bearing transaction
deposits and other qualifying accounts for amounts over $250,000; with the first extension,
the fee was increased (see next paragraph). The total deposits covered by the TAGP are
represented in Figure 2.4.
The TAGP proved effective at preventing potentially disruptive shifts in deposit funding.
As noted earlier in this section, the TAGP was intended to expire on December 31, 2009,
but because bank failures continued to increase during 2009, the FDIC was concerned
that terminating the TAGP too quickly could unnerve uninsured depositors and undo
the progress made in restoring credit markets. Therefore, the FDIC Board extended the
TAGP for an additional six months, through June 30, 2010.43 As part of this extension, the
surcharge was increased from a flat rate of 10 basis points to a risk-based rate. Participating
banks paid an assessment rate of 15, 20, or 25 basis points, depending on the institution’s
deposit insurance assessment category (for deposit insurance assessment categories, see
chapter 5). Institutions participating in the TAGP were allowed to opt out of the program
effective on January 1, 2010. Over 6,400 institutions (or 93 percent of the institutions that
were participating at year-end 2009) elected to continue in the TAGP through June 30, 2010.

important to sole proprietorships and charitable organizations. These included Interest on Lawyers Trust
Accounts (IOLTAs) and negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts where the participating institution
committed to maintaining a rate no higher than 0.5 percent; this maximum was lowered to 0.25 percent as
part of the second extension of the program.
42

The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 temporarily raised the basic FDIC insurance limit from
$100,000 to $250,000 effective October 3, 2008; Dodd-Frank, in 2010, made the increase permanent.

43

74 Fed. Reg. 45093 (Sept. 1, 2009).

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

53

Figure 2.4. Amounts Guaranteed by the TAGP, 2008–2010
Billions of Dollars
900
800
700
600
500
400
300
200
100
0

Q4 2008

Q1 2009

Q2 2009

Q3 2009

Q4 2009

Q1 2010

Q2 2010

Q3 2010

Q4 2010

Even after that first extension, the lingering consequences of the financial crisis and
recession continued to put pressure on banks’ earnings and asset quality. Those effects
were expected to persist and could have had the potential to undermine banks, particularly
banks exposed to local markets that had experienced the greatest distress. The FDIC
was concerned that allowing the TAGP to expire in June as scheduled could lead to the
withdrawals of large transaction accounts at many community banks, possibly resulting in
needless liquidity failures of those banks or lower deposit franchise values (for a discussion
of franchise value, see chapter 6). The FDIC therefore authorized a second six-month
extension, until December 31, 2010, leaving in place the surcharges that had been imposed
during the first extension. The Corporation left open the possibility of yet a third extension,
but not beyond year-end 2011.44 However, passage of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform
and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank) in July 2010 eliminated the need for such an
extension, as the law mandated that the FDIC provide an unlimited guarantee, funded by
the DIF, of all non-interest-bearing transaction accounts from December 31, 2010, through
December 31, 2012.45 Thus, the TAGP ended on December 31, 2010.
44

See 75 Fed. Reg. 20247–65 (Apr. 19, 2010).

45

For the implementation of the Dodd-Frank provisions regarding unlimited coverage of non-interest-bearing
transaction accounts, see 75 Fed. Reg. 69577 (Nov. 15, 2010). The guarantee provided under Dodd-Frank
did not, however, cover IOLTAs or NOW accounts. On December 29, 2010, a subsequent statute amended

54

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The TLGP: Effects and Costs
The DGP enabled financial institutions to meet their financing needs during a period
of systemwide turmoil. At a time when banks and other eligible institutions were unable
to roll over their debt at reasonable rates and terms, the DGP reopened the short- and
medium-term debt markets by allowing participating institutions to issue an array of
guaranteed debt instruments. Figures 2.5 and 2.6 show that the eligible entities, after
issuing mostly short-term debt (commercial paper) at the very beginning of the program,
increasingly moved toward issuing debt at longer maturities.
Figure 2.5. DGP Debt Outstanding by Type, October 2008–December 2009
Percent
100
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0

08

tOc

8

-0

v
No

8

c-0

De

09

n-

Ja

Other Term Notes
Other Senior Unsecured Debt

09

b-

Fe

9

-0

ar

M

9

-0

r
Ap

9

-0

ay

M

09

n-

Ju

Other Interbank Deposits
Medium-Term Notes

9

-0

l
Ju

9

-0

g
Au

09

p-

Se

09

tOc

9

-0

v
No

9

c-0

De

Interbank Eurodollar Deposits
Commercial Paper

the definition of non-interest-bearing transaction accounts to include IOLTAs. The FDIC implemented the
amended definition effective January 27, 2011. See 76 Fed. Reg. 4813 (Jan. 27, 2011).

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

55

Figure 2.6. Maturities of TLGP Debt Outstanding at Month End, October 2008–
October 2009
Billions of Dollars
400
350
300
250
200
150
100
50
0

Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09

Greater than 3 Years

1–3 Years

Less than 1 Year

Figure 2.7. Funding Costs: TLGP Debt vs. Non-Guaranteed Debt, January 2007–
October 2009
Basis Points
600
500
400

TLGP Debt to
3-Year Treasuries
Non-Guaranteed Debt to
3-Year Treasuries

300
158.1
200
100

31.36

Jan-07
Feb-07
Mar-07
Apr-07
May-07
Jun-07
Jul-07
Aug-07
Sep-07
Oct-07
Nov-07
Dec-07
Jan-08
Feb-08
Mar-08
Apr-08
May-08
Jun-08
Jul-08
Aug-08
Sep-08
Oct-08
Nov-08
Dec-08
Jan-09
Feb-09
Mar-09
Apr-09
May-09
Jun-09
Jul-09
Aug-09
Sep-09
Oct-09

0

Source: Bloomberg.

56

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Specifically, the DGP lowered the cost of funding. For participating entities, the
explicit FDIC guarantee—coming at a time when credit market spreads had reached
record high levels—meant that DGP debt was assigned an AAA/Aaa rating. That rating
allowed participating entities to raise funds and roll over maturing debt at significantly
lower funding costs than the entities could have obtained by issuing debt not guaranteed
by the government (see Figure 2.7). A 2017 study found that DGP-guaranteed bonds
“vastly improved new and pre-existing debt liquidity” and that the program ultimately
lowered the default risk of the institution (as well as of the insured bond) and, in addition,
improved the liquidity for non-guaranteed bonds issued by DGP participants.46 A 2013
study found that the DGP led to a drop in yield of AAA/Aaa financial debt near the time
of the announcements of FDIC-guaranteed debt issuance and to a general pattern of
decreasing yield spreads over time.47
Figure 2.8. TLGP vs. Non-TLGP Debt Issuance, October 2008–October 2009
Billions of Dollars
180
160
140
120
100

Non-TLGP $323.7 billion
TLGP $618.3 billion

80
60
40
20
0

Oct-08 Nov-08 Dec-08 Jan-09 Feb-09 Mar-09 Apr-09 May-09 Jun-09 Jul-09 Aug-09 Sep-09 Oct-09

Sources: FDIC and Bloomberg.
Note: TLGP debt includes medium-term notes, other senior unsecured debt, other term notes, commercial paper,
Eurodollar interbank deposits, and other interbank deposits. Non-TLGP includes all types of bonds and structured notes
except TLGP debt, commercial paper, and Eurodollar or other interbank deposits.

46

See Jeffrey Black et al., “Benefits of Debt Guarantees: Evidence from the FDIC Debt-Guarantee Program”
(unpublished manuscript), February 2017, https://editorialexpress.com/cgi-bin/conference/download.
cgi?db_name=SWFA2017&paper_id=151.

47

See Brent Ambrose et al., “The Financial Crisis and Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: Their Impact
on Fixed Income Markets,” Journal of Fixed Income 23, no. 2 (2013): 5–26.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

57

In the wake of the DGP, debt markets stabilized. By September 2009, most banks
were trading in the CDS market below where they were before the Lehman bankruptcy,
and a senior syndicate banker remarked, “Good progress has been made so it makes
sense for the TLGP to be withdrawn.”48 Indeed, only a few entities had issued DGP
debt during the period of the DGP’s extension, a period when banks and their holding
companies successfully issued non-guaranteed debt (see Figure 2.8).
Another source of funding for banks, and in particular for community banks, is
deposits held in transaction accounts. By removing the risk of loss to the businesses that
commonly use these accounts to meet payroll and to serve other purposes, the TAGP
stabilized deposit funding for insured banks.49 In the first quarter of 2009, banks reported
586,519 non-interest-bearing transaction accounts over $250,000 in value, representing
an increase of 12 percent compared with the fourth quarter of 2008. These first quarter
2009 deposit accounts totaled $855 billion, of which $700 billion was guaranteed under
the TAGP. At the peak of the program, in December 2009, more than 5,800 FDICinsured institutions reported having 685,465 non-interest-bearing transaction accounts
over $250,000 in value, with deposits totaling just over $1 trillion.
***
If assessments for the TLGP (counting both components) had proved insufficient to
cover the expenses related to the program, statute would have required that the FDIC
levy a special assessment on all insured depository institutions (including those that
had opted out, but not including BHCs or nonbank institutions that had participated)
to cover the loss.50 However, overall, TLGP fees exceeded the costs of the program.
Under the DGP, 121 entities issued guaranteed debt, with the FDIC collecting $10.4
billion in fees and surcharges. Six entities defaulted on their debt, with the FDIC paying
$153 million to cover the guarantee on those debt securities. 51 The majority of the FDIC’s
48

Euroweek, “FDIC Plans Phase Out of Guarantee Programme,” September 11, 2009, 12.

49

The TAGP also had an effect on FDIC resolutions during the crisis. In combination with the increased
insurance coverage limit to $250,000, the TAGP greatly reduced the number of uninsured depositors at
many failing banks. This reduction meant that there were many more whole bank–all deposit resolutions,
as opposed to whole bank–insured deposit resolutions; the relative increase in whole bank–all deposit
resolutions could have reduced the FDIC’s administrative costs. For a discussion of the different types of
resolutions, see chapter 6.

50

12 U.S.C. §1823(c)(4)(G)(ii).

51

One of these losses involved fraud. Three employees of Coastal Community Investments (Coastal), a holding
company that owned two Florida banks that would fail in 2010, were sentenced in 2014 to prison terms and
were required to pay more than $4.5 million in restitution to the FDIC. Coastal had had a $3 million secured
loan that was in default, and failure to repay the loan could have allowed its lender to take over the two
Florida banks. In order to repay the loan and retain control of the banks, the employees misrepresented the
loan as unsecured, allowing Coastal to borrow 125% of the $3 million amount and have it guaranteed under
the DGP. Coastal then obtained a DGP-guaranteed $3.75 million loan from another bank. When Coastal

58

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

payments ($113 million) stemmed from the outstanding DGP debt held by banks that
failed in 2011. Under the TAGP, the FDIC collected $1.2 billion in fees; as of December 31,
2016, estimated TAGP losses from failures were about $1.5 billion.52 The five failures with
the highest resolution costs attributable to the TAGP, and the relationship between those
costs and all other resolution costs attributable to the TAGP, are presented in Figure 2.9.
Figure 2.9. The Costs of the TAGP: The 5 Most Expensive Failures vs. All Others
($ Millions, as of December 31, 2016)
$336.92
$736.64

Silverton
Irwin Union Bank and Trust
Colonial Bank
Georgian Bank
ShoreBank
All Others

$174.44

$152.79

$45.53

$91.59

Conclusion
For the FDIC, the TLGP was extraordinary in several ways. First, during the Corporation’s
first 75 years, it had never systematically protected bank debt, let alone bank holding
company debt or the debt of nonbank holding company affiliates.53 Second, the FDIC
later defaulted on this second loan, that lender filed a claim with the FDIC for the loan amount plus interest,
and the FDIC paid the claim of just over $3.8 million. See U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office
for the Northern District of Florida, “Bankers and Attorney Sentenced to Prison, for Fraud, False Statement,
and Making a False Claim against the United States,” Press Release (August 22, 2014), https://www.justice.
gov/usao-ndfl/pr/bankers-and-attorney-sentenced-prison-fraud-false-statements-and-making-false-claim.
52

Because these totals were generated using estimated losses on failures as of December 31, 2016, they differ
from totals reported by the FDIC at the end of the TAGP (December 31, 2010).

53

During the 1980s, the FDIC, in the context of resolving troubled institutions, did protect debtholders several

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

59

had never extended unlimited deposit insurance protection to a class of bank deposits
(in this case, a broad subset of transaction accounts), although in the past the principle
of unlimited deposit insurance coverage had been considered. Third, this was only the
second time that the FDIC’s Board approved a systemic risk exception and the first time
that the assistance was actually put in place (assistance to Wachovia had been approved
two weeks earlier, but the need for it was subsequently obviated when Wells Fargo
acquired that bank [see chapter 3]). Fourth, creation of the TLGP involved the use by
bank regulators of a legal interpretation of the systemic risk exception that was at the
least novel, as was acknowledged at the time. All these extraordinary features reflected
the precarious state of the financial services industry in the fall of 2008.
The TLGP, in concert with other government programs, brought stability to U.S.
financial markets in a time of crisis. Conditions in the credit markets had improved
significantly by the start of 2009, and by midyear they began returning to normal,
despite still-elevated levels of problem loans; interest-rate spreads had retreated from the
highs established during the depth of the crisis, during the fall of 2008; and activity in
interbank lending and corporate bond markets had increased. Banks were able to issue
debt without a government guarantee. This stabilization of the markets was accomplished
with an industry-funded program that not only did not damage the DIF but, instead,
substantially benefited it. Overall, during a period when the banking industry and
the financial markets were in crisis, the TLGP made an important contribution to the
stability of both. Looking back on the program, former chairman Sheila Bair noted that
“if we ever again get into a situation where the entire financial system is seizing up, where
even healthy and well-managed banks are having trouble accessing liquidity, I do think
this is a good model to use.”54
In several important ways, Dodd-Frank refined the range of actions that would be
available for responding to future crises of the financial system, and did so essentially
by limiting regulatory discretion should another crisis arise.55 In particular, the act
repealed the use of a systemic risk exception to assist a troubled open individual
times. In 1984, open-bank assistance to Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company included
the protection of all general creditors; the open-bank assistance to First RepublicBank Corporation in 1988
also protected all general creditors. Some bondholders were partially protected in the open-bank assistance
to First City Bancorporation of Texas in 1988, and a year later, with the failure of MCorp, unsubordinated
general creditors of 19 of the holding company’s banks were protected. See FDIC, Managing the Crisis: The
FDIC and RTC Experience (1998), 554, 571, 595, 622.
54

Joe Adler, “FDIC Debt Program Proves as Good as TARP, without the Baggage,” American Banker,
April 26, 2012.

55

See Martin Neil Baily and Aaron Klein, “The Impact of the Dodd-Frank Act on Financial Stability and
Economic Growth,” Presentation at University of Michigan Center on Finance, Law, and Policy, October 24,
2014, https://www.brookings.edu/on-the-record/the-impact-of-the-dodd-frank-act-on-financial-stabilityand-economic-growth/; and James Broughel, “Title XI: Fed Transparency and Bailouts,” in Dodd-Frank:
What It Does and Why It’s Flawed, ed. Hester Peirce and James Broughel (2012), 121–35, https://www.
mercatus.org/system/files/dodd-frank-FINAL.pdf.

60

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

institution; and although Title XI does permit the creation of a program similar to
the DGP, it also imposes restrictions on such a program.56 Dodd-Frank prohibits the
creation of a future TAGP.57
Title XI explicitly authorizes a “liquidity event determination.”58 The process of
determining the existence of a liquidity event is similar to the process set forth in FDICIA
for declaring a systemic risk exception: if the FDIC Board and the FRB determine that a
liquidity event exists and that failure to act would significantly affect financial stability,
and if the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the President concurs, the FDIC
has the authority to create “a widely available program” to guarantee obligations of solvent
insured banks or their holding companies (including holding company affiliates).
But although the FDIC will be responsible for administering such a program, the
maximum amount of outstanding debt that can be guaranteed is to be determined not
by the FDIC but by the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the President.
And, in a significant addition, the law also requires the program to have congressional
approval in the form of a joint resolution—a requirement that essentially means
Congress must pass the equivalent of a law before the program can go forward.59 So
although Dodd-Frank provides for a program similar to the DGP, the law’s requirement
for wider political consent through congressional approval (even though the approval
would have to be considered on an expedited basis) could limit regulators’ flexibility
during a future financial crisis.

56

For the limits on the use of the systemic risk exception, see Dodd-Frank, §1106 [12 U.S.C 1823(c)(4)(G)(i)];
for the provisions allowing for a future DGP, see Dodd-Frank §1104–5 [12 U.S.C. 5611–12].

57

The law states that “a guarantee of deposits held by insured depository institutions shall not be treated as a
debt guarantee program” under the provisions of the liquidity event determination (defined in note 58). See
12 U.S.C. 5612(f).

58

The law defines a liquidity event as “an exceptional and broad reduction in the general ability of financial
market participants … to sell financial assets without an unusual and significant discount or to borrow
using financial assets as collateral without an unusual and significant increase in margin, or an unusual and
significant reduction in the ability of financial market participants to obtain unsecured credit.”

59

Like a bill, a joint resolution requires the approval of both the House and the Senate in identical form,
and requires the President’s signature to become law (https://www.senate.gov/legislative/common/briefing/
leg_laws_acts.htm).

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

61

Appendix
Table 2.A. Issuers of $250 Million or More in FDIC-Guaranteed Debt
Breakdown by Affiliate
(if applicable)

Entity
1

Citigroup, Inc.

TOTAL
Citigroup, Inc.
Citigroup Funding Inc.
Citibank, National Association

2

General Electric Capital TOTAL

Amount
$175,903,888,595

Issuances
1,655

$13,850,000,000

5

$128,997,377,222

1,165

$33,056,511,373

485

$130,850,166,935

4,328

Corporation
3

4

Bank of America

TOTAL

$130,842,662,031

1,454

Corporation

Bank of America Corporation

$64,079,465,128

1,091

Bank of America, National Association

$46,976,837,903

281

JPMorgan Chase
& Co.

Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

$19,786,359,000

82

TOTAL

$42,512,382,326

189

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

$40,534,011,955

61

$1,978,370,371

128

JPMorgan Chase Bank, National
Association
5

Goldman Sachs Group, TOTAL
Inc.

$37,652,426,455

346

6

Morgan Stanley

TOTAL

$30,256,932,941

57

7

Wells Fargo &
Company

TOTAL

$10,022,320,776

107

$9,500,000,000

4

$250,868,606

14

Wells Fargo & Company
Wells Fargo Bank, National Association
Wachovia Bank, National Association

8
9

$271,452,170

89

GMAC LLC

TOTAL

$7,400,000,000

3

U.S. Bancorp

TOTAL

$7,283,744,203

581

U.S. Bank National Association

$4,282,285,453

467

U.S. Bancorp

$3,001,458,750

114

TOTAL

$5,900,000,000

3

$5,289,431,500

53

10 American Express
Bank, FSB.

11 State Street Corporation TOTAL
State Street Corporation

$2,839,431,500

51

State Street Bank and Trust Company

$2,450,000,000

2

TOTAL

$4,913,503,000

116

13 HSBC USA Inc.
(subsidiary of HSBC
Holdings, PLC)

TOTAL

$4,742,598,079

24

HSBC USA Inc.

$4,616,910,000

17

$125,688,079

7

14 Regions Bank

TOTAL

$4,200,000,000

6
continued

12 John Deere Capital
Corporation

HSBC Bank USA, National Association

62

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Breakdown by Affiliate
(if applicable)

Entity

Amount

Issuances

15 PNC Funding Corp.

TOTAL

$3,900,000,000

4

16 SunTrust Banks, Inc.

TOTAL

$3,576,000,000

3

SunTrust Bank

$3,000,000,000

2

$576,000,000

1

TOTAL

$2,210,000,000

13

TOTAL

$1,937,500,000

4

KeyBank National Association

$1,000,000,000

1

$937,500,000

3

TOTAL

$1,600,000,000

2

Sovereign Bank

$1,350,000,000

1

$250,000,000

1

$1,040,412,845

73

The Bank of New York Mellon
Corporation

$603,448,298

2

The Bank of New York Mellon

$436,964,547

71

SunTrust Banks, Inc.
17 Union Bank, National
Association
18 KeyCorp

KeyCorp
19 Sovereign
Bancorp, Inc.

Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
20 The Bank of New York
Mellon Corporation

TOTAL

21 Bank of the West

TOTAL

$1,002,889,124

2

22 Banco Bilbao Vizcaya

TOTAL

$686,440,926

31

TOTAL

$602,000,000

2

New York Community Bank

$512,000,000

1

$90,000,000

1

TOTAL

$600,000,000

1

TOTAL

$460,000,000

11

26 MetLife, Inc.

TOTAL

$397,436,000

1

27 Associated Bank,

TOTAL

$395,000,000

6

TOTAL

$285,500,000

4

Fifth Third Bank

$285,000,000

3

$500,000

1

$254,892,500

1

Argentaria Puerto Rico
23 New York Community
Bancorp, Inc.

New York Community Bancorp, Inc.
24 The Huntington
National Bank
25 Wilmington Trust
Company

National Association
28 Fifth Third Bancorp

Fifth Third Bancorp
29 Zions Bancorporation

TOTAL

Note: The data presented in this table account for 99.7 percent of the debt issued under the DGP. Data on
the remaining issuers can be found at https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/TLGP/total_debt.html.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

63

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Adler, Joe. “FDIC Debt Program Proves as Good as TARP, without the Baggage.”
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64

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Economic Implications of the “Too Big to Fail Policy,” Hearing Before the U.S. House of
Representatives, Subcommittee on Economic Stabilization, Committee on Banking, Finance,
and Urban Affairs. 102nd Cong. 1991.
Euroweek. “FDIC Fiddling Rescues Bank Liquidity Plan.” November 28, 2008, 10.
———. “Goldman Leads TLGP Off to a Flying Start.” November 28, 2008, 9.
———. “FDIC Plans Phase Out of Guarantee Programme.” September 11, 2009, 12.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Managing the Crisis: The FDIC and RTC
Experience. 1998.
———. “Memorandum to the Board of Directors: FDIC Guarantee of Bank Debt.”
October 13, 2008.
———. “Statement by FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair.” FDIC Joint Press Conference with
U.S. Treasury and Federal Reserve. Press Release. October 14, 2008. https://www.fdic.
gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08100a.html.
Federal Register. Vols. 73–76. 2008–12.
Flitter, Emily. “Way Out Gets Clearer as TLGP to End.” American Banker. October 21, 2009.
G7 Finance Ministers. “G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors Plan of
Action.” October 10, 2008. http://www.g8.utoronto.ca/finance/fm081010.htm.
Geithner, Timothy F. Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises. 2014.
Grande, Giuseppe, Aviram Levy, Fabio Panetta, and Andrea Zaghini. “Public Guarantees
on Bank Bonds: Effectiveness and Distortions.” OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends,
2011, no. 2, 1–25. http://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/49200208.pdf.
International Association of Deposit Insurers (IADI). “Discussion Paper on Cross Border
Deposit Insurance Issues Raised by the Global Financial Crisis.” March 2011. http://www.
iadi.org/en/assets/File/Papers/Approved%20Research%20-%20Discussion%20Papers/
IADI_CBDI_Paper_29_Mar_2011_(Final_for_publication).pdf.
Levy, Aviram, and Sebastian Schich. “The Design of Government Guarantees for Bank
Bonds: Lessons from the Recent Financial Crisis.” OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends,
2010, no.1, 1–32. https://www.oecd.org/finance/financial-markets/45636972.pdf.

CHAPTER 2: The Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program: A Systemwide Systemic Risk Exception

65

Levy, Aviram, and Andrea Zaghini. “The Pricing of Government-Guaranteed Bank
Bonds.” Banks and Bank Systems 6. no. 3 (2011): 16–24. https://businessperspectives.org/
media/zoo/applications/publishing/templates/article/assets/js/pdfjs/web/4126.
Moody’s Investors Service. “Moody’s Will Assign Backed-Aaa Ratings to Debt Securities
Covered by the FDIC’s Guarantee.” Global Credit Research. November 24, 2008.
https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-will-assign-backed-Aaa-ratings-to-debtsecurities-covered--PR_167951.
Panetta, Fabio, Thomas Faeh, Giuseppe Grande, Corrinne Ho, Michael King, Aviram
Levy, Federico M. Signoretti, Marco Taboga, and Andrea Zaghini. “An Assessment
of Financial Sector Rescue Programmes.” BIS Papers 48, Bank of Italy Monetary and
Economic Department, 2009. http://www.bis.org/publ/bppdf/bispap48.pdf.
Paulson, Henry M., Jr. On the Brink: Inside the Race to Stop the Collapse of the Global
Financial System. 2010.
Schich, Sebastian. “Expanded Government Guarantees for Bank Liabilities: Selected
Issues.” OECD Journal: Financial Market Trends, 2009, no. 1, 1–36. http://www.oecd.org/
finance/financial-markets/42779438.pdf.
U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida.
“Bankers and Attorney Sentenced to Prison, for Fraud, False Statement, and Making a
False Claim against the United States.” Press Release. August 22, 2014. https://www.justice.
gov/usao-ndfl/pr/bankers-and-attorney-sentenced-prison-fraud-false-statements-andmaking-false-claim.
U.S. Department of the Treasury. Modernizing the Financial System: U.S. Treasury
Department Recommendations for Safer, More Competitive Banks.1991.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Federal Deposit Insurance Act: Regulators’
Use of Systemic Risk Exception Raises Moral Hazard Concerns and Opportunities Exist to
Clarify the Provision. GAO-10-100. 2010. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-100.

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3
Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions
for Individual Institutions during
the Financial Crisis
Introduction
As discussed in chapter 1, “Origins of the Crisis,” September 2008 was a critical month in the
financial crisis. Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, Washington Mutual Bank (WaMu)
failed, the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) and Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation (Freddie Mac) were placed into government conservatorship,
and the government provided assistance to American International Group (AIG). Two
months earlier, in July, IndyMac, F.S.B., had failed. It was in this context that a systemic risk
exception (SRE) allowing the FDIC to assist a large bank that might otherwise fail became
an acute possibility. (For information on the increased size and complexity of the largest
banks, see the box. For a timeline of major events during the financial crisis of 2008 and
2009, see the timeline immediately following the Overview.)
In deciding whether to invoke SREs for particular depository institutions (instead of
allowing them to fail under the least-cost resolution framework1), the FDIC, the Board
of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB), and the Department of the Treasury
(Treasury) had to balance sometimes competing goals. These decisions raised questions
about how to strike the balance between, on the one hand, stability and containing
systemic risk, and, on the other, containing moral hazard and protecting the Deposit
Insurance Fund (DIF), which can entail imposing losses on uninsured depositors,
1

In the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA), Congress required
(among other things) that the FDIC resolve failed banks by using the method that would be least costly to
the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), even if that meant imposing losses on uninsured depositors as well as
creditors and shareholders. Congress allowed one exception to the least-cost resolution requirement. “If
complying with those [least-cost] requirements would have serious adverse effects on economic conditions
or financial stability and if FDIC assistance or other actions would avoid or mitigate those effects,” an SRE
could be granted. FDICIA required that the decision to grant an SRE be made by the Secretary of the Treasury
in consultation with the President, but only after a written recommendation by a two-thirds majority of both
the Board of Directors of the FDIC and the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System (FRB). Once
an SRE determination was made, the FDIC was authorized to act or assist as necessary to avoid the potential
adverse effects of a major bank failure. 12 U.S.C. § 1823(c)(4)(G)(i) (2008).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

creditors, and shareholders of failed banks. (Moral hazard arises when someone is willing
to take greater risks in the belief that others will bear any negative consequences that may
ensue.) As they considered invoking SREs in late 2008 and early 2009, the Treasury, the
FDIC, the FRB, and other regulators debated a number of questions: whether to impose
losses on bondholders, what supervisory strategies to use for firms that would receive
assistance as a result of an SRE, and how the need for any additional SREs (if such a need
arose) might affect public confidence in the regulatory system and the financial markets.
This chapter examines the SREs that the Treasury, the FDIC, and the FRB decided on
for three individual institutions (Wachovia on September 29, 2008, Citigroup on
November 23, 2008, and Bank of America on January 16, 20092), in each case discussing
the problems at the institution, the rationale for recommending an SRE, the structure of
government assistance granted under the SRE, and the effects of the SRE.

Banking Industry Consolidation

Before the banking crisis that began in 2008, the largest bank to become insolvent
had been Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company. In May 1984,
when regulators intervened, Continental Illinois was the nation’s seventh-largest
bank. At the end of 1983, it had $40.7 billion in assets.
By the end of 2007, the banking industry had consolidated considerably, and the
largest banks had become much larger. In the fourth quarter of 1984, the four largest
banks held 11.2 percent of total industry assets, whereas in the fourth quarter of
2007, the four largest banks held 39.5 percent of total industry assets; the largest
bank in the fourth quarter of 1984 had $142 billion in assets, while the largest bank
in the fourth quarter of 2007 had $1.7 trillion in assets.a
The largest banks had also become much more complex. The 1999 Gramm-LeachBliley Act allowed banks, securities companies, and insurance companies to affiliate
with each other, thereby increasing the interconnections and interdependencies
among financial companies. Several of the largest U.S. banks had also increased
their global presence (and many large foreign banks had a significant presence in
the United States). For example, the four largest banks in 2007 had, in aggregate,
more than three times the level of assets held in foreign offices than they had in
1998, and nearly one-third more foreign offices.
ª Assets of these banks include assets held by other banks under the same holding company.

2

For Bank of America, an SRE was recommended on January 15, 2009, and an assistance package was
announced on January 16, 2009. A formal systemic risk determination, however, was never made.

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69

The Case of Wachovia
The financial turmoil created by the failures of Lehman Brothers and WaMu and fears
for the financial system served as the backdrop for the decision by the FDIC, FRB, and
the Secretary of the Treasury to invoke an SRE to allow the acquisition of Wachovia—the
first ever use of an SRE. (For a timeline of major events related to the Wachovia SRE,
see Figure 3.1.) The decision to invoke an SRE for Wachovia set a precedent for the
government’s response to the heightening financial crisis.
Figure 3.1. Timeline of Wachovia Events

2008
July

September
October

July 22, 2008

(Tu) Wachovia announces an $8.9 billion loss for the 2nd
quarter of 2008.

Sept. 25, 2008

(Th) Washington Mutual Bank fails and JPMorgan Chase
acquires its deposits and assets. Two large counterparties
refuse to lend to Wachovia overnight.

Sept. 26, 2008

(F) “Wachovia Weekend” begins.

Sept. 29, 2008

(M) Systemic risk exception (SRE) is recommended and
approved for Citigroup to acquire Wachovia. Citigroup/
Wachovia deal is announced.

Sept. 30, 2008

(Tu) The IRS releases IRS Notice 2008-83, greatly easing
the rules for writing off an acquired bank’s losses.

Oct. 2, 2008

(Th) Wells Fargo reenters the bidding for Wachovia
and proposes a new offer that includes a higher share
price than Citigroup’s offer and requires no government
assistance.

Oct. 3, 2008

(F) Wells Fargo and Wachovia announce merger
agreement.

Oct. 4, 2008

(Sa) Citigroup pursues legal action against both Wells
Fargo and Wachovia.

Oct. 12, 2008

(Su) The FRB approves Wells Fargo’s acquisition of
Wachovia Corporation.

Source: Adapted from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s Financial Crisis Timeline.

Problems at Wachovia

Wachovia Corporation (Wachovia), a financial holding company, owned multiple depository
subsidiaries and provided a wide range of investment banking, private banking, and asset
management services, in part through two broker-dealers. At the end of June 2008, Wachovia
was the fourth-largest banking organization in the United States (after Bank of America
Corporation, JPMorgan Chase & Co., and Citigroup, Inc.) with slightly over $800 billion

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

in holding company assets, of which over $780 billion were in the company’s depository
institutions. (Table 3.1 lists the ten U.S. banking organizations with the largest amount of
depository institution assets as of June 30, 2008.)
Table 3.1. Top Ten Banking Organizations by Depository Institution Asset Size,
June 30, 2008
Depository Institution Totals
Assets
($ Billion)

Deposits
($ Billion)

Domestic Deposits
($ Billion)

Bank of America Corporation

1,670.21

882.90

701.49

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

1,454.17

834.16

497.22

Citigroup, Inc.

1,324.86

820.07

265.83

Wachovia Corporation

782.30

475.17

422.00

Wells Fargo & Company

558.45

361.27

293.41

Washington Mutual, Inc.

307.02

188.26

188.26

U.S. Bancorp

248.51

143.30

127.85

The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation

185.99

131.15

55.03

HSBC Holdings PLC

179.75

119.74

83.05

SunTrust Banks, Inc.

173.35

122.21

115.60

Name of Holding Company

In early 2008, the FDIC downgraded its internal outlook rating (Large Insured
Depository Institution, or LIDI, rating) for Wachovia Bank (a depository institution
subsidiary of Wachovia),3 citing the bank’s “mark-to-market valuation adjustments”
(see chapter 1), “considerable volume of inventory that could not be readily sold” in its

3

The FDIC downgraded Wachovia’s LIDI rating to “C Negative.” A “C Negative” LIDI rating indicates that the
FDIC considers an institution to have an elevated risk profile that is likely to deteriorate to a “3” CAMELS
composite rating within 12 months. See Systemically Important Institutions and the Issue of “Too Big to Fail,”
Before the Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (Public Hearing on Too Big to Fail: Expectations and Impact
of Extraordinary Government Intervention and the Role of Systemic Risk in the Financial Crisis, September
1, 2010) (statement of John H. Corston, Acting Deputy Director, Complex Financial Institution Branch,
Division of Supervision and Consumer Protection, FDIC), 3, https://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_
media/fcic-testimony/2010-0901-Corston.pdf. Bank supervisory ratings—CAMELS composite ratings—
are on a scale of 1 to 5, with a 1-rating indicating greatest strength in performance and risk management
and the lowest level of supervisory concern. At the other end of the scale, a 5-rating indicates the weakest
performance, inadequate risk management, and the highest level of supervisory concern. The CAMELS
composite rating is derived from an evaluation of the six CAMELS components: Capital adequacy, Asset
quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity to market risk. Although the CAMELS composite
rating is generally a close reflection of the assigned component ratings, it is not an arithmetic average of the
component ratings.

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71

structured finance business, and “increasing required provisions for loan and lease losses.”4
The inventory included subprime mortgages, syndicated credits within collateralized
loan obligations, and a large volume of commercial real estate (CRE) loans that were
acquired or originated for inclusion in commercial mortgage-backed securitizations.
In August 2008, after monitoring the bank closely for several months, the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC, Wachovia Bank’s primary federal regulator)
downgraded the institution’s CAMELS rating to a composite “3.”5 On September 11,
Wachovia requested an exemption from Federal Reserve rule 23A, which restricts most
credit and sale transactions between an insured depository institution and its affiliates, to
allow the holding company to meet its liquidity needs.6 This request was initially denied
because Federal Reserve officials believed that Wachovia had a strong cash position, but
after the Lehman bankruptcy (on September 15) and an increase in depositor outflows
at Wachovia Bank, the request was granted on September 19.7 The exemption allowed
Wachovia to use funding obtained by its insured depository institution affiliates to help
support its liquidity needs.
Together, Wachovia’s subsidiary banks were the nation’s largest holders of paymentoption adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs).8 (For a brief description of these mortgages,
see the box titled “Types of Mortgage Products” in chapter 1.)9 On September 25, 2008,
the nation’s second-largest holder of payment-option ARMs, Washington Mutual Bank
(WaMu), failed, and the next day its holding company, Washington Mutual Inc., filed for
Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.10 WaMu’s failure was widely attributed to its holdings
4

Systemically Important Institutions, statement of Corston, 7.

5

Ibid.

6

See 12 U.S.C. § 371(c)(1) (2008).

7

Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC), The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report (2011), 366, http://fcicstatic.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-reports/fcic_final_report_full.pdf.

8

Wachovia’s exposure to payment-option ARMs arose primarily from its acquisition of World Savings
Bank FSB and World Savings Bank Texas FSB, which together held roughly $65 billion in payment-option
ARMs concentrated in California and Florida (FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors
Regarding Wachovia Corporation,” September 29, 2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicdocs/2008-09-29_Memo_to_the_FDIC_Board_of_Directors.pdf).

9

In sum, payment-option ARMs allow borrowers to set their own payment terms on a monthly basis. The
borrower can, for example, make a minimum payment lower than the amount needed to cover interest;
pay only interest, deferring payment of principal; or make payments calculated to have the loan amortize
in 15 or 30 years. In addition, payment-option ARMs have an interest rate and payment that change
periodically over the life of the loan based on changes in a specific index (with a typically low initial teaser
rate that increases after a short period).

10

With approximately $307 billion in assets at failure, WaMu was the largest depository institution failure in
the FDIC’s history. FDIC, “Failures and Assistance Transactions—Historical Statistics on Banking,” https://
www5.fdic.gov/hsob/SelectRpt.asp?EntryTyp=30. Assets at failure are based on assets reported in the
institution’s last report of income and condition (Call Report) before failure.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

of payment-option ARMs, and its failure added to existing concerns among Wachovia’s
depositors and creditors, since Wachovia also held large amounts of these assets.11
Wachovia’s financial condition was deteriorating rapidly, largely because of losses in
its portfolio of payment-option ARMs, a troubled CRE loan portfolio, and its weakened
liquidity position.12 On the evening of Thursday, September 25, two regular Wachovia
counterparties refused to lend overnight to the firm.13 On Friday, September 26 (the day
after WaMu failed), Wachovia’s stock price fell sharply, and spreads on credit default swaps
on its debt widened markedly, suggesting that the market perceived a significant increase
in the risk of Wachovia’s defaulting on its debt. During the day on Friday, the bank’s
liquidity very quickly deteriorated. Depositors accelerated withdrawals at Wachovia
Bank, and deposit outflows reached about $5.7 billion (1.4 percent of the bank’s domestic
deposits as of June 30, 2008). In addition, $1.1 billion in Wachovia Corporation’s assetbacked commercial paper and repurchase agreements could not be rolled over, and other
signs of a severe liquidity crisis became obvious.14 By the end of the day on September
26, Wachovia informed the OCC that, in the absence of a rescue agreement, Wachovia
would be unable to obtain the funds needed to pay creditor claims that would come due
the morning of Monday, September 29. Wachovia also identified Citigroup and Wells
Fargo as potential buyers.15
In addition to specific concerns about Wachovia itself, the banking agencies and
Treasury were concerned about the effects that a Wachovia failure could have on the
financial markets and on investors’ confidence in the stock market.

The Decision to Invoke a Systemic Risk Exception

Discussions about a potential acquisition of Wachovia began in earnest on the morning
of Saturday, September 27. As of that morning, Citigroup was proposing an acquisition
that would require government assistance, and Wells Fargo was considering an acquisition
without government assistance.16 An acquisition requiring FDIC assistance would require
an SRE. (By statute, an SRE was required because FDIC assistance would benefit Wachovia
Bank’s shareholders.) On Sunday morning, however, Wells Fargo rescinded its preliminary
offer—which required no government assistance—in favor of a new offer that would
require government assistance. Wells Fargo’s change of position meant that both of the
options for a Wachovia acquisition would require an SRE.17
11

FCIC, Report, 366.

12

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Wachovia,” 3.

13

Systemically Important Institutions, statement of Corston, 8.

14

Ibid., 9.

15

Systemically Important Institutions, statement of Corston, 9; and FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding
Wachovia,” 8.

16

FCIC, Report, 366.

17

Ibid., 368.

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73

The Wells Fargo bid required the FDIC to share potential losses on a pool of up to $127.3
billion in assets, with Wells Fargo assuming the first $2 billion in losses and remaining losses
shared 80 percent by the FDIC and 20 percent by Wells Fargo, with the FDIC’s losses capped
at $20 billion. The FDIC estimated that Wells Fargo’s bid would cost the DIF between $5.6 and
$7.2 billion. The Citigroup bid requested that the FDIC share losses on a pool of up to $312
billion, with Citigroup absorbing the first $30 billion in losses. In addition to the $30 billion
first-loss position, Citigroup would absorb $4 billion in losses per year for the first three
years (for a total of $42 billion in losses), and the FDIC would absorb any additional losses.
The FDIC estimated that even under the most severe scenario, Citigroup’s first-loss position
would likely result in no cost to the DIF. Wachovia itself submitted a third proposal—which
would also require federal assistance and an SRE—that was intended to help Wachovia’s
insured depository institution subsidiaries remain open and avoid FDIC receivership.18
Wachovia’s proposal required credit protection from the FDIC for a pool of $200 billion of
loans, with Wachovia covering the first $25 billion in losses. The FDIC determined that the
Citigroup bid represented the least costly alternative for resolving Wachovia.19
Several considerations led the FRB and the FDIC to recommend an SRE, which had
never before been used. Wachovia was large, complex, and deeply interconnected with
other financial institutions and markets. It held multiple bank charters and operated
significant businesses outside its insured banks, including several retail securities
brokerages. Many large financial firms had substantial counterparty exposure
to Wachovia, and Wachovia provided back-up liquidity support to many traded
instruments.20 Wachovia was also a major participant in the full range of domestic and
international clearing and settlement systems.21
Under a standard “least cost” resolution, the FDIC would be responsible for resolving
the banking subsidiary, but the holding company and other subsidiaries would be resolved
under bankruptcy law. In that scenario, shareholders would likely be wiped out and creditors,
including commercial paper holders, foreign depositors, subordinated debt holders,
and possibly senior note holders, would suffer significant losses,22 in some cases leading
directly to losses at other financial institutions. Losses on Wachovia commercial paper held
by money market mutual funds, many of which had recently experienced runs and one
of which had “broken the buck,” could have led “more money market funds to ‘break the

18

A receivership is the legal procedure for winding down the affairs of an insolvent bank.

19

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Wachovia,” 8.

20

Systemically Important Institutions, statement of Corston, 9.

21

U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO), Federal Deposit Insurance Act: Regulators’ Use of Systemic
Risk Exception Raises Moral Hazard Concerns and Opportunities Exist to Clarify the Provision, GAO-10-100
(2010), 14, http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-100.

22

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Wachovia,”11.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

buck,’ accelerating runs on those and other money funds.”23 The sudden failure of Wachovia
could “lead investors to reassess the risk in U.S. commercial banks more broadly.”24 Losses
imposed on general creditors and foreign depositors would, the decisionmakers believed,
likely be a major shock to many foreign households and businesses and thus indirectly
“could imperil this significant source of funding for other U.S. financial institutions.”
Further loss of confidence resulting from imposing losses on creditors “might well lead
short-term funding markets to virtually cease.” The offers from Citigroup and Wells
Fargo, however, both called for assistance that would not impose losses on Wachovia
shareholders or creditors.
In the view of the FRB, the FDIC, and the Treasury, the benefits of an SRE outweighed
the possible disadvantages. Given the precarious state of the financial markets, the
decisionmakers agreed that the losses and indirect effects from a least-cost resolution
would have significant adverse effects on economic conditions and the financial markets,
worsening the already unstable overall financial environment and disrupting a large
proportion of U.S. households and businesses.25 The FRB, the FDIC, and the Treasury also
believed that the supply of credit to households and businesses would shrink substantially
and that confidence in the current and future states of the U.S. financial system and
economy would deteriorate further.
Finally, an SRE was a prerequisite to arranging a successful acquisition of Wachovia, since
both of Wachovia’s potential acquirers, Citigroup and Wells Fargo, told federal regulators
that they would need federal assistance to acquire Wachovia.
One disadvantage was a possible weakening of overall market discipline if investors were
bailed out. Although decisionmakers wanted to know more about the specific debtholders
who would benefit from government assistance and how much effect any assistance might
have, they lacked this information and could not get it during the short period before they
had to decide whether to invoke an SRE.

23

Ibid., 10. In the event of the insolvency of the issuer of a security, a money market fund must dispose of the
issuer’s security as soon as practicable (17 CFR § 270.2a-7(f)). Prime money market mutual fund assets had
declined roughly $350 billion over the two weeks before the Wachovia discussions (Investment Company
Institute via Bloomberg). Further, on September 16, the day after Lehman Brothers filed for bankruptcy, the
net asset value of the Reserve Primary Fund fell below $1, or “broke the buck,” because the fund was forced to
sell its holdings of Lehman Brothers’ securities. Three days after the Reserve Primary Fund broke the buck,
the Treasury announced the Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds, which was funded
by the Exchange Stabilization Fund. For more information related to money market funds and their reliance
on commercial paper during the crisis, see Marcin Kacperczyk and Philipp Schnabl, “When Safe Proved
Risky: Commercial Paper during the Financial Crisis of 2007–2009,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 24, no.
1 (Winter 2010), http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~sternfin/mkacperc/public_html/commercial.pdf.

24

This and the remaining two quotations in this paragraph are from FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding
Wachovia.”

25

FDIC, Transcript, FDIC Closed Board Meeting, September 29, 2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_
media/fcic-docs/2008-09-29_FDIC_Board_of_Directors_Meeting_Closed_Session.pdf.

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75

A second disadvantage was the disparate treatment of different size banks that would
result. As the crisis had accelerated in 2008, the FDIC had closed nearly a dozen small
banks, but regulators would now be keeping a much bigger bank open. Furthermore, the
costs, if any, of an exception to the least-cost resolution requirement would eventually be
borne by the entire banking industry, including small banks.
Recognizing the risk that a least-cost resolution could amplify the systemic financial
crisis that was then underway, the FDIC and other policymakers concluded it was
necessary to invoke the SRE and provide assistance that would benefit debt holders and
shareholders in addition to insured depositors. On September 29, the FDIC Board and
the FRB recommended invoking the SRE for the first time since it was created under
FDICIA. After consultation with the President, the Secretary of the Treasury concurred
with this recommendation, and financial assistance under the SRE was approved. The
FDIC Board, estimating that the Citigroup proposal would result in no loss to the DIF,
chose the bid that represented the least costly of the available methods of avoiding the
serious adverse systemic effects that would have resulted from Wachovia’s failure.

Actions Taken under the Exception

On Monday, September 29, 2008, the FDIC announced that Citigroup would acquire
Wachovia’s banking operations in an open-bank transaction assisted by the FDIC. All
depositors (insured and uninsured) at Wachovia’s subsidiary banks would be fully
protected, but the FDIC did not expect to suffer any loss, although this expectation
was obviously subject to substantial uncertainty. Citigroup would acquire the bulk of
Wachovia’s assets and liabilities, including its depository institutions, and would assume
the senior and subordinated debt of the holding company. Wachovia’s holding company
would continue to own three investment banking subsidiaries.
The FDIC would agree to share future losses on a pre-identified pool of $312 billion
in loans: Citigroup would agree to absorb up to $42 billion of future losses on the pool
(a $30 billion first-loss position, and an additional $4 billion in losses per year for
the first three years) and, if losses exceeded this amount, the FDIC would absorb the
additional losses. To compensate the FDIC for its risk of loss, Citigroup would give the
FDIC $12 billion in preferred stock and warrants. Although the FDIC projected that the
transaction would not result in losses to the FDIC, any losses that did occur would be
paid by the FDIC but financed through a line of credit from the Treasury, to be repaid
later by the banking industry.
Severe time constraints combined with the difficulty of the negotiations prevented
Wachovia and Citigroup from signing a final purchase agreement, but they did sign a short
exclusivity agreement. The lack of a formal purchase agreement, in combination with other
events, helped open the door for Wells Fargo to reenter the bidding for Wachovia. One of

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

these other events was a ruling by the Treasury (IRS Notice 2008-83, repealed in 2009) on
Tuesday, September 30, that limited the tax consequences of the aquisition.26
Wells Fargo reentered the bidding on the evening of Thursday, October 2, with an offer
to acquire all of Wachovia’s operations; the new bid did not require any FDIC assistance
and offered shareholders a higher price than the Citigroup proposal. Wells Fargo offered to
pay an estimated $7 per share, seven times Citigroup’s bid of $1 per share.27 Before the end
of that day, Wachovia’s board had approved a merger with Wells Fargo.28 Early the next day,
on Friday, October 3, the two banks publicly announced their merger.
The Wells Fargo offer reduced direct risk to the FDIC and probably also helped to
reduce market uncertainty that could have been created by the Citigroup agreement, which
would have left key “nonbank” parts of Wachovia (the investment banking subsidiaries) in
a separate organization (under the Wachovia holding company). The Wells Fargo offer was
also a better deal for Wachovia’s stockholders.29
On October 12 the FRB announced its approval of the acquisition of the whole of
Wachovia by Wells Fargo. On January 1, 2009, Wells Fargo announced that the merger had
become effective the previous day, December 31, 2008.

Effects of Invoking the Exception

The successful acquisition of Wachovia negated any need for FDIC assistance, and no
assistance was provided under the SRE. As a result of the Wells Fargo acquisition, Wachovia
was able both to fund itself and to continue normal operations, and the projected adverse
effects of a least-cost resolution of Wachovia were averted. Nevertheless, invoking the SRE
set an important precedent by signaling to financial markets that the government was
willing to take action to avert systemic problems in the banking industry.
26

“The Treasury’s inspector general, who later conducted an investigation into the circumstances of the notice’s
issuance, reported that the purpose of the notice was to encourage strong banks to acquire weak banks by
removing limitations on the use of tax losses.” Rich Delmar (Treasury Office of the Inspector General),
interview by FCIC, August 25, 2010, https://fcic.law.stanford.edu/interviews/view/51; and Rich Delmar,
“Memorandum for Inspector General Eric M. Thorson, Inquiry Regarding IRS Notice 2008-83,” September
3, 2009, 3, 5, 11–12, https://www.treasury.gov/about/organizational-structure/ig/Documents/Inquiry%20
Regarding%20IRS%20Notice%202008-83.pdf. Further, the inquiry found “no basis to charge that the timing
of the Notice’s development, review, and promulgation was driven by a request or plan to affect or assist any
particular corporate transaction,” 8.

27

FCIC, Report, 370.

28

Ibid.

29

Citigroup initiated legal action against both Wells Fargo and Wachovia on October 4, the day after the
announcement. The legal action sought, in part, a restraining order against the merger and punitive
damages. See The Acquisition of Wachovia Corporation by Wells Fargo & Company, Before the Financial
Crisis Inquiry Commission (Public Hearing on Too Big to Fail: Expectations and Impact of Extraordinary
Government Intervention and the Role of Systemic Risk in the Financial Crisis, September 1, 2010)
(statement of Scott G. Alvarez, General Counsel, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System),
8, https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/testimony/alvarez20100901a.pdf. On October 9, Citigroup
agreed to let the Wachovia/Wells Fargo merger proceed without hindrance and announced that its
continuing claims would be limited to seeking compensatory damages.

CHAPTER 3: Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the Financial Crisis

77

The Case of Citigroup
The decision to invoke an SRE for Citigroup, whose insured banks were substantially larger
than Wachovia’s banks, was, in the end, unavoidable. Citigroup’s failure would have had
serious systemic consequences. (For a timeline of major events related to the Citigroup
SRE, see Figure 3.2.)
Figure 3.2. Timeline of Citigroup Events

2008

Oct. 9, 2008

(Th) Citigroup announces it will stop pursuing the
previously announced acquisition of Wachovia.

Oct. 14, 2008

November

(M) Citigroup receives $25 billion capital investment
from Treasury via the Capital Purchase Program (CPP)
under the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP).

Oct. 16, 2008

(Th) Citigroup announces a $2.8 billion net loss for 3rd
quarter of 2008.

2009

Nov. 17, 2008

(M) Citigroup announces it will lay off 52,000 employees.

Nov. 19, 2008

(W) Citigroup announces it will move all its remaining
Structured Investment Vehicles, which had lost $1.1
billion in net value since September 30, onto its
balance sheet.

Nov. 20, 2008

(Th) Government officials begin negotiations on a
Citigroup assistance package.

Nov. 21, 2008

(F) Citigroup’s liquidity deteriorates.

Nov. 23, 2008

(Su) SRE is recommended and approved to provide
assistance to Citigroup using an asset guarantee for a
selected pool of assets ($306 billion) and an additional
$20 billion capital investment via TARP. Deal is
announced at 11:00 p.m.

Jan. 16, 2009

(F) FDIC, FRB, and Treasury finalize terms of the asset
guarantee agreement with Citigroup.

Feb. 27, 2009

(F) Treasury announces agreement to convert its
preferred Citigroup stock to common stock.

Mar. 5, 2009

(Th) Citigroup’s stock hits an all-time low of $1.02.

Dec. 14, 2009

(M) Citigroup announces it will repay all assistance
provided under TARP ($45 billion) and terminate its asset
guarantee agreement with the FDIC, FRB, and Treasury.

October

January
February
March

December

Source: Adapted from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s Financial Crisis Timeline.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Problems at Citigroup

Citigroup, Inc. (Citigroup) was one of the largest financial institutions in the world. As of
September 30, 2008, Citigroup had total consolidated assets of just over $2 trillion, with
approximately $1.2 trillion in assets in its lead bank subsidiary, Citibank, N.A. (Citibank).
Citigroup owned a total of five insured legal entities and three principal nonbank
subsidiaries, and, with operations in over 100 countries, had an extensive international
presence.30 The company had “significant amounts of commercial paper and long-term
senior and subordinated debt outstanding and was a major participant in numerous
domestic and international payment, clearing, and central counterparty arrangements,” as
well as a major player in derivatives markets.31 Citigroup’s vulnerability lay in its exposure
to credit and market losses coupled with its dependence on international operations for
funding (including $554 billion in foreign deposits).32
In February 2008, in light of the substantial losses Citigroup realized in the third
and fourth quarters of 2007, the OCC (Citibank’s primary federal regulator) conducted
examinations to review risk management and governance at Citibank. The OCC
found that management had incurred “what proved to be untenable risks for the sake
of profitability.”33 The supervisory letter sent to Citibank included specific “Matters
Requiring Attention” pertaining to deficiencies in the company’s risk management,
governance, and control processes.34 In April 2008, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York
(FRBNY) downgraded its RFI/C rating of the parent bank holding company, Citigroup,
from a 2 to a 3, reflecting its assessment that the firm’s weaknesses in risk management
and financial condition ranged from fair to moderately severe.35
30

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Citigroup,” November 23, 2008, 5, http://
fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-11-23%20FDIC%20Board%20of%20Directors%20
Memo%20re%20Citi.pdf.

31

Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), “Extraordinary Financial
Assistance Provided to Citigroup, Inc.,” Management Comments from FDIC, SIGTARP-11-002, January
13, 2011, 2, https://www.sigtarp.gov/Audit%20Reports/Extraordinary%20Financial%20Assistance%20
Provided%20to%20Citigroup,%20Inc.pdf. Derivatives are financial contracts whose prices are derived from
performance of an underlying asset, rate, index, or event.

32

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Citigroup.”

33

Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, Supervisory Letter 2008-05 to Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive
Officer of Citigroup, Inc., February 14, 2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicdocs/2008-02-14_OCC_Letter_from_John_C_Lyons_to_Vikram_Pandit_Serious_Problems_at_Citibank.
pdf.

34

Ibid. Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs) are supervisory tools used by the OCC to formally communicate
supervisory concerns. MRAs “must receive timely and effective corrective action by bank management
and follow-up by examiners.” For updated guidance on the MRA process, see OCC Bulletin 2014-52,
“Matters Requiring Attention: Updated Guidance,” October 30, 2014, http://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/
bulletins/2014/bulletin-2014-52.html.

35

Federal Reserve Bank of New York, “Report of Inspection to Board of Directors, Citigroup, Inc.,” April 15,
2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-04-15_FRBNY_Letter_from_John_J_

CHAPTER 3: Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the Financial Crisis

79

The events of September 2008 roiled financial markets and the entire banking sector,
including Citigroup. The Chicago Board Options Exchange’s Market Volatility Index,
or VIX, reached a historic high on September 29, indicating a sharp rise in market
uncertainty.36 Similarly, another common measure of market instability, the “TED
Spread” (which measures credit risk as the spread between three-month LIBOR and
three-month Treasury bill rates) reached 315 basis points on September 30, the highest
level ever reached until then. (Eleven days later, on October 10, it reached its all-time
high of 458 basis points.)37
In October 2008, in the midst of this turmoil, Citigroup’s troubles intensified. On
October 9 the company announced it would stop pursuing the previously announced
acquisition of Wachovia.38 Five days later, on October 14, the Treasury announced the
establishment of the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) through the Troubled Asset Relief
Program (TARP).39 Treasury stated in the announcement that Citigroup would receive
a $25 billion capital investment from the Treasury under the new program. (Eight other
large institutions would also receive capital investments.) On October 16, Citigroup
reported a net loss of $2.8 billion for the third quarter of 2008.40 The loss was largely
attributed to subprime and Alt-A mortgages (see box titled “Types of Mortgage Products”
in chapter 1),41 commercial real estate (CRE) investments, and write-downs of Structured
Investment Vehicle (SIV) assets42 (see the section titled “Mortgage Securitization” in
Ruocco_to_Board_of_Directors_of_Citigroup_Re_Annual_report_of_inspection.pdf. The Federal Reserve
System assigns supervisory ratings, called “RFI/C ratings,” to the bank holding companies it supervises. The
ratings acronym stands for Risk management, Financial condition, potential negative Impact of the parent
company and nondepository subsidiaries on bank and thrift subsidiaries, and Composite, or the overall
rating. Ratings range from 1 (the best) to 5 (the worst). See Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis, “Federal
Reserve Introduces New BHC Rating System,” Central Banker (Spring 2005), https://www.stlouisfed.org/
Publications/Central-Banker/Spring-2005/Federal-Reserve-Introduces-New-BHC-Rating-System.
36

The Chicago Board Options Exchange defines the VIX Index as “a key measure of market expectations of
near-term volatility conveyed by S&P 500 stock index option prices.” VIX is a commonly referenced measure
of market volatility and reached its all-time high of 80.86 on November 20, 2008.

37

LIBOR stands for the London interbank offered rate; this rate is set daily and is the interest rate at which
banks offer to lend funds to one another in the international interbank market.

38

Citigroup, Inc., “Citi Ends Negotiation with Wells Fargo on Wachovia Transaction,” Press Release, October
9, 2008, http://www.citigroup.com/citi/news/2008/081009g.htm.

39

U.S. Department of the Treasury, “Treasury Announces TARP Capital Purchase Program Description,” Press
Release, October 14, 2008, https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/hp1207.aspx.

40

Citigroup, Inc., Third Quarter 2008 Earnings Review Presentation, October 16, 2008, http://www.citigroup.
com/citi/investor/data/p081016a.pdf?ieNocache=975.

41

Alt-A mortgages are made to borrowers with credit ranging from very good to marginal, but they are made
under expanded underwriting guidelines that make these loans higher risk and also higher interest.

42

SIVs were highly leveraged entities held by banking companies but which, as separate legal entities, were
off the banks’ balance sheets and were therefore not subject to regulatory capital requirements, even if a
SIV’s parent holding company was under federal supervision. SIVs were designed to generate cash flows by

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

chapter 1). Despite Citigroup’s receipt of substantial government support through broadbased Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC programs available to financial institutions
in September and October,43 the company’s stock price continued to decline through
mid-November, hitting single digits for the first time since 1996. On November 17,
the company announced it would lay off 52,000 employees (in addition to a previously
announced layoff of 23,000 employees).44 Two days later, Citigroup announced that
it would move all its remaining SIVs, which had lost $1.1 billion in net value from
September 30 to November 19, onto its balance sheet, reducing the value of Citigroup’s
assets.45 By the next day, Citigroup’s stock had fallen 73 percent just since the beginning
of the month. In addition, the VIX index reached a new all-time high, signaling that
financial markets were extremely uncertain.
Major lenders were questioning management about the firm’s viability, and some even
began to cap or reduce lines of credit and ask for additional collateral from Citibank.
Regulators saw increasing signs pointing to a run on Citibank, as corporations were
beginning to withdraw significant sums, especially in the United States and Europe.
Citigroup’s liquidity portfolio had decreased from $33.1 billion on Thursday, November 20,
to $31.4 billion on Friday, November 21.46 Citigroup requested expanded lines of credit at
existing government liquidity facilities, but regulators did not think any additional liquidity
they could provide would be sufficient to enable Citibank to withstand extensive deposit
runoff. They also did not think the company had enough high-quality collateral to be able
to borrow more under the Federal Reserve’s mostly collateral-based liquidity programs.47

issuing short- to medium-term debt—including asset-backed commercial paper—at a low interest rate to
raise funds that the institution could invest in longer-term assets, such as mortgage-backed securities.
43

Citigroup had received $25 billion in capital under TARP and was relying on a number of other liquidity
programs: as of November 21, Citigroup had $24.3 billion outstanding under the Federal Reserve’s
collateralized liquidity programs and $200 million under its Commercial Paper Funding Facility. Citigroup
had also borrowed $84 billion from the Federal Home Loan Banks (FHLBs), which are governmentsponsored enterprises that lend to banks and thrifts on a secured basis. When the securitization market
froze, FHLBs increased their lending substantially, becoming “the lender of next to last resort for commercial
banks and thrifts—the Fed being the last resort.” See FCIC, Report, 274, 381. Citigroup and its subsidiaries
also issued $38 billion in senior debt that was guaranteed by the FDIC under the Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program. See FDIC, “TLGP Debt Guarantee Program: Issuer Reported Debt Details,” https://
www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/tlgp/total_debt.html.

44

Eric Dash, “Citigroup Plans to Sell Assets and Cut More Jobs,” New York Times, November 17, 2008.

45

Citigroup, Inc., “Citi Finalizes SIV Wind-Down by Agreeing to Purchase All Remaining Assets,” Press
Release, November 19, 2008, http://www.citigroup.com/citi/news/2008/081119a.htm.

46

Mark D. Richardson, e-mail message to Doreen R. Eberley, Daniel E. Frye, et al., subject: “11-2108 Citi Liquidity call notes,” November 21, 2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicdocs/2008-11-21%20FDIC%20Richardson%20Email%20re%2011-21-08%20Citi%20Liquidity%20Call%20
Notes.pdf.

47

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Citigroup,” 6.

CHAPTER 3: Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the Financial Crisis

81

On Friday, November 21, the spreads on credit default swaps written on the company
more than doubled. Management at Citibank told regulators that a 7.2 percent deposit
runoff would exhaust its cash surplus, and they had prepared stress scenario estimates that
showed deposit runoff of approximately 2 percent of total deposits per day.48 Regulators
projected that if deposit outflows continued, Citibank would be unable to pay its obligations
or meet expected deposit outflows by the middle or the latter part of the following week
(the week beginning November 24).

The Decision to Invoke the Systemic Risk Exception

By Thursday, November 20, the banking agencies and the Treasury had begun discussing
additional assistance in light of both Citigroup’s deteriorating condition and the market’s
negative response to Citigroup’s SIV announcement the previous day. Staff from the
agencies shared the information they had and worked closely to review available options,
but the agencies—and even the bank itself—had trouble producing detailed counterparty
information on such short notice.49
During the discussions, the Treasury and the banking agencies agreed that the potential
failure of Citigroup presented a serious systemic risk, particularly in the wake of the failures
of Lehman Brothers and WaMu, the acquisition of Merrill Lynch by Bank of America
(discussed below), and Wells Fargo’s acquisition of Wachovia. There was no viable acquirer
for an institution with the size, complexity, and global operations of Citigroup. The other
largest banks, Bank of America, JPMorgan Chase, and Wells Fargo, were not considered as
potential acquirers because of their previous acquisitions of (and absorption of losses from)
Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns (in March 2008), and Wachovia, respectively. Further, given
Citigroup’s size, a merger with any of these three banks would result in an even larger, more
systemically important bank. The FDIC Board of Directors held an emergency meeting on
Sunday, November 23, to discuss and vote on an SRE recommendation.
As they considered whether to recommend an SRE for Citigroup, members of the FDIC
Board weighed several issues, including asset quality, liquidity problems, and management
weaknesses at Citigroup, the lack of potential buyers, and the potential effects on the
financial system if Citibank were allowed to fail. Board members discussed whether any
changes in Citigroup’s supervisory ratings or its management should be required under
a government assistance agreement and noted the potential need for future assistance
for Citigroup or other systemically risky banks. In the end, the FDIC Board of Directors
determined that any action taken by the FDIC under a least-cost resolution framework
(that is, allowing Citigroup’s insured institution subsidiaries to fail and imposing losses
on general creditors) would have significant adverse effects on economic conditions and
the financial markets because of Citigroup’s size and its interconnectedness with other
48

Ibid.

49

SIGTARP, “Assistance to Citigroup,” 14.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

financial institutions. FDIC Board members noted that the case was “amply made that
the systemic risk determination standard ha[d] been met” and that the potential failure of
Citigroup was “obviously a systemic risk situation.”50
On November 23, the FDIC Board and the FRB recommended that the Secretary
of the Treasury invoke the SRE to allow the FDIC to provide the planned open-bank
assistance for Citigroup. The Secretary of the Treasury, having consulted earlier with the
President, concurred.

Actions Taken under the Exception

On Sunday, November 23, 2008, at 11 p.m., the Treasury, the FDIC, and the FRB
announced an interagency assistance package for Citigroup.51 The package included a
capital injection by the Treasury and loss protection on a pool of Citigroup’s assets by the
Treasury, the FDIC, and the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY).
To inject needed capital, the Treasury invested an additional $20 billion in Citigroup
in exchange for preferred stock under a new TARP program called the Targeted
Investment Program (TIP).
An asset guarantee was provided to Citigroup by the Treasury (under another new
TARP program called the Asset Guarantee Program [AGP]) and the FDIC (using the
authority granted by the SRE).52 The guarantee provided Citigroup with protection
against the possibility of unusually large losses on a pool of approximately $306 billion
of loans and securities backed by residential and CRE loans and other assets. Under the
initial terms of the guarantee, Citigroup was to be solely responsible for the first $37
billion in losses, which the government projected to be the expected loss for the assets
under guarantee (See Table 3.2.)53 Any additional losses beyond Citigroup’s $37 billion
first-loss position, up to another $16.66 billion, would be shared between Citigroup
and the government, with Citigroup responsible for 10 percent of the losses and the
government covering 90 percent (thus increasing Citigroup’s responsibility for potential
losses by an additional $1.66 billion). The Treasury would be responsible for the first $5
billion in the government’s share of losses, and the FDIC for the next $10 billion in the
government’s share of losses. Ninety percent of any further losses beyond $53.66 billion
($37 billion plus $16.66 billion) would be financed through a nonrecourse loan from the
FRBNY, with Citigroup covering the remaining 10 percent.
50

FDIC, Transcript, FDIC Closed Board Meeting, November 23, 2008, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/
cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-11-23%20Transcript%20of%20FDIC%20Board%20of%20Directors%20
meeting,%20closed%20session.pdf.

51

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, “Joint
Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the FDIC on Citigroup,” Press Release, November 23, 2008,
http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/20081123a.htm.

52

TARP had more than one component, including the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) discussed above in the
section titled “Problems at Citigroup.”

53

SIGTARP, “Assistance to Citigroup,” 19.

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CHAPTER 3: Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the Financial Crisis

Table 3.2. Citigroup Asset Guarantee Loss Positions
First Loss Position
Citigroup

$37 billion

Second Loss Position
10%, up to
$0.55 billion

10%, up to
$1.11 billion

10%

90%,
up to $5 billion

Treasury

90%,
up to $10 billion

FDIC

90%
(nonrecourse loan)

FRBNY
Subtotal

Additional Losses

$37 billion

Total

$5.55 billion

$11.11 billion
$53.66 billion

As compensation for these guarantees, Citigroup issued approximately $7.0 billion
more in perpetual preferred stock paying an 8 percent annual dividend. Based on
the relative loss positions and sizes of the guarantees of the two government entities,
approximately $4 billion in stock went to the Treasury and approximately $3 billion to the
FDIC.54 In addition to the preferred stock, the Treasury received common stock warrants
that represented an aggregate exercise value of 10 percent of the total preferred stock
issued to the U.S. government in both the loss share and asset guarantee components of
the assistance package (that is, 10 percent of the approximately $27 billion in preferred
stock issued, or $2.7 billion).55 If payments on the government guarantees exceeded
the government’s compensation, the FDIC would be statutorily mandated to impose a
special assessment on the entire banking industry to recoup the cost.56
In addition to the direct capital support given to Citigroup, the agreement explicitly
stated that the assets in the guaranteed pool would be risk-weighted at 20 percent for
the purpose of calculating regulatory capital requirements. This treatment effectively
lowered Citigroup’s capital requirement by $16 billion. In addition, issuing preferred
shares to the government in compensation for the guarantee meant that Citigroup’s
capital would increase by $3.5 billion.57

54

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
“Summary of Terms: Eligible Asset Guarantee (Citigroup),” November 23, 2008, https://www.fdic.gov/news/
news/press/2008/pr08125a.pdf.

55

The warrants gave the Treasury the right to purchase 66,531,728 shares of common stock with a strike price
of $10.61 (the 20-day trailing average price of Citigroup common stock ending on November 21, 2008) and
a ten-year maturity. The Treasury had the right to exercise the warrants immediately in whole or in part.

56

12 U.S.C. § 1823(c)(4)(G)(ii) (2008).

57

FCIC, Report, 626, n.172.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The assistance agreement prohibited Citigroup from paying dividends on common stock
in excess of a penny per share per quarter for three years without government consent.
In addition, the agreement required Citigroup to submit to an executive compensation
plan (including bonuses) that rewarded long-term performance and profitability.58 Finally,
Citigroup agreed to implement loan modification procedures for the residential mortgages
in the asset pool.59
Although the assistance agreement was announced on November 23, implementation
took several weeks. As provided in the agreement, Citigroup did not actually receive
the Treasury’s $20 billion investment until December 31, 2008. Even then, the parties
still needed to negotiate and finalize a master agreement and agree on the exact assets
to be included in the guaranteed pool. By the time the finalized master agreement was
announced on January 16, 2009, the value of the guaranteed pool had been reduced
to $300.8 billion through asset exclusions and substitutions, and Citigroup’s first-loss
position was increased to $39.5 billion, reflecting, among other things, additional
reserves associated with the assets substituted into the pool. Ten more months passed
before the asset pool was made final (on November 17, 2009).60

Effects of Invoking the Exception

In the short run, the announcement on November 23, 2008, that the SRE would be
invoked and government assistance would follow had the intended effect of stabilizing
Citigroup and preventing its failure. Citigroup was able to continue operating, and the
announcement encouraged the private sector to continue providing liquidity to the
company.61 Regulators continued to monitor Citigroup’s funding and liquidity, including
deposit outflows and borrowings.

58

Subsequently, similar executive compensation restrictions for all participants in the Capital Purchase Program
(CPP) were passed as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (in an amendment to the
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008). See the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009,
Pub. L. No. 111-5, § 7001, 123 Stat. 115, 516-520.

59

The loan modification procedures were “comparable to those that were being employed at IndyMac Federal
Bank” (FDIC, Transcript, November 23, 2008). The loan modification program at IndyMac Federal Bank,
launched in August 2008, was “designed to achieve affordable and sustainable mortgage payments for
borrowers and increase the value of distressed mortgages by rehabilitating them into performing loans.”
The modifications would “maximize value” “as well as improve returns to the creditors … and to investors
in those mortgages,” and would improve the “mortgage portfolio and servicing by modifying troubled
mortgages, where appropriate, into performing mortgages” (FDIC, “FDIC Implements Loan Modification
Program for Distressed IndyMac Mortgage Loans,” Press Release 67-2008, August 20, 2008, https://www.
fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08067.html).

60

FDIC, 2008 Annual Report, 100 (2009), https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/report/2008annualreport/
arfinal.pdf.

61

GAO, Regulators’ Use of Systemic Risk Exception, 27.

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85

On Monday, November 24, the day after the announcement, Citigroup’s stock price rose
by nearly 58 percent to close at $5.95 (up from $3.77 the previous Friday).62 Also on that
Monday, in a reversal of the previous trend, the cost of insuring Citigroup’s debt fell: its
credit default swap spread narrowed by 100 basis points, declining from 460 basis points to
360 basis points. (In early 2009, however, market confidence in Citigroup again dropped,63
and the company’s stock price did not recover and stabilize until the spring of 2009, after
the company had restructured the capital provided through government assistance.)64
On September 11, 2009, Citigroup asked to terminate the asset guarantee agreement
and repay the Treasury’s $20 billion TIP investment.65 In assessing the request, the
banking agencies and Treasury considered Citigroup’s soundness (including the result of
government mandated stress testing), capital adequacy, and ability to lend. After terms
were negotiated, a termination agreement was reached on December 14.66

62

For reference, in October 2008, Citi’s closing stock price ranged from $11.73 to $23. The company’s stock
price would dip to its lowest of the crisis on March 5, 2009, when it closed at $1.02.

63

Market confidence dipped as the Bank of America assistance package was announced (January 16, 2009),
resulting in general uncertainty in the market and uncertainty about Citigroup in particular, which was
arguably weaker than Bank of America because Citi had required assistance first. Additionally, on January
16, 2009, Citigroup announced an $8.29 billion net loss in its fourth quarter 2008 financial results. See
Citigroup, Inc., “Citi Reports Fourth Quarter Net Loss of $8.29 Billion, Loss per Share of $1.72,” Press
Release, January 16, 2009, http://www.citigroup.com/citi/news/2009/090116a.htm.

64

In February 2009, the Treasury agreed to exchange its $25 billion in preferred stock obtained under the
CPP for common stock at an exchange price of $3.25 per share. This exchange was designed to strengthen
Citigroup’s tangible common equity ratio—a key capital ratio that gained increasing attention from both
regulators and investors during and after the crisis as an indication of bank health. In July 2009, the Treasury
and the FDIC exchanged preferred stock obtained under TIP and AGP for trust preferred securities (TruPS)
to strengthen some of Citigroup’s key capital ratios. See GAO, Regulators’ Use of Systemic Risk Exception, 26;
and SIGTARP, “Assistance to Citigroup,” 31.

65

A number of factors influenced the timing of Citigroup’s decision to repay its TIP funds, including other
large banks’ repayment of TARP funds, Bank of America’s repayment of its TIP funds, and restrictions
on executive compensation. Five of the nine initial banks participating in the Capital Purchase Program
under TARP had been allowed by their regulators to repay CPP investments in full on June 17, 2009.
See SIGTARP, “Assistance to Citigroup,” 33–35; SIGTARP, “Exiting TARP: Repayments by the Largest
Financial Institutions,” SIGTARP-11-005, September 29, 2011, 39, https://www.sigtarp.gov/Audit%20
Reports/Exiting_TARP_Repayments_by_the_Largest_Financial_Institutions.pdf; and U.S. Treasury
Department, Office of Financial Stability, “Troubled Asset Relief Program Transactions Report for Period
Ending September 16, 2009,” https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/financial-stability/reports/Documents/
transactions-report_09162009.pdf.

66

Termination of the agreement left the FDIC with $2.225 billion (at a liquidation value of $1,000 per
share) of TruPS. In 2013, the FDIC exchanged the TruPS for $2.42 billion (principal amount) of Citigroup
subordinated notes. The exchange resulted in an increase of $156 million in the DIF’s 2013 comprehensive
income (after netting out unrealized gains of $302 million). Subsequently, the FDIC sold the subordinated
notes on the institutional fixed-income market for the principal amount of $2.42 billion. For more detail, see
FDIC, 2013 Annual Report, https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/report/2013annualreport/ar13final.pdf).

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The Case of Bank of America
As the result of Bank of America’s announced acquisition of Merrill Lynch, regulators, as
well as Bank of America, expected the company to announce larger than anticipated losses
for the fourth quarter of 2008. A desire to forestall the potential systemic consequences
led to a third SRE recommendation. (For a timeline of major events related to the Bank
of America SRE, see Figure 3.3.)

Figure 3.3. Timeline of Bank of America Events

2008

September

Sept. 15, 2008

(M) Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. files for Chapter 11
bankruptcy protection. Bank of America announces its
intent to purchase Merrill Lynch & Co.

Dec. 17, 2008

(W) Bank of America informs Treasury Secretary Paulson
that it is considering invoking the material adverse change
(MAC) clause of the Merrill Lynch merger agreement
because of larger than anticipated losses at Merrill Lynch.

Dec. 31, 2008

(W) Bank of America completes its acquisition of Merrill
Lynch and it is announced the next day.

Jan. 15, 2009

(Th) SRE is recommended to provide assistance to Bank
of America using an asset guarantee for a selected pool of
assets ($118 billion) and an additional $20 billion capital
investment via TARP.

Jan. 16, 2009

(F) SRE for Bank of America is announced and Bank
of America holds its 4th quarter 2008 earnings call,
announcing Merrill Lynch’s $15.5 billion loss.

Sept. 21, 2009

(M) Bank of America terminates the asset guarantee
program under the SRE.

Dec. 2, 2009

(W) Bank of America announces it will repay all
assistance provided under TARP ($45 billion).

December

2009
January

September

December

Source: Adapted from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis’s Financial Crisis Timeline.

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87

Bank of America’s Acquisition of Merrill Lynch

As of September 30, 2008, Bank of America Corporation (Bank of America, or BofA)
owned eight insured banks and four significant non-insured subsidiaries. With $1.4 trillion
in total assets, Bank of America’s largest bank subsidiary, Bank of America, N.A., was
the second-largest bank in the United States. Bank of America, N.A., also held more
than 10 percent of the country’s total domestic deposits and was the largest holder of
insured deposits.67
But by the end of 2008, two prominent acquisitions were weighing heavily on the bank’s
financial performance: the acquisitions of Countrywide Financial and Merrill Lynch. In
January 2008, BofA had announced its $2.5 billion acquisition of subprime mortgage
lender Countrywide Financial, a deal that would eventually cost the bank much more
once the full extent of Countrywide’s mortgage losses became evident.
On September 15, 2008, Bank of America had announced that it would acquire
Merrill Lynch. After Lehman Brothers’ failure (occurring the same day as the BofA
announcement), Merrill Lynch was the weakest of the remaining major investment
banks, posting net losses of $11.8 billion in the first three quarters of 2008. The losses
were due partly to losses on mortgage-related securities.68 Just three months after the
announcement (on December 17, 2008), however, BofA informed the Treasury that
it was considering invoking the material adverse change (MAC) clause of the merger
agreement because of larger than anticipated losses at Merrill Lynch.69 The MAC clause
would have allowed Bank of America to renegotiate the terms of the acquisition or cancel
it altogether in light of Merrill Lynch’s deteriorating condition. The Treasury and the
FRB, Bank of America’s regulator, were concerned that Bank of America would not be
successful in attempting to invoke the MAC clause and that the financial markets would
react poorly. They cautioned BofA against invoking the clause. Shortly thereafter, the
FDIC was notified that some form of government assistance for BofA might be necessary,
and the FDIC worked with the other banking agencies and the Treasury to determine
what type of assistance might be required.
Ultimately, Bank of America concluded that there was a serious risk in invoking the
MAC clause, and on December 31, 2008, the company completed the purchase of Merrill
Lynch, absorbing significant losses as a result ($15.5 billion in the fourth quarter of

67

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors Regarding Bank of America,” January 15, 2009, 6,
http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2009-01-15%20Memo%20to%20the%20FDIC%20
board%20of%20directors%20from%20Mitchell%20Glassman,%20Sandra%20Thompson,%20Arthur%20
Murton,%20and%20John%20Thomas%20re%20Bank%20of%20America.pdf.

68

Federal Reserve Board, “Report Pursuant to Section 129 of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of
2008: Authorization to Provide Residual Financing to Bank of America Corporation Relating to a Designated
Asset Pool,” 2, January 15, 2009, https://www.federalreserve.gov/monetarypolicy/files/129bofa.pdf.

69

FCIC, Report, 383.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

2008).70 On January 9, 2009, officials at the FRB and the Treasury approached the FDIC
to discuss whether the FDIC would participate in providing government assistance
beyond that provided in 2008 through broad-based Treasury, Federal Reserve, and FDIC
programs.71 Bank of America’s stock price had declined approximately 70 percent from
year-end 2007 to year-end 2008, and the bank was preparing to announce fourth-quarter
results below market expectations.
To determine whether assistance was necessary, the FDIC gathered information on
Bank of America’s losses and current exposures. These losses and exposures included
subprime exposures at Merrill Lynch and poorly performing nontraditional mortgages
and home equity loans in high-risk regions of the country at Countrywide Financial
Corporation (which Bank of America had previously acquired).
The FDIC requested additional information on Bank of America’s exposures to loss: were
the exposures in the insured depository institutions and funded with insured deposits, or
were they exposures stemming primarily from the nondepository investment bank?72 The
source of the exposures would influence the structure of the assistance to be provided,
with FDIC assistance dependent on the degree of exposure in Bank of America’s insured
depository institutions. As with the Citigroup transaction, staff from all the involved
agencies worked quickly to determine the best available options for assistance.

The Decision to Recommend the Systemic Risk Exception

Following Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch, regulators were concerned
about the holding company’s potential short-term liquidity problems, particularly if
its short-term wholesale funding was not rolled over upon maturity. Additionally, if
the company’s credit rating were to be downgraded, it would need to post additional
collateral that it did not have. If Bank of America proved unable to meet its obligations,
the markets for short-term interbank lending, bank senior and subordinated debt, and
70

Bank of America Corporation, Earnings Conference Call Transcript on Q4 2008, January 16, 2009, http://
online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/BACTranscript20090116.pdf.

71

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch: How Did a Private Deal Turn into a Federal Bailout? Part V, Before the
U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Oversight and Government Reform and the Subcommittee on
Domestic Policy, 111th Cong. (December 11, 2009) (statement of Sheila Bair, Chairman, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation), 2, https://oversight.house.gov/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/20091211Bair.pdf.
Acquiring Merrill Lynch added $10 billion in capital from TARP to the $15 billion Bank of America
had received in October 2008. Bank of America (including Merrill Lynch and Bank of America’s other
subsidiaries) relied heavily on a variety of available government assistance programs in 2008. Bank of
America and Merrill Lynch borrowed $88 billion under the Federal Reserve’s collateralized programs and
$15 billion under the same agency’s Commercial Paper Funding Facility. Bank of America borrowed $92
billion from the Federal Home Loan Banks (which are discussed in footnote 44). See FCIC, Report, 385.
Bank of America and its subsidiaries also issued $71 billion in senior debt that was guaranteed by the
FDIC under the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (including guaranteed debt issued by Merrill
Lynch before it was acquired by Bank of America). See FDIC, “TLGP Debt Guarantee Program: Issuer
Reported Debt Details,” https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/resources/tlgp/total_debt.html.

72

Bank of America and Merrill Lynch, statement of Bair, 3.

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89

derivative products, among others, could be disrupted, increasing the likelihood of
deposit runs at banks, larger repo haircuts (larger discounts on asset values when banks
sold assets subject to repurchase agreements), increased margin requests (which would
require banks to post additional collateral when they borrowed), and draws on unfunded
loan commitments (which would be prompted by borrowers’ fears that the lender would
be unable to fulfill its lending obligations).73 The banking agencies and Treasury believed
that these consequences would be systemic because of Bank of America’s size and the
volume of its counterparty transactions. Moreover, given Bank of America’s strong
reputation, the banking agencies and Treasury feared that its failure could lead to a belief
that wider problems existed in the banking industry74 and could significantly undermine
broader business and consumer confidence, thus weakening the overall economy.
In contrast to the timing in the case of the two previous SREs, the Treasury and banking
agencies began discussing a potential assistance package in advance of market turmoil.
With Wachovia and Citigroup, decisionmakers had had very little time to react to the
companies’ liquidity problems, but because Bank of America was scheduled to hold its
earnings call on January 16, 2009, decisionmakers had a sense of when potential adverse
market reactions might occur and had time to prepare a preemptive assistance package.
After discussing concerns related to Bank of America’s liquidity position, supervisory
ratings, and potential future losses,75 and in light of the deepening economic recession
and the risk of negative market reaction to Bank of America’s imminent earnings report
(as well as the risk of market concerns about the company’s ultimate viability), on January
15, 2009, the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and the FDIC Board of
Directors recommended that the Secretary of the Treasury invoke the SRE and allow
the FDIC to provide open-bank assistance. (As discussed below, the Secretary of the
Treasury never made a formal SRE determination for Bank of America.)

Actions Taken under the Exception

On January 16, 2009, the Treasury and the banking agencies announced an interagency
assistance package for Bank of America consisting of a capital injection by the
Treasury and loss protection on a pool of BofA assets by the Treasury, the FDIC, and
the FRBNY. The structure of the package was similar to the structure of the package
offered to Citigroup. The Treasury injected $20 billion in capital from TARP (under
TIP) in exchange for preferred stock. In addition, the Treasury (under AGP), and the
73

FDIC, “Memorandum Regarding Bank of America,” 2, 8.

74

Federal Reserve Board and Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “Memorandum to FDIC on Bank of
America Corporation Funding Vulnerabilities and Implications for Other Financial Market Participants,”
January 10, 2009, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2009-01-11%20FDIC%20
Cox%20Email%20to%20Corston,%20Hoyer%20-%20FW%20Funding%20Vulnerabilities%20Memo.pdf.

75

FDIC, Transcript, FDIC Closed Board Meeting, January 15, 2009, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_
media/fcic-docs/2009-01-15%20FDIC%20Board%20Meeting%20Transcript.pdf.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

FDIC (under the authority granted by the SRE) agreed to provide protection against
the possibility of unusually large losses on a $118 billion asset pool consisting of loans,
securities backed by residential and CRE loans, and other assets. The asset pool had
maximum potential future losses of up to $81 billion.
For the pool of assets under the government guarantee, Bank of America would
bear the first $10 billion in losses (see Table 3.3). Losses beyond Bank of America’s
$10 billion first loss position, up to approximately $11.1 billion more, would be shared
between Bank of America and the government, with Bank of America taking 10 percent
of losses and the government covering 90 percent (Bank of America’s responsibility
for potential losses therefore increased by $1.1 billion). The Treasury would cover the
first $7.5 billion of the government’s share of losses, while the FDIC would cover the
next $2.5 billion.76 Ninety percent of any further losses (beyond $21.1 billion—$10
billion plus $11.1 billion) would be financed through a nonrecourse loan from the
FRBNY, with Bank of America taking the remaining 10 percent. Under the terms of
the agreement, the FDIC’s portion of risk would be limited in recognition that most
of the exposures lay within the investment banking entities (that is, the Merrill Lynch
acquisition) and not Bank of America’s insured depository institutions. The term of
the loss share guarantee would be ten years for residential assets (loans secured solely
by 1- to 4-family residential real estate, securities predominantly collateralized by such
loans, and derivatives that predominantly referenced such securities) and five years for
nonresidential assets.77
Table 3.3. Bank of America Asset Guarantee Loss Positions
First Loss Position
Bank of
America

$10 billion

Treasury

Second Loss Position
10%, up to
$0.83 billion

Additional Losses
10%, up to
$0.27 billion

90%, up to
$7.5 billion

FDIC

90%, up to
$2.5 billion

FRBNY
Subtotal
Total

10%

90%
(nonrecourse loan)
$10 billion

$8.33 billion

$2.77 billion
$21.1 billion

76

The Treasury’s share of the asset guarantee was covered under the Asset Guarantee Program, and the FDIC’s
share was authorized under the SRE. See FCIC, Report, 385.

77

U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
“Summary of Terms: Eligible Asset Guarantee (Bank of America),” January 16, 2009, https://www.
federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20090115a1.pdf.

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91

As compensation for these guarantees, the Treasury and the FDIC together would
receive $4 billion in preferred stock and warrants ($3 billion to the Treasury and $1 billion
to the FDIC, consistent with their respective loss sharing percentages). In addition, Bank
of America would be prohibited from paying dividends on common stock in excess of a
penny per share per quarter for three years without government consent. As under the
assistance agreement for Citigroup, Bank of America would also comply with enhanced
restrictions on corporate governance and executive compensation (including bonuses)
that rewarded long-term performance and profitability, and would implement a mortgage
loan modification program on the assets under guarantee.
After the announcement of the assistance package on January 16, Bank of America,
the FDIC, the FRB, and the Treasury began negotiating the specific terms of the asset
guarantee portion of the package. However, in May, before the parties could finalize
terms and before the Secretary of the Treasury formally approved an SRE, Bank of
America asked to terminate the asset guarantee as part of its efforts to reduce its reliance
on government support and return to normal market funding.78 In September, Bank of
America paid $425 million to the government as compensation for the benefits it had
received from the market’s perception that the government would guarantee its assets.79
Also in September, Bank of America asked to repay its TARP funding (including the
capital provided under TIP), and in December, after negotiations with regulators, Bank
of America repaid its TARP funding in full.

Effects of Recommending the Systemic Risk Exception

The government support package was announced in tandem with the announcement of
Bank of America’s fourth-quarter losses. Although the Secretary of the Treasury never
formally approved an official systemic risk determination for Bank of America, the
public announcement of planned assistance served as a de facto determination, signaling
“regulators’ willingness to provide such assistance and may have achieved to some degree
the intended effect of increasing market confidence in Bank of America.”80

78

Bank of America, “Bank of America Terminates Asset Guarantee Term Sheet,” Press Release, September 21,
2009, http://investor.bankofamerica.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=71595&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1333936#fbid
=KdIAO_1PIBQ.

79

The payments consisted of $276 million to the Treasury, $57 million to the Federal Reserve, and $92
million to the FDIC. See “Bank of America Termination Agreement,” September 21, 2009, https://www.
treasury.gov/initiatives/financial-stability/programs/investment-programs/agp/Documents/BofA%20-%20
Termination%20Agreement%20-%20executed.pdf.

80

GAO, Regulators’ Use of Systemic Risk Exception, 10.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Conclusion
After the announcements of the SREs, funding and liquidity stabilized (not only at the
individual institutions supported by SREs, but also at other major financial institutions),
and interbank lending continued (bolstered by the Temporary Liquidity Guarantee
Program, which required its own SRE [see chapter 2]).
The severity of the financial crisis and resulting banking crisis, and the extraordinary
government assistance that followed—which raised concerns about an increase in moral
hazard and a reduction in market discipline—led to a number of financial reforms,
including those contained in the Dodd-Frank Act.
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010 seeks
to reduce the likelihood that large bank holding companies and other systemically
significant financial companies will fail in the future. For example, the act mandates
enhanced risk-based capital and leverage standards for large banking organizations. To
implement that mandate, banking regulators have adopted new, stronger standards for
capital at the largest, most systemically important banking organizations. In light of the
rapid liquidity problems observed at several banking organizations, banking regulators
have also begun monitoring liquidity at these institutions more frequently and have
adopted stricter liquidity standards for them.
But if a systemically important company were nevertheless to fail, Dodd-Frank seeks
to reduce the adverse effects on financial stability that could result. The act requires
the largest bank holding companies and systemically significant nonbank financial
companies to prepare resolution plans, commonly referred to as “living wills.” These
living wills must demonstrate that the company could be resolved under the Bankruptcy
Code without severe adverse consequences for financial stability or the economy. The
living wills also serve to reduce moral hazard by making clear to creditors their potential
exposure to losses in the event of failure. In addition, the living wills help alleviate the
persistent dearth of information about firms’ interconnections and interdependencies
that vexed the Treasury and banking agencies as they were deciding whether to invoke
SREs during the recent crisis.
Moreover, for financial companies whose resolution under bankruptcy procedures
would pose serious risks to financial stability, Dodd-Frank created a back-up resolution
mechanism, called the Orderly Liquidation Authority (or OLA). The OLA is intended
to enable the FDIC to wind down and liquidate such a company, while ensuring that
shareholders, creditors, and culpable management are held accountable and taxpayers
do not bear losses.
Dodd-Frank significantly narrowed the scope of the SRE provision that had been
created in FDICIA (see footnote 1 in this chapter, and the discussion of the SRE provision
in chapter 2). The law now requires that, for the FDIC to use an SRE, an institution must
first be placed into receivership, thus eliminating the possibility that an SRE can be used

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93

to provide open-bank assistance.81 Furthermore, while the FDIC can still establish a debt
guarantee program applicable to multiple banks (as it did with the Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program), the FDIC’s authority to establish such a program is now separate
from the SRE authority, and using the authority requires the approval of Congress.82

81

Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act of 2010, Pub. L. No. 111-203, 124 Stat. 1376,
§ 1106(b), amending 12 U.S.C. § 1823(c)(4)(G) (2016).

82

Ibid., § 1105(a), codified at 12 U.S.C. § 5612 (2016), and § 1106(a), codified at 12 U.S.C. § 5613(a) (2016).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

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CHAPTER 3: Use of Systemic Risk Exceptions for Individual Institutions during the Financial Crisis

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Kacperczyk, Marcin, and Philipp Schnabl. “When Safe Proved Risky: Commercial
Paper during the Financial Crisis of 2007–2009.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 24,
no. 1 (Winter 2010): 29–50. http://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~sternfin/mkacperc/public_html/
commercial.pdf.
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC). “Matters Requiring Attention: Updated
Guidance.” OCC Bulletin 2014-52. October 30, 2014. https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/
bulletins/2014/bulletin-2014-52.html.
———. Supervisory Letter 2008-05 to Vikram Pandit, Chief Executive Officer of
Citigroup, Inc., February 14, 2008. http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicdocs/2008-02-14_OCC_Letter_from_John_C_Lyons_to_Vikram_Pandit_Serious_
Problems_at_Citibank.pdf.
Richardson, Mark D., e-mail message to Doreen R. Eberley, Daniel E. Frye, et al., subject:
“11-21-08 Citi Liquidity call notes.” November 21, 2008. http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/
cdn_media/fcic-docs/2008-11-21%20FDIC%20Richardson%20Email%20re%2011-2108%20Citi%20Liquidity%20Call%20Notes.pdf.
Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP). “Extraordinary
Financial Assistance Provided to Citigroup, Inc.” Management Comments from FDIC.
SIGTARP-11-002. January 13, 2011. https://www.sigtarp.gov/Audit%20Reports/
Extraordinary%20Financial%20Assistance%20Provided%20to%20Citigroup,%20Inc.pdf.
———. “Exiting TARP: Repayments by the Largest Financial Institutions.” SIGTARP-11-005.
September 29, 2011. https://www.sigtarp.gov/Audit%20Reports/Exiting_TARP_
Repayments_by_the_Largest_Financial_Institutions.pdf.
Subramanian, Guhan, and Nithyasri Sharma. “Citigroup–Wachovia–Wells Fargo.” Harvard
Business School Case 910-006. 2009.
Systemically Important Institutions and the Issue of “Too Big to Fail,” Before the Financial
Crisis Inquiry Commission (Public Hearing on Too Big to Fail: Expectations and Impact
of Extraordinary Government Intervention and the Role of Systemic Risk in the Financial
Crisis, September 1, 2010). (Statement of John H. Corston, Acting Deputy Director,
Complex Financial Institution Branch, Division of Supervision and Consumer
Protection, FDIC.) https://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcic-testimony/20100901-Corston.pdf.
———. (September 2, 2010). (Statement of Sheila Bair, Chairman, FDIC.) https://www.
fdic.gov/news/news/speeches/archives/2010/spsep0210.html.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Treasury Announces TARP Capital Purchase Program
Description.” Press Release. October 14, 2008. https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/
press-releases/Pages/hp1207.aspx.
———. Office of Financial Stability. “Troubled Asset Relief Program Transactions Report
for Period Ending September 16, 2009.” https://www.treasury.gov/initiatives/financialstability/reports/Documents/transactions-report_09162009.pdf.
U.S. Department of the Treasury, Federal Reserve Board, and Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation. “Joint Statement by Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the FDIC on Citigroup.”
Press Release. November 23, 2008. http://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/
bcreg/20081123a.htm.
———. “Summary of Terms: Eligible Asset Guarantee (Citigroup).” November 23, 2008.
https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08125a.pdf.
———. “Treasury, Federal Reserve, and the FDIC Provide Assistance to Bank of America.”
Joint Press Release. January 16, 2009. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/
bcreg/20090116a.htm.
———. “Summary of Terms: Eligible Asset Guarantee (Bank of America).” January 16,
2009. https://www.federalreserve.gov/newsevents/press/bcreg/bcreg20090115a1.pdf.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). Federal Deposit Insurance Act: Regulators’
Use of Systemic Risk Exception Raises Moral Hazard Concerns and Opportunities Exist to
Clarify the Provision. GAO-10-100. 2010. http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-10-100.

Part 2:
Banking Crisis and Response

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

4
Bank Supervision
Between mid-2007 and September 30, 2008, the U.S. banking industry transitioned from
a period of record earnings to a severe crisis. The crisis, and the deep recession that
accompanied it, would make clear the extent to which risks had been building during the
pre-crisis years at many insured banks and large financial institutions. The crisis would
result in some 500 bank failures,1 spur a massive program of governmental assistance to
the financial sector, and engage every bank supervision resource available to the FDIC.
Throughout this chapter, the terms “regulation,” “supervision,” and “examination”
appear frequently, and an explanation of these terms is in order. “Regulation” refers to
the written rules the federal banking agencies apply to the financial institutions subject
to their jurisdiction.2 “Supervision” refers to a range of activities that include evaluating
banks’ financial condition and risk profiles, taking enforcement actions when needed,
acting on applications received from banks or other parties,3 and acting in other matters—
in short, “supervision” refers to the processes by which a banking agency carries out its
statutory responsibilities to ensure a safe and sound banking industry. “Examination” is a
subset of supervision, and the word refers to the periodic review, by trained specialists, of
information obtained from individual banks for the purpose of ascertaining each bank’s
financial condition, risk profile, and compliance with laws and regulations.
This chapter describes the history of the crisis from the perspective of bank supervision.
It starts with the congressional response to the preceding period of crisis in the banking
industry (the bank and thrift crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s) and with important
changes, during the interval between the two crises, in the banking industry’s risk profile.
1

During the six years from 2008 through 2013, the period designated as the crisis years for this study, 489
banks failed. Of the 37 banks that failed from January 1, 2014 through June 30, 2017, a significant portion
failed because they never recovered from the effects of the crisis.

2

The FDIC is the primary federal regulatory agency for state-chartered banks that are not members of the
Federal Reserve System and for state-chartered thrifts; the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency is the
primary federal regulator for national banks and federally chartered thrifts; and the Federal Reserve System
is the primary federal regulator for state-chartered banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System
and for bank holding companies.

3

Applications to the FDIC are required in connection with the formation of new insured banks and may be
required in connection with bank mergers, changes in control, and other matters.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

It then describes the evolution of the FDIC’s supervision and risk analysis processes in
the years following the earlier crisis.4 Next, looking at the 2008–2013 crisis itself, the
chapter describes the characteristics of a sample of banks that failed or became problem
banks during the crisis, provides a detailed account of the supervisory strategies the FDIC
mobilized in its response to the challenge of so many weak and failing banks, and discusses
the effectiveness and appropriateness of supervisory efforts in dealing with troubled banks.
The chapter concludes with a discussion of lessons learned. The crisis was a test not only of
the efficacy of bank supervision in addressing a full-blown crisis but also of the supervisory
processes that had been put in place during the inter-crisis years. In that sense, it provides
lessons not only for how supervisors can respond to a crisis, but also for the conduct of
supervision in times of economic prosperity.

Prelude to the Crisis: Statutory Framework and Banking Conditions
The end of the protracted banking and thrift crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s is a good
starting point for tracing the history of the most recent crisis. As in the recent crisis, the
failure or federal rescue of a large number of banks (more than 2,900 banks and thrifts
from 1980 through 1994) was a transformative experience. Important legislative changes
that were enacted during and shortly after that earlier crisis established new mandates
for FDIC safety-and-soundness supervisors, and resulted in accelerated consolidation
in the banking industry. In this new landscape, banks would embark on a significant
expansion of lending activity, particularly real estate lending, and would do so in a way
that gave rise to significant new risks.

Statutory Framework

As the banking and thrift crisis of the 1980s progressed, a widespread perception developed
among academics and members of Congress that bank and thrift regulators had not taken
necessary or timely steps to address problems at troubled institutions, or were allowing
nonviable institutions to remain open indefinitely while the institutions were relying on the
federal deposit insurance guarantee to attract deposits.
Congress addressed these concerns in the Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery,
and Enforcement Act of 1989 (FIRREA) and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA). Together, these statutes established a comprehensive
set of expectations for more effective regulation and supervision of banks in the aftermath
of the 1980s banking and thrift crisis.

4

The risk analysis processes discussed in this chapter do not include the FDIC’s system of risk-based deposit
insurance assessments. That system is discussed at length in chapter 5.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

103

Among other things, FIRREA increased and clarified the FDIC’s authorities as insurer
and receiver for failed institutions, most notably by abolishing the Federal Savings
and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and transferring its deposit insurance and
resolution responsibilities for thrifts to the FDIC. FIRREA also restricted the acceptance
of brokered deposits by troubled banks. “Brokered deposits” are, roughly speaking,
deposits solicited and placed at a bank by an outside party, for a fee.5 The 1980s thrift
crisis highlighted concerns about such deposits as it became evident that, because of
the federal deposit insurance guarantee, economically nonviable institutions could use
such deposits to stay open almost indefinitely. FIRREA also allowed the FDIC to recover
part of its cost of liquidating a failed institution by seeking reimbursement from other
commonly controlled insured institutions.6 Banks’ obligation to reimburse the FDIC
under such circumstances became known as “cross-guarantee liability.”
Among the many provisions of FDICIA, Congress (1) required the federal banking
agencies to conduct a full-scope on-site safety-and-soundness examination at least once
per year for every bank (or once every 18 months for smaller banks meeting certain
conditions) and to maintain enough well-trained examination staff to adhere to that
schedule;7 (2) established requirements for prompt corrective action on the part of the
federal regulators and required each bank with assets greater than $150 million to obtain
an annual audit of its financial statements by an independent public accountant; and (3)
directed the agencies to develop standards for safety and soundness and for real estate
lending as well as regulations requiring appraisals for real estate transactions. With
the prompt corrective action requirements, Congress directed the agencies—giving
particular responsibility to the FDIC—to address and “resolve the problems at insured
depository institutions at the least possible long-term loss to the deposit insurance fund.”8
Accordingly, taking prompt corrective action to address problems at troubled banks was
an important goal for the FDIC (and the federal banking agencies more generally) in
addressing the recent crisis.
5

The large body of legal opinions and precedents regarding brokered deposits is beyond the scope of this
chapter.

6

Depository institutions are “commonly controlled” if such institutions are controlled by the same company
or if one depository institution is controlled by another. A person is not a company, but certain trusts can be
considered companies under the Bank Holding Company Act.

7

Section 111(a) of FDICIA requires annual (or every 18 months for certain smaller banks) full-scope onsite safety-and-soundness examinations; and Section 111(d) of FDICIA requires agencies to ensure that the
training and number of staff are sufficient for examinations to be objective and thorough.

8

Section 131 of FDICIA. The quoted language is from the beginning of Section 131 describing the purpose
of the section. Thus, it refers broadly to the prompt corrective action requirements and not narrowly to
the term “least cost resolution” referenced in chapter 6. In addition, although the quoted language refers to
the deposit insurance fund, after the FSLIC was abolished by FIRREA and until 2006 there were two FDIC
deposit insurance funds, one for banks and one for savings associations. They were combined into one—the
Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF)—in 2006. In this chapter, references to the DIF before 2006 are intended as
generic references to either fund.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

By 1994, when the banking and thrift crisis had subsided, Congress turned its attention
toward issues of banking industry structure. The Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and
Branching Efficiency Act of 1994 significantly eased federal restrictions on banks’ ability to
open branches across state lines. The Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, enacted in 1999, removed
most federal restrictions on affiliations between banks, investment banks, and insurance
companies. An argument advanced for both Riegle-Neal and Gramm-Leach-Bliley was that
they would lead to more-diversified financial institutions and that greater diversification
would make the institutions less subject to the problems that had afflicted smaller, less
diversified, and geographically concentrated institutions during the crises of the 1980s and
early 1990s. These changes contributed to an increase in the size and interconnectedness
of financial institutions.

Banking Conditions

As just suggested, Riegle-Neal and Gramm-Leach-Bliley contributed to significant
structural changes in the U.S. banking industry, including a wave of consolidation
that resulted in a substantial reduction in the number of insured institutions and a
concomitant increase in the size of the largest ones. The consolidation of charters within
banking companies, which occurs when legally separate but commonly owned banks
are converted into multiple branches of a single bank, had begun in the 1980s with
the relaxation of state branching laws, and Riegle-Neil facilitated the trend. Between
1994 (the passage of Riegle-Neal) and 2006 (the last of a succession of record-breaking
earnings years for the banking industry before the crisis), the number of FDIC-insured
institutions decreased from 12,604 to 8,681; as a result of strong loan growth, the
industry’s assets increased from $5 trillion to $11.9 trillion; the asset size of the largest
insured bank increased from $210 billion to $1.2 trillion; and the percentage of insured
banks’ assets held by the ten largest insured banks increased from 20 percent to 45
percent. The effect of Gramm-Leach-Bliley was to facilitate the growth of large bank
holding companies (BHCs) through affiliations. At year-end 1994 the largest BHC had
assets of $250 billion. By year-end 2006, the largest had assets of $1.9 trillion (as noted
in chapter 2, during the crisis the FDIC would guarantee certain liabilities of bank
holding companies).
Banking industry consolidation in the inter-crisis years occurred against a backdrop
of economic prosperity. The ten-year period from year-end 1996 to year-end 2006 was
one of rapid increases in home prices. Nominal GDP grew at a brisk annualized rate of
5.4 percent during that decade, while loans outstanding at FDIC-insured institutions
grew at an annualized rate of 7.5 percent. (Given the problems that banks would soon
experience, it is noteworthy that acquisition, development, and construction [ADC]
lending grew especially fast, at an annualized rate of nearly 19 percent for the ten-year

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

105

period.)9 During the same decade, insured institutions’ earnings grew at an annualized
rate of 11 percent and set new records in every full year from 2001 through 2006.10
At larger institutions, earnings records were driven in part by the securitization (and,
for some institutions, the origination) of Alternative-A (Alt-A) and subprime mortgages
(see chapter 1). Reciprocally, the mortgage securitization pipeline, which contributed to
seemingly unlimited liquidity for mortgage-related assets, was fueled by the activities of
a number of the largest financial institutions in the United States, including thrifts, U.S.
and foreign banking organizations,11 and investment banks, and, it could be argued, by
the activities of rating agencies and providers of financial guarantees of the performance
of these assets.
Subprime lending became an important risk for some banks well before the full onset
of the crisis in 2008. In February 2000, the FDIC estimated that approximately 140 banks
had significant exposures in the subprime lending business. Although those institutions
represented just over 1 percent of all insured institutions, they accounted for nearly 20
percent of all problem institutions—those with CAMELS ratings of 4 or 5.12 Of the 22
banks that failed between 1997 and September 2001, 8 had significant subprime lending
portfolios, foreshadowing, to an extent, the broader systemic risks that subprime and
nontraditional mortgages would present in 2007 and 2008. Among these 8 banks were
BestBank in Boulder, Colorado, which held subprime credit card receivables; First
National Bank of Keystone in Keystone, West Virginia, which held retained interests
in subprime mortgage loans; Pacific Thrift and Loan Company in Woodland Hills,
California, which held retained interests in subprime mortgage loans; and Superior Bank
FSB, in Hinsdale, Illinois, which held retained interests related to the securitization of
subprime mortgages.
9

ADC loans are loans to finance the acquisition of raw land, land development, or real estate construction
projects. Historically the repayment performance of ADC loans has tended to be more sensitive to adverse
changes in economic or market conditions than has the repayment performance of other loan categories.

10

For the new records set by earnings, see FDIC, Quarterly Banking Profile, Q4 2006.

11

In this chapter, the term “banking organization” will be used to encompass both banks and bank holding
companies, and the terms “bank” and “insured bank” will be used interchangeably to refer to all FDICinsured depository institutions—including both banks and thrifts—unless the context makes clear that a
distinction is being drawn among different insured-bank charter types.

12

Hearings on Recent Bank Failures and Regulatory Initiatives Before the House Committee on Banking and
Financial Services, 106th Cong. (February 8, 2000) (statement of FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue), http://
archives.financialservices.house.gov/banking/2800tan.shtml. CAMELS stands for Capital adequacy, Asset
quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity to market risk. (The “S” component was added in
1996.) Bank supervisory ratings, or CAMELS composite ratings, are on a scale of 1 to 5, with a 1-rating being
the highest and indicating the greatest strength in performance and risk management and the lowest level of
supervisory concern. At the other end of the scale, a 5-rating is the lowest rating and indicates the weakest
performance, inadequate risk management, and the highest level of supervisory concern. The CAMELS
composite rating is derived from an evaluation of the six CAMELS components; although the composite
rating is generally a close reflection of the assigned component ratings, it is not an arithmetic average of the
component ratings.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Small banks (those having total assets of under $10 billion) generally were not involved
in subprime and nontraditional mortgages. Earnings at small banks were driven largely by
growth in traditional lending categories, particularly real estate lending. The proportion of
small banks’ loan portfolios that was secured by real estate increased from about 61 percent
to about 75 percent from year-end 1996 through year-end 2006. Growth in commercial
real estate (CRE) and in ADC lending was particularly noteworthy: during that decade,
CRE loans outstanding (excluding ADC) at small banks grew at an annualized rate of 6.3
percent, while ADC loans grew at an annualized rate of 15 percent. As a result, ADC loans
outstanding at small banks increased from 4 percent of loans outstanding at these banks to
15 percent (see Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1. Real Estate Loans as a Percent of Total Loans, 1996–2016 (Banks with
Total Assets < $10 Billion)
Percent of Total Loans
40
35
30
25

Residential

20

Other CRE

15

Multi-Family

ADC
Agriculture

10
5
0

4

6Q

9
19

4

8Q

9
19

4

0Q

0
20

4

2Q

0
20

4

4Q

0
20

4

6Q

0
20

4

8Q

0
20

4

0Q

1
20

4

2Q

1
20

4

4Q

1
20

4

6Q

1
20

Note: "Other CRE" refers to real estate loans secured by nonfarm nonresidential properties.

By 2004, the tide of rising housing prices and favorable economic conditions was buoying
up the financial performance of almost all banks. Between midyear 2004 and early February
2007, no FDIC-insured bank failed. And as of year-end 2006, the FDIC’s Quarterly Banking
Profile reported that of a total of 8,681 banks with assets of $11.9 trillion, only 50 were on
the FDIC’s problem-bank list, with total assets of $8.3 billion.13 Throughout 2006, only
about one-half of 1 percent of banks were on the problem list, the lowest percentage for any
year for which these data are available (1980–2017), suggesting, incorrectly as it turned out,
that the risk profile of the banking industry was at a historic low.

13

“Problem banks” are FDIC-insured depository institutions assigned a CAMELS rating of 4 or 5; see note 12
for an explanation of these ratings.

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107

Prelude to the Crisis: The Safety-and-Soundness Examination
Program
As the risk profile of the banking industry evolved in the years between the previous
banking crisis and the more recent one, the FDIC’s safety-and-soundness examination
program evolved as well. During the years between the two banking crises, two broad
themes shaped the program. One theme was an effort to benefit from the lessons learned
during the crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s. The other was an effort to avoid placing
undue burden on banks.
Benefiting from lessons learned meant, among other things, a focus on ensuring
prompt supervisory action to address deficient risk management practices at banks before
those deficiencies resulted in a bank’s condition deteriorating beyond repair. In addition,
organizational and policy changes were made to strengthen the FDIC’s risk analysis
capabilities. Avoiding undue burden on banks meant streamlining the examination process
at institutions that the FDIC believed had a low risk-profile.

Timely Corrective Action

One of the most important lessons flowing from the crisis of the 1980s—a lesson that
directly affected bank supervision during the 2008–2013 crisis and that affects bank
supervision today—is the need for supervisors to take timely corrective action to
address problems at troubled banks and, more broadly, the need to correct banks’ risk
management deficiencies before these deficiencies do substantial harm.
In 1993, the federal bank and thrift regulators published a revised uniform common
core report of examination that highlighted the importance of timely steps by banks to
address weaknesses in risk management practices.14 Though each agency had its own set
of instructions, the interagency group developed common definitions for parts of the
core report in order to ensure accurate and consistent presentation of that information—
and, importantly, the new uniform report introduced the “Matters Requiring Board
Attention” page to focus the attention of the bank’s board and management on material
issues requiring immediate consideration.15
In 1995 the FDIC took another step emphasizing the importance of a proactive
assessment of banks’ exposure to and management of credit risks, when FDIC examiners
began completing an “underwriting standards” survey at each examination. The survey,
still in use today, reflects an examiner’s view of bank management’s ability to identify,
measure, monitor, and control credit risks in various types of lending. This focus on
loan underwriting standards is designed to serve as an early-warning mechanism for
identifying future problems.
14

FDIC, “Regulators Adopt Common Format for Examination Reports,” Financial Institution Letter, FIL-7293, October 19, 1993.

15

Further discussion of MRBAs is available in “Supervisory Trends: ‘Matters Requiring Board Attention’
Highlight Evolving Risks in Banking,” FDIC, Supervisory Insights, Summer 2014.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

In 1996, the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council issued an important
clarification of examination and supervision policy when it revised its Uniform Financial
Institutions Rating System, which had been introduced in 1979.16 The changes added a
new component rating, the “S” rating for sensitivity to market risk, to the five previous
components, expanding the acronym CAMEL to CAMELS.17 More broadly, the 1996
changes were designed to make sure that both bankers and examiners understood that
CAMELS ratings were based not only on a bank’s current financial indicators (e.g.,
earnings, capital, and nonperforming assets) but also on its risk profile, which is influenced
by the bank’s loan underwriting, internal controls, degree of exposure to market risk, and
other factors. Thus, for example, a well-capitalized and profitable institution could still
be assigned a composite rating of 3 if the examiner found risk controls to be weak or the
bank to be inadequately managed.
In 1997, the FDIC, in conjunction with the Federal Reserve Board and the Conference
of State Bank Supervisors, began implementing a new risk-focused examination process
designed to direct bank examinations and examination resources at whichever bank
functions posed the greatest risk exposure at the particular institution. Identifying the
functions that pose the greatest risk exposure is part of what an examination is about,
and depends on the business model and risk mitigation strategies, or the weaknesses
thereof, at each individual institution.
As already noted, the risk-focused examination process attempts to assess an
institution’s ability to identify, measure, evaluate, and control risk. This process recognizes
that in a rapidly changing environment, a bank’s financial condition at any given time
may not indicate the bank’s future performance, and so the risk-focused examination
process seeks to strike an appropriate balance between evaluating the financial condition
of an institution at a certain time and evaluating the soundness of the bank’s processes for
managing risk. For if management’s risk controls are properly designed and effectively
applied, they should help ensure that the bank’s future performance will be satisfactory.
(Moreover, for well-run banks the risk-focused approach may involve less regulatory
burden because examiners will be testing, rather than duplicating, the work of the bank’s
own audit and management review functions.)
In 2000, the FDIC implemented new on-site supervision processes for large FDICsupervised banks (banks with assets greater than $10 billion; the role of the FDIC with
respect to large banks not supervised by the FDIC is discussed below, in the section
titled “Large-Bank Risk Assessment”).18 In light of the banking industry’s ongoing
consolidation and evolution toward larger and more complex institutions, the FDIC
16

“Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System,” 61 Fed. Reg. 67021–67029 (Dec. 19, 1996), https://www.
gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1996-07-18/pdf/96-18187.pdf.

17

Again, see footnote 12 for a brief explanation of the ratings system.

18

See that same section for an explanation of which federal agency supervises which category of banks.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

109

determined that an on-site presence beyond traditional “snapshot” examinations is
generally necessary to effectively monitor certain larger state institutions that are not
members of the Federal Reserve System. The new program emphasized the importance
of supervisory plans that were dynamically updated to address the evolving risks of
larger and more complex institutions: generally, the examination process for large banks
consisted of a series of targeted reviews of key business lines and risk areas, based on
an annual supervisory plan, with the findings of these activities incorporated into the
annual report of examination. Examiners were instructed to focus their most intense
efforts on, among other things, the presence of rapid asset growth, asset concentrations,
and internal control weaknesses—in other words, indicators that may reflect increasing
risks at a bank.
The changes in the supervisory process discussed in this section were designed to
sharpen FDIC supervisors’ sensitivity to the importance of banks’ risk management
practices. Addressing weaknesses in banks’ risk management practices in a timely manner
is important, because if supervisors do not address weaknesses in risk management
until after a bank’s condition deteriorates, it is often too late to prevent that bank from
failing. The result may be an increase in costs to the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) for
reimbursing insured depositors of the failing bank and for resolving the failed bank. (On
the Deposit Insurance Fund, see chapter 5. On resolutions, see chapter 6.) And if the
institutions whose problems are allowed to go unaddressed are very large, a financial
crisis may ensue with deep and widespread economic repercussions.
In short, at the beginning of the decade that preceded the 2008–2013 banking crisis,
a fundamental supervisory goal of the FDIC (and the other federal banking agencies)
was to be proactive, attempting to address deficiencies in risk management at an early
stage. As discussed below, in the aftermath of the crisis the FDIC has reemphasized
this fundamental goal.

Reduction of Regulatory Burden

The second broad theme driving changes to the safety-and-soundness examination
program was the desire to reduce the regulatory burden associated with the examination
process, especially for smaller, lower-risk institutions. Efforts to reduce burden included
economizing on the overall level of resources devoted to bank examination and
supervision, and streamlining examination procedures for smaller, well-rated banks.
The FDIC’s burden reduction efforts included a 2002 Corporate Performance
Objective (CPO) to reduce by 20 percent the average time spent conducting safety-andsoundness examinations of 1- and 2-rated banks with assets less than $250 million.19
A subsequent CPO called for an additional 10 percent to 20 percent reduction in
19

The FDIC’s expectation of this 20 percent reduction in examination hours was communicated in FDIC,
“Reducing Burden on Banks and the Public,” Financial Institution Letter, FIL-36-2002, April 24, 2002.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

examination hours compared with then-current benchmarks for banks with a CAMELS
rating of 1 or 2. To create incentives to meet these goals, regional and territory offices
were ranked on the basis of their success in reducing the time spent examining banks;
processing examination reports, applications, and enforcement actions; and meeting
other efficiency measures. To help achieve the CPO, a new Maximum Efficiency RiskFocused Institution Targeted (MERIT) examination program was introduced in 2002;
it encouraged streamlined loan review and the limited use of a number of examination
procedures. Examiners were encouraged to use the streamlined MERIT procedures for
a narrowly defined set of eligible banks, and for other institutions as appropriate. The
MERIT examination program was discontinued in 2008, in part because of concerns
it was being implemented in a way that reduced the rigor of some examinations to an
extent that had not been intended.

Efforts to Enhance Risk Analysis Capabilities

The FDIC’s effort to learn from the experience of the earlier crisis was reflected not
only in changes to its examination programs but in organizational changes and other
efforts to improve the quality of its risk analysis capabilities, its expertise regarding more
complex banking activities, and its off-site monitoring systems.
A first step in this evolution was the FDIC’s establishment in 1995 of a new Division
of Insurance (which subsequently merged with the already existing Division of Research
and Statistics to become the Division of Insurance and Research). In addition to
administering the FDIC’s risk-based deposit insurance pricing system (see chapter 5),
the new Division stationed a small interdisciplinary staff of seasoned bank examiners,
regional economists, and analysts in each of the (at the time) eight FDIC regional offices
and Washington, DC.20 Their charge was to bridge the gap between the analysis of broad
economic and market trends and the micro perspective of individual bank examinations.
Staff in these offices published a Regional Outlook designed to heighten banker and
examiner awareness of emerging regional risks and trends. These staff members also
served as a resource for management, both in the regions and in Washington, on
economic conditions affecting insured banks.
In 1997, to align the FDIC’s organizational structure with an industry that was
consolidating across state lines, the FDIC established a new Case Manager position in
the regional offices. Each Case Manager is assigned a caseload of banking organizations
and is responsible for keeping abreast of developments at these organizations by regularly
reviewing financial reports, the results of off-site monitoring systems, and examination
reports, and by maintaining contact with counterparts at other bank regulatory agencies
or the bank. This review by the Case Manager supplements the on-site FDIC examination,
20

As of June 30, 2017, the FDIC had six regional offices, located in New York City, Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas,
Kansas City, and San Francisco. These, along with offices in Boston and Memphis, constituted the eight
regional offices referenced in the text.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

111

which may occur as infrequently as once every three years if the FDIC alternates
examinations with its state counterparts. The FDIC also created a number of subjectmatter specialist positions in the regional offices to help ensure that if complex issues
arose at individual institutions during an examination, an adequate level of expertise
existed to address them. Such specialist positions were created in the areas of capital
markets, accounting, trust, and information technology.
In 2003, the FDIC created a National Risk Committee (NRC), a cross-divisional body
of senior managers established to identify and evaluate major business risks facing the
banking industry and the insurance funds (as noted in footnote 8, until 2006 there were
two deposit insurance funds). Risk committees in the regions delivered regular regional
risk reports to the NRC. A successor structure of regional and national risk committees
exists at the FDIC today.
Increased emphasis was placed on the review of banks that were outliers according to
the FDIC’s off-site monitoring tools. The term “off-site monitoring” is used here to refer
to a specialized subset of the more general concept of risk analysis, namely, the periodic
and systematic analysis of data from the quarterly Consolidated Report of Condition
and Income (Call Report). Off-site monitoring tools used then and still used include
(1) a Statistical CAMELS Offsite Review (SCOR) model designed to make it easier to
identify signs of potential financial deterioration at a bank,21 (2) a Growth Monitoring
System to flag for further off-site review the banks that were growing most rapidly, and
(3) a Real Estate Stress Testing (REST) model to help identify institutions that were more
susceptible to the types of real estate–related problems that had played a major role in
the 1980s banking crisis.22
The development and use of such tools allows for a quarterly analysis of the financial
data reported by all insured banks to identify signs of deteriorating performance or undue
risk-taking; this review is an important supplement to the relatively infrequent on-site
examinations. Such off-site systems help ensure that potential issues are systematically
brought to the attention of safety-and-soundness staff: regional staff is asked to review
institutions that are flagged as outliers relative to the off-site indicators and to recommend
additional supervisory attention where warranted.
Retrospectively, one can see that these enhanced risk-analysis processes brought
important issues to the attention of bankers, examiners, and policymakers. Examples
include two FDIC publications in 1997, one on subprime lending and the other on Trust

21

The SCOR model is described in Charles Collier, Sean Forbush, Daniel A. Nuxoll, and John O. Keefe, “The
SCOR System of Offsite Monitoring: Its Objectives, Functioning, and Performance,” FDIC Banking Review
15, no. 3 (2003): 17–32, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/banking/br15n3full.pdf.

22

The REST model is described in Charles Collier, Sean Forbush, and Daniel A. Nuxoll. “Evaluating the
Vulnerability of Banks and Thrifts to a Real Estate Crisis,” FDIC Banking Review 15, no. 4 (2003): 19–36,
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/banking/br15n4full.pdf.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Preferred Securities23 and associated risks.24 A number of other FDIC publications,
including one published in the first quarter of 1999 and one in the third quarter of 2000,
highlighted the risk of overbuilding in several major metropolitan markets (some of
which subsequently experienced severe real estate downturns) and identified concerns
about new, higher-risk mortgage lending practices.25 A publication in the first quarter
of 2002 discussed concerns about mortgage underwriting, concentrated lending
exposures to finance the development of vacant lots, and potential credit risks facing
ADC lenders in particular metro markets, including Atlanta and San Francisco (markets
that would experience high rates of bank failure during the crisis).26 On the other hand,
a publication in the spring of 2004 discussed the risk of a bubble in national housing
prices but concluded, on the basis of information through 2003, that such a bubble was
not underway and was unlikely to develop.27
Internal risk metrics such as the REST model mentioned above flagged increasing
industry vulnerability to economic downturns associated with growing concentrations
in ADC lending. In 2003, as concerns about ADC concentrations grew, staff undertook
a horizontal review of risk exposures associated with ADC lending in the Atlanta
metropolitan area. The review identified concerns with risk management practices but
concluded that risks were mitigated because the ADC lending exposures were primarily
to finance the development of residential subdivisions to meet the housing demands of
an increasing population. What was not so readily apparent was the significant reliance
on subprime and nontraditional mortgages in supporting market activity. The pipeline
for this problematic mortgage credit was fed by nonbank mortgage originators and by
the activities of large investment banks, large thrifts, and large BHCs. It was hard for small

23

Trust Preferred Securities are discussed in the section below titled “Strategies to Insulate Banks from
Problems at BHCs.”

24

Kathy R. Kalser and Debra L. Novak, “Subprime Lending: A Time for Caution,” Regional Outlook, San
Francisco, Q3 1997, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/s3q1997.pdf; and Kathy R. Kalser,
“Financial Markets,” Regional Outlook, San Francisco, Q4 1997, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
regional/s3q1997.pdf.

25

Steven Burton, “Commercial Development Still Hot in Many Major Markets, but Slower Growth May Be
Ahead,” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q1 1999, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/
t1q1999.pdf. Robert Burns and Sarah Zachary, ”Ranking Metropolitan Areas at Risk for Overbuilding,”
FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q3 2000, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/t3q2000.
pdf. Alan Deaton, “Rising Home Values and New Lending Programs Are Reshaping the Outlook for
Residential Real Estate,” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q3 2000, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/
analytical/regional/t3q2000.pdf.

26

Scott Hughes, Judy Plock, Joan Schneider, and Norman Williams, “In Focus this Quarter: Housing Market
Has Held Up Well in this Recession, but Some Issues Raise Concern,” FDIC Regional Outlook National
Edition, Q1 2002, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/t1q2002.pdf.

27

Cynthia Angell, “Housing Bubble Concerns and the Outlook for Mortgage Credit Quality,” FDIC Regional
Outlook National Edition, Spring 2004, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/t1q2004.pdf.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

113

banks, for builders, and indeed for bank supervisors to appreciate just how dependent on
the continued operation of this pipeline the ADC exposures really were.28
In March 2005, as part of the FDIC’s formal risk analysis process, staff raised significant
concerns about trends in mortgage credit and the unsustainable appreciation of housing
prices. Specifically, staff expressed concerns to the FDIC’s National Risk Committee
about the rapidity with which house price appreciation was outstripping income
growth by a widening margin in high-cost metro areas, and about the rising fraction
of credit attributable to subprime mortgages, alternative mortgage products designed
to minimize initial payments, home-equity loans, and houses purchased by investors.
The memorandum to the Committee stated, “The situation is beginning to look like a
credit-induced boom in housing that could very well result in a systemic bust if credit
conditions or economic conditions should deteriorate.”29 The response recommended by
staff was further research on trends in home prices and mortgage credit, the development
of guidance to banks and examiners, and public communication.
In May 2005, the FDIC published a discussion of these issues that drew connections
between the rapid escalation of home prices and the pricing and terms of mortgage
credit.30 The FDIC also joined with the other federal banking agencies in issuing
supervisory guidance addressing the significant and rising risks associated with banks’
real estate exposures: in January 2006, the agencies published for comment proposed
interagency guidance relating to sound risk management practices for concentrations
in commercial real estate lending; in September 2006 they published the “Interagency
Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks;” and in December they
finalized and published the guidance that had been proposed in January (the published
document was called “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound
Risk Management Practices.”)31 As it turned out, however, in the summer of 2006 the
S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index had already peaked and begun its
multiyear decline.
28

As it turned out, demand for vacant lots in Atlanta collapsed in 2007 shortly after subprime and nontraditional
mortgage originations were sharply curtailed. For further information, see “Commercial Real Estate,” Hearing
Before the Congressional Oversight Panel, 111th Cong. (January 27, 2010, held in Atlanta, Georgia) (statement
of Doreen Eberley, Acting Atlanta Regional Director, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation), https://www.
gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-111shrg55522/pdf/CHRG-111shrg55522.pdf.

29

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC National Risk Committee: Rising Risks in Housing Markets,”
2005, from Richard A. Brown, Chief Economist, http://fcic-static.law.stanford.edu/cdn_media/fcicdocs/2005-03-21%20FDIC%20Memo%20from%20Richard%20Brown%20to%20the%20National%20
Risk%20Committee-%20Rising%20Risks%20in%20Housing%20Markets.pdf.

30

Cynthia Angell and Norman Williams, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/fyi/050205fyi.pdf, FDIC, FYI,
May 2, 2005, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/fyi/050205fyi.pdf.

31

Interagency final joint guidance, “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending, Sound Risk
Management Practices,” 71 Fed. Reg. 74580–74588 (Dec. 12, 2006), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR2006-12-12/pdf/06-9630.pdf. “Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks,” 71 Fed.
Reg. 58609–58618 (Oct. 4, 2006), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-10-04/pdf/06-8480.pdf.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

To put this section’s discussion of risk analysis processes into context, the FDIC, like
most other observers, did not manage to connect the dots among the trends that were
developing with regard to home prices, alternative mortgage credit products, off-balancesheet securitization vehicles, interconnected credit derivatives exposures, and increased
financial leverage and reliance on short-term funding (for a detailed discussion of these
subjects, see chapter 1). So although it is important to supplement the examiners’ banklevel view of risk with risk assessment of broad external trends, consensus on the most
important risks in the financial system and on the urgency of those risks at any given
time is likely to be elusive.
As noted above, some pre-crisis analyses pointed directly to the way nontraditional
mortgages were contributing to a potential housing bubble. Yet such examples illustrate
the significant difference between identifying a risk and developing an agency-wide or
interagency consensus for policy action to address that risk. Agency action to change
or curtail risky but currently profitable banking industry practices tends to encounter
significant external resistance. Decisions on whether and how to take such action are
within the purview of the senior management of an agency. That such decisionmaking
can be informed and enhanced by sound risk analysis was a guiding principle for the
FDIC’s risk assessment efforts during the pre-crisis years and continues to be so today.

Large-Bank Risk Assessment: Before and into the Crisis

Although a majority of FDIC-insured institutions are supervised by the FDIC, most of
the assets of insured institutions are held by banks and thrifts that the FDIC does not
supervise. The reason has to do with the distribution in U.S. law of bank regulatory
responsibilities across agencies. Specifically, FDIC-insured depository institutions that
are federally chartered—i.e., national banks and federal thrifts—are supervised by the
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC), and these institutions include most
of the largest FDIC-insured institutions. State-chartered banks that are members of
the Federal Reserve System—state member banks—and bank holding companies are
supervised by the Federal Reserve. State-chartered banks that are not members of the
Federal Reserve System—state nonmember banks—and state thrifts are supervised
by the FDIC. (Before the enactment, in 2010, of the Dodd-Frank Act, another federal
regulator—the Office of Thrift Supervision [OTS]—supervised federal and state thrifts,
except for state-chartered mutual savings banks, which were supervised by the FDIC.
The Dodd-Frank Act abolished the OTS.) As of June 30, 2017, there were 5,787 FDICinsured banks, and the FDIC was the primary federal regulatory agency for about 64
percent of them. Most of the banks the FDIC supervises are small, a category defined as
having assets of less than $10 billion. (Bank asset sizes range from more than a trillion
dollars for the largest banks to under $100 million for the smallest banks.)
Larger institutions can pose outsized risks to the DIF: of the 489 banks that failed
during the crisis years 2008–2013, only 9 had assets of more than $10 billion, but these

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

115

9 institutions accounted for 35 percent of all losses the DIF experienced during that
time.32 Thus, one function of the FDIC’s supervision program is to maintain a level of
awareness of significant risks and developments at large non-FDIC-supervised banks.
This function has mostly been carried out through off-site analysis and the exercise of
special examination authority as granted by Congress in 1950 under Section 10(b)(3) of
the Federal Deposit Insurance Act. “Special examination authority” refers to the FDIC’s
statutory authority to conduct an examination of an FDIC-insured institution for which
it is not the primary federal regulator (e.g., a national bank or state member bank). In
practice, this authority is exercised on a limited basis and typically in cooperation with
the federal agency that regulates the bank being examined. A typical scenario for a special
examination, often referred to as a “backup examination,” involves a problem bank or
other bank posing unusual risks where the FDIC requests, and is granted, some level of
participation in an examination conducted by the Office of Comptroller of the Currency
or by the Federal Reserve (or, before July 2010, by the OTS). Although the practices of
off-site analysis did not substantially change before or at the beginning of the crisis, the
FDIC’s exercise of special examination authority became a more important part of the risk
assessment process as the proportion of insured assets held by institutions not directly
supervised by the FDIC continued to grow.
In determining when to exercise its special examination authority, the Corporation was
helped by reviews it carried out under a program it had maintained since the late 1980s and
still maintains—its Large Insured Depository Institution (LIDI) program, devoted to the
monitoring and risk assessment of insured institutions with assets exceeding $10 billion.33
On the basis of reviews of financial data and examination reports as well as contacts with
the primary federal regulator (PFR), the LIDI program generates a brief quarterly report on
each of these large institutions, highlighting risks, trends, and areas of supervisory focus.
These reviews are shared with the PFRs for consideration in their examination planning.
Since 1950, when Congress granted the FDIC authority to perform special examinations,
the FDIC Board of Directors has adopted various policies governing the use of these
examinations. For example, in 1983 the Board authorized a Cooperative Examination
Program under which FDIC personnel would automatically be invited to participate
in examinations of national banks rated CAMEL 4 or 5 and of selected other banks (as
mentioned in footnote 12, the “S” component of CAMELS was added in 1996). That
policy was rescinded in 1993 when the FDIC Board adopted a policy requiring all
recommendations for a special examination to go to the Board for approval.
In 1995, the FDIC Board delegated authority to the then Division of Supervision to
participate in special examination activities when the PFR invited FDIC participation, or
32

This information can be found at www.fdic.gov under the “industry analysis/historical statistics on banking/
failures and assistance transactions” tabs.

33

As of June, 30, 2017, there were 121 FDIC-insured depository institutions that had assets of $10 billion or
more.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

when an institution had a CAMEL composite rating of 4 or 5, or when there were material
deteriorating conditions not reflected in the current CAMEL rating and the PFR did not
object to the FDIC’s participation.34
In the last few years of the 1990s, three institutions failed that imposed extraordinarily
high loss rates on the DIF as a percentage of their asset size: BestBank in Boulder, Colorado
(in which the FDIC’s loss amounted to 69 percent of the institution’s assets at failure);
First National Bank of Keystone in Keystone, West Virginia (51 percent loss rate); and
Pacific Thrift and Loan Company in Woodland Hills, California (61 percent loss rate).
In the case of Keystone in particular, then FDIC Chairman Donna Tanoue observed that,
although the outcome might not have been affected, coordination between the Office of
the Comptroller of the Currency and the FDIC was not optimal.35 In commenting on the
2001 failure of Superior Bank, FSB in Hinsdale, Illinois, John Reich, an FDIC Director
at the time, stated, “The FDIC needs full access to all banks and thrifts. … The FDIC
Board’s own complicated procedures inhibit our access when another regulator denies
our participation. We ought to fix this.”36
In 2002, the federal banking agencies entered into an interagency agreement,
“Coordination of Expanded Supervisory Information Sharing and Special Examinations.”
This agreement identified the types of institutions for which the FDIC could conduct special
examinations: (1) institutions that represented a heightened risk to the deposit insurance
funds, as agreed on a case-by-case basis; (2) institutions with a composite CAMELS rating
of 3, 4, or 5; or (3) institutions that were undercapitalized under the Prompt Corrective
Action guidelines.37 The agreement also addressed coordination between the other agencies’
examiners and a cadre of FDIC “dedicated examiners.” The FDIC’s dedicated examiner
program was an effort to improve the FDIC’s understanding and awareness of risks at the
largest insured banks. For each of the eight largest financial institutions in the nation, the
program provided for a single FDIC examiner to work on-site with the primary federal
regulator’s examination team under parameters described in the 2002 agreement. Pursuant
34

In 2005, recognizing the growing size and complexity of institutions and the implication for the DIF, the
FDIC Board further delegated authority to the FDIC Chairman to determine when a special examination
was warranted.

35

Hearings on Recent Bank Failures and Regulatory Initiatives Before the House Committee on Banking and
Financial Services, 106th Cong. (Feb. 8, 2000) (statement of Donna Tanoue, Chairman, Federal Deposit
Insurance Corporation), http://archives.financialservices.house.gov/banking/2800tan.shtml.

36

John Reich, “The Lessons of Superior,” August 21, 2001, https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/speeches/
archives/2001/sp28aug01.html. FDIC staff may request participation on an examination of a bank regulated
by another banking agency, but if that agency denies the request, staff would need to obtain explicit approval
from the FDIC Board of Directors in order to conduct such examination activities.

37

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act of 1991 (FDICIA) amended the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act to require the appropriate federal banking agency to take prompt corrective action to
resolve the problems of insured depository institutions, and provides a framework of supervisory actions for
insured institutions that are less than well capitalized.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

117

to the parameters of the dedicated examiner program, FDIC dedicated examiners worked
on-site with the primary federal regulators of Citigroup, Wachovia, Bank of America, Bank
One, FleetBoston Financial, JP Morgan Chase, Wells Fargo, and Washington Mutual.
The dedicated examiners served as the FDIC’s primary point of contact with PFR
supervisory personnel. Under the 2002 agreement, if the dedicated examiner determined
it appropriate to participate in an examination to evaluate the risk to the DIF of a particular
banking activity but the PFR’s staff disagreed, the dispute was to be settled by the heads
of supervision of the two agencies, and if the dispute remained unresolved, then by the
principals of the two agencies.
In addition to its strengths, the dedicated examiner program presented opportunities
for improvement. Its importance was that it provided the FDIC with a better window into
the risks posed by these large institutions, thereby enhancing the Corporation’s efforts to
identify, monitor, and assess the risks to the DIF posed by large, complex banks that are
not supervised by the FDIC. However, the FDIC was not always able to secure prompt
permission to participate in examinations of these banks. To gain access to an institution,
the FDIC was required to show that the institution posed a high level of risk to the DIF—
but it needed this access to assess the level of risk.38 A few examples drawn from the FDIC’s
experience with large troubled institutions will help clarify these points.
On July 11, 2008, the Office of Thrift Supervision appointed the FDIC as conservator
of IndyMac Bank FSB, a West Coast thrift institution with $32 billion in assets. Measured
by its estimated cost to the DIF, IndyMac was and remains the most expensive bank failure
in the FDIC’s history. Before mid-2007, however, the FDIC’s regular risk monitoring
of IndyMac had not identified more than a normal, or at worst a somewhat elevated,
level of risk to the DIF, consistent with the favorable examination ratings assigned by
the institution’s PFR, the Office of Thrift Supervision. Only starting in August 2007,
when Countrywide Bank—a large thrift that, like IndyMac, had specialized in alternative
mortgage lending—began experiencing liquidity problems, did the FDIC’s supervisory
concerns with IndyMac and other thrifts that had concentrations in subprime and other
nontraditional mortgage lending increase significantly. The FDIC requested and gained
a presence in the on-site examination of IndyMac and began evaluating that bank’s
viability. As a result of these efforts, the FDIC was better prepared for the resolution of
IndyMac when the institution failed.
Another large thrift that failed in the second half of 2008 was Washington Mutual Bank
(WaMu). With assets of $307 billion, WaMu—which failed on September 25, 2008—was
the largest bank failure by asset size in the FDIC’s history.39 In 2005, WaMu management
38

For further discussion, see U.S. Department of the Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation,
Offices of Inspector General, “Evaluation of Federal Regulatory Oversight of Washington Mutual Bank,”
Report EVAL-10-002 (April 2010), 52–53, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/10002EV.pdf.

39

WaMu’s failure did not cost the DIF anything because the thrift was acquired by JPMorgan Chase.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

had made a decision to shift its business strategy away from originating traditional fixedrate and single-family residential loans that conformed to the criteria for purchase by
the government-sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and toward riskier
nontraditional loan products and subprime loans. The FDIC had a dedicated examiner
at WaMu and in 2006, 2007, and 2008 made a number of staff-level requests to the
institution’s PFR, the Office of Thrift Supervision, to be allowed to increase its on-site
presence. The OTS denied these requests because it believed that the FDIC did not have the
requisite need for access according to the terms of the interagency agreement, and it also
believed that the FDIC could rely on the work performed by the OTS. The OTS assigned
favorable examination ratings to WaMu through 2007 and into 2008, and the FDIC did
not contest these ratings. Starting in the spring of 2008, with the agreement of the OTS,
the FDIC increased its on-site presence at WaMu and argued that the institution should be
downgraded to problem-bank status.40
After WaMu’s failure, the Office of Inspector General (OIG) at the Department of the
Treasury (Treasury) and the OIG at the FDIC recommended that the FDIC Chairman, in
consultation with the FDIC Board of Directors, revisit the interagency agreement governing
access to information and backup examinations for large depository institutions, to ensure
not only that the agreement provided the FDIC with sufficient access to the information
necessary for assessing an institution’s risk to the DIF but also that it covered all large
depository institutions. The interagency agreement was modified in July 2010.
In the days following the WaMu failure, Wachovia Corporation experienced a liquidity
crisis and was subsequently acquired by Wells Fargo. The FDIC had had a dedicated examiner
at Wachovia. As described more fully in chapter 3, in early 2008 the FDIC downgraded its
internal outlook rating (LIDI rating) for Wachovia Bank, the flagship depository institution
subsidiary of Wachovia, indicating that the FDIC considered the institution to have an
elevated risk profile and was likely to deteriorate to a “3” CAMELS composite rating
within 12 months. In August 2008, Wachovia’s PFR, the OCC, downgraded the institution’s
CAMELS rating to a composite “3.” However, as late as the week before Wachovia
Corporation’s liquidity crisis, the OCC had not viewed Wachovia Bank as a problem bank,
and the FDIC had not raised objections to the OCC’s risk assessment. The discrepancy
between Wachovia’s precarious condition and regulators’ views of the institution provides
a good example of both the difficulty, and the importance, of evaluating the risks at large
banks. At any rate, the need to address the liquidity crisis quickly came to a head, and
FDIC supervision staff provided analytical support to the FDIC’s Board of Directors about
alternative courses of action potentially available to address the problems at this institution.
Staff ’s ability to provide the needed support was enhanced by the information gained from
the dedicated examiner program and the LIDI program.
40

The material in this paragraph is drawn from the Offices of Inspector General, U.S. Department of the
Treasury and FDIC, “Evaluation.”

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CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

Similar comments apply to the staff assistance provided to the FDIC Board of Directors
in the cases of two other very large and troubled banks, Citigroup and Bank of America
Corporation, about which the Board would likewise have to make a decision. (For details
on the cases of all three banks—Wachovia, Citigroup, and Bank of America Corporation—
see chapter 3.) At each of these institutions, the FDIC had a dedicated examiner, and the
members of the Board relied on supervisory staff to help assess potential loss exposure to
the FDIC under various options that the Board needed to consider for dealing with these
institutions. Staff ’s ability to provide analytical support to the decisionmaking process
depended on a baseline of knowledge about these institutions gained from the dedicated
examiner program and the LIDI program.

The Crisis: Characteristics of Failed and Problem Banks
The Case-Shiller index of home prices peaked in July 2006 and then declined steadily for
almost six years, losing 27 percent of its value before bottoming out in February 2012. For
banks and their borrowers, the effects of this steady decline in housing prices and of the
recession that began in December 2007 were gradual at first, but quickly grew more severe.
As depicted in Table 4.1, the number of problem banks (which stood at only 50 at year-end
2006) reached 252 by year-end 2008, 702 by year-end 2009, and 884 by year-end 2010. The
number of bank failures increased rapidly as well, going from 25 in 2008 to 140 in 2009 to
157 in 2010, before declining to 92 in 2011 and dropping every year through 2016.
Table 4.1. Number of Problem Banks and Failures, 2007–Q1 2017
2007
Total IDIs
Problem Banks

2008

2009

8,534 8,305 8,012

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

7,658 7,357

2010

7,083

6,812

6,509

6,182 5,913

2016 Q1 2017
5,856

76

252

702

884

813

651

467

291

183

123

112

Failures

3

25

140

157

92

51

24

18

8

5

3

Cumulative
Failures

3

28

168

325

417

468

492

510

518

523

526

Note: “IDI” stands for “Insured Depository Institution.”

Most banks that failed or became problem banks did so because of large concentrations,
relative to their capital, of poorly underwritten and administered commercial real estate
loans and (especially) ADC loans. During the pre-crisis years, many of these banks had
exhibited financial metrics that often indicate a higher appetite for risk. These metrics
include high concentrations of ADC loans, rapid asset growth, and relatively greater use of

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

wholesale funding sources as compared with other banks.41 In addition, banks’ choice of
capital structure mattered: banks that operated with lower levels of capital during the runup to the crisis failed more often.42
Figure 4.2 addresses the experience of banks during the crisis by percentile ADC loan
concentration range. For this figure, the ratio of ADC loans to capital for each bank as of
December 31, 2006, was calculated, and the banks were grouped into percentiles based on
this ratio. This set of banks was then restricted to those with a CAMELS rating of 1 or 2 as
of December 31, 2006. For each percentile group, the proportions of banks that, over the
subsequent five years, either failed (red) or were downgraded to a CAMELS composite
rating of 3, 4, or 5 (various shadings) are depicted by the vertical bars. The figure indicates
that the more concentrated a bank was in ADC lending, the more likely it was to fail or
be downgraded. Although ADC loan concentrations alone do not necessarily present a
problem if the loans are well underwritten, all other things being equal, a bank with a
higher ADC loan concentration will be more affected by a real estate downturn.
Figure 4.2. Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Ratio of ADC Loans to Capital
Percent
80

Downgrade to
3

70

4

5

75.3

Failure
63.1

60
51.0

50
39.8

40

34.0

30
20

17.6

10

12.9

0

28.4

16.4
13.4

20.3
16.5

22.4
16.3

26.0

16.9

22.5

3.0

1.8

2.2

3.7

4.6

6.8
2.8

10

20

30

40

50

60

17.2

29.5
22.9

19.6

20.9

9.6
4.3
3.0

70

10.3
6.3

10.1

5.0

7.7

80

90

14.9

22.3

100

Ratio of ADC Loans to Total Risk-Based Capital by Percentile

Figure 4.3 presents the failure and downgrade experience of banks by percentile asset
growth range. The percentile rank of each bank’s one-year merger-adjusted asset growth
41

The term ”wholesale funding” is a generic and imprecise term intended to refer to those liabilities of a bank
that are not stable core deposits. In this chapter, specific funding categories that are deemed “wholesale” are
noted in the descriptive text associated with individual figures.

42

The discussion in this chapter is consistent with the results of the FDIC’s statistical analysis of factors
associated with bank failures, described in FDIC, “Assessments—Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and
Request for Comment,” 81 Fed. Reg. 74580–74588 (Feb. 4, 2016), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-201602-04/pdf/2016-01448.pdf.

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CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

as of year-end 2006 was computed and compared with the subsequent five-year failure
and downgrade experience, as was done for Figure 4.2. Figure 4.3 indicates that failures
and downgrades were concentrated among institutions that were growing relatively
faster. This is consistent with the observation that fast growth may sometimes be the
result of lowered underwriting standards and more-aggressive competition for new
business. Banks that make more lending concessions to attract borrowers during a real
estate expansion are more likely to run into trouble during the downturn.
Figure 4.3. Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Asset Growth
Percent
70

Downgrade to
3

60

4

5

64.2

Failure

57.0
23.9

50

43.6

40
30
20
10
0

27.0

35.6
27.2

17.3

26.8

19.7

6.5

3.4

10

20

24.7

16.1

6.6

27.9

18.7

6.2

28.2

18.0

5.3
2.9

31.4

17.4

12.8

23.4
21.2

6.4

6.8

4.1

4.4
3.3

12.3
10.7
4.6
5.0

30
40
50
60
70
80
One-Year Merger-Adjusted Asset Growth Rate by Percentile

11.0

9.5
16.4
8.3

90

100

Figure 4.4 presents the failure and downgrade experience of banks by reliance on
wholesale funding, defined for this figure as the sum of brokered deposits, federal funds
purchased, securities sold under repurchase agreements, and other borrowed money.
The figure takes the approach that was taken for the two preceding figures: year-end
2006 ratios are calculated and compared with the failure and downgrade experience
for the subsequent five years. Generally speaking, failures and downgrades were more
concentrated among banks that made relatively greater use of wholesale funding sources.
Although use of wholesale funding sources within a sound liquidity management
program is not in itself a risky practice, significant reliance on wholesale funds may
reflect the decisions an institution has made to grow its business more aggressively.
At such institutions, the loan mix may tend to be generally more risky. On the liability
side, if the institution comes under stress, wholesale counterparties may be more apt
to withdraw funding or demand additional collateral. Additionally, if the institution
becomes less than well capitalized, it cannot accept brokered deposits without a waiver

122

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

from the FDIC and is subject to restrictions on the interest rates it can pay on all its
deposits. If the institution becomes less than adequately capitalized, it cannot accept
brokered deposits at all.43
Figure 4.4. Downgrades of 1- and 2-Rated Banks: Ratio of Wholesale Funding to
Total Assets
Percent
70

Downgrade to
3

60

4

5

Failure

59.5
49.9

50
40
30

25.6

20

16.7

10
0

24.3

44.0

10*

27.1
17.8

29.0
17.1

5.0
2.1

3.3
4.1

5.6
4.1

20

30

40

33.5
20.5

6.9
2.9
3.1

50

36.8

38.3

23.1
23.1

22.6

6.9
4.2
3.1

60

14.2

22.1

7.7
4.5
4.0

9.0
5.7

12.3

6.2

7.4

80

90

70

9.3

7.1
11.8

100

Wholesale Funding to Total Assets by Percentile
* The 10th percentile bar does not exist because 2,090 banks had zero Wholesale Funding. Since there is no differentiation
among these banks in their use of Wholesale Funding, they are all aggregated under the 20th pctl.
Note: “Wholesale Funding” includes federal funds purchased and securities sold under agreements to repurchase, other
borrowed money, and brokered deposits.

Figure 4.5 depicts the failure experience of FDIC-insured banks during the crisis using
their equity-to-asset ratios as of year-end 2003; for example, “equity capital below 8%”
in the figure refers to banks with an equity-to-asset ratio of less than 8 percent. This
calculation date is well before the onset of the crisis and is in the midst of the housing
price boom. Capital ratios as of a date well before the start of this crisis are more likely
to reflect institutions’ strategic priorities regarding safety, return on equity, and growth
and are less likely to reflect factors such as loan write-downs or other operating losses. As
indicated in the figure, banks that chose to operate during the midst of the housing boom
with lower equity-to-asset ratios were more likely to fail during the crisis. These results
probably reflect two factors. First, operating with lower capital reduces an institution’s
ability to absorb losses and therefore (all else being equal) makes the institution’s failure
during a downturn more likely. Second, operating with lower capital may reflect more

43

Section 29 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act describes the restrictions—applicable to banks that are
less than “well capitalized” for purposes of prompt corrective action—on the use of brokered deposits and
interest paid on deposits. Part 337.6 of the FDIC’s regulations implements the statutory provisions.

123

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

emphasis by bank management on achieving aggressive return-on-equity goals, and this
emphasis may reflect management’s higher appetite for risk more generally.
Figure 4.5. Cumulative Failure Percentage by Equity-to-Asset Ratio, 2003–2016
Failure Percentage
8
Equity Capital below 8%
7
6

Equity Capital 8-9%
Equity Capital 9-10%
Equity Capital greater than 10%

5
4
3
2
1
0
2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

2016

Finally, the failure rate of newer institutions during the crisis was substantially higher
than that of more-established institutions. Among institutions chartered between January
1, 2000, and December 31, 2006, 15 percent have since failed. In contrast, among institutions
chartered before 2000, 5 percent have since failed. The tendency of more recently chartered
institutions to fail more often than established institutions was observed during the 1980s
crisis as well.44 Under any circumstances, newly chartered institutions tend to operate with
losses during their early years while they build up their business. In addition, a number of
the failures of newer institutions during the recent crisis involved institutions entering into
activities that were significantly riskier than those contemplated in the business plans that
were the basis of their approved application for deposit insurance.45
It is important to note that though the indicators described above—ADC concentrations,
rapid growth, dependence on high levels of wholesale funding, lower capital, and the age
44

FDIC, “Banking Problems in the Southwest,” in History of the Eighties: Lessons for the Future (1997), 1:313–
14, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/history/291_336.pdf.

45

Analysis of de novo bank performance and a survey of relevant literature is contained in Yan Lee
and Chiwon Yom, “The Entry, Performance, and Risk Profile of De Novo Banks,” FDIC Center for
Financial Research Working Paper 2016-03, April 2016, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/cfr/2016/
wp2016/2016-03.pdf.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

of the bank—are highly correlated with bank failures and problem-bank status, they do
not paint a complete picture. Many banks that had heightened values of the first four
indicators or were more recently chartered did not fail, and some banks that failed were
established banks and did not have heightened values of the four indicators.
The reason for the only partial correlation between the indicators and failure or
problem-bank status is that the viability of a bank and its resilience during a period of
economic stress depend on important bank-specific factors that cannot be evaluated
adequately using published financial reports. Among these factors are the quality of loan
underwriting and credit administration, risk limits, and internal controls, all of which are
specific aspects of bank governance. Failures of governance can result in excessive risk in
the lending or investment functions and can also increase a bank’s susceptibility to fraud
and insider abuse. Material Loss Reviews (MLRs) prepared by the FDIC OIG for the six
FDIC-supervised institutions with assets exceeding $5 billion that failed during and just
after the crisis all reported significant deficiencies in their risk management practices, and
five of the six MLRs referenced identified or suspected irregularities (possibly indicative
of fraud or insider abuse) that contributed to the problems these institutions had faced.46
Governance issues are equally important for smaller banks. MLRs for smaller banks
consistently described how the managements of failing banks did not implement adequate
controls over their institutions’ risk profiles. A recent paper on fraud detection in banking
finds that bank supervisors detected material insider abuse or internal fraud among a
significant minority of banks that failed between 1989 and 2015.47
Viewing the importance of governance in a more positive light, the FDIC’s experience
has been that strong governance is the most important determinant of a bank’s long-term
viability. A study by the FDIC OIG of banks that remained in satisfactory condition in
2011 despite high ADC concentrations reinforces that experience.48 As discussed in the
46

The six MLRs, prepared by the FDIC Office of Inspector General and available at www.fdicig.gov, are (1)
“Material Loss Review of Franklin Bank, S.S.B, Houston, Texas,” Report AUD-09-014 July 2009, https://
www.nclc.org/images/pdf/foreclosure_mortgage/lender_failed_banks/franklin-bank-oig.pdf; (2) “Material
Loss Review of Colonial Bank, Montgomery, Alabama,” Report MLR-10-031, April 2010, https://www.
fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/10-031.pdf; (3) “Material Loss Review of United Commercial
Bank, San Francisco, California,” Report MLR-10-043, July 2010, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/10-043.pdf; (4) “Material Loss Review of Westernbank Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico,”
Report MLR-11-007, December 2010, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/11-007.pdf;
(5) “Material Loss Review of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico,” Report MLR-11009, December 2010, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/11-009.pdf; and (6) “Material
Loss Review of Doral Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico,” Report AUD-15-007, September 2015, https://www.
fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/15-007AUD.pdf.

47

John O’Keefe and Chiwon Yom, “Offsite Detection of Insider Abuse and Bank Fraud among U.S. Failed
Banks 1989–2015,” FDIC Center for Financial Research Working Paper 2017-06, October 2017, https://
www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/cfr/2017/wp2017/cfr-wp2017-06.pdf.

48

FDIC Office of the Inspector General, “Acquisition, Development, and Construction Loan Concentration
Study,” Report EVAL-13-001, October 2012, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/13001EV.pdf.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

125

section titled “The Aftermath of the Crisis: Lessons Learned for Supervision,” the OIG
study affirms that banks with effective governance were more likely to achieve a positive
outcome during the crisis.

The Crisis: Supervisory Strategies
The supervisory strategies the FDIC used in the crisis were intended to identify and
respond appropriately to the risks at individual banks and groups of banks. An immediate
and important challenge was to evaluate banks’ risk profiles and ensure appropriate
examination ratings. Given the rapid deterioration of a large number of institutions, this
was a significant task.
Once risks were identified, supervisory responses varied depending on the condition
of each bank. Ideally, before adverse financial conditions occur, supervisors can identify
and obtain corrections of the weaknesses in banks’ policies and procedures that have
a realistic potential to cause financial problems. The goal of this forward-looking
model is to recognize problems early enough for corrective measures to be taken and
for banks to be returned to health. In fact (to anticipate some of the discussion in this
section), a number of banks received only an informal enforcement action during the
crisis, corrected their problems, and returned to health. At other banks, however, the
crisis resulted in severe financial deterioration and imminent danger of failure. In those
situations, supervisory strategies focused on close monitoring of troubled institutions
to promote conservation of capital, to limit the incentives to take excessive risks, and
ultimately to limit losses to the DIF. As described in this section, the FDIC used a range
of supervisory strategies to meet these various objectives.

The Examination Program

The effects of the banking crisis on the FDIC’s bank examination and supervision
activities escalated quickly. From the beginning of 2008 through March 31, 2017, nearly
1,800 insured banks were in problem-bank status at some point; the period 2009–2010,
in particular, was a period of exponential growth in the number of problem banks.
Given the examination and supervision resources available at that time, handling the
dramatic increase in the number of troubled banks required changes to the normal
supervisory routine. With the quickly deteriorating conditions facing the U.S. banking
industry, waiting what could be as long as 24 to 36 months for the next scheduled FDIC
examination was not a feasible supervisory strategy.
The FDIC, however, was not staffed for a crisis of this speed and magnitude and had
to take several contingency actions to address the sudden deterioration in the industry.
Examples included applying to the federal Office of Personnel Management (OPM)
for authority to repurchase employees’ annual leave; sending examiners from regions

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

experiencing less stress to help regions experiencing more stress; spending less time on
specialty examinations49 to free more examiner resources for other safety-and-soundness
examination work; and reducing the portion of examiners’ time spent in training and
temporary assignments so that they could spend more time examining banks.
Another way the FDIC addressed the resource challenge was by supplementing the
examination force with employees who were hired for a time-limited term. Many of
these term employees had substantial experience in bank supervision. By 2010, 494 term
employees hired to assist with safety-and-soundness examinations were on board at the
FDIC. More than 75 percent of them were loan review specialists; others were specialists in
investigations, information technology, and the Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering.
Some of the term employees were retired FDIC employees, who were rehired under a
special authority granted by the federal Office of Personnel Management. Some of these
rehired individuals were able to pass along the benefit of their extensive examination and
bank supervision experience by helping with the training of pre-commissioned examiners.
One of the effects of the banking industry’s rapid deterioration, especially in conjunction
with relatively reduced examiner staffing entering the crisis, was that there was a lag in the
adjustment of examination ratings to reflect new industry conditions. In addition to the
staffing measures just described, the FDIC used a variety of examination techniques to
address the lag in rating changes. For example, the volumes of noncurrent loans self-reported
by some banks on their quarterly Call Reports were at levels historically characteristic of
problem banks. Other banks self-reported strong asset quality metrics despite balancesheet characteristics similar to those of banks on the problem-bank list (characteristics
such as significant concentrations of ADC loans). Such banks were often handled by a
visitation focused on asset quality, unless a safety-and-soundness examination was already
scheduled in the near term. These visitations frequently resulted in rating downgrades and
the establishment of corrective action plans. As a result of such contingency measures, by
the third quarter of 2009, ratings overall more closely reflected the condition of the industry.
For the FDIC as insurer, accurate CAMELS ratings are important, for they are key inputs
to the FDIC’s statutorily mandated risk-based deposit insurance system (see chapter 5).
The ratings affect the distribution of assessments across insured banks, and the FDIC
historically has attempted to ensure that this distribution, to the extent practicable, reflects
the risk of loss to the DIF. From a bank supervision perspective, accurate CAMELS ratings
are important to the timely identification, mitigation, and remediation of problems at
troubled banks. The CAMELS rating, and the associated formal or informal enforcement
actions in the case of troubled or poorly rated banks, are extremely important in that they
clearly communicate to a troubled bank’s board of directors the actions needed to restore
or maintain the bank’s health.
49

“Specialty examinations” include examinations of bank trust departments, examinations of banks’
information technology systems, and examinations to ensure compliance with the Bank Secrecy Act.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

127

Enforcement Actions

As a rule, formal FDIC enforcement actions are closely associated with a CAMELS
composite rating of 4 or 5, while an informal FDIC action is most often associated with a
CAMELS rating of 3. Formal actions are publicly disclosed and can be enforced in federal
court. Additionally, civil money penalties (CMPs) can be assessed for noncompliance
with a formal action. Informal actions are non-public agreements between the bank and
the FDIC (or other banking agency) to address specific risk management issues or other
issues, and are not enforceable.
The types of formal actions available to the FDIC include termination of insurance;
cease-and-desist orders and consent orders; prohibition, removal, or suspension actions;
CMPs; and prompt corrective action directives. During the crisis the specific subject
matter addressed by formal enforcement actions varied, depending on the facts and
circumstances at each bank, but often included orders to cease unsound banking
practices, to increase capital or reduce the volume of problem loans or both, to cease
dividend payments or inter-affiliate transactions, to replace management, or to curtail
asset growth.
For problem banks where problems were particularly severe, some orders directed
the banks’ boards to either raise capital or prepare to sell, merge, or liquidate the bank.
These directives were effective in making banks’ boards understand the severity of their
problems. They forced reluctant boards to take actions the result of which would often
be that those board members lost control of the banks. In these cases, however, raising
capital or proceeding to sell, merge, or liquidate was in the best interest of the bank, its
shareholders, and the DIF.
Informal actions available to the FDIC include bank board resolutions and memoranda
of understanding (MOU). They also include safety-and-soundness plans pursuant
to Section 39(e) of the FDI Act when an institution does not operate in conformance
with the safety-and-soundness operating standards identified in Section 39. A typical
example of an informal action would be an MOU signed by a bank’s board of directors
committing to address shortcomings in loan underwriting or in other aspects of credit
administration, to raise capital, to reduce levels of nonperforming loans, or to address
some other shortcoming depending on the specific facts.
Figure 4.6 depicts the number of formal safety-and-soundness enforcement actions
issued by the FDIC from 2000 through 2016.50 As the crisis intensified, the number
increased sharply, going from 101 in 2007 to 174 in 2008, to 397 in 2009, and to 511 in
50

Actions include those taken pursuant to Section 8(b) of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, which addresses
the federal banking agencies’ authority to order banks or affiliated parties to cease and desist from certain
activities; those taken pursuant to Section 8(e) of that act, which addresses the banking agencies’ authority
to remove bank-affiliated individuals from office or prohibit them from further participation in the business
of banking; and civil money penalties. Actions reported in Figure 4.6 are only those with a safety-andsoundness basis issued from January 1, 2000, through December 31, 2016. Not included are actions with a
Community Reinvestment Act or compliance basis or actions with a status of “withdrawn” or “proposed.”

128

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

2010. Since the crisis, the number has dropped substantially: the numbers of such actions
issued in 2015 and 2016 were close to the levels that generally prevailed before the crisis.
Figure 4.6. Number of Formal Safety-and-Soundness Enforcement Actions Issued by
FDIC, 2000–2016
600
511

500

397

400

309

300

208

200
135

100

0

285

62

84

105

150

174

159
134

191
152

153

101

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016

For enforcement actions in general during the crisis, the formality of actions and
the specific provisions depended on the unique circumstances of individual banks and
were adjusted over time as the condition of an institution changed. Outcomes included
actions being withdrawn after successful resolution of the problems, transition from
a formal action to an informal action in response to observed progress in addressing
issues, transition from an informal action to a formal action if problems were not
resolved successfully, voluntary cessations of bank operations with no loss to the DIF,51
and bank failures. As noted in a subsequent section (“Strategies to Insulate Banks from
Problems at BHCs”), outcomes also sometimes included the bankruptcy of a bank’s
parent bank holding company while the bank itself survived.

51

Some troubled banks voluntarily wound down their activities by selling assets, paying off depositors and
creditors, and ultimately ceasing their operations with no loss to the FDIC; this process is sometimes referred
to as self-liquidation.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

129

Examination Letters

In late 2008, supervision staff observed that some institutions were increasing their risk
profile between the close of an examination and the issuance of a related enforcement action.
In response, in early 2009, FDIC began issuing letters to boards of directors of troubled
institutions at the close of an examination to communicate the FDIC’s expectations for the
period of time until the issuance of an enforcement action. These documents were referred
to as examination letters. Examination letters notified a bank’s board of directors that the
institution’s composite rating was tentatively downgraded, and conveyed the expectation
that management stabilize the institution’s risk profile and strengthen its financial
condition. The examination letters also notified the board that actions taken to materially
expand the institution’s balance sheet or risk profile would be inconsistent with supervisory
expectations, and that a non-objection from the regional director had to be obtained
before the bank engaged in any transactions that would materially change the institution’s
balance sheet composition, such as significantly increasing total assets or volatile funding
sources. Boards were informed that failure to ensure compliance with the requirements
of the examination letter would be unfavorably viewed by the FDIC and might constitute
an unsafe and unsound practice or condition. These letters served to limit any incentive a
troubled institution might have to take excessive risks.

Supervision of New Institutions

As noted above, new institutions failed at a substantially higher rate during the crisis
than did more-established institutions. Many of those failures occurred during the
fourth through seventh years of operation. Moreover, a number of the newly chartered
institutions that failed deviated significantly from the business plans on which the
approval of their application for deposit insurance had been based, and the deviation
led to increased risk and financial problems when the accompanying controls and
risk management practices were inadequate. In August 2009, the FDIC responded by
extending from three years to seven years the period during which newly insured state
nonmember banks were subject to heightened oversight, including review and approval
of their business plans and annual examinations.52 Given the ongoing improvement in
post-crisis industry performance, in April 2016 the FDIC rescinded the extension to
seven years as the period of heightened oversight, returning the period to three years.

Strategies to Insulate Banks from Problems at BHCs

For most of the FDIC’s history, the Corporation’s statutory responsibilities centered on
insured banks: insuring their deposits, acting as receiver in the event of failure, and serving
as the primary federal regulator for a subset of insured banks, with backup examination

52

FDIC, “Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised Depository Institutions,”
Financial Institution Letter, FIL-50-2009, August 28, 2009.

130

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

authority for all insured banks. As a result of the crisis, however, the FDIC’s formal,
programmatic focus expanded beyond the boundaries of the insured bank. In 2008, the
FDIC temporarily guaranteed certain liabilities issued by bank holding companies (see
chapter 2). And in 2010, Congress conferred certain resolution responsibilities on the
FDIC with respect to bank holding companies and other financial firms whose failure
could pose systemic concerns.53
Yet even within the scope of the FDIC’s supervisory responsibilities for insured
banks, the relationship between a bank and its holding company was (and remains)
an important consideration. A concern is that nonbank entities that own or control a
bank could enter into abusive arrangements with the bank that benefit themselves at
the bank’s expense. Examples could include excessive dividends or other fund transfers
from the bank to its parent, sales of assets from the bank to an affiliate or vice versa on
terms disadvantageous to the bank, loans by the bank to fund purchases of products
sold by affiliates, and so forth. An important aspect of bank supervision is guarding
against the misuse of the bank by its affiliates. Areas of focus include, for example,
examining banks for compliance with statutory inter-affiliate transaction limits and
with insider lending rules.
Bank holding companies are supervised by the Federal Reserve and are subject to
the principle that bank holding companies should serve as a source of strength for their
subsidiary banks. However, when the subsidiary (the underlying financial institution)
is not a bank for the purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act of 1956,54 the parent
company is not a bank holding company subject to consolidated supervision by the
Federal Reserve. In these cases, the FDIC generally requires the parent company to enter
into a Capital and Liquidity Maintenance Agreement (CALMA), which is a written
agreement, authorized under Section 8 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act, requiring
the holding company to inject capital into the insured bank as necessary to ensure that
the bank maintains adequate capital. These agreements essentially impose the sourceof-strength principle.
The 2008–2013 crisis showed that in times of economic stress, banks’ access to insured
deposits often makes them the financially strongest entities within a holding company
structure. At such times, statutory limits on inter-affiliate transactions are particularly
important in preventing transactions that may benefit holding company affiliates at the
expense of the bank. Specifically, Sections 23A and 23B of the Federal Reserve Act are
designed to protect insured depository institutions from sustaining losses on transactions
with, or having excessive credit exposures to, their nondepository affiliates. Sections 23A
53

See Title I and Title II of the Dodd-Frank Act.

54

The Competitive Equality Banking Act of 1987 (CEBA), Pub. L. No. 100-86, § 101(a)(1), 101 Stat. 554, 562,
redefined “bank” for purposes of the Bank Holding Company Act (BHCA) to include any bank insured by
the FDIC but specifically excepted certain classes of banks from the BHCA, including CEBA credit card
banks and certain industrial loan companies.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

131

and 23B also constrain the ability of nondepository affiliates to benefit from the subsidies
arising from insured institutions’ access to the federal safety net, namely, federal deposit
insurance and the Federal Reserve System’s discount window and payment systems. To
these ends, Sections 23A and 23B impose both quantitative and qualitative restrictions on
transactions between an insured institution and its affiliates. Included in the restrictions
is a prohibition in Section 23A against the transfer of “low quality assets” to an insured
institution from an affiliate.
Although designed primarily as a safeguard, Section 23A also provides for a process
wherein the federal banking agencies are empowered to exempt transactions from the
section’s qualitative and quantitative restrictions, if such exemption is “in the public
interest” and is consistent with the purpose of the statutory provisions limiting interaffiliate transactions. During the crisis, a number of banking organizations sought
exemptions from Section 23A transaction limits, given the extreme financial distress
they were experiencing and the potential for insured depository institution subsidiaries
of holding companies to provide support to their nonbank affiliates.
These exemption requests were under the primary purview of the Federal Reserve,
with the FDIC having a consultative role. A number of these Section 23A exemption
requests were granted, and some were not. Approvals were granted when the requested
exemptions were viewed as consistent with the safety and soundness of the insured
institution that would be entering into the otherwise prohibited transaction, and in some
cases were for the purpose of increasing liquidity to constricted credit markets.
As became increasingly evident during the crisis, another source of potential risk to
banks from their holding companies can come from a holding company’s capital and
funding structure. For example, holding companies may issue debt and downstream the
proceeds into an insured bank subsidiary in the form of an equity investment in the
bank. Since the holding company must service the debt it has issued, there is then the
possibility the bank could be under pressure to pay dividends to the holding company
to service that debt. The regulator of the insured bank may, of course, cut off the bank’s
dividend payments to the parent if they pose undue risk to the bank, with concomitant
financial stress on the holding company.
In this respect, a noteworthy regulatory development in the inter-crisis years was the
approval in the 1990s of Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS) as a limited portion of the
regulatory capital of bank holding companies.55 TruPS were subordinated debt issued by
a special-purpose entity set up by a bank holding company, with the proceeds of the debt
typically downstreamed into a subsidiary bank as an equity investment. TruPS generally
had very long maturities and allowed for the issuing entity to defer the payment of
dividends to the investors for up to five years, and it was this financial flexibility that was
55

The term “regulatory capital” refers to the totality of financial components identified by an institution’s
primary federal regulatory agency—in the case of bank holding companies, the Federal Reserve—that are
eligible to count toward the satisfaction of the agency’s capital requirements.

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viewed as meriting their inclusion, within limits, as regulatory capital for bank holding
companies. Given TruPS’s status as regulatory capital, issuing them was attractive for
bank holding companies, partly because for tax purposes they were viewed as debt with
the dividends treated as tax-deductible interest payments.56
The widespread use of TruPS created unanticipated difficulties during the crisis in
recapitalizing troubled banks whose parent bank holding companies had issued them.
The prospect of staving off a potential bank failure by injecting new capital can require the
bank’s financial stakeholders to make difficult decisions. If the bank’s financial condition
is sufficiently dire, investing in the organization may be unattractive unless some of the
organization’s creditors can agree to accept less than full value for their claims. Those
creditors may be willing to do this if the alternative is perceived to be a bankruptcy where
they will experience even greater losses. For the troubled banking organization to issue
equity, moreover, existing shareholders must typically agree, even though their ownership
interest will be diluted by the issuance of new equity. Again, they may agree to this if the
alternative is a failure that wipes out their equity investment entirely.
With this as background, we can touch on some of the complex issues involved in
recapitalizing banking organizations that had issued TruPS. Many TruPS were pooled into
collateralized debt obligations (CDOs), the terms of which could not be modified without
the consent of a high percentage, or even 100 percent, of the TruPS interests outstanding.
As a practical matter, it was difficult or impossible for a bank holding company (BHC)
to communicate directly with the holders of the CDO in order to offer to purchase
CDO interests, or to obtain consent for any collective action by the CDO holders to
accept less than the full amount of the TruPS indebtedness. In addition, in some states,
corporation law required that equity investments directly in the bank be approved by
BHC shareholders, because of the significant dilution of the BHC’s equity interest in the
bank that would have resulted.
Sometimes, failure of the subsidiary bank could be averted by its sale to investors while
the holding company declared bankruptcy. Such situations sometimes involved the use
by BHCs of Section 363(b) of the bankruptcy code to sell their ownership in subsidiary
insured institutions to a stronger purchaser willing to recapitalize those institutions.
The impending bankruptcy of a BHC, however, can be a disruptive event that threatens
the liquidity of its subsidiary banks. This is the case not only because of counterparty
concerns but also because the risks of inappropriate transfers that disadvantage the bank
can tend to be more acute during the time leading up to a BHC’s bankruptcy. The FDIC
found that it needed to be particularly vigilant during such times; FDIC examiners closely
monitored liquidity in these instances, in some cases conducting visits to the subsidiary
banks as often as daily. In many situations involving troubled banks and bank holding
56

For an extensive discussion of the contractual features of TruPS, see George E. French et al., “Trust Preferred
Securities and the Capital Strength of Banking Organizations,” FDIC Supervisory Insights 7, no. 2 (2010):
3–16. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/insights/siwin10/si_wtr10.pdf.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

133

companies, the FDIC took steps to isolate and protect the insured institution, sometimes
while its BHC parent filed for bankruptcy, including by preventing the dissipation of
capital and impermissible transfers from the insured institution to the BHC.
In other situations, one or more subsidiary banks were troubled in a multi-bank
holding company ownership structure. When failures occurred in a multi-bank holding
company, the cross-guarantee provisions of FIRREA, implemented as Section 5(e) of
the FDI Act, allowed the FDIC to recover part of its costs of handling the failures by
obtaining reimbursement from other commonly controlled insured institutions.57 Those
provisions allow the FDIC to assess cross-guarantee liability within two years of the
failure of a commonly controlled institution, provide the FDIC with broad discretion in
applying the law, and focus on minimizing costs and taking actions that are in the best
interests of the DIF.
During the crisis, the FDIC used its authority to assess cross-guarantee liability
proactively to minimize losses to the DIF. When a commonly controlled insured bank
failed, the FDIC carefully analyzed the cost to the DIF in order to determine whether to
assess cross-guarantee liability immediately or to defer assessment. In the case of two
companies, the FDIC assessed cross-guarantee liability immediately because deferring
assessment would have increased the cost of resolution. In other cases, the FDIC
deferred the assessment, allowing the BHC to determine how to meet the liability to the
FDIC. Some BHCs sold their remaining banks, giving the FDIC the sales proceeds net of
selling costs. In other situations, the FDIC accepted payment of a portion of the liability
as a better alternative than bearing the cost of another bank failure.
Sometimes the FDIC deferred the assessment of cross-guarantee liability in order
to increase the incentive for troubled, commonly controlled banks to find a merger
partner or raise capital to avoid failures. In the case of Capitol Bancorp, Ltd., a multiBHC listed in Table 4.2, the FDIC allowed the sale of subsidiary banks and granted
cross-guarantee waivers to those institutions to settle the liability. However, the FDIC
controlled the BHC’s use of the sale proceeds and required the funds to be injected into
affiliated troubled banks, thereby reducing potential losses to the DIF.
Granting prospective waivers of cross-guarantee liability was another tool that was
used to avoid needless bank failures. For example, the FDIC granted a prospective
waiver to a bank in Texas when its BHC acquired control of another bank, which was
troubled, and recapitalized it. The prospective waiver eliminated the risk that if the
acquired troubled bank failed, the BHC’s existing bank would become liable under the
cross-guarantee regulations.

57

“Commonly controlled” is defined in note 6.

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Table 4.2. Supervisory Focus and Outcomes for Selected Banking Organizations
Holding Company
Bankruptcy
Lehman Brothers
September 2008
Capmark Financial
Group, Inc

Subsidiary Insured
Bank(s)

Supervisory Focus

Outcome

Woodlands
Commercial Bank,

insulate bank from
parent, capital
restoration, CALMAa

Chapter 11 bankruptcy;
banks were wound down,b
no DIF loss

Capmark Bank

insulate bank from
parent, liquidity
monitoring

Chapter 11 bankruptcy;
bank was wound down,
no DIF loss

CIT Bank

insulate bank from
parent

Chapter 11 bankruptcy;
bank survived

AmericanWest Bank

PCA capital directived

Chapter 11, Section 363
bankruptcy with sale of
bank, no DIF loss

Jefferson Bank

capital restoration,
Chapter 11, Section 363
problem asset and
bankruptcy with sale of
concentration reduction bank, no DIF loss

Premier Bank

capital restoration,
Chapter 11, Section 363
problem asset and
bankruptcy with sale of
concentration reduction bank, no DIF loss

Mile High Banks

PCA capital directive,
“sell or merge”

Chapter 11, Section 363
bankruptcy with sale of
bank, no DIF loss

65 insured banks

capital, concentrations,
noncore funds, liquidity
monitoring; “sell,
merge, or recapitalize”

6 bank failures, multiple
banks merged or sold
with proceeds invested in
troubled banks to waive
cross-guarantee liabilities

First Place Bank

capital restoration,
Chapter 11, Section 363
problem asset reduction bankruptcy with sale of
bank, no DIF loss

Aurora Bank FSB

October 2008
CIT Group, Inc.c
November 2009
AmericanWest
Bancorporation
October 2010
Outsource Holdings,
Inc.
April 2011
Premier Bank Holding
Company, Inc.
August 2012
Big Sandy Holding
Company
September 2012
Capitol Bancorp, Ltd.
August 2012

First Place Bank
Corporation
October 2012
a

CALMA refers to Capital and Liquidity Maintenance Agreement.

b Banks that were “wound down” went through an orderly process of voluntarily selling assets, paying off
depositors and other creditors, and ultimately ceasing operations without loss to the DIF.

c

CIT Group is not to be confused with Citigroup, an unrelated institution.

d

PCA refers to prompt corrective action (see note 37).

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The FDIC imposed a variety of conditions when granting cross-guarantee waivers. These
conditions included requiring that proceeds from the sale of a bank holding company’s
subsidiaries be used to make equity investments in one or more of its troubled banks,
requiring that directors and executive officers who materially contributed to the problems
of the failing bank resign or be subject to ongoing management restrictions, or accepting
partial payment of the cross-guarantee liability in lieu of the full amount.
Such strategies were effective in insulating banks from problems at their parent or
affiliated companies and in averting losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund. Table 4.2 lists
examples where significant problems at banking organizations with a holding company
structure were resolved mostly or entirely without loss to the Deposit Insurance Fund.58
For reasons of space, the list of supervisory strategies in the table is not complete.
These strategies included a focus on preventing inappropriate transactions with the
parent company and affiliates, limiting dividend payments, recapitalizing troubled
banks, entering into a CALMA, incentivizing corrective action through the type of
“sell or merge” language in enforcement actions alluded to earlier in this chapter, and
monitoring liquidity. The phrase “Section 363 sale of bank” in the “outcomes” column
refers to the sale of an insured bank by a BHC as part of its reorganization, with such sale
governed by Bankruptcy Code Section 363. From the specific standpoint of protecting
the DIF in severe circumstances where the probability of loss was elevated, the examples
in Table 4.2 can be viewed as success stories. The section below titled “Effectiveness and
Appropriateness of Supervisory Efforts Related to Troubled Banks,” discusses the success
of supervisory actions from a broader perspective.

Private Equity Recapitalizations

As discussed in chapter 6, during the course of the crisis several private equity investors
expressed an interest in purchasing failed banks. The FDIC’s Board of Directors adopted
a Statement of Policy (SOP) to provide guidance to private capital investors interested
in acquiring or investing in failed insured depository institutions regarding the terms
and conditions for such investments or acquisitions.59 Some groups sought shelf charters
from the OCC and others sought to acquire a small existing charter that could then
be used to make failed-bank acquisitions.60 Supervision staff determined the readiness
of both types of proposed ownership groups relative to the statutory requirements for
58

Table 4.2 is not necessarily a complete list of instances in which a holding company entered bankruptcy but
some or all of its bank subsidiaries did not fail.

59

FDIC, “Final Statement of Policy of Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions,”74 Fed. Reg., 45440–45499
(Sept. 2, 2009), https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09FinalSOP92.pdf>https://www.fdic.
gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09FinalSOP92.pdf.

60

A shelf charter is a conditional banking charter granted to an organizing group for the specific purpose of
acquiring one or more failing banks. It is conditional on the organizing group’s being selected as the winning
bidder for the failing bank or banks. (On the bidding process for failing banks, see chapter 6.)

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deposit insurance and the principles in the SOP; in addition, supervision staff adopted
new procedures to evaluate the activities of the institutions relative to the principles
contained in the SOP.

Effectiveness and Appropriateness of Supervisory Efforts Related to Troubled
Banks

The strategies and approaches used by the FDIC to supervise a troubled bank can be
labor-intensive and time-sensitive. Examining a bank that is in seriously weakened
condition or that seems to have potential issues of fraud or insider abuse requires
significantly more examiner time than does examining a healthy bank of comparable
size.61 Developing, negotiating, and finalizing informal or formal enforcement actions, as
well as monitoring an institution’s compliance with them, are also significantly resourceintensive. And the day-to-day liquidity monitoring and eleventh-hour efforts to handle a
troubled bank in a way that will avoid or minimize losses to the Deposit Insurance Fund
can similarly tap a significant amount of supervisory resources.
However, these intensive supervisory efforts are worthwhile as they make a beneficial
difference to the ultimate outcomes for troubled banks. For example, between January
2007 and September 2013, for 1,441 FDIC-supervised 3-rated banks that entered into
informal actions, nearly two-thirds of the informal actions were effective at preventing a
further rating deterioration at subsequent examinations.
Moreover, a study by the FDIC OIG found that enforcement actions did not hinder an
institution’s ability to raise capital. The OIG report noted that between 2008 and 2011,
more than 50 percent of the FDIC-supervised financial institutions that were subject to
informal or formal enforcement actions received material capital injections (“material”
was defined for the study as an amount raised during a year that was at least $100,000 and
0.5 percent of total assets at the end of the year). The report stated, “The extent of capital
injections for these institutions compares favorably to all active financial institutions
over that same period.”62
The same report stated the OIG’s view that banking agency enforcement actions
(including the FDIC’s) were applied in a manner consistent with policies and were
supported by the findings in examination reports.63 Specifically, “We also determined
there was a correlation between examination ratings, key financial ratios, and enforcement
actions, which, in our view, illustrates that regulators applied actions fairly across the
61

For example, the FDIC OIG’s report “The FDIC’s Examination Process for Small Community Banks,”
EVAL-13-001, August 2012, page 11, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/12-011AUD.
pdf, indicated that typical timelines for the FDIC to issue an examination report following on-site work
were two to four weeks for banks rated 1 or 2, and four to six weeks for banks rated 3, 4, or 5.

62

FDIC OIG, “Comprehensive Study on the Impact of the Failure of Insured Depository Institutions,” Report
EVAL-13-002, January 2013, p. 114, https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/13-002EV.pdf.

63

Ibid., 15–16.

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institutions they regulated.”64 The report found, in addition, that enforcement actions
were terminated uniformly and appropriately and in a manner consistent with policies
and procedures. In other words, enforcement actions were terminated when institutions
were in material compliance with the conditions laid down in the enforcement actions
and had improved sufficiently, and the actions were not terminated when institutions
continued to present safety-and-soundness risks.
In all, of the 1,783 insured depository institutions that were designated as problem
banks between January 1, 2008 and March 31, 2017, 523 had failed as of March 31, 2017;
112 remained in problem status; 294 had merged with other institutions in privatesector transactions without FDIC assistance; and 854, the largest portion, were no longer
problem banks (see Figure 4.7).
Figure 4.7. Status of Institutions on Problem-Bank List, 2008–Q1 2017
Mergers

Upgrades

No. IDIs

Problem Bank List

Failures

1,800
1,600
1,400
854

1,200
1,000
800

294

600

112

400

523

200
0

1Q

20

08

1Q

20

09

1Q

20

10

1Q

20

11

1Q

20

12

1Q

20

13

1Q

20

14

1Q

20

15

1Q

20

16

1Q

20

17

In short, the experience strongly suggests that the corrective actions, formal and
informal, undertaken by the FDIC and the other banking regulators during the crisis were
effective in reducing the number of banks that ultimately failed, effective in reducing the
cost of the crisis to the Deposit Insurance Fund, and effective in returning the banking
industry to health.

64

Ibid., 16.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The Aftermath of the Crisis: Lessons Learned for Supervision
The building up of risk in the banking industry during the inter-crisis years, and the
sometimes belated supervisory policy response, demonstrates that the choices banks and
bank supervisors make during times of prosperity can have important consequences for
the long-term safety and soundness of individual banks and the banking industry as a
whole. The choices for banks in the pre-crisis years related to risk-taking, including the
degree of involvement in subprime and other nontraditional mortgage products and the
growth of ADC lending. For bank supervisors the choices related to how forcefully to
respond to the risks that were emerging. The crisis itself is a reminder of how quickly
problems in the banking industry can ramp up and how important the supervisory
response is to containing and mitigating damage. This concluding section reflects on
what FDIC staff views as the most important lessons of the crisis for bank supervisors.

Lesson 1: Prosperous Times Can Mask the Building Up of Risks

Perhaps the most striking feature of pre-crisis banking conditions when viewed in
hindsight is the unbroken string of earnings records and the steadily declining caseload
of problem banks. In retrospect, however, it is clear that this earnings growth masked a
significant buildup of risks in the banking industry. Although the risks were identified
by examiners and pointed out in reports of examination, the apparently strong financial
condition of institutions was weighed more heavily in the rating determinations. At
a policy level, the agencies’ response to the accumulating risks was limited to issuing
supervisory guidance that was, in retrospect, belated. Taking actions to constrain risktaking practices during a period of industry prosperity can be unpopular and meet with
significant resistance. The issues involved in such situations call to mind the saying about
taking away the punch bowl just when the party is warming up.

Lesson 2: Past Performance Is Not a Guide to Future Performance

Mining data to review characteristics of past failed and problem banks can have
considerable value, for underlying issues involving banks’ appetite for risk tend to be
repeated. Nonetheless, it is important to remember that past performance is not always
a guide to future performance. For example, many observers in the pre-crisis period
believed that a national real estate market downturn was highly unlikely, since past real
estate downturns had been regional. In the current context, that example is a reminder to
supervisors to remain highly attentive to new issues, such as cybersecurity or the effects
of a prolonged low-interest-rate environment, and more generally not to assume that
issues that have not caused problems in the past will not cause problems in the future.
Supervisors should never allow themselves to become complacent.

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Lesson 3: Choices about Risk and Return Do Matter

Bank managers always have choices to make about how aggressively to pursue earnings
growth and whether to do so through new lending programs, trading activities, higheryielding investments, or other avenues. Generally, greater returns are achieved only by
taking greater risks. The purpose of risk management in banking is to ensure that risktaking is prudent and does not threaten the viability of the bank. Figure 4.8 provides a
reminder of the trade-off between risk and return in banking. Before the crisis, large bank
holding companies’ activities boosted their returns on tangible equity to extraordinarily
high levels—but this was followed in 2008 by the financial collapse of a number of
these institutions. The lesson to examiners, supervisors, the banking industry, and its
investors is that notwithstanding the apparent profitability of an institution, there may
be significant underlying risks that should be addressed.
Figure 4.8. Return on Equity, 1869–2014
Net Income/Equitya
35%
30%

ROE

25%

Top 5 BHC ROE

20%
15%
10%
5%
0%
-5%
-10%
-15%
1869

1898

1927

1956

1985

2014

Source: FDIC; Historical Statistics of the United States, Millenium Edition Online, 2016.
Note: Data from 1869 to 1933 are only for national banks, data from 1934 through 2014 are for all commercial banks, and
top 5 BHC data from 2001 through 2014 are for the five largest BHCs by total assets in any given year.
a

From 2001 forward, return on equity for both the BHC and bank series is net income divided by tangible equity; before
2001 return on equity is net income divided by total equity.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Lesson 4: Call Report Data Can Help Identify Risk

Call Report data can provide important indicators of which banks may be accepting
relatively higher levels of risk. For example, concentrations in ADC lending, rapid asset
growth, higher levels of potentially volatile funding, and lower levels of capital during
the pre-crisis period were important indicators of banks that failed during the crisis.
Although the Call Report data alone do not shed light on important bank-specific risk
practices, governance, and other matters, data over multiple business cycles and the two
most recent banking crises make it clear that the red flags presented by extreme values of
such indicators are real and warrant supervisory attention.

Lesson 5: Risk Management Drives Outcomes

Studies conducted by the FDIC OIG based on Material Loss Reviews indicate that
during the crisis, the level of ADC concentrations, the risk management of those
concentrations, and the responsiveness to supervisory concerns (where applicable) all
mattered greatly in separating the surviving banks from those that failed. In describing
the characteristics of banks with high ADC concentrations that nonetheless remained
in satisfactory condition, a recent OIG report stated, “Ultimately, the strategic decisions
and disciplined, values-based practices and actions taken by the Boards and management
helped to mitigate and control the institutions’ overall ADC loan risk exposure and
allowed them to react to a changing economic environment.”65 In particular, the report
stated that banks specializing in ADC lending while remaining in satisfactory condition
throughout the period were more likely to have implemented more-conservative
growth strategies; relied on core deposits and limited net noncore funding dependence;
implemented prudent risk management practices; limited speculative lending, loan
participations, and out-of-area lending; and maintained stable capital levels and access
to additional capital if needed.

Lesson 6: The Most Important Bank Risk Factors Can Be Evaluated Only On-Site

The safety and soundness of an insured depository institution depends on many
factors that supervisors cannot evaluate satisfactorily by reviewing Call Reports or
other external information. These factors include the quality of loan underwriting
and credit administration; the presence or absence of effective risk limits and internal
controls; the extent of compliance with applicable laws; and the presence or absence
of issues involving fraud or insider abuse. The FDIC’s experience is that when it
comes to determining a bank’s long-term viability, the quality of management and the
effectiveness of governance are of paramount importance. Such factors can be evaluated
only with an on-site examination that includes an appropriate level of transaction
testing—that is, examination procedures designed to check the reliability of key risk

65

FDIC OIG, “Acquisition, Development and Construction Loan Concentration Study,” page iii.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

141

metrics and internal controls. Thus, although supervisors explore the use of enhanced
information technology to potentially allow off-site examination hours to constitute a
greater proportion of total hours, an in-depth on-site component of the examination
remains indispensable.

Lesson 7: Supervisors Should Require Corrective Action When Risk Management
Is Deficient

Material Loss Reviews conducted by the FDIC Office of Inspector General often concluded
that FDIC examiners drew attention to the risk management deficiencies or issues that
ultimately led to the bank’s failure, generally well before the failure. Recommendations
to address the deficiencies were typically included in the examination report that was
transmitted to the bank. However, not until the bank’s financial condition deteriorated
did those recommendations translate to rating downgrades or enforcement actions. A
frequently recurring OIG finding in such MLRs was that the FDIC could have been, or
should have been, more assertive in downgrading bank ratings and requiring corrective
action before the bank’s problems became unmanageable.
The FDIC agreed with the findings of the MLRs,66 and in fact it had come to a similar
conclusion through an internal review of the examination program completed at the end
of 2007. The FDIC’s conclusion in that internal review was that problematic practices
should have been addressed more forcefully before they led to problematic conditions,
particularly with respect to credit administration deficiencies and asset quality ratings.
In response to the findings of the internal review and the MLRs, the FDIC’s efforts
to address risks in banks more promptly have included training examiners on the
importance of proactive and forward-looking supervision to address deficiencies in risk
management at an early stage, before problems become so severe that it is too late to
address them; revising the “concentrations page” in the report of examination, designed
to focus examiner attention on the quality of risk management of lending and funding
concentrations; and revising the manual of examination policies, the case manager
procedures, and other supervisory documents so as to incorporate enhanced guidance
on matters requiring attention by the bank’s board of directors.

Lesson 8: New Banks Require Extra Attention

As noted above, new banks have historically been disproportionately represented among
failing institutions, and the recent crisis was no exception. The FDIC has long devoted
extra supervisory efforts to new banks, which are often referred to as de novo banks. In the
past, these efforts included an annual examination during the three-year de novo period
(even if other factors would have made the bank eligible for an 18-month examination

66

Written responses to the MLRs are prepared by FDIC staff, and specifically by the director of the FDIC
division responsible for safety-and-soundness supervision.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

cycle); a requirement that new banks maintain leverage capital ratios of at least 8 percent
during the de novo period; and a requirement that the new bank adhere during the
de novo period to the business plan that was the basis for its approved application for
deposit insurance.67 During the crisis, given the severity of problems de novo banks were
experiencing, the FDIC increased the de novo period from three to seven years. Recently,
recognizing that the crisis had receded and that the FDIC had improved other aspects
of its supervisory processes, the FDIC restored the three-year de novo period. Going
forward, as the economic environment becomes more propitious for the establishment
of new banks, maintaining supervisory focus on the safe and sound operation of these
institutions will be important.

Lesson 9: Large Banks Require Extra Attention

In all, nine insured banks with assets of $10 billion or more failed during the years 2008
through 2013. In addition, Citigroup and Bank of America Corporation did not fail but
benefited from individually targeted federal assistance programs;68 Wachovia nearly
failed but was acquired by Wells Fargo without federal assistance; and each of the five
largest investment banks failed or was acquired in stressed circumstances or became
a bank holding company.69 But as severe as the liquidity problems of large financial
institutions were during the crisis, they could have been much worse. To gain a sense
of what could have happened, one need only review the list of financial institutions that
received special Federal Reserve liquidity assistance from programs created during the
crisis, and the amounts borrowed under the programs.70 Had these programs, along with
programs of the Treasury and the FDIC, not been created, many more large financial
institutions would likely have failed.
The gravity of the liquidity issues that surfaced during the crisis is a reminder of
how sensitive to counterparty runs large banking organizations can be. This reminder
highlights the importance for these institutions of maintaining strong capital and liquidity
67

Under the federal banking agencies’ prompt corrective action regulations, insured banks must satisfy a
minimum leverage ratio requirement of 4 percent to be designated “adequately capitalized,” and a leverage
ratio of 5 percent to be designated “well capitalized.” These are the regulatory minimum values of the leverage
ratio needed to achieve these designations, but the agencies have the authority to require individual banks
to hold more capital depending on their circumstances. Maintaining an 8 percent leverage ratio (or possibly
more, if warranted by the specific facts) during the de novo period is a standard condition the FDIC imposes
before approving an application for deposit insurance, as documented in the FDIC Statement of Policy on
Applications for Deposit Insurance, Federal Register, Vol. 63, No. 161, August 20, 1998.

68

As described in more detail in chapter 3, Citigroup actually received assistance while Bank of America
benefited from the announcement that assistance was available to it.

69

See chapter 1 for a discussion of how the five largest investment banks (Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley,
Merrill Lynch, Bear Stearns, and Lehman Brothers) fared during 2008.

70

These were liquidity programs of broad availability as opposed to the targeted assistance announced
for Citigroup and Bank of America. This information is available at https://www.federalreserve.gov/
regreform/reform-transaction.htm.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

143

positions and the importance for the FDIC (and the other federal banking agencies) of
having robust programs in place to understand and address the risks undertaken by large
institutions. Risk assessment for these institutions needs to be more effective than it was
in the years leading up to the crisis. On the basis of the experience of the crisis, the FDIC
has implemented a number of improvements to its risk assessment of large, complex
financial institutions. These include an expanded on-site presence at selected large
banking organizations, intensive off-site horizontal analysis of risks posed by all large
banking organizations,71 and the review of stress-testing results.72 Supervision staff also
supports the preparedness of the FDIC’s resolutions staff (see chapter 6) by reviewing the
resolution plans filed by large banking organizations.73

Lesson 10: Bank Supervision Benefits from Steady Focus

The pre-crisis period was notable for a number of significant changes in the bank
supervision process. These included a move first to risk-focused supervision and then
to streamlined supervision under the MERIT examination program and directives to
significantly reduce overall examination hours. These changes led to a significantly
smaller supervision workforce at a time when the banking industry was growing in
asset size and was taking on significant new risks. And after the crisis finally erupted,
the smaller size of the workforce created challenges in responding to it. Changes in
examination processes are sometimes necessary or advisable, but the best results are
likely to follow from an incremental approach to change and a steady and consistent
focus on the importance of examining and supervising banks.

Lesson 11: Bank Examination and Supervision Require Expertise

One of the greatest strengths of the FDIC’s bank supervision program during the
crisis was its corps of seasoned examiners and supervisors, many of whom had been
examining banks since the 1980s or even the 1970s, and a number of whom returned
to the examination force from retirement. This depth of experience was critical to
the FDIC’s ability to respond to the crisis with examinations and the tailoring of

71

For further information, see FDIC OIG, “The FDIC’s Risk Monitoring of Systemically Important Financial
Institutions’ Proximity and Speed to Default or Danger of Default,” Report EVAL-17-003, January 2017,
https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/17-003EV.pdf.

72

Stress testing in this context refers to an analysis of how a bank’s financial condition may change over time
under various assumed adverse economic scenarios. Formal requirements for stress testing are part of
Section 165 of the Dodd-Frank Act.

73

There are two types of resolution plan documents. The first type, required by the Dodd-Frank Act and
often referred to as living wills, is prepared by large financial institutions and submitted to the FDIC and
the Federal Reserve with information and analysis to show that the company could be resolved under
bankruptcy. The second type, required by Part 360 of the FDIC regulations, requires large insured depository
institutions to submit plans to the FDIC that should enable the FDIC to resolve the bank under the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

appropriate informal and formal enforcement actions that helped make it possible for
many banks to return to health.
This experience highlights the importance of the hiring process for maintaining
a steady flow of new examiners as a foundation for bank supervision in the future;
the importance of a continued rigorous examiner commissioning process; and the
importance of efforts to ensure that new generations of examiners are able to benefit
from the knowledge and experience of those who came before them.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

145

Bibliography
Angell, Cynthia. “Housing Bubble Concerns and the Outlook for Mortgage Credit
Quality.” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Spring 2004. https://www.fdic.gov/
bank/analytical/regional/t1q2004.pdf.
Angell, Cynthia, and Norman Williams. “FYI Revisited: US Home Prices: Does Bust
Always Follow Boom?” FDIC, FYI, May 2, 2005. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
fyi/050205fyi.pdf.
Burns, Robert, and Sarah Zachary. “Ranking Metropolitan Areas at Risk for Overbuilding.”
FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q3 2000. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
regional/ro20003q/na/infocus1.html.
Burton, Steven. “Commercial Development Still Hot in Many Major Markets, but Slower
Growth May Be Ahead.” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q1 1999. https://www.
fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/t1q1999.pdf.
Collier, Charles, Sean Forbush, and Daniel A. Nuxoll. “Evaluating the Vulnerability of
Banks and Thrifts to a Real Estate Crisis.” FDIC Banking Review 15, no. 4 (2003): 19–36.
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/banking/br15n4full.pdf.
Collier, Charles, Sean Forbush, Daniel A. Nuxoll, and John O. Keefe. “The SCOR
System of Offsite Monitoring: Its Objectives, Functioning, and Performance.” FDIC
Banking Review 15, no. 3 (2003): 17–32. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
banking/br15n3full.pdf.
“Commercial Real Estate,” Hearing Before the Congressional Oversight Panel. 111th Cong.
(January 27, 2010, held in Atlanta, Georgia) (statement of Doreen Eberley, Acting Atlanta
Regional Director, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/
pkg/CHRG-111shrg55522/pdf/CHRG-111shrg55522.pdf.
Deaton, Alan. “Rising Home Values and New Lending Programs Are Reshaping the
Outlook for Residential Real Estate.” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q3 2000.
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/t3q2000.pdf.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). “Failures and Assistance
Transactions—Historical Statistics on Banking.” https://www5.fdic.gov/hsob/SelectRpt.
asp?EntryTyp=30.
———. “Regulators Adopt Common Format for Examination Reports.” Financial
Institution Letter, FIL-72-93. October 19, 1993.

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———. “Banking Problems in the Southwest.” In History of the Eighties: Lessons for the
Future. Chap. 9 in vol. 1, An Examination of the Banking Crises of the 1980s and Early
1990s. 1997. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/history/291_336.pdf.
———. “Reducing Burden on Banks and the Public.” Financial Institution Letter, FIL-362002. April 24, 2002.
———. “Memorandum to the FDIC National Risk Committee: Rising Risks in Housing
Markets.” 2005. Richard A. Brown, Chief Economist. http://fcic-static.law.stanford.
edu/cdn_media/fcic-docs/2005-03-21%20FDIC%20Memo%20from%20Richard%20
Brown%20to%20the%20National%20Risk%20Committee-%20Rising%20Risks%20
in%20Housing%20Markets.pdf.
———. Quarterly Banking Profile. Q4 2006.
———. “Final Statement of Policy of Qualifications for Failed Bank Acquisitions.” 74
Federal Register 45440–45499, September 2, 2009. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/2009/09FinalSOP92.pdf>https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/
federal/2009/09FinalSOP92.pdf.
———. “Enhanced Supervisory Procedures for Newly Insured FDIC-Supervised
Depository Institutions.” Financial Institution Letter, FIL-50-2009. August 28, 2009.
———. “Statement of Policy on Applications for Deposit Insurance,” 63 Federal Register,
44752-44761, August 20, 1998. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1998-08-20/pdf/9821488.pdf.
———. “Supervisory Trends: ‘Matters Requiring Board Attention’ Highlight Evolving
Risks in Banking.” Supervisory Insights, Summer 2014.
———. “Assessments—Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and Request for Comment.” 81
Federal Register 74580–74588, February 4, 2016. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR2016-02-04/pdf/2016-01448.pdf.
FDIC Office of the Inspector General (OIG). “Material Loss Review of Franklin Bank,
S.S.B, Houston, Texas.” Office of Audits and Evaluations Report AUD-09-014. July 2009.
https://www.nclc.org/images/pdf/foreclosure_mortgage/lender_failed_banks/franklinbank-oig.pdf.
———. “Material Loss Review of Colonial Bank, Montgomery, Alabama.” Office of
Audits and Evaluations Report MLR-10-031. April 2010. https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/
default/files/publications/10-031.pdf.

CHAPTER 4: Bank Supervision

147

———. “Material Loss Review of United Commercial Bank, San Francisco, California.”
Office of Audits and Evaluations Report MLR-10-043. July 2010. https://www.fdicig.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/10-043.pdf.
———. “Material Loss Review of R-G Premier Bank of Puerto Rico, Hato Rey, Puerto
Rico.” Office of Audits and Evaluations Report MLR-11-009. December 2010. https://
www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/11-009.pdf.
———. “Material Loss Review of Westernbank Puerto Rico, Mayaguez, Puerto Rico.”
Office of Audits and Evaluations Report LR-11-007. December 2010. https://www.fdicig.
gov/sites/default/files/publications/11-007.pdf.
———. “The FDIC’s Examination Process for Small Community Banks.” Office of Audits
and Evaluations Report AUD-12-011. August 2012. https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/
files/publications/12-011AUD.pdf.
———. “Acquisition, Development, and Construction Loan Concentration Study.” Office
of Audits and Evaluations Report EVAL-13-001. October 2012. https://www.fdicig.gov/
sites/default/files/publications/13-001EV.pdf.
———. “Comprehensive Study on the Impact of the Failure of Insured Depository
Institutions.” Office of Audits and Evaluations Report EVAL-13-002. January 2013.
https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/publications/13-002EV.pdf.
———. “Material Loss Review of Doral Bank, San Juan, Puerto Rico.” Office of Audits
and Evaluations Report AUD-15-007. September 2015. https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/
default/files/publications/15-007AUD.pdf.
———. “The FDIC’s Risk Monitoring of Systemically Important Financial Institutions’
Proximity and Speed to Default or Danger of Default.” Office of Audits and Evaluations
Report EVAL-17-003. January 2017. https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/17-003EV.pdf.
Federal Reserve System, Board of Governors. “Regulatory Reform—Usage of Federal
Reserve Credit and Liquidity Facilities.” Updated December 9, 2013. https://www.
federalreserve.gov/regreform/reform-transaction.htm.
French, George E., Andrea N. Plante, Eric W. Reither, and Ryan D. Sheller. “Trust Preferred
Securities and the Capital Strength of Banking Organizations.” FDIC Supervisory Insights
7, no. 2 (2010): 3–16. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/examinations/supervisory/
insights/siwin10/si_wtr10.pdf.

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Goñi, Catherine H., Paul S. Vigil, Larry R. Von Arb, and Kenneth A. Weber. “Supervisory
Trends: ‘Matters Requiring Board Attention’ Highlight Evolving Risks in Banking.”
FDIC Supervisory Insights 11, no. 1 (2014): 8–13. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/
examinations/supervisory/insights/sisum14/sisummer2014.pdf.
Hearings on Recent Bank Failures and Regulatory Initiatives Before the House Committee
on Banking and Financial Services. 106th Cong. (Feb. 8, 2000) (statement of Donna
Tanoue, Chairman of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation). http://archives.
financialservices.house.gov/banking/2800tan.shtml.
Hughes, Scott, Judy Plock, Joan Schneider, and Norman Williams. “In Focus This
Quarter: Housing Market Has Held Up Well in This Recession, but Some Issues Raise
Concern.” FDIC Regional Outlook National Edition, Q1 2002. https://www.fdic.gov/
bank/analytical/regional/t1q2002.pdf.
Interagency final joint guidance. “Concentrations in Commercial Real Estate Lending,
Sound Risk Management Practices.” 71 Federal Register 74580–74588, December 12,
2006. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-12-12/pdf/06-9630.pdf.
“Interagency Guidance on Nontraditional Mortgage Product Risks.” 71 Federal Register
58609–58618, October 4, 2006. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2006-10-04/pdf/068480.pdf.
Kalser, Kathy R. “Financial Markets.” FDIC Regional Outlook, San Francisco, Q4 1997.
https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/regional/s3q1997.pdf.
Kalser, Kathy R., and Debra L. Novak, “Subprime Lending: A Time for Caution.” FDIC
Regional Outlook, San Francisco, Q3 1997. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
regional/s3q1997.pdf.
Lee, Yan, and Chiwon Yom. “The Entry, Performance and Risk Profile of De Novo
Banks.” FDIC Center for Financial Research Working Paper 2016 no. 3. https://www.
fdic.gov/bank/analytical/cfr/2016/wp2016/2016-03.pdf.
O’Keefe, John, and Chiwon Yom. “Offsite Detection of Insider Abuse and Bank Fraud
among U.S. Failed Banks 1989–2015.” FDIC Center for Financial Research Working Paper
2017 no. 6. https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/cfr/2017/wp2017/cfr-wp2017-06.pdf.
Reich, John. “The Lessons of Superior.” August 21, 2001. https://www.fdic.gov/news/
news/speeches/archives/2001/sp28aug01.html.

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“Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System.” 61 Federal Register 67021–67029,
December 19, 1996. https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-1996-07-18/pdf/96-18187.pdf.
U.S. Department of the Treasury and Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Offices of
Inspector General. “Evaluation of Federal Regulatory Oversight of Washington Mutual
Bank.” Report EVAL-10-002. April 2010. https://www.fdicig.gov/sites/default/files/
publications/10-002EV.pdf.

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5
Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and
Risk-Based Deposit Insurance Assessments
Introduction
The 2008 financial crisis and economic downturn precipitated a banking crisis, causing a
sharp increase in the number of failures of FDIC-insured institutions. After several years
in which there had been few or no failures, between 2008 and 2013 a total of 489 banks
and thrifts failed, 157 during 2010 alone (the most since 1992).1 In 2008 and 2009, as the
number of bank failures increased, losses incurred by the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF,
or the fund) to close failing banks and protect insured depositors significantly exceeded
fund revenue. The FDIC took several steps intended to keep the fund in the black. When
these efforts failed, the FDIC turned to ensuring that the fund had sufficient liquid assets
to continue to protect insured depositors at failed banks. In this effort, the FDIC was
successful. From 2011 through 2016, the FDIC used the expanded authority granted in the
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act in 2010 (Dodd-Frank) to
substantially revise both its fund management strategy and its methodology for risk-based
deposit insurance assessments. (For definitions of key terms, see the box.)
The FDIC’s approach to deposit insurance fund management and risk-based pricing is
governed by statute. This chapter traces the evolution of the statutory framework and—
within that framework—the evolution of the FDIC’s fund management strategy and
risk-based pricing methods, beginning as the banking crisis was about to erupt, passing
through a period of adaptive responses, and culminating with implementation of the
deposit insurance reforms authorized by Dodd-Frank.

1

Bank and thrift failures, here and elsewhere in this chapter, exclude instances where open-bank assistance
was provided in conjunction with a systemic risk exception. See chapter 3 for more details. In 1992, 179
banks and thrifts failed, including thrift failures handled by the Resolution Trust Corporation (which was
created by Congress in 1989 to resolve insolvent thrifts).

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Definitions of Key Terms

The Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) is used to protect insured depositors and to
close failing banks. It was formed in 2006 from the merger of two predecessor
funds, the Bank Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund. In
this chapter, references to the DIF before 2006 refer to a hypothetical combination
of the two funds.
Fund management consists, first, of determining the proper size of the DIF and,
second, setting overall assessment rates that are sufficient to maintain or achieve
the proper fund size. (The appendix of this chapter traces the evolution of the
assessment rate schedules from Q1 2009 to the present.)
The critical measure of the adequacy of the DIF is the reserve ratio, which is
the ratio of the fund balance (or net worth) to estimated insured deposits. The
designated reserve ratio (DRR) has generally been defined as the minimum target
for the reserve ratio, but for a period of about ten years it also effectively served
to restrain growth above the target. Under the current statute, the FDIC views the
DRR—which the FDIC must set each year—as a long-term minimum target ratio.
Risk-based pricing refers to the way the FDIC charges banks different
assessment rates for the differing risks they pose to the DIF, given the overall level of
assessment rates the FDIC has set to attain its fund management goals. To calculate
a bank’s deposit insurance assessment, the bank’s assessment rate is multiplied by
its assessment base.

Background: Fund Management and Risk-Based Pricing at the
Beginning of the Banking Crisis
When the banking crisis erupted in 2008, the framework for fund management and riskbased deposit insurance pricing was one that had been put in place by the Federal Deposit
Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (FDIRA), enacted in February 2006 on the recommendation
of the FDIC.2 FDIRA ended a ten-year-old statutory restriction (1996–2006) on the FDIC’s
authority to assess most banks—specifically, those well capitalized and highly rated by their
supervisors—as long as the reserve ratio was at or above 1.25 percent. As a result of this
restriction, growth in the fund balance failed to keep pace with insured deposit growth,
leaving the reserve ratio at year-end 2006 (1.21 percent) 12 basis points lower than it had
been at the end of 1996 (1.33 percent). (A basis point is one one-hundredth of a percent.)

2

Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005, Pub. L. No. 109-171, 120 Stat. 9 (2006). The reason for the
discrepancy in dates is that the act was included as Title 2 in the Deficit Reduction Act of 2005, which was
signed into law in February 2006.

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153

Managing the Size of the DIF

FDIRA, in contrast to the law it replaced, permitted the FDIC to set the target reserve
ratio (the DRR) each year between 1.15 and 1.50 percent. If the actual reserve ratio
exceeded 1.50 percent, however, the FDIC was required to return amounts in the fund
above 1.50 percent to the industry through “dividends.” Thus the fund had a hard cap
of 1.50 percent. In addition, if the reserve ratio was between 1.35 and 1.50 percent, the
FDIC was required to pay dividends to the industry equal to half of all amounts above
1.35 percent. FDIRA did allow the FDIC to suspend dividends temporarily if the DIF
faced a significant risk of high losses. (During the period when this provision of FDIRA
was in effect, the reserve ratio never reached 1.35 percent, so no dividends were paid.)
FDIRA also directed the FDIC’s Board of Directors, when setting the DRR for any year,
to consider various factors with the general objective of increasing the fund under
more favorable economic conditions so that the fund could withstand declines under
adverse conditions without the need for sharp, procyclical increases in assessments.3
(“Procyclical” assessments increase when banking conditions are bad and decrease when
they are good.)
Under the authority granted by FDIRA, the FDIC set the DRR at 1.25 percent for
2007 and 2008 (the same target that had been in effect since 1989) and began charging
every bank, including the least risky, an insurance premium, which the FDIC had not
been able to do for about 10 years, as explained above. The Corporation’s intent was to
have the reserve ratio increase gradually, consistent with FDIRA’s objective that the fund
be allowed to increase when conditions were favorable so that it could decline under
adverse conditions without the need for sharp increases in assessments.4 In 2007, the
outlook for economic conditions affecting banks was favorable, and no bank had failed
in two years. But FDIRA included one requirement that had a fundamentally limiting
effect on reserve ratio growth: it required the Corporation to provide credits to offset the
premiums of banks that had helped rebuild the insurance funds in the early to middle
1990s. These credits, combined with insured deposit growth, resulted in a reserve ratio
at the end of 2007—just before the crisis—that was virtually unchanged from its level a
year earlier: 1.21 percent at year-end 2006, 1.22 percent at year-end 2007.

3

Under FDIRA, the factors that the Board is required to consider are (1) the risk of losses to the DIF in the
current and future years, historic experience, and potential and estimated losses from insured depository
institutions; (2) economic conditions generally affecting insured depository institutions; (3) the importance
of preventing sharp swings in assessment rates for insured depository institutions; and (4) other factors
deemed by the Board to be appropriate, consistent with FDIRA’s requirements. See Section 2105 of FDIRA,
codified at 12 U.S.C. § 1817(b)(3)(C).

4

71 Fed. Reg. 69282, 69305 (Nov. 30, 2006).

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Implementing Risk-Based Pricing

The ten-year restriction on the FDIC’s ability to charge assessments to healthy banks as
long as the reserve ratio was at or above the statutory 1.25 percent reserve ratio target5
effectively eliminated assessments for at least 90 percent of insured institutions at any
given time during the ten years—even though during that period the banking industry
was generally prosperous and healthy. FDIRA restored the FDIC’s discretion to price
deposit insurance according to risk for all insured institutions regardless of the level
of the reserve ratio.
With its discretion to price for risk restored, the FDIC updated its risk-based pricing
methods. The original risk-based method, which was required by statute, used a bank’s
capital level and supervisory rating6 to place the bank into one of nine risk categories
that determined the bank’s assessment rate. This method took effect in 1993. Effective
at the beginning of 2007, the FDIC collapsed the nine risk-based pricing categories into
four (Risk Categories I through IV, with I being the lowest risk). A 2 basis point range
of assessment rates applied to Risk Category I, which contained the greatest number of
banks. Banks in this risk category that did not pay the minimum or maximum rates paid
rates that varied between the minimum and maximum. Banks in one of the other risk
categories paid a single rate applicable to that category.
At the same time, the FDIC adopted separate pricing methods for small banks and
large banks to differentiate risk within Risk Category I. (Generally, a small bank is
defined as having less than $10 billion in assets, and a large bank as having at least $10
billion in assets.)7
For small banks within Risk Category I, the FDIC used a combination of CAMELS
component ratings and financial ratios8 to estimate the probability that a bank’s CAMELS
composite rating would be downgraded to 3, 4, or 5 at the bank’s next examination (such
a downgrade would signal deterioration in the bank’s condition), and thereby determine
the bank’s assessment rate.

5

Deposit Insurance Funds Act, Pub. L. No. 104-208, 60 Stat. 446 (1996).

6

These bank supervisory ratings are known as CAMELS ratings. CAMELS stands for Capital adequacy, Asset
quality, Management, Earnings, Liquidity, and Sensitivity to market risk. CAMELS ratings are on a scale
of 1 to 5, with a 1-rating indicating greatest strength in performance and risk management and the lowest
level of supervisory concern. At the other end of the scale, a 5-rating indicates the weakest performance,
inadequate risk management, and the highest level of supervisory concern. The CAMELS composite rating
is derived from an evaluation of the six CAMELS components; although the composite rating is generally a
close reflection of the assigned component ratings, it is not an arithmetic average of the component ratings.
The original risk-based method actually used a bank’s CAMEL composite rating, since the “S” rating was not
created until 1995.

7

12 CFR § 327.8(e) and (f).

8

The financial ratios included the Tier 1 leverage ratio, a ratio of net income to assets, and several asset
performance ratios.

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155

For large banks within Risk Category I, the FDIC used a combination of CAMELS
component ratings and long-term-debt issuer ratings to determine assessment rates. For
large banks in Risk Category I that did not have long-term-debt issuer ratings, financial
ratios were used instead.

Fund Management and Risk-Based Pricing during the Banking
Crisis, 2008–2009
After no banks failed in 2005 and 2006 and only three failed in 2007, failures began to
climb in 2008, marking the onset of the banking crisis. The DIF balance shrank from
$52.8 billion on March 31, 2008, to $45.2 billion on June 30 as a result of losses from
actual bank failures as well as an increase in loss reserves for expected bank failures.
(Just as banks reserve for losses on troubled loans, the FDIC reserves for anticipated
losses to the DIF from insured institution failures. An increase in these reserves, which
are known as the contingent loss reserve, reduces the fund balance, or net worth.)
The fund’s contingent loss reserve increased from $583 million on March 31 to $10.59
billion at June 30. The largest contributor to the increase in the contingent loss reserve
during the second quarter was the reserve for estimated losses associated with the
failure of IndyMac (which was closed in July).9 Primarily as a result of the increase in
the contingent loss reserve, the reserve ratio fell from 1.19 percent at March 31 to 1.01
percent at June 30.10 (See Figure 5.1.) The DIF balance and reserve ratio fell throughout
the rest of 2008 and 2009 as losses from actual and expected failures mounted. A total of
25 banks failed in 2008, and 140 in 2009, leaving the fund balance negative. Mounting
failures also began draining the fund’s liquid assets, which the FDIC needed to close
failing banks in a timely manner and to protect insured depositors.

9

For more detail about the IndyMac resolution, see chapter 6.

10

This was the lowest reserve ratio since March 31, 1995, when the combined reserve ratio of the Bank
Insurance Fund and the Savings Association Insurance Fund (see box above) was 0.98 percent.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Figure 5.1. Timeline of Events and Reserve Ratio Trends Q1 2007–Q3 2016
DIF Balance
($ Billions)
Pre-Crisis
85

DIF Reserve Ratio
(Percent of Insured Deposits)

Q1 2007: 2007 DRR is set
at 1.25; with new FDIRA
authority, FDIC charges
assessments to all banks

DIF Reserve Ratio
Crisis

DIF Balance
1.5

Post-Crisis

Q2 2008: DIF balance dips
to $45.2B; RR falls to 1.01
and triggers Restoration
Plan requirement

75
65

Q3 2008: IndyMac fails

55

Q4 2008: FDIC adopts DIF
Restoration Plan

45

Q1 2009: 7 basis point
increase in assessment
rates

35

1.0

Q2 2009: New pricing
adjustments for certain
liabilities; special
assessment of $5.5B

25

0.5

Q3 2009: DIF balance
and RR go negative

15

Q4 2009: $45.7B
prepaid assessment

5

0.0

-5

Q2 2011: New assessment base
and large-bank pricing rule

Q2 2016: Reserve ratio
surpasses 1.15

Q4 2010: FDIC Board
sets 2.0 DRR for 2011

-15

Q3 2016: Lower assessment rates,
large bank surcharge, and new
small bank pricing method

Q3 2010: Dodd-Frank enacted

-25
2007

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

2014

2015

Fund Management: Attempting to Maintain a Positive Fund Balance

-0.5

2016

The reserve ratio’s decline below 1.15 percent in the second quarter of 2008 triggered a
requirement under FDIRA that the FDIC adopt a restoration plan to restore the reserve
ratio to 1.15 percent within five years. (Under “extraordinary circumstances,” the FDIC
Board was allowed to extend the restoration period beyond five years.)11 During the second
half of 2008, estimated losses from actual failures and reserves set aside for anticipated
failures increased, and the fund balance and reserve ratio continued to decline.
In October 2008, the FDIC finalized a restoration plan under which assessment
rates would be increased to raise the fund balance and the reserve ratio.12 In the same
month, pursuant to the plan, the FDIC proposed a rate increase of 7 basis points for
all banks, and the increased rates became effective in the first quarter of 2009.13 (See
Table 5.A.1.) In February 2009, given the enormous stresses on financial institutions
and the likelihood of a prolonged and severe economic recession, the FDIC extended
11

12 U.S.C. § 1817(b)(3)(E).

12

73 Fed. Reg. 61598 (Oct. 16, 2008).

13

73 Fed. Reg. 78155 (Dec. 22, 2008).

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157

the time frame of the restoration plan from five years to seven, as FDIRA permitted
under extraordinary circumstances.
In 2009, with bank failures accelerating, the FDIC took a series of additional actions
designed to keep the DIF balance positive and increase the DIF’s liquidity. (Attempts
to keep the DIF balance positive are discussed in this section; increasing the fund’s
liquidity, in the next section.) In an attempt to maintain a positive fund balance, the
agency imposed a one-time special assessment. The agency was concerned that a fund
balance and reserve ratio near or below zero might create public confusion about the
FDIC’s ability to move quickly to resolve problem institutions and protect insured
depositors. The FDIC’s statutory authority permitted it to borrow from the Treasury,14
which it had done in the early 1990s during the bank and thrift crisis, but in 2009 it
elected not to. Its borrowing in the early 1990s had been from the Treasury’s Federal
Financing Bank (FFB), and the purpose had been to obtain working capital.15 Borrowing
from the Treasury, however, while ensuring that sufficient liquid funds are available to
resolve failing banks quickly, does not shore up the fund balance (the net worth of the
DIF) and the reserve ratio. In addition, the FDIC viewed its line of credit at the Treasury
not as a source of financing for projected losses but as a means of covering unforeseen
losses.16 In contrast to borrowing from the Treasury, a special assessment would increase
the fund balance by raising revenue.

14

The FDIC may borrow from the Treasury under two statutory provisions. First, the FDIC has statutory
authority to borrow on an interest-bearing basis from the Treasury, with the Secretary’s approval. In 2009,
Congress permanently increased the maximum amount of borrowing under this authority from $30 billion
to $100 billion, and temporarily increased it to $500 billion through 2010. (Amounts borrowed under this
authority in excess of the $100 billion permanent maximum required the concurrence of the FDIC Board,
the Federal Reserve Board, and the Secretary of the Treasury in consultation with the President.) The
enabling legislation was the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, Pub. L. 111-22, §204(b), 123
Stat. 1632 (2009). The industry is required to repay any borrowings under this authority through assessments
(which can include special assessments) pursuant to a repayment schedule agreed to by the Secretary of the
Treasury and the FDIC Board after consultation with the Financial Services Committee of the House of
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs of the Senate. 12 U.S.C. §
1824(a). In addition to this borrowing line from the Treasury, the FDIC may also borrow from the Treasury
Department’s Federal Financing Bank (FFB), subject to a “maximum obligation limitation” that depends in
part on the value of DIF assets. 12 U.S.C. §§1824(b) and 1825(c).

15

12 U.S.C. § 1824(b). On January 8, 1991, the FDIC and the FFB entered into a Note Purchase Agreement,
renewable annually, permitting the FDIC to borrow. The FDIC first borrowed under the agreement
on June 30, 1991. The date of the peak amount outstanding on the debt ($15 billion) was June 15, 1992.
FDIC, 1993 Annual Report, p. 1. The debt was repaid in full on August 6, 1993. In addition, the Resolution
Trust Corporation borrowed from the FFB for working capital; the maximum amount borrowed was
$63 billion, and the amount was repaid in full in 1998. Resolution Trust Corporation (U.S.), Office of
Planning, Research, and Statistics, Statistical Abstract: August 1989/September 1995 (Washington, DC,
1995), 64, https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/scribd/?title_id=851&filepath=/files/docs/publications/statabsrtc/
statabs_rtc_1989-1995.pdf.

16

For a more detailed discussion of resolutions, losses, and cash management, see chapter 6.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

In June 2009, therefore, the FDIC imposed a $5.5 billion special assessment that
was collected on September 30, 2009.17 (The final rule had been adopted in May.) In
addition, the FDIC reserved the authority to impose a second special assessment if the
DIF was later projected to fall to a level that the Corporation believed would adversely
affect public confidence or if the fund was close to or below zero. (The second special
assessment could equal up to 5 basis points on each bank’s assets minus Tier 1 capital.)
In the meantime, in May 2009 Congress had amended the statute governing the
establishment and implementation of the restoration plan and now allowed the FDIC
up to eight years to return the DIF reserve ratio to 1.15 percent (although, as before the
amendment, the period could be extended because of extraordinary circumstances).18
Following up on Congress’s action, in September 2009 the FDIC amended the restoration
plan, extending the period to return the reserve ratio to 1.15 percent to eight years.19
In the amended plan, the FDIC stated that it would not impose the additional special
assessments that had been allowed under the May 2009 final rule imposing the special
assessment. The FDIC planned to maintain assessment rates at their existing levels
through the end of 2010 and, to ensure that the fund would return to 1.15 percent within
eight years from when it fell below that threshold (i.e., by 2016), the Corporation adopted
a uniform 3 basis point increase in assessment rates effective January 1, 2011.
The special assessment did not achieve its objective of maintaining a positive fund
balance. In fact, the DIF balance fell below zero at the end of the next quarter (the third
quarter of 2009). The fund ended the year with a negative $20.9 billion balance and
remained negative for a total of seven quarters. (Since then, however, the DIF has grown
every quarter [see Figure 5.1] and became positive in the second quarter of 2011.)
17

The special assessment equaled 5 basis points of each bank’s assets minus Tier 1 capital as of June 30, 2009,
but was capped at 10 basis points of a bank’s second quarter 2009 regular assessment base. At that time, banks’
regular assessment bases were approximately equal to their domestic deposits. The FDIC initially adopted an
interim rule imposing a special assessment of 20 basis points of each bank’s regular assessment base, but in
the final rule, in response to comments on the interim rule, the Corporation revised the assessment base for
the special assessment so as to “better balance... the burden of the special assessment.” 74 Fed. Reg. 25639,
25641 (May 29, 2009). The revised assessment base meant that large banks, which tend to rely proportionally
less on domestic deposits than do small banks, paid a larger share of the special assessment than they would
have under the special assessment as originally proposed.
Two developments enabled the FDIC to reduce the size of the special assessment. First, funds collected
and expected to be collected from a surcharge on senior unsecured debt guaranteed under the Temporary
Liquidity Guarantee Program (see chapter 2) provided additional resources to the FDIC. Second, between
the adoption of the interim rule and the adoption of the final rule, Congress acted on the FDIC’s request
to increase the FDIC’s authority to borrow from the Treasury (see footnote 14). The increase in the FDIC’s
borrowing authority gave the Corporation a larger cushion against unforeseen bank failures.

18

12 U.S.C. §1817(b)(3)(E), as amended by the Helping Families Save Their Homes Act of 2009, Pub. L. No.
111-22, §204(b), 123 Stat. 1649 (2009).

19

74 Fed. Reg. 51062 (Oct. 2, 2009).

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CHAPTER 5: Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based Deposit Insurance Assessments

Fund Management: Increasing Fund Liquidity

The DIF’s negative balance itself did not mean that the fund lacked the liquid assets
necessary to quickly resolve failing banks and pay insured depositors. The fund balance,
or net worth, equals the fund’s assets minus its liabilities. Among the assets are cash and
Treasury securities, which are liquid assets that enable the FDIC to promptly resolve failing
banks and protect insured depositors. Among the DIF’s liabilities is the contingent loss
reserve. The negative fund balance at the end of the third quarter 2009 resulted from the
increase in the contingent loss reserve as expected failures rose sharply, from $24 billion at
the end of 2008 to a peak of $44 billion at the end of 2009. (Figure 5.2 charts the contingent
loss reserve, portfolio liquidity, and fund balance for the years 2007 through 2010.)
Figure 5.2. Contingent Loss Reserve, DIF Portfolio Liquidity, and DIF Balance,
Q1 2007–Q4 2010
Billions of Dollars

Contingent Loss Reserve

DIF Balance

DIF Portfolio Liquidity

110

Q2 2008: DIF balance dips
to $45.2B primarily because
of a $10B increase in the
contingent loss reserve

90

Q4 2009: $45.7B prepaid
assessment strengthens
DIF liquidity

70

50

30

10

-10

-30

Q2 2009: Special assessment of
$5.5B was imposed in an attempt
to keep the DIF balance positive

Q1 2007

Q3 2007

Q1 2008

Q3 2008

Q1 2009

Q3 2009

Q1 2010

Q3 2010

Even though an increase in the contingent loss reserve lowers the fund balance, it does
not reduce the liquid assets of the fund unless and until the liabilities are paid. As expected
failures materialized throughout 2009, however, the DIF’s liquid assets declined sharply. As
of June 30, 2009, the DIF’s liquid assets had fallen to a little under $30 billion from slightly
over $53 billion one year earlier. In September 2009, the FDIC projected that liquidity
needs would exceed liquid assets beginning in the first quarter of 2010 and, furthermore,
that liquidity needs could significantly exceed liquid assets through 2010 and 2011.20 If
20

FDIC, “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors: Special Assessment, Restoration Plan and Proposal

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

not addressed, this potential squeeze on the liquid assets of the DIF threatened the FDIC’s
ability to pay depositors promptly.
To strengthen the DIF’s liquidity, the FDIC adopted a novel approach. In November
2009, the FDIC required the banking industry to prepay their quarterly assessments for
the fourth quarter of 2009 and for all of 2010, 2011, and 2012.21 On December 30, 2009,
the FDIC collected $45.7 billion of prepaid assessments, which boosted the fund’s liquidity
significantly (as Figure 5.2 illustrates).22
The FDIC chose to require prepayment of assessments rather than imposing additional
special assessments for two main reasons. First, the FDIC wanted to avoid increasing
assessments when bank earnings and capital were already under stress. In the second
quarter of 2009, when the special assessment was charged, FDIC-insured commercial
banks and savings institutions reported an aggregate net loss of $3.7 billion.23 In contrast
to a special assessment, which immediately affects a bank’s earnings and capital, a
prepaid assessment does not. Banks book a prepayment as an asset (prepaid expense)
with a zero percent risk weight (meaning that the asset will not affect a bank’s riskbased capital levels), and they expense it as they are charged their quarterly assessments.
Industry trade groups such as the Independent Community Bankers Association and
the American Bankers Association supported the prepaid assessment, the American
Bankers Association stating that the assessment “strike[s] the right balance at this time
to assure that the FDIC has the cash necessary to meet its obligations without impairing
banks’ ability to meet their obligations to their communities.”24
The second reason for preferring prepayment to additional special assessments was
to avoid discouraging the extension of credit. When the prepayment was collected in
December 2009, bank lending was already on the decline,25 and throughout 2009 public
scrutiny had focused on banks’ ability and willingness to lend to consumers; in addition,
government assistance programs that focused specifically on lending were underway. The
Corporation, knowing that banks were holding significant amounts of cash in response
to the freeze in short-term lending markets in the fall of 2008, believed that most of the
for Maintaining Fund Liquidity,” September 28, 2009, https://www.fdic.gov/news/board/Sept29no1.pdf.
21

74 Fed. Reg. 59056 (Nov. 17, 2009).

22

FDIC, 2009 Annual Report, 20.

23

FDIC, Quarterly Banking Profile, June 30, 2009, https://www5-qa.fdic.gov/qbp/2009jun/qbp.pdf.

24

American Bankers Association, Comment letter on proposed rulemaking on prepaid assessments, 75 Fed.
Reg. 51063 (Oct. 2, 2009), Oct. 28, 2009, https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09c109ad49.
pdf; see also, Independent Community Bankers of America, Comment letter on proposed rulemaking on
prepaid assessments, 74 Fed. Reg. 51063 (Oct. 2, 2009), Oct. 27, 2009, https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/
laws/federal/2009/09c82ad49.pdf.

25

The banking industry’s ratio of total loans and leases to total assets had declined from a peak of 61.8 percent
at the end of 2005 to 55.6 percent at the end of 2009. The ratio continued to trend downward and reached a
low of 53.0 percent at the end of March 2015.

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161

prepaid assessments would be drawn from banks’ available cash and excess reserves at
the Federal Reserve without significantly affecting banks’ lending activities. And in fact,
by the end of 2009—even after the prepayment of assessments—banks on average had
a much higher ratio of cash and balances due from other depository institutions to total
assets than they did before the crisis. (Cash and balances due from other depository
institutions include excess balances at the Federal Reserve.) On average, the ratio of cash
and balances due from other depository institutions to total assets at the end of 2009
was 8.0 percent, which was considerably higher than the 5.0 percent average from 2003
through 2007. (The ratio continued to remain considerably higher during the rest of the
banking crisis and beyond.)
Just as the FDIC had opted not to borrow from the Treasury earlier in 2009 to
strengthen the fund balance and the reserve ratio, the FDIC decided in late 2009 not
to borrow from the Treasury to increase fund liquidity. One reason the FDIC turned
to prepaid assessments was that prepaid assessments ensured that the DIF remained
directly industry funded, whereas borrowing from the Treasury would not. Another
reason was that, unlike the prepaid assessments, borrowings from the Treasury would
bear interest, which the banking industry would have had to pay eventually through
higher assessments.
In the end, the FDIC was successful in maintaining sufficient DIF liquidity throughout
the crisis. After the prepaid assessment was collected at the end of 2009, liquid assets (as
measured at month-end) never fell below $34 billion. (This month-end low was reached
on August 31, 2013.) The prepaid assessment was buttressed by the use of loss-sharing
agreements to resolve most failed banks, and these agreements greatly reduced the
Corporation’s cash outflows. (Loss-sharing agreements are discussed in detail in chapter 6.)

Adjusting Risk-Based Assessments

Effective the second quarter of 2009, the FDIC made several major changes to risk-based
pricing and also adjusted assessment rates to reflect these changes (see Table 5.A.2).26
First, to make assessment rates more accurately reflect the risk that banks posed to the
fund, the FDIC widened the range of assessment rates applicable to Risk Category I from
a 2 basis point spread to a 4 basis point spread.
Second, the FDIC introduced three possible adjustments to a bank’s assessment rate:
the secured liability adjustment, the brokered deposit adjustment, and the unsecured
debt adjustment.27 These adjustments were intended to account both for liabilities that
would increase the loss to the fund when a bank failed (secured liabilities and brokered
deposits) and for liabilities that would reduce the loss (unsecured debt). The secured
liability adjustment increased assessment rates for banks that held large amounts of
26

74 Fed. Reg. 9525 (Mar. 4, 2009).

27

Ibid.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

secured debt. When a bank fails, secured debt reduces the assets available to repay
the FDIC for its outlays to protect insured deposits. At that time, however, secured
debt was not part of the assessment base, so banks paid no more in assessments for
issuing debt that would increase the DIF’s losses if the bank were to fail.28 The brokered
deposit adjustment increased assessment rates for riskier banks that held large amounts
of brokered deposits relative to their total domestic deposits, since brokered deposits
tend to increase both a bank’s probability of failure and the DIF’s losses when a bank
does fail.29 (For the least risky banks, those in Risk Category I, the FDIC added a new
ratio to the financial ratios used to determine assessment rates. The new ratio increased
assessment rates for banks that used relatively large amounts of brokered deposits to
fund rapid asset growth.)30 The unsecured debt adjustment lowered assessment rates for
banks with long-term, unsecured debt, since unsecured debt tends to reduce the DIF’s
losses when a bank fails.31
Finally, the FDIC revised the assessment methodology for large banks in Risk
Category I so that assessment rates were based not only on CAMELS component
ratings and long-term-debt issuer ratings (as they had been since the beginning of
2007), but also on the same financial ratios that applied to small banks. This change,
like the other two, was meant to make assessment rates reflect risk more accurately, but
had another purpose as well: to have rates respond to changing risk profiles sooner,
since the methodology being replaced (using only CAMELS component ratings and
long-term-debt issuer ratings) had often not fully reflected large banks’ deteriorating
conditions quickly enough.

28

The secured liability adjustment was eliminated in 2011 when the assessment base was broadened to average
consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity. The new assessment base encompasses all liabilities—
including secured debt. The change in base is discussed in detail below in the section “Reallocating the Costs
of Supporting the DIF between Small and Large Banks.”

29

Beginning with the third quarter of 2016 the FDIC revised the treatment of brokered deposits in the riskbased pricing method applicable to an established small bank (generally, a bank with less than $10 billion in
total assets that has been federally insured for at least five years) so that holding large amounts of brokered
deposits relative to assets can directly increase the assessment rate of any established small bank.

30

The ratio applicable to Risk Category I banks excluded reciprocal deposits. Reciprocal deposits are deposits
that a bank receives through a deposit placement network on a reciprocal basis, such that (1) for any deposit
received, the institution (as agent for depositors) places the same amount with other banks through the
network; and (2) each member of the network sets the interest rate to be paid on the entire amount of funds
it places with other network members.

31

When an institution fails, holders of unsecured claims, including subordinated debt, do not receive
distributions from the receivership estate unless and until all secured claims, administrative claims, and
deposit claims have been paid in full. Consequently, greater amounts of long-term unsecured claims provide
a cushion that can reduce the FDIC’s loss in the event of failure.

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163

Reforms to Fund Management and Risk-Based Pricing, 2010–2016
The Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, enacted on July
21, 2010, contained several provisions designed to strengthen the DIF. In the years
since the law’s enactment, the FDIC has drawn on the authorities in these provisions to
develop a comprehensive, long-term fund management plan. In addition to provisions
strengthening the DIF, Dodd-Frank also included provisions designed to reallocate the
costs of supporting the fund between large and small banks, and these provisions, too,
the FDIC has implemented.32 Finally, and independent of Dodd-Frank, the FDIC has
updated its risk-based pricing methods for small and large banks, incorporating data and
experience from the banking crisis to better estimate the risks that banks pose to the DIF.

Strengthening the DIF: The Long-Term Fund Management Plan

To strengthen the DIF, Dodd-Frank raised the minimum DRR from 1.15 percent to 1.35
percent and required that the reserve ratio reach this new minimum by September 30,
2020. Dodd-Frank also eliminated the upper limit on the reserve ratio (and therefore on
the size of the fund), and it eliminated the requirement that the FDIC pay dividends to
banks when the reserve ratio is between 1.35 and 1.50 percent. And when the reserve
ratio exceeds 1.50 percent, the FDIC has sole discretion in determining whether to
suspend or limit dividends.
The FDIC took advantage of Dodd-Frank’s grant of greater authority to manage the
fund by developing a comprehensive, long-term DIF management plan in 2010. The
plan is designed to reduce procyclical volatility in the assessment system and keep
assessment rates moderate and steady throughout economic and credit cycles, while
also maintaining a positive fund balance even during a banking crisis. In developing the
plan, the FDIC sought industry input and, in addition, undertook a historical analysis to
determine the reserve ratio that would have been required to maintain both a positive
balance and stable assessment rates from 1950 through 2010.
To get industry input, the FDIC organized a roundtable that was held September
24, 2010. At the roundtable, bank executives and industry trade group representatives
uniformly favored steady, predictable assessments and objected to high assessment
rates during crises.33
Using historical DIF losses and simulated income data on DIF investments from
1950 through 2010, the analysis in the FDIC’s historical study varied assessment rates
and dividends paid from the DIF to banks to determine what would have happened
to a simulated fund balance and reserve ratio during the same period. The study
concluded that moderate, long-term industry average assessment rates, combined with
32

Pub. L. 111-203, 331-334, 124 Stat. 1376, 1539 (12 U.S.C. §§ 1813(y)(3), and 1817(a)(2)(B), (b)(1)(E), (b)(2),
(b)(3)(B), (b)(3)(E)(ii) and (note)).

33

76 Fed. Reg. 79286 (Dec. 20, 2010). 76 Fed. Reg. 10672, 10,683 (Feb. 25, 2011).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

an appropriate dividend or an appropriate assessment rate reduction policy, would have
sufficed to prevent the fund from becoming negative during the two banking crises that
occurred during the 60-year period covered by the analysis—but only if the reserve ratio
had exceeded 2.0 percent before the onset of each crisis.34
To increase the probability that the reserve ratio would reach a level sufficient to
withstand a future crisis, the FDIC Board set the DRR for 2011 at 2.0 percent, consistent
with the FDIC’s historical analysis.35 The FDIC Board has voted annually since then to
maintain the 2.0 percent DRR, viewing it as the minimum level needed to withstand
future crises of the magnitude of past crises and as a long-term goal.
In another provision of the long-term DIF management plan and consistent with the
authority granted under Dodd-Frank, the FDIC suspended dividends indefinitely (FDIRA
had required that dividends be returned to the industry when the fund reserve ratio exceeds
1.5 percent). Instead, consistent with the historical analysis, the plan prescribed (and the
FDIC Board adopted) assessment rates that become progressively lower when the reserve
ratio exceeds 1.15, 2.0, and 2.5 percent (see Tables 5.A.4, 5.A.5, and 5.A.6).
In addition, consistent with Dodd-Frank’s requirement that the reserve ratio reach the
new minimum level of 1.35 percent by that date, the FDIC extended the termination of
the restoration plan from the end of 2016 to September 30, 2020.36

Reallocating the Costs of Supporting the DIF between Small and Large Banks

Other provisions of Dodd-Frank, as noted above, aimed to reallocate the costs of
supporting the deposit insurance fund between small and large banks. The reallocation
required the FDIC to amend its regulations in two ways.
First, seeking to ensure that, in the aggregate, large and small banks’ shares of
assessments were proportionate to their shares of industry assets, Dodd-Frank required
the FDIC to amend its regulations to redefine the assessment base by broadening it
from domestic deposits to average consolidated total assets minus average tangible
equity. Since a bank’s assessment is the product of its assessment rate and its assessment
base, changing the assessment base changes a bank’s assessment, all else equal. The new
assessment base became effective April 1, 2011.37 The rule also adjusted risk-based rates
34

75 Fed. Reg. 66272 (Oct. 27, 2010); 76 Fed. Reg. 79286 (Dec. 20, 2010); 76 Fed. Reg. 10672, 10674 (Feb. 25,
2011). For more on the historical analysis, see Lee K. Davison and Ashley M. Carreon, “Toward a Long-Term
Strategy for Deposit Insurance Fund Management,” FDIC Quarterly 4, no. 4 (2010), https://www.fdic.gov/
bank/analytical/quarterly/2010-vol4-4/fdic-quarterly-v4n4-fundmgmt-121610.pdf.

35

75 Fed. Reg. 79286 (Dec. 20, 2010).

36

75 Fed. Reg. 66293 (Oct. 27, 2010). Given the continuing stresses on the earnings of insured depository
institutions and the additional time allowed for reaching the minimum reserve ratio, the FDIC decided
to forego the uniform 3 basis point increase in initial assessment rates that, pursuant to the amended plan
adopted in September 2009, had been scheduled to take effect on January 1, 2011.

37

76 Fed. Reg. 10672 (Feb. 28, 2011). As permitted by statute, the assessment base for banker’s banks and
custodial banks is subject to reductions not applicable to other banks. The rule also eliminated the secured

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165

to raise approximately the same aggregate amount of revenue on the new assessment
base as would have been raised on the old base. (See Table 5.A.3.) While aggregate
assessments remained unchanged, the proportion of total industry assessments paid by
small banks decreased and the proportion paid by large banks increased, consistent with
congressional intent. Before the change in the assessment base, banks with less than $10
billion in assets held approximately 20 percent of industry assets, yet paid approximately
30 percent of total assessments; after the change, small banks paid approximately 20
percent of total assessments, consistent with their share of industry assets.
Second, when Dodd-Frank raised the minimum reserve ratio from 1.15 percent to
1.35 percent and required that the reserve ratio reach this new minimum by September
30, 2020, it also directed the FDIC, when setting assessments, to offset the effect on small
banks of the increase in the minimum reserve ratio. Therefore, to raise the reserve ratio to
1.35 percent by the statutory deadline and offset the effect of the increase on small banks,
the FDIC approved a final rule in March 2016 imposing quarterly surcharges on large
banks.38 Surcharges began in the third quarter of 2016 (the quarter after the reserve ratio
exceeded the previous minimum target of 1.15 percent) and will last until the quarter in
which the reserve ratio reaches or exceeds 1.35 percent. The surcharges will not, however,
extend past December 31, 2018. If the reserve ratio has not reached 1.35 percent by that
date, banks with $10 billion or more in assets will be assessed a shortfall assessment on
March 31, 2019. In addition, small banks will receive assessment credits for the portion
of their regular assessments that contributed to growth in the reserve ratio between 1.15
percent and 1.35 percent. When the reserve ratio is 1.38 percent or higher, the FDIC will
apply these credits to offset small banks’ regular quarterly assessments.

Updating Risk-Based Pricing Using Data and Experience from the Crisis

Independent of Dodd-Frank, the FDIC has revised its pricing methodologies for both
small and large banks, including highly complex banks.39 Before the revisions, pricing
methodologies had relied on data from the previous banking crisis (the bank and thrift
crisis of the late 1980s and early 1990s). The large number of failures during the recent
banking crisis gave the FDIC a wealth of new data on the characteristics of banks that
failed. With the new data and fresh experience, the Corporation was able to update its
pricing methodologies to better estimate the risks that banks pose to the DIF.
liability adjustment (secured debt was included in the new assessment base and an adjustment was no longer
necessary).
38

81 Fed. Reg. 32180 (May 20, 2016). The surcharges equal an annual rate of 4.5 basis points; they are applied
to a large bank’s assessment base that has certain adjustments made to it. The base for the surcharge is the
bank’s regular assessment base reduced by $10 billion, and adjusted for affiliated banks.

39

76 Fed. Reg. 10672 (Feb. 28, 2011). Generally, a highly complex bank is defined as (a) a large bank with at
least $50 billion of total assets that is controlled by a U.S. parent with at least $500 billion in assets, or (b) a
processing bank or a trust company with fiduciary assets of at least $500 billion. 12 CFR § 327.8(g).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Large Banks and Highly Complex Institutions

The final rule that revised the assessment base effective April 1, 2011, also revised the
pricing methodology for large banks and highly complex institutions.40 The changes
made to the large-bank methodology were meant to do three things: (1) capture risk
closer to the time a bank assumes the risk, (2) better differentiate risks posed by banks
during good economic and banking conditions based on how the banks would fare
during periods of stress or economic downturn, and (3) account more accurately for the
losses the FDIC might incur if a large bank fails.
Under the revised large-bank pricing methodology, the FDIC uses two scorecards,
one for the majority of large banks and a second for highly complex institutions.
Both scorecards use banks’ CAMELS component ratings and financial measures to
determine a performance score and a loss severity score. Together, these scores predict
the performance of banks during periods of stress and are used to determine a bank’s
assessment rate.41 (See Tables 5.A.3 and 5.A.4.) The two scorecards are similar, but the
scorecard for highly complex institutions uses some financial measures intended to
reflect the more complex activities of these institutions. Risk categories were eliminated
in the revised large-bank pricing methodology.42 To compare the revised methodology
with the one it replaced, the FDIC analyzed how well the new measures would have
predicted a rank ordering of large banks based on the risk they posed as of the end of
2009. (The rank ordering was based on an expert valuation of relative risk by the FDIC.)
The FDIC found that the measures in the revised methodology would have performed
significantly better than the method it replaced.

Established Small Institutions

A revised pricing methodology for established small banks became effective in the third
quarter of 2016, which was the same quarter that lower assessment rates adopted by the
FDIC Board in 2011 went into effect and also the quarter after the reserve ratio first

40

In this rulemaking, the FDIC also created a depository institution debt adjustment (DIDA). The DIDA
increases a bank’s assessment rate when the bank holds long-term unsecured debt issued by another insured
depository institution.

41

Some of the definitions used in the large-bank and highly complex institution pricing methodologies were
amended in 2012 and 2014. The 2014 revisions also contained other changes to assessment rules applicable
to large and small banks; these changes were designed to conform to regulatory changes in capital rules
adopted pursuant to Basel III (an international set of capital standards that are implemented by domestic
banking regulators). See 77 Fed. Reg. 66000 (Oct. 31, 2012) and 79 Fed. Reg. 70427 (Nov. 26, 2014).

42

In addition, long-term-debt-issuer ratings were no longer used. Dodd-Frank explicitly required all federal
agencies to review and modify regulations in order to remove reliance on credit ratings and substitute an
alternative standard of creditworthiness. Pub. L. 111-203, § 939A, 124 Stat. 1376, 1886 (codified at 15 U.S.C.
78o-7 note). Even before Dodd-Frank was enacted, however, the FDIC had proposed removing long-termdebt issuer ratings from its assessment calculations. 75 Fed. Reg. 23516, 23517 (May 3, 2010).

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167

returned to 1.15 percent.43 (See Table 5.A.4.) (An established small bank is generally
defined as a bank that has been federally insured for at least five years and has less than
$10 billion in total assets.)44 The new methodology draws on data from the two most
recent banking crises and the years between them. The underlying model uses financial
ratios and CAMELS component ratings to estimate the probability of failure over three
years. The new methodology uses the results of the underlying model to determine
assessment rates, and uses CAMELS composite ratings (rather than risk categories, as
in the methodology being replaced) to place limits on the assessment rates that banks
can be charged. The FDIC’s backtesting revealed that the new methodology would
have differentiated between banks that later failed and those that did not better than
the methodology being replaced, and would have differentiated significantly better both
immediately before and at the beginning of the crisis.
The change in the pricing methodology for established small institutions was designed
to be revenue neutral (that is, to raise approximately the same aggregate amount of revenue
from small banks as would have been collected under the pricing methodology it replaced).

Conclusion
When the banking crisis began in 2008, the FDIC’s deposit insurance fund lacked
sufficient capital to withstand the losses that stemmed from that crisis. Although
legislative reforms in 2006 had given the FDIC somewhat greater authority than it had
had for the previous decade to manage the fund and to price for risk, the reforms came
too late to allow the Corporation to build up the DIF before the crisis struck.
Dodd-Frank in 2010 gave the FDIC more authority to manage the DIF and to price
deposit insurance for risk than the Corporation ever had, and the FDIC has used this
authority to substantially revise its approach both to fund management and to risk-based
pricing. The FDIC has developed a comprehensive, long-term DIF management plan
designed to reduce procyclical volatility in the assessment system and keep assessment
rates moderate and steady throughout economic and credit cycles, while also maintaining
a positive fund balance even during a banking crisis. Based on a historical analysis of fund
losses over a 60-year period, the FDIC has set a long-term fund reserve ratio target of 2.0
percent, since that level, combined with steady assessment rates, would have sufficed to
prevent the fund from becoming negative during the last two banking crises. The FDIC
also relied on this analysis to adopt moderate overall assessment rates that are intended
to remain in place even during a downturn.

43

81 Fed. Reg. 16059 (Mar. 25, 2016).

44

12 CFR § 327.8(e), (k).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Using statistical techniques, the FDIC has also incorporated large amounts of failure
data from the recent banking crisis into its risk-based pricing methodologies for small
banks and for large and highly complex banks. These new methodologies are able to
better distinguish between banks that are likely to survive a downturn and those that are
not, consistent with the goals of a risk-based pricing system.

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CHAPTER 5: Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based Deposit Insurance Assessments

Appendix
Evolution of the Assessment Rate Schedules, Q1 2009 to Present

To calculate a bank’s quarterly deposit insurance assessment, the bank’s assessment rate
is multiplied by its assessment base. All rates below are annual and are in basis points,
which are cents per $100 of the assessment base.
Table 5.A.1. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q1 2009
a

Risk Category
Base Assessment Rate

I

II

III

IV

12 to 14

17

35

50

Note: Assessment base is approximately equal to domestic deposits.
a

Risk Category I comprises banks that pose the least risk, and each successively higher risk category
comprises banks that pose increasingly higher risk.

Table 5.A.2. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q2 2009–Q1 2011
a

Risk Category
I

II

III

IV

Initial Base Assessment Rate

12 to 16

22

32

45

Unsecured Debt Adjustment

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

Secured Debt Adjustment

0 to 8

0 to 11

0 to 16

0 to 22.5

Brokered Deposit Adjustment

N/A

0 to 10

0 to 10

0 to 10

7 to 24

17 to 43

27 to 58

40 to 77.5

Total Base Assessment Rate

Note: Assessment base is approximately equal to domestic deposits.
a

Risk Category I comprises banks that pose the least risk, and each successively higher risk category
comprises banks that pose increasingly higher risk.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Table 5.A.3. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q2 2011–Q2 2016

I

II

III

IV

Large & Highly
Complex
Institutions

5 to 9

14

23

35

5 to 35

–4.5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

N/A

0 to 10

0 to 10

0 to 10

0 to 10

2.5 to 9

9 to 24

18 to 33

30 to 45

2.5 to 45

a

Small-Bank Risk Category
Initial Base Assessment Rate
Unsecured Debt Adjustment

b

Brokered Deposit Adjustment
Total Base Assessment Rate

c

Note: Assessment base equals average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity, with additional
reductions for custodial banks and banker’s banks.
a

Risk Category I comprises banks that pose the least risk, and each successively higher risk category
comprises banks that pose increasingly higher risk.

b

The unsecured debt adjustment cannot exceed the lesser of 5 basis points or 50 percent of an insured
institution’s initial base assessment rate; thus, for example, an insured depository institution with an initial
base assessment rate of 5 basis points will have a maximum unsecured debt adjustment of 2.5 basis points
and cannot have a total base assessment rate lower than 2.5 basis points.

c

Total base assessment rates do not include the depository institution debt adjustment.

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CHAPTER 5: Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based Deposit Insurance Assessments

Table 5.A.4. Assessment Rate Schedule, Q3 2016 to Present
(After the reserve ratio reaches 1.15 percent but is less than 2.0 percent)
Established Small Banks
1 or 2

3

4 or 5

Large &
Highly
Complex
Institutions

3 to 16

6 to 30

16 to 30

3 to 30

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

N/A

N/A

N/A

0 to 10

1.5 to 16

3 to 30

11 to 30

1.5 to 40

CAMELS Composite

Initial Base Assessment Rate
Unsecured Debt Adjustment

a

Brokered Deposit Adjustment
Total Base Assessment Rateb

Note: Assessment base equals average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity, with additional
reductions for custodial banks and banker’s banks.
a

The unsecured debt adjustment cannot exceed the lesser of 5 basis points or 50 percent of an insured
institution’s initial base assessment rate; thus, for example, an insured depository institution with an initial
base assessment rate of 3 basis points will have a maximum unsecured debt adjustment of 1.5 basis points
and cannot have a total base assessment rate lower than 1.5 basis points.

b

Total base assessment rates do not include the depository institution debt adjustment.

172

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Table 5.A.5. Assessment Rate Schedule
(After the reserve ratio reaches 2.0 percent but is less than 2.5 percent)
Established Small Banks

1 or 2

3

4 or 5

Large &
Highly
Complex
Institutions

2 to 14

5 to 28

14 to 28

2 to 28

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

N/A

N/A

N/A

0 to 10

1 to 14

2.5 to 28

9 to 28

1 to 38

CAMELS Composite

Initial Base Assessment Rate
Unsecured Debt Adjustment

a

Brokered Deposit Adjustment
Total Base Assessment Rate

b

Note: Assessment base equals average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity, with additional
reductions for custodial banks and banker’s banks.
a

The unsecured debt adjustment cannot exceed the lesser of 5 basis points or 50 percent of an insured
institution’s initial base assessment rate; thus, for example, an insured depository institution with an initial
base assessment rate of 2 basis points will have a maximum unsecured debt adjustment of 1 basis point
and cannot have a total base assessment rate lower than 1 basis point.

b

Total base assessment rates do not include the depository institution debt adjustment.

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CHAPTER 5: Deposit Insurance: Fund Management and Risk-Based Deposit Insurance Assessments

Table 5.A.6. Assessment Rate Schedule
(After the reserve ratio reaches 2.5 percent)
Established Small Banks

1 or 2

3

4 or 5

Large &
Highly
Complex
Institutions

1 to 13

4 to 25

13 to 25

1 to 25

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

–5 to 0

N/A

N/A

N/A

0 to 10

0.5 to 13

2 to 25

8 to 25

0.5 to 35

CAMELS Composite

Initial Base Assessment Rate
Unsecured Debt Adjustment

a

Brokered Deposit Adjustment
b

Total Base Assessment Rate

Note: Assessment base equals average consolidated total assets minus average tangible equity, with additional
reductions for custodial banks and banker’s banks.
a

The unsecured debt adjustment cannot exceed the lesser of 5 basis points or 50 percent of an insured
institution’s initial base assessment rate; thus, for example, an insured depository institution with an initial
base assessment rate of 1 basis point will have a maximum unsecured debt adjustment of 0.5 basis points
and cannot have a total base assessment rate lower than 0.5 basis points.

b

Total base assessment rates do not include the depository debt adjustment.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Bibliography
American Bankers Association. Comment letter on proposed rulemaking on prepaid
assessments. 74 Federal Register 51063, October 2, 2009. October 28, 2009. https://www.
fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09c109ad49.pdf.
Davison, Lee K., and Ashley M. Carreon. “Toward a Long-Term Strategy for Deposit
Insurance Fund Management.” FDIC Quarterly 4, no. 4 (2010): 29–39. https://www.fdic.
gov/bank/analytical/quarterly/2010-vol4-4/fdic-quarterly-v4n4-fundmgmt-121610.pdf.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). 1993 Annual Report. 1994. https://
www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/report/archives/fdic-ar-1993.pdf.
———. 2009 Annual Report. 2010. https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/
report/2009annualreport/ar09section1.pdf.
———. Quarterly Banking Profile, June 30, 2009. https://www5-qa.fdic.gov/
qbp/2009jun/qbp.pdf.
———. “Memorandum to the FDIC Board of Directors: Special Assessment,
Restoration Plan and Proposal for Maintaining Fund Liquidity.” September 28, 2009.
https://www.fdic.gov/news/board/Sept29no1.pdf.
Federal Register. Vols. 71, 73–77, 79, and 81. 2006, 2008–12, 2014, and 2016.
Independent Community Bankers of America. Comment letter on proposed
rulemaking on prepaid assessments. 74 Federal Register 51063, October 2, 2009.
October 27, 2009. https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09c82ad49.pdf.
Resolution Trust Corporation (U.S.). Office of Planning, Research, and Statistics.
(1995). Statistical Abstract: August 1989/September 1995. https://fraser.stlouisfed.org/
scribd/?title_id=851&filepath=/files/docs/publications/statabsrtc/statabs_rtc_19891995.pdf.

6

Bank Resolutions and Receiverships
One important way that the FDIC fulfills its mission “to maintain stability and public
confidence in the nation’s financial system” is by carrying out all the tasks that are triggered
by the closure of failed FDIC-insured depository institutions, including the liquidation
of the assets held by the failed banks.1 The FDIC learned important lessons from its
experience during the bank and thrift crisis of the 1980s and early 1990s, which generated
an enormous volume of failed-bank assets. Many of these assets were retained and managed
by the FDIC, and this proved to be operationally complex as well as costly. As a result, after
the first crisis ended, the FDIC adopted a resolution strategy2 that centered on selling assets
back into the marketplace promptly, either at the time of failure or shortly thereafter. In
the recent crisis, this strategy had the collateral benefit of conserving cash for the FDIC, a
benefit that proved to be important as events unfolded (see chapter 5).
The nature of the 2008–2013 crisis, including both its size and the speed of the upsurge
in bank failures, made it challenging for the FDIC to sell failed banks and their assets, and
it required creativity and adaptability to design sales-contract features that would attract
buyers. Early on, as the crisis intensified and the appetite for purchasing failed institutions
dwindled in the marketplace, the FDIC responded by including an option to share credit
losses with acquirers as a feature of its failed-bank offerings.3 This proved to be quite
helpful. As market conditions evolved during the crisis, the FDIC responded by modifying
the contract terms in loss-sharing agreements and adjusting its other asset sales strategies.
The next section of this chapter provides background information: the definitions of the
terms “resolutions” and “receiverships” and a summary of the FDIC’s responsibilities for
resolutions and receiverships; an account of the FDIC’s past strategy with respect to those
responsibilities; and an overview of the FDIC’s readiness planning in the years preceding
the outbreak of the recent crisis. The background information is followed by an account
1

For the FDIC’s mission, vision and values, see https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/strategic/mission.html.
Throughout the chapter, the term “banks” refers to all FDIC-insured depository institutions.

2

Key terms, such as resolution and receivership, are defined below.

3

Loss sharing is a sales method where the FDIC sells assets to an acquirer and agrees to pay the acquirer for a
pre-specified percentage of the future losses on selected failed-bank assets to make the sale more attractive.
For additional discussion, see the section titled “Loss-Share Purchase and Assumption.”

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

of the dimensions of the crisis the FDIC had to face in 2008. This is followed by two
sections on the main task of resolutions (the main task is the marketing of failed-bank
franchises to potential acquirers) and then by two sections on receiverships (whose main
task is managing and selling the assets that were not acquired at resolution). In each of
those two subject areas, the first section presents general considerations, preparing the
way for the second section, which is a narrative and analysis of the decisions the FDIC
made in fulfilling its resolution and receivership responsibilities during the 2008–2013
crisis. The chapter ends with a listing and discussion of lessons learned, areas for future
research and a short conclusion.

Background: Definitions and Responsibilities, Past Strategy,
and Readiness Planning
The background necessary to an understanding of resolution and receivership
activity during the 2008–2013 crisis covers three areas: basic definitions of terms and
responsibilities; strategies the FDIC used during and after the previous crisis (1980–
1994); and the readiness planning that the FDIC engaged in during the period between
the two crises, when failure activity was minimal.

Definitions and Summary of FDIC Responsibilities

When a bank fails, a receivership is established at the moment the bank is closed. Similar
to bankruptcy proceedings for companies other than banks,4 a receivership is the legal
entity where all the affairs of the failed bank are handled. The receivership does not end
until all the bank’s assets are sold and all the claims against the bank are addressed. The
term “resolution” is used in multiple ways: often it refers just to the initial phase of the
receivership, but it is also used for the entire receivership process. In the second sense,
therefore, a bank is not truly resolved until the receivership itself is terminated. In this
chapter, however, “resolution” is used in the first sense: the initial phase of the receivership.
Resolving a failed bank takes place on a date that is established, within statutory
bounds, through consultation between the bank’s chartering authority and the FDIC.5
4

For a discussion of the similarities and differences between the receiverships used by the FDIC to resolve
failed banks and bankruptcy proceedings used for nonbank firms, see Robert R. Bliss and George G.
Kaufman, “U.S. Corporate and Bank Insolvency Regimes: An Economic Comparison and Evaluation,”
Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Working Paper, 2006, https://www.chicagofed.org/publications/workingpapers/2006/wp-01.

5

Generally, banks must be closed within 90 days after becoming critically undercapitalized. See 12 U.S.C.
§ 1831(o)(h)(3)(A). If a state chartering authority is unable or unwilling to close a failing bank, then the
FDIC or, for members of the Federal Reserve System, the Federal Reserve Board can use its authority to
close the bank and appoint the FDIC as receiver. See 12 U.S.C. §§ 1821(c) (4) and (9). The FDIC used this
authority to close a state-chartered bank only once during the 2008–2013 crisis, and the Federal Reserve
Board also used it only once.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

177

On the date the bank fails, these steps are taken in this order: the chartering authority
revokes the bank’s charter, closes the bank, and appoints the FDIC as receiver;6 the entire
failed bank is placed into receivership; and if the FDIC—in preparing for the resolution—
has succeeded in finding an acquirer for some or all of the failed bank’s assets or liabilities
or both, those assets and liabilities are removed from the receivership and transferred
to the acquirer.7 The date when these events occur is called the resolution date, and it is
the culmination of a process that has involved much preparation.8 One major focus of
the preparation—the FDIC’s attempt to find a buyer for some or all of the failing bank’s
assets and liabilities—is called franchise marketing.9
But franchise marketing, important as it is, is just the first step in the receivership
process that winds up the affairs of failed banks, for after the resolution date, the FDIC’s
responsibilities as receiver continue.10 The FDIC must service and sell the assets the acquirer
does not buy; take care of the necessary bookkeeping, accounting, and reporting; identify
and verify all claims, determine who should get what amount of money, and pay claims as
funds become available; decide whether to sue anyone for actions that contributed to the
failure (and follow through if advisable); monitor any ongoing agreements with acquirers
or the purchasers of assets; and so forth. The receivership is terminated only when all the
bank’s assets and liabilities have been sold or liquidated or transferred or have otherwise
passed beyond the FDIC’s responsibility to care for them.11
The activities of marketing a failed bank’s franchise and managing a receivership
are distinct from each other but are also closely related. Of the two activities, franchise

6

Theoretically, state chartering authorities could appoint an entity other than the FDIC. In practice, this is
rare and it did not occur during the 2008–2013 crisis.

7

A lengthy settlement process occurs later to address all the details and matters that are discovered
subsequently. Note that the FDIC can also separate the last step of this process (the sale to an acquirer)
from the preceding steps of the resolution process. In that case, the bank fails on that date, but resolution
occurs later. This option, which does not occur often, is described in the introduction to the section titled
“Franchise Marketing: The Bidding Process and Resolution Options.”

8

Not until that date, however, will anything have been set in stone. Sometimes a failing bank manages to
figure out a way to survive, and its planned closing does not occur. Also, note that in some cases banks must
be closed with very little preparation, usually because of fraud or liquidity problems (liquidity problems
occur when the bank lacks the cash needed to pay depositors or other creditors).

9

Franchise marketing is the process of packaging, marketing, and selling the operating units of an insured
depository institution. In cases where the operating value of the institution exceeds the liquidation value,
franchise marketing attempts to retain the incremental value of the operating units of the failing institution
and allow its viable operations to continue functioning after the failure.

10

See FDIC, Resolutions Handbook (2014), https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/reshandbook/resolutions_
handbook.pdf, for a more complete description of the FDIC’s responsibilities and tasks associated with
resolving failed banks.

11

To facilitate the conclusion of receiverships, the FDIC, in its corporate capacity, may purchase and assume de
minimis amounts of receivership assets and liabilities.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

marketing has a much bigger effect on the FDIC’s cost,12 on the cash requirements of the
Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF), and on the potential harm that bank failures may do to
local economies. And franchise marketing shapes many of the receivership management
activities, from the resolution date through termination of the receivership. For example,
if the acquirer assumes only the insured deposits, the FDIC must determine the insurance
status for each depositor and must then pay the uninsured depositors to the extent that
funds become available. Compared with franchise marketing, however, the receivership
management process involves a wider range of activities and requires substantially more
staff and operational resources.
Although there are unique aspects to each activity, there are also some commonalities.
Perhaps the strongest commonalities have to do with the sales process in the two activities.
Franchise marketing involves the selling of part or all of a bank, and receivership sales
involve the selling of retained assets. Table 6.1 compares these two activities. The FDIC’s
decisions regarding each of the two key areas reflect both the similar and the dissimilar
considerations. For both activities, minimizing costs is a major goal, and that goal must
be considered in light of market realities and the natural trade-off between risk and
return for assets.
Table 6.1. Comparison of Franchise Sales and Retained Asset Sales
Sale Process Characteristic

Franchise Sale

Risk/return trade-offs and other market dynamics

Retained Asset Sales

The same for both

Number of possible sale methods

Relatively few

Many

Effects on DIF, FDIC cash flow, FDIC operational capacity

Very large

Present but smaller

Effects on deposits and depositors

Yes

No

Potential effects on local (and sometimes regional or
national) economy

Larger

Smaller

Number of potential buyers

Smaller

Larger

Flexibility on timing

No. Sale must be
arranged quickly.

Yes

Statutory constraints

A mix of general and
specific requirements

Only general
requirements

a

a

Theoretically, companies other than banks could purchase assets (but not deposits). There are, however,
significant challenges to marketing to companies other than banks, especially the short time frame available
for marketing. The limited marketing time frame is discussed briefly in the section titled “The Bidding
Process.” To date, only FDIC-insured banks that meet several qualifying criteria, or investors that meet the
criteria necessary to open a bank and are vetted ahead of time, have been permitted to bid.

12

Note, however, that the FDIC’s losses are influenced more by the bank’s condition and the quality of its assets
than by the franchise marketing process or the receivership activities. If there is no acquirer, or if the acquirer
purchases only a few assets, then the receivership activities have a stronger influence on costs than franchise
marketing does.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

179

Past Strategy

The FDIC’s strategies for handling its resolution and receivership responsibilities in the
2008–2013 crisis were shaped by its experiences managing the crisis of the 1980s and early
1990s. During those years, the FDIC managed more than 1,600 bank failures and it also
initially managed the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC), which resolved nearly 750
thrift failures after its creation in 1989.13 In particular, that crisis generated an enormous
volume of failed-bank assets. The FDIC retained and managed a large share of the assets
and found the experience to be both costly and operationally complex. As a result, in the
years after that earlier crisis, the FDIC adopted a resolution strategy that focused on selling
the assets back into the private sector promptly, either at resolution or shortly thereafter.
This strategy was chosen because for senior FDIC staff, an important lesson of the 1980–
1994 crisis was that prompt sales of failed-bank assets were advantageous to the FDIC, for
four reasons. First, in the early years of the RTC, and to a lesser extent at the FDIC during
the 1980s, there was an increasingly large inventory of assets—especially troubled assets—
in receiverships. With such a large build-up of assets that eventually would be sold (also
known as an “asset overhang”), private investors were concerned that the eventual sale of
these assets might harm future asset prices; thus they were less willing to purchase the
assets.14 Senior management believed that, by selling failed banks and failed-bank assets
through mechanisms like loss-share agreements into the market at whatever terms the
13

The RTC was a temporary government agency charged with resolving failed thrifts from August 1989
through year-end 1995. The FDIC’s role in the management of the RTC changed over time. From the
inception of the RTC through the passage of the RTC Refinancing, Restructuring and Improvement Act
in December 1991, the FDIC was the exclusive manager. The FDIC had a lesser role in the management
of the RTC after that, but the FDIC Chairman continued to serve in an oversight role. In addition, the
RTC Completion Act of 1993, passed in December 1993, required that the FDIC and the RTC create a
task force to support the transition of the outstanding RTC tasks to the FDIC; it identified and analyzed
differences in business practices and made recommendations about RTC practices that should be adopted
by the FDIC. See FDIC, “Final Report on the FDIC/RTC Transition” submitted to the Committee on
Banking and Financial Services, U.S. House of Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing
and Urban Affairs, U.S. Senate, December 29, 1995. Lastly, the remaining workload and the RTC
employees were absorbed by the FDIC when the RTC was terminated at the end of 1995. For additional
discussion on the FDIC authority, see Lee K. Davison, “The Resolution Trust Corporation and Congress,
1989–1993: Part I,” FDIC Banking Review 18, no. 2 (2006): 38–60, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
banking/2006sep/article2/article2.pdf, and Lee K. Davison, “The Resolution Trust Corporation and
Congress, 1989–1993: Part II,” FDIC Banking Review 18, no. 3 (2006): 1–30, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/
analytical/banking/2007apr/br18n3full.pdf. For information about the FDIC and RTC resolution and
receivership activity during this period, see FDIC, Managing the Crisis: The FDIC and RTC Experience
(1998), https://www.fdic.gov/bank/historical/managing, and RTC, RTC Statistical Abstract (1995).

14

For additional discussion of asset overhangs, see Jeffrey D. Sachs, “Conditionality, Debt Relief, and the
Developing Country Debt Crisis,” in Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance, ed. Jeffrey D.
Sachs, vol. 1, The International Financial System (1989), 255–96; Kent Cherny and O. Emre Ergungor,
“Effective Practices in Crisis Resolution and the Case of Sweden,” Economic Commentary (February 2009):
1–4, https://www.clevelandfed.org/newsroom-and-events/publications/economic-commentary/economiccommentary-archives/2009-economic-commentaries/ec-20090209-effective-practices-in-crisis-resolutionand-the-case-of-sweden.aspx and FDIC, Resolutions Handbook (1998).

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

market would bear, the sales would establish market prices, which in turn would foster
the recovery of asset markets by providing transparent market prices to other market
participants. Second, prompt sales helped reduce asset inventories and thus reduced
receivership expenses. Third, removing the FDIC as the primary custodian of a large
volume of banking assets is operationally simpler for the Corporation, requiring a smaller
infrastructure and reducing the potential political pressures that the asset management
function may elicit.15 Fourth, this strategy conserved the FDIC’s cash (a consideration that
was important after the 2008–2013 crisis broke, as described in chapter 5).
A second lesson learned from the crisis of 1980 through 1994 was to avoid hiring
permanent staff to do temporary work. After that crisis ended, the process of downsizing
the permanent resolution and receivership staff that had been hired in the 1980s was
lengthy, disruptive, hard to manage, and harmful to employee morale.16
Staffing was reduced during the period between 1994 and 2008, when bank failures
were rare and the need for resolution activities at the FDIC was limited. Seeking to be a
responsible steward of the DIF, the FDIC controlled its operating expenses to reflect its
reduced workload. It sought to achieve a balance between maintaining readiness for a
future economic downturn, on the one hand, and minimizing costs (by maintaining a
smaller staff and a slimmer infrastructure during a period of few failures), on the other
hand. By reducing the number of employees, the FDIC recognized the risk that it might be
initially understaffed if a large number of institutions failed during a short period, but it
accepted this risk because the probability of such an event seemed remote.

Readiness Planning

Nevertheless, the FDIC remained aware that a potential banking crisis always lay on the
horizon, however distant. Starting in 1999, in response to increasing concentration in the
banking industry, the FDIC took several actions that focused on readiness for large-bank
failures. Starting in the early 2000s, in response to its shrinking resolutions workload and
staff, the FDIC began focusing on resolution readiness planning more generally, taking
several initiatives to improve its readiness for an increasing volume of failures.
The actions that focused on readiness for large-bank failures included (a) analyzing
numerous topics related to large-bank failures in order to become more familiar with the
problems that could arise; (b) becoming familiar with relevant statutes and regulations to
identify changes needed to improve the Corporation’s readiness; (c) identifying the likely
operating challenges and potential responses to them; and (d) conducting simulation
exercises where staff attempted to respond to scenarios involving hypothetical large-bank
15

For example, during the 1980–1994 crisis, the FDIC received complaints or requests for more generous
treatment of borrowers. For additional discussion, see L. William Seidman, Full Faith and Credit: The Great
S&L Debacle and Other Washington Sagas (1993); and FDIC, Resolutions Handbook (1998).

16

For additional discussion, see John F. Bovenzi, Inside the FDIC: Thirty Years of Bank Failures, Bailouts, and
Regulatory Battles (2015).

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

181

failures. To ensure strong communication with other banking regulators and a common
understanding of the related issues, the FDIC discussed its findings with other regulators,
and in some cases included other regulators in the simulation exercises. These exercises
led the FDIC to promulgate several regulations that would improve its readiness for
large-bank failures: the new regulations clarified the standing of bank creditors in the
event of failure;17 increased the Corporation’s capacity to provide insured depositors with
prompt access to their funds after failure;18 and increased the Corporation’s capacity to
quickly acquire critical information on qualified financial contracts.19 The exercises also
led to improvements in the Corporation’s processes for management reporting and for
determining the insurance status of deposit accounts.
Among the initiatives that focused on readiness for a large volume of failures was
the Corporate Employee Program (CEP), whose purpose was to train both new and
experienced FDIC employees in a variety of functions within the organization, with the
goal of creating a flexible workforce that could be redistributed depending on economic
conditions and levels of resolution activity. If a significant increase in resolution
activity occurred, the Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR) would have first
priority in using employees trained under the CEP.20 A second initiative, taken in 2005,
was to sign a Memorandum of Understanding with the federal government’s Office
of Personnel Management that authorized the FDIC, during crisis periods, to waive
certain restrictions on rehiring retirees.
The events in the fall of 2008, however, were more severe than the FDIC’s planning efforts
had envisioned, and—of particular importance—unfolded more quickly than envisioned.

The Dimensions of the Banking Crisis of 2008–2013
After more than a decade of modest failure activity and no failures at all from mid-2004
to February 2007, the banking industry was gripped by crisis from 2008 through 2013.
During those years, 489 banks were closed and the FDIC, the Treasury, and the Federal
Reserve used systemic risk exceptions to mitigate the serious adverse effects associated
17

12 C.F.R. § 360.8. See also 74 Fed. Reg. 5797–5807 (Feb. 2, 2009). Most, but not all, of this rule addressed
processing complexities associated with sweep accounts. This clarification provided certainty to banks and
creditors about how these accounts would be treated if a bank failed.

18

The complexity of the FDIC’s deposit insurance rules can make it hard for the Corporation simultaneously
to provide quick access to insured funds and deny immediate access to uninsured funds. See 12 C.F.R. §
360.9. See also 73 Fed. Reg. 41180-41211 (Jul. 17, 2008).

19

A qualified financial contract is a financial instrument that qualifies for special treatment if a bank fails.
See 12 C.F.R. § 360.5 for a detailed definition. See 12 C.F.R. pt. 371 for the rule made to improve the FDIC’s
access to information. See also 73 Fed. Reg. 78162-78173 (Dec. 22, 2008).

20

For additional discussion, see U.S. Government Accountability Office, “Human Capital and Risk Assessment
Programs Report,” GAO-07-255, 2007, https://www.gao.gov/assets/260/256532.pdf.

182

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

with the potential failure of a few large, systemically important banks (see chapter 3).21 The
489 failed banks held $686 billion in assets and, according to the most recent estimates,
cost the FDIC $72.5 billion to resolve. Although in the first year of the crisis (2008) only 24
banks were resolved, one of them was IndyMac, a large California thrift that failed suddenly
on July 8 and proved to be the most expensive failure in FDIC history (that is, at a cost of
$12.4 billion, it cost the FDIC the most to resolve); and another of the 2008 failures was
Washington Mutual, the largest thrift (and the sixth-largest FDIC-insured institution) in
the country at the time, which failed on September 25 and, with $307 billion in assets, was
the largest bank failure in the history of the FDIC. In the years following 2008, the dollar
amount of failed-bank assets declined but the number of resolutions increased, going to
139 in 2009 and peaking at 159 in 2010. Figure 6.1 provides the number of bank resolutions
by year, and Figure 6.2 provides failed-bank assets by year of resolution. (Note that, for a
few banks, the resolution occurred sometime after the bank failed.)22
Figure 6.1. Number of FDIC Bank Resolutions by Year
180
159

160
139

140
120
100

92

80
60

51

40
20
0

24

24

2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

2013

21

For details about the origins of the global financial crisis that erupted in 2007, see chapter 1.

22

In these cases, a bridge bank was formed when the bank failed. (Bridge banks are explained in note 24 and
in the associated text.) As shown in Table 4.1 (in chapter 4), the number of failures matched the number of
resolutions from 2011 through 2013. There were 25 failures but 24 resolutions in 2008, 140 failures but 139
resolutions in 2009, and 157 failures but 159 resolutions in 2010. IndyMac failed in 2008 and was resolved in
2009. Silverton Bank and Independent Banker’s Bank failed in 2009 and were resolved in 2010.

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Figure 6.2. Total Assets of Failed Banks by Year of Resolution
Billions of Dollars
400
350

$341.2

300
250
$195.7

200
150

$96.8

100
50
0

$34.9
2008

2009

2010

2011

$11.6

$6.0

2012

2013

Note: Assets are as of the quarter before failure.

Five of the seven largest banks that failed between 2008 and 2013 had invested heavily
in riskier forms of single-family mortgages, whereas many of the smaller failed banks
held significant portfolios of commercial real estate (CRE) loans, especially acquisition,
development, and construction (ADC) loans.23 The two states with the most failures
were Georgia (87 bank failures, or 24.6 percent of Georgia banks as of year-end 2007)
and Florida (70 bank failures, or 21.8 percent). Puerto Rico was also hit hard, for the
three banks that failed in Puerto Rico, though a small number, constituted 30 percent of
the banks in that territory.
Meeting the challenge of resolving 489 banks in six years began with franchise
marketing. The next section explains franchise marketing: the bidding process and the
several resolution options available. The subsequent section tells the story of the FDIC’s
franchise marketing efforts during the six crisis years, highlighting the necessary tradeoffs and constraints.

23

As of the quarter-end date before failure, single-family loans constituted 74 percent of total loans at the
seven largest closed banks, but only 22 percent for the remaining 482 banks. For additional information on
the lending practices that contributed to bank failures, see chapter 4 and U.S. Government Accountability
Office, “Causes and Consequences of Recent Bank Failures,” GAO-13-71, 2013, https://www.gao.gov/
assets/660/651154.pdf.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Franchise Marketing: The Bidding Process and Resolution Options
As noted above, when a bank approaches failure, the FDIC prepares to resolve the bank
by seeking an acquirer so that as many of the bank’s assets and liabilities as possible can
be sold to the acquirer instead of remaining in the receivership created on the failure
date. In seeking an acquirer—that is, in marketing and selling a failing-bank franchise—
the FDIC uses a bidding process that is expected to lead to one of the following
outcomes, although the expectation is not always fulfilled: a basic purchase of assets
and an assumption of liabilities (P&A), a whole-bank P&A, a loss-share P&A, or various
combinations of the P&A options, including a P&A with loan pools. (These options are
described in the next section.) If there are no bids, or if all the bids are more costly than
a payout, the FDIC does a payout (also called a liquidation); in a payout, the FDIC pays
all insured depositors at failure and then receives funds from asset sales gradually over
time. (For the advantages and disadvantages of using a payout, see the box on page 185.)
In addition, there are two other alternatives that are permitted by the Federal
Deposit Insurance Act and were occasionally, though infrequently, used. One is to
resolve a failed institution by organizing a new insured depository institution called a
“bridge bank.”24 A bridge bank is typically used when the FDIC does not have enough
time to effectively market the institution to a third party before failure. The assets and
liabilities are placed in receivership, a bridge bank is established, and then selected
assets and liabilities are moved into the bridge bank. The bridge bank is allowed to
continue normal operations before the final resolution.25 The other infrequently used
alternative granted to the FDIC by the FDI Act is to organize a Deposit Insurance
National Bank (DINB). A DINB is a form of payout where the deposit accounts are
transferred to a newly chartered temporary bank operated by the FDIC. It is similar
to a bridge bank, but its operations are more limited,26 and its purpose is to ensure
that depositors have continued access to their insured deposits as they transfer their
deposit accounts to other financial institutions.
In seeking potential buyers for failed-bank franchises, the FDIC must take financing
into consideration. As noted below in the discussion of the bidding process, either the
FDIC or the acquirer may contribute cash at resolution, depending on whether an

24

A bridge bank is a temporary national bank operated by the FDIC to facilitate the resolution of an insured
institution. Certain requirements for private-sector banks are waived for bridge banks (such as capital
requirements). The life of a bridge bank is normally limited to two years. Although extensions are permitted,
the FDIC has never pursued one.

25

The FDIC routinely replaces the failed bank’s senior management and may curtail or shut down any segment
of the bank’s operations that it chooses (for example, lending operations that contributed to the bank’s
failure).

26

For example, loans cannot be originated. Loans are not transferred into the DINB but are retained in
receivership for disposition.

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185

acquirer buys more assets than liabilities, more liabilities than assets, or equal amounts
of both. As a result, resolution choices have a large influence on the FDIC’s cash
position, which was under pressure during the early stages of the crisis. (See chapter 5
for additional discussion.)

Advantages and Disadvantages of Using a Payout

A payout requires extensive resources for managing and selling all the assets after
the bank fails. The up-front cash needs for the payout are greater than for any of the
P&A options and include both capital and working capital. In addition, a payout is
the resolution method that causes the most disruption to the bank’s customers and
the local economy: all relationships are lost, and depositors abruptly (but only briefly)
lose access to their funds.a
In terms of pricing, the payout has both advantages and disadvantages for the
FDIC. Advantages include additional time for due diligence (that is, evaluating the
assets, legal questions, and so forth) and marketing; the ability to publicly announce
sales initiatives; and a more extensive bidder pool for asset sales that is not limited
to FDIC-insured institutions. On the other hand, the bank’s franchise value (if any)
is lost and, in addition, transaction costs are higher, not only because the assets
and liabilities undergo at least two transfers of ownership (from the failed bank to
the FDIC, and from the FDIC to the ultimate buyer) but also because receivership
management costs are greater.
If the FDIC had used this transaction extensively during the recent crisis, two
additional problems could have arisen. First, the resulting strains on the FDIC’s
operating capacity could well have harmed prices because of deteriorating assetservicing quality. Second, the volume of assets held by the FDIC could have been
large enough to affect market prices.
From an overall perspective, the payout option is always available but is often the
more costly approach.
a

Unless a DINB or a paying agent is established, both insured and uninsured depositors lose access
to funds briefly. The FDIC almost always mails checks to most of the insured depositors by Monday
or Tuesday (following a Friday failure). Checks that were written by depositors shortly before
failure, but that had not cleared as of the failure date, are returned. All automated transactions
scheduled for after the failure date are not executed.

The Bidding Process

In the franchise marketing bidding process, the FDIC offers one or more options to
potential acquirers, and under each option, potential acquirers are invited to take either
insured deposits only or all deposits. In some cases, the FDIC excludes from its offerings
some or all of the brokered deposits (that is, deposits provided to the bank by a deposit

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

broker). (For a discussion of the role of brokered deposits in resolutions, see the box on
noncore funding and franchise value in the section below titled “Resolution Options.”)
In addition, potential acquirers can submit bids that do not conform to the FDIC’s
offerings. The FDIC considers all bids, even those that do not conform to its offerings.
The FDIC is required by law to accept the least-cost bid (see box on page 188 for details,
including conditions under which there may be an exception to the least-cost requirement).
The FDIC is also required by law to observe certain time periods for appointing a
receiver for a failing bank, which has implications for the timeline for marketing a failing
bank. If a bank is failing because it becomes critically undercapitalized, the Prompt
Corrective Action provision of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement
Act of 1991 (FDICIA) mandates a hard stop of 90 days before the bank is closed—90 days
after the bank’s capital breaches the threshold.27 Theoretically the FDIC can prepare for
a failure before that clock starts running, but in practice it rarely collects the detailed
data needed for a thorough evaluation of the assets that supports the marketing
process until after the bank becomes critically undercapitalized. And if the bank fails
for some other reason, such as fraud or liquidity problems,28 the FDIC has far fewer
than 90 days to prepare. These timing restrictions may make it difficult for the FDIC to
collect good-quality information when it sells failed banks and for potential bidders to
perform comprehensive due diligence. Researchers have found that sellers who provide
better information about their products receive better prices,29 and therefore the timing
restrictions may affect the prices that acquirers are willing to pay. In comparison, almost
no private-sector mergers and acquisitions are performed with that speed. They usually
take much more time, and in almost all cases the parties have the option of deciding not
to sell if they do not like the price.

27

FDIC, Resolutions Handbook (2014), figure 2 (on page 9) provides a typical resolution timeline. The FDIC
is permitted to extend the time frame by up to 180 days if it determines, in writing, that a brief delay would
reduce the loss to the DIF. See Section 38 of the FDI Act. This exception has been used occasionally to
facilitate a private-sector rescue of a bank, but not to facilitate the closing of a bank.

28

Liquidity problems occur when a bank lacks the cash needed to pay depositors or other creditors.

29

For examples related to the importance of information in bank resolution, see Larry Benveniste et al,
“Contract Design for Problem Asset Disposition,” Journal of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics
Association 22, no. 1 (1994): 149–67; and Stephan Madaus, “Bank Failure and Pre-Emptive Planning: The
Special Requirements of a Bank Resolution and a ‘Default Resolution Option,’” Working Paper, 2013, https://
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2277452. For examples that relate the value of information to
asset sale prices, see Sudhir Nanda, James E. Owens, and Ronald C. Rogers, “An Analysis of Resolution Trust
Corporation Transactions: Auction Market Process and Pricing,” Real Estate Economics 25, no. 2 (1997):
271–94; Joao Granja, “The Relation between Bank Resolution and Information Environment: Evidence from
the Auctions for Failed Banks,” Journal of Accounting Research 51, no. 5 (December 2013): 1031–70; and
James A. Berkovec, John J. Mingo, and Xeuchun Zhang, “Premiums in Private versus Public Bank Branch
Sales,” Federal Reserve Board’s Finance and Economic Discussion Series Working Paper, 1997, https://www.
federalreserve.gov/pubs/feds/1997/199733/199733pap.pdf.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

187

As for the bidding process itself, the details have changed over time but the basic idea
is always that an acquirer tells the FDIC what assets and liabilities from the failed bank
it is willing to take,30 as well as what (if any) money will change hands. Each acquirer
essentially asks for the amount of additional cash that it wants. If, for example, the value
of the assets bought by an acquirer exactly offsets the liabilities assumed, the bidder may
not ask for any FDIC payment. But if the value of the liabilities exceeds the value of the
assets (if, in other words, there is a capital shortfall), the acquirer will usually want cash.
Sometimes the acquirer is willing to take less cash—perhaps because it believes it will
be able to manage the bank in a way that gives it a high return at that price, or because
the failed bank fits its business strategy well and the acquirer is afraid someone else will
offer a lower bid. At other times, an offeror may demand more cash—perhaps because it
wants a higher profit margin. And if the value of the assets purchased exceeds the value
of the liabilities assumed, the acquirer will generally pay the FDIC.31 (See box on page
194 for a discussion of financing for the aquirer.)
Once the FDIC receives all the bids, it performs the least-cost test analysis and
determines which acquirer—and which transaction—is the winner, and that is the
transaction that the FDIC executes. As noted above, if there are no bids that cost less
than a liquidation, the FDIC chooses the liquidation. Bids usually do not come in until
about a week before the resolution date, and it is only after the FDIC receives the bids
and estimates the related costs that the Corporation knows which is the winning bid or
discovers that it will be liquidating the bank.
As a result of the marketing process, the FDIC knows who is likely to bid, but
sometimes a bidder that showed strong interest may back out at the end, or a bidder who
showed only lukewarm interest may end up submitting the winning bid. Furthermore,
there is a vetting process, so the winning bidder is always on a pre-approved list of
banks that are permitted to bid.32

30

This is usually accomplished by bidding on an FDIC offering that stipulates the liabilities to be assumed and
the assets to be purchased. As mentioned above, however, the bidder can submit bids that do not conform to
the FDIC’s offerings.

31

For example, this might occur if the acquirer takes all the bank’s assets but does not take the brokered
deposits. In this case, the FDIC will pay the brokered deposits directly. Note that the FDIC’s funding
requirements for a failed bank are not necessarily the same as the amount of funds provided to the acquirer
at resolution (there are often funding requirements related to those assets and liabilities that remain in the
receivership).

32

As discussed below (in the section titled “Private Equity Acquirers”), some firms were allowed to create a
new bank charter to acquire a failed bank. These firms also underwent a vetting process.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The Least-Cost Test

The least-cost requirement is a statutory standard applied to the resolution of failing
banks under the FDI Act, as amended in 1991 by FDICIA.ª As a general rule, it requires
that the FDIC determine, after any bids for a failing bank are received, whether any
of those bids would impose a lesser cost on the DIF than a payout of insured deposits
and associated liquidation of the failed bank's assets. If more than one bid qualifies,
then the bid presenting the least cost to the DIF is accepted. The least-cost test is
applied separately to every bank failure.b In addition, the FDIC is legally permitted to
liquidate a bank even if liquidation is not the least-cost alternative.
The FDIC uses its experience to determine what the market will bear and its
knowledge of the bank to design offerings for the failed-bank auction. Qualified
acquirers can submit bids that do not conform to the FDIC’s offerings. All bids
must be analyzed for the least-cost test, including those that do not conform
to the FDIC’s offerings. A bid can be rejected if the cost of the bid cannot be
estimated. Furthermore, a bid can be rejected even if it meets the least-cost test if
(a) the transaction is impossible to execute, or (b) the bid failed to meet various
regulatory requirements, or (c) the FDIC believes the resulting institution would
be unsafe and unsound.
a

See https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/1000-1500.html for details. An exception is permitted
for systemic risk. For the banks discussed in this chapter, however, the systemic risk exception was
not used. (On use of the systemic risk exception during the crisis of 2008 to 2013, see chapters 2
and 3.)

b

The FDIC faces additional statutory constraints related to its funding options and receivership
operations. For a complete list of these constraints, see https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/rules/.

Resolution Options

As noted above, the franchise marketing process is expected to lead to some form or
variant of a purchase and assumption (P&A) transaction, although in fact there may be
no bidder, or no viable bid, and in either of those cases, the FDIC will liquidate the bank,
as explained above. The four forms of a P&A transaction are the basic P&A, the wholebank P&A, the loss-share P&A, and the P&A with loan pools. Table 6.2 defines each of
these options, which are discussed in more detail on page 189.

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CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

Table 6.2. Common P&A Transactions
Basic P&A

The acquiring institution assumes deposits and generally purchases only the failed
institution’s cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities.

Whole-Bank
P&A

The acquiring institution assumes deposits and purchases all—or almost all—of the
assets of the failed institution on an “as is” discounted basis (with no guarantees).

Loss-Share P&A

The acquiring institution assumes deposits and purchases assets of the failed institution
beyond those acquired in a basic P&A, and the FDIC as receiver agrees to share losses
on certain types of assets (up to an established limit) with the acquiring institution. In
most cases, this agreement is very similar to the whole-bank P&A except for the losssharing provision on some of the assets purchased.

P&A with Loan
Pools (and Other
Combinations)

For loan pools, the acquiring institution assumes deposits and purchases the failed
institution’s cash, cash equivalents, marketable securities, and pools (groups) of loans
or other assets. Bids are submitted and evaluated separately for each loan pool.
Alternatively, the FDIC may effectively combine these options. For example, the FDIC
may offer deposits, cash, securities, and single-family mortgages, plus a separate loan
a

pool for all other consumer loans (thus, ORE [other real estate] and commercial loans
are excluded). Two other examples of frequently used combinations are (1) a wholebank offering, except with pools for ORE and ADC loans; and (2) a mix of options
across multiple banks that are all scheduled to fail on the same date.
a

ORE is real estate that is not used by the bank for its normal operations, and comprises primarily real
estate that the bank owns because of a foreclosure on loan collateral.

Basic Purchase and Assumption. In a basic P&A, the deposits,33 cash, and low-risk
securities of the failed bank are passed to an acquirer, and the remaining assets are
retained in the receivership. The FDIC provides cash in accordance with the winning
bid; the amount of the cash roughly equals the difference between the deposits and the
market value of the assets of the failed bank that were purchased by the acquirer. This
resolution method offers two benefits compared with a liquidation. First, it allows at least
some of the bank’s deposit franchise value to be retained (on franchise value, see box on
page 190). Second, there is less disruption because depositors receive continuous deposit
processing services. During the crisis, many potential acquirers were not interested in a
basic P&A because consumer demand for insured deposits was high (thus they could
readily find deposits by other means) and they saw few opportunities to invest the cash
promptly and meet their required return.

33

This can be either all deposits or only insured deposits. Some or all brokered deposits may be excluded as
well.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Noncore Funding and Franchise Value

Many banks that failed funded their operations by using brokered deposits, Internet
deposits, repurchase agreements, and Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) advances—
collectively, noncore funding— but these funds rarely contributed to franchise value.
In all, the banks that failed between 2008 and 2013 held higher levels of brokered
deposits and FHLB advances than healthier banks. In terms of dollars, failed banks
held $44.6 billion in brokered deposits (9.8% of all failed-bank deposits) and $14.5
billion in Internet deposits (3.2%) at failure. In terms of number of banks, 386 failed
banks (79%) held brokered deposits, 279 (57%) held Internet deposits, and 248 (51%)
held both brokered and Internet deposits. Acquiring banks usually had no interest in
these deposits: whereas 97% of nonbrokered deposits were assumed by other banks
a
at failure, only 20% of brokered deposits were assumed.
As of the quarter before failure, 337 failed banks (69%) held FHLB advances.
Excluding Washington Mutual, FHLB advances constituted 13.3% of failed-bank
liabilities.b FHLB advances sometimes reduced the value of the failed banks even more
than brokered deposits did because of prepayment fees, high overcollateralization
rates,c and concerns that the FHLB advances did not fit into the acquirers’ asset
liability management plans.
a

Starting in April 2009, the FDIC generally did not include in its resolution offerings the brokered
deposits that were processed by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation (a clearing and
settlement company). The FDIC usually did include other types of brokered deposits.

b

Including Washington Mutual, the percentage increases to 16.5%.

c

Overcollateralization occurs when the assets that are pledged to secure the debt exceed the amount
of debt issued. FHLBs sometimes increase the required levels of overcollateralization as bank health
declines, and in some cases, FHLBs required a “blanket” lien that encompassed all the bank’s assets.

Whole-Bank Purchase and Assumption. The whole-bank P&A is what its name implies:
essentially all the bank’s assets and all its liabilities are bought by the acquirer. This
transaction minimizes market disruption and requires fewer staff to execute than
transactions where the FDIC retains more assets. It also conserves cash for the FDIC,
because although the FDIC provides cash up front to address the capital shortfall, the
assets and deposits are sold together and therefore there are minimal ongoing working
capital needs. Because of uncertainty about the value of the failed-bank assets, the wholebank option was rarely cost-effective at the height of the crisis: the risk premiums
demanded by potential acquirers were simply too great. As the crisis abated and asset risk
premiums fell, the whole-bank option became more attractive. Even during good times,
however, one implication of this option is that the pool of bidders is limited to healthy
FDIC-insured institutions (deposits can be sold only to FDIC-insured banks). Nonbank
bidders are unable to bid on the assets even if they want to purchase them (the restricted

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191

competition could reduce prices) and even though nonbank bidders frequently offer the
highest bids for retained asset sales. In addition, bidders are expected to take almost all the
assets even if they would prefer to take only a subset.34 Some studies have argued that the
whole-bank option may not be cost-effective because the best acquirer for the troubled
assets may not be the same party as the best acquirer for the performing assets.35 In
addition, the lack of adequate time to perform due diligence (because of the brevity of the
marketing period) may increase an acquirer’s perception of asset risk and thus reduce the
price that the acquirer is willing to pay.
Loss-Share Purchase and Assumption. A loss-share P&A is very similar to the whole-bank
P&A except that the FDIC, as receiver, agrees to share losses on certain types of assets (up
to an established limit).36 See the box on page 192 for an example. Like the whole-bank
transaction, the loss-share P&A minimizes disruptions to the bank’s customers and the
local community, and conserves cash for the FDIC. In terms of staffing, the loss-share
option requires more resources than the whole-bank option (in order to monitor the lossshare agreements after the bank fails) but substantially fewer resources than a basic P&A
(or, for that matter, than a payout). Depending on circumstances, the effects of loss share
on the pricing of the failed-bank franchise may vary. During periods of distress when asset
values become highly uncertain, loss share offers clear advantages: the FDIC retains much
of the risk exposure and therefore loss share may improve franchise sale prices; it allows
the FDIC to tap the government’s comparative advantage in absorbing large risks;37 and it
enables the FDIC to participate in asset price improvements after banks fail (by reducing
loss share payments).38 However, loss share is like whole-bank P&A in two respects: it
34

In this situation, the bids may incorporate low estimates of asset value for the unwanted assets.

35

Roger Kormendi et al., Crisis Resolution in the Thrift Industry (1989), and FDIC, “FDIC Policies for the
Resolution Trust Corporation,” Draft White Paper, S&L Study Group, 1989, recommend that good assets
and troubled assets be sold separately.

36

The FDIC in its corporate capacity acts as a backstop as well.

37

This comparative advantage has been explored in insurance markets. Insurance companies in the private
sector must hold capital (which is costly) to protect themselves from bankruptcy if large adverse events (such
as major hurricanes) occur. To protect themselves from bankruptcy, the companies sometimes purchase
re-insurance or catastrophe insurance. The price for insuring against large but unlikely risks is substantially
higher than expected losses. As the size of the loss exposure increases and the likelihood of occurrence
decreases, the ratio of insurance cost (for re-insurance or catastrophe insurance) to expected losses tends
to increase exponentially. On the other hand, the federal government is a much larger entity and can more
easily go into debt or increase taxes to cover large unexpected risks. For additional discussion, see Kenneth
A. Froot, “The Market for Catastrophe Risk: A Clinical Examination,” Journal of Financial Economics 60
(2001): 529–71, and Morton Lane and Olivier Mahul, “Catastrophe Risk Pricing,” World Bank Policy
Research Working Paper 4765, 2008, https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/handle/10986/6900/
WPS4765.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y.

38

In addition, it could increase “true-up” payments, which are described later in the section titled “Evolution
of FDIC Franchise Sale Offerings.”

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

limits the pool of potential bidders to healthy banks, with the result that the restricted
competition could reduce prices, and it asks bidders to purchase almost all the assets and
deposits, even if their preference is to purchase only a subset of the failed bank’s assets.
Some researchers have recommended loss share because the government is better
positioned to absorb large risks than the private sector and because it helps address the
lack of comprehensive information at resolution (on the part of both the FDIC and the
acquirer) caused by the short duration of the marketing period.39 In addition, the FDIC’s
experience with loss share in the early 1990s was positive.40

Example of Loss-Share Purchase and Assumption

Assume a failing bank that holds $100 in assets and $100 in liabilities. All liabilities
are insured deposits. The FDIC offers a whole-bank resolution with 80 percent
loss-share coverage on the loan portfolio, which makes up 70 percent of the assets.
The loss-share coverage is based on the book value of the loans ($70), and it covers
some—but not all—of the expenses associated with managing the loans.
The acquirer submits a $7 discount bid. The FDIC pays the acquirer $7 at resolution.
The acquirer collects $50 on the loans (net of expenses covered under the agreement)
over time, so that $20 in asset losses ($70 book value minus $50 net asset recovery) are
incurred and covered by the agreement. The FDIC pays the acquirer $16 (80 percent
of $20) to cover its share of the loss. The acquirer pays the other $4 (20 percent of $20),
plus any other costs that are not covered by the loss-share agreement.
Note that, in the bidding process, the acquirer with the smallest discount bid
wins (assuming that all other aspects of the bid are the same). The discount does
a
not influence the calculation of the loss-share payments.
a

This is a simplified example. See https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/ for
additional discussion and https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/bankofmiami-p-and-a.pdf
for an example of an agreement that includes details about the loss-share coverage.

39

See the section below titled “The Bidding Process” for additional discussion of the marketing period.
Larry Benveniste et al., “Contract Design for Problem Asset Disposition,” Journal of the American Real
Estate and Urban Economics Association 22, no. 1(1994): 149–67, suggested—as support for the use of
risk-sharing choices for failed-bank resolutions—that governments were better placed to absorb large
risks than the private sector. Mark Speigel, “The Disposition of Failed Japanese Bank Assets: Lessons from
the U.S. Savings and Loan Crisis,” FRBSF Economic Review (2002): 1–15, https://www.frbsf.org/economicresearch/files/article1-2.pdf, suggests loss share as a way to overcome information shortages at resolution.
FDIC, “Study of Purchase and Assumption Transactions,” Unpublished Manuscript, Office of Corporate
Planning, 1977, recommends risk-sharing as a response to inadequate information at resolution. FDIC,
“FDIC Policies for the Resolution Trust Corporation,” Draft White Paper, S&L Study Group, 1989, suggests
gain-sharing for both reasons.

40

FDIC, Managing the Crisis: The FDIC and RTC Experience (1998), 193–205, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/
historical/managing.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

193

Loan Pools and Other Combinations of the Basic Options. The FDIC can also offer
numerous combinations of the basic options. One commonly used option, called “loan
pools,” is to group the assets of the failed bank into homogeneous pools at resolution,
ask bidders to submit separate bids for each pool (and for deposits), and allow bidders
to “link” bids, that is, allow them to set requirements for the minimum combination
of assets and deposits that they will accept. Another combination is to simply exclude
certain assets or liabilities from the initial franchise offering and sell them later. For
example, distressed assets could be retained in the receivership so that they could be
offered later to both bank and nonbank bidders.
A key benefit of these options is that they more easily attract bidders that are interested
in some—but not all—of the assets. In addition, bidders that are willing to bid for the
whole bank but that place very little value on certain types of assets held by the failed
bank might offer better prices. However, compared with whole-bank offerings (with and
without loss share), these options are harder to execute, especially if the FDIC’s operational
capacity is poorly positioned to manage the tasks needed to execute the transaction. In
addition, these options often require more cash and may be more disruptive to bank
customers and the local economy than the whole-bank options.41
Theoretically, these options could be extended to allow asset workout companies (that
is, companies that specialize in managing and selling delinquent loans and/or troubled
real estate) or other nonbank firms to bid on the assets—but not the deposits—of
the failed bank at resolution. Although this approach offers significant advantages by
enlarging the pool of potential bidders for failed-bank assets, it also entails substantial
operational challenges because of the very brief marketing period for failed banks and
concerns about confidentiality.
Yet another variation is to market assets and deposits from multiple banks at the
same time. Some analysts have recommended this approach as a way to improve bidder
interest and, potentially, prices.42 Both theory and the FDIC’s experience indicate that
the use of linked bids across multiple failed banks is effective and should be considered
when circumstances allow.
In summary, the various options for combining types of resolution offer the potential
for lower costs because the number of potential bidders is greater and bidders can more
easily limit their purchases to the types of assets they most desire. However, these options
generally require more FDIC resources (both staff and time) and are harder to execute
41

FDIC, “FDIC Policies for the RTC,” recommended holding back troubled assets from the initial resolution
offering to improve prices. Offering troubled assets as a separate loan pool accomplishes the same objective.
Roger Kormendi et al., Crisis Resolution, also suggested that troubled loans be sold separately. The principles
espoused in Edward J. Kane, “Principal-Agent Problems in S&L Salvage,” Journal of Finance 45, no. 3 (1990):
57–61, also support this approach (although Kane does not specifically recommend it).

42

FDIC, “FDIC Policies for the RTC,” recommends linked bids. Donald R. Fraser and Hag Zhang, “Package
Bidding in Thrift Resolutions,” Journal of Financial Services Research 11, no. 3 (1997): 283–94, and Office of
Management and Budget, “Resolving the Thrift Crisis,” 1993, xiv, suggest combining thrifts for sale.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

than the whole-bank options. In addition, the extent of working capital requirements is
less predictable, as are the need for staff and the possibility of market disruption.

Financing for the Acquirer (Seller Financing)

In some cases, acquirers owed the FDIC money at resolution. This situation arose
whenever the acquirer purchased assets from the failed bank that were worth more
a
than the liabilities that they assumed from the failed bank. In this case, it might be
beneficial for the FDIC to offer to finance some or all of the acquirer’s contribution,
potentially improving the bid price, the availability of bidders, or both.
The FDIC provided seller financing to failed-bank acquirers several times in the
1970s as a way to improve demand and expand the bidder pool for failed banks.b
The FDIC also used seller financing for three resolutions during the recent crisis:
the Puerto Rico banks that failed in April 2010. Only a few potential acquirers
had expressed an interest in acquiring the Puerto Rico banks, and the FDIC was
concerned that some of the acquirers lacked the liquidity necessary for a successful
acquisition. In all three cases, the acquirers purchased substantially more assets
c
than the deposits they assumed. Without seller financing, the acquirers would
have needed to bring substantial amounts of cash to close the deals.
a

This usually occurred when the acquirer purchased most or all of the assets but did not assume all
the deposits—frequently in cases where a substantial amount of brokered deposits were retained
in the receivership, or where the acquirer purchased only asset pools. For example, if the acquirer
purchased $100 in assets and assumed $60 in liabilities, it would owe the FDIC $40 at resolution.
Note that asset values incorporate the bid price demanded by the acquirer.

b

FDIC, “Study of Purchase and Assumption Transactions,” Unpublished Manuscript, Office of
Corporate Planning, 1977.

c

All three failed banks had large amounts of brokered deposits that were, for the most part, not
assumed by the acquirers. For example, Banco Popular purchased $9.2 billion in assets from
Westernbank but assumed only $2.4 billion in liabilities, so assets exceeded liabilities by $6.7
billion. The FDIC provided $5.8 billion in seller financing to close the transaction.

Franchise Marketing during the Crisis
From 2008 through 2013, the franchise marketing process evolved as conditions
changed. Resolution staff were operating under constant pressure amid great
uncertainty, and they had to consider multiple trade-offs in the light of competing
goals and objectives. Discussed in this section are the options they chose and the
changes they made over time; the role played by bridge banks; the role played by
the opportunity to involve private equity acquirers; and the aggregate results for
resolutions during the crisis. At the end of the process, the winning bids affected the

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

195

FDIC’s overall financial position, risk exposure, and staffing requirements, and may
also have influenced the local economies where bank failures were concentrated.

Evolution of FDIC Franchise Sale Offerings

At the outset of the financial crisis, the primary resolution tools in use at the FDIC were
whole-bank P&A and P&A with optional loan pools. The use of these two options was
in keeping with the objective of moving failed-bank assets back into the marketplace
promptly and minimizing costs. Early in the crisis, however, investors’ appetite for risk
plummeted, so that the FDIC faced not only a lack of buyers for loan pools but also little
interest in standard whole-bank purchases; moreover, buyers also showed little interest in
buying the assets that were retained in receivership. In response to the evolving crisis, the
FDIC sought to adapt its offerings to include sales-contract features that would attract
buyers. This situation led the Corporation to rely increasingly on loss sharing as a feature
of its failed-bank offerings in order to resolve the growing number of bank failures.43
Many acquirers preferred the loss-share option, and by the middle of 2009, whole bank
with loss share became the dominant FDIC franchise marketing option, and often the
only one offered to potential acquirers. As the crisis continued and conditions in the
marketplace changed, the FDIC modified the contract terms in loss-sharing agreements.
The starting point, though, was the experience the FDIC had had with its loss-share
program in the early 1990s.
The original (2008) agreements offered 80 percent loss-share coverage for capital
losses and selected expenses. For single-family assets, coverage was provided for ten
years. For other assets, coverage was provided for five years, and in addition the acquirer
was required to share recoveries with the FDIC for another three years. If losses exceeded
a pre-specified level, loss-share coverage increased to 95 percent.
In October 2009, the FDIC added a “true-up” feature that was designed to claw back
some of the extra profits from acquiring banks in cases where the asset losses were lower
than anticipated at the time of failure. There were true-up provisions for 215 transactions,
or 71 percent of the loss-share transactions.
In April 2010, in response to improving markets, the FDIC stopped offering the
increase to 95 percent coverage. In June 2010, the FDIC dropped loss-share coverage
for consumer loans44 and began soliciting bids for the loss coverage rate of up to 80
percent for all other types of loans and for other real eastate (ORE). In September 2010,
the FDIC introduced a tiered loss-sharing structure that was designed to improve the

43

For additional discussion, see the section above titled “Loss-Share Purchase and Assumption” and https://
www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/lossshare/.

44

Consumer loans are smaller than other types of loans and therefore administrative costs are relatively high,
but for most banks during the crisis, anticipated losses on consumer loans were modest. Thus it seemed less
likely that loss share yielded a net benefit for these loans.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

acquirer’s incentives to minimize asset losses.45 But because of the complexity of that
structure, it was used only 27 times. In all, the FDIC provided 95 percent coverage for 97
transactions, or 32 percent of the loss-share transactions.
In early 2011 the FDIC began to expand its regular offerings, typically offering three
versions of a whole-bank resolution: no loss-share coverage; loss share for commercial
assets only; or loss-share coverage for single-family and commercial assets. In April
2012 the FDIC began to limit its offerings of loss-share coverage for single-family assets
to those failed banks that had extensive amounts of troubled single-family loans. As
conditions continued to improve, loss sharing was gradually phased out. In the fourth
quarter of 2013, the FDIC dropped loss share altogether from its regular offerings and
started offering loan pools (in addition to whole-bank transactions) whenever the loans
could be pooled logically and potential bidders expressed an interest in them.
Throughout the crisis, in considering how to structure its resolution offerings, the
FDIC regularly reached out to potential acquirers, listened to them, and, if appropriate,
adjusted its offerings accordingly. When potential acquirers showed little interest in the
FDIC’s whole-bank offerings for a particular failing bank, the FDIC considered ways to
address the potential acquirers’ concerns, usually by expanding its offerings. The most
typical additions were “modified” whole bank (where certain troubled assets, such as
ORE, delinquent loans, or ADC loans, would be retained in receivership but all other
assets were included in the offering) or loan pools. In some cases, the FDIC would
develop unique proposals to address unique situations.
In cases where the FDIC lacked enough time to market banks effectively before they
failed, the FDIC used bridge banks. (See note 24 and the associated text.)

Bridge Banks

Following the 1980–1994 crisis, senior FDIC staff anticipated that bridge banks would be
an important option for resolving the failures of large insured depository institutions.46
During the 2008–2013 crisis, however, the FDIC used bridge banks for bank failures only
three times.

45

The agreement provided relatively high FDIC coverage for losses that fell below a pre-set threshold (where
it was likely that losses would be incurred, regardless of asset servicing quality) and above a higher pre-set
threshold (where losses were unlikely to occur unless servicing quality was poor or markets deteriorated). In
the middle tier, the FDIC’s coverage rate was low. For an example of this kind of agreement, see https://www.
fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/horizonfl-p-and-a.pdf.

46

For example, see Arthur J. Murton, “Resolving a Large Bank: The FDIC’s Perspective,” speech given at
the Seventh Annual Banking Conference at the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, October 1, 2004; and
James A. Marino and Lynn Shibut, “Resolution Strategies for Large U.S. Commercial Banks,” Unpublished
Manuscript, 2006.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

197

The first time was when IndyMac, a $30 billion thrift, failed suddenly in July 2008.47
IndyMac’s size alone would have made its resolution difficult; however, its size was only
one of several complicating factors. After the long period of almost no bank failures, the
level of media interest in IndyMac’s failure was unusually high; and a large number of
depositors—roughly 30,000—held potentially uninsured deposits and therefore did not
immediately gain access to all the deposits held in their accounts.48 During the first two
weeks after IndyMac’s failure, a run on deposits led to the withdrawal of almost $3 billion
from the newly chartered bridge institution, IndyMac Federal.49 The unprecedented
deposit withdrawals likely reduced IndyMac Federal’s franchise value and clearly signaled
to the FDIC that a much deeper issue was lack of trust in the financial system. The FDIC
quickly took action and began a campaign to educate the public on deposit insurance
and the FDIC. After a few weeks, the withdrawal rate at IndyMac Federal slowed and the
deposit base stabilized, but the IndyMac experience highlighted the risks and challenges
of deploying the bridge bank structure.
In 2009, the FDIC used bridge banks to resolve two bankers’ banks.50 Bankers’ banks
provide a variety of banking services to other depository institutions. They are harder to
resolve than traditional depository institutions for two main reasons. First, only depository
institutions are permitted to be shareholders of bankers’ banks, and very few banks are
interested in entering this specialized business area. Second, they present resolution
difficulties because of their interconnectedness with other depository institutions. One of
the banks was sold to another bankers’ bank shortly after the failure; the other one was paid
out after the customers were given time to move their deposits to other banks.

Private Equity Acquirers

Another consideration for the FDIC in marketing failed banks was the possibility of
expanding the number of acquirers by working with private equity investors. Private
equity investors are wealthy individuals (or groups of individuals) who are seeking highyield investments, and as the crisis unfolded, several private equity investors expressed
an interest in purchasing failed banks. The FDIC wanted to ensure that any purchase of
failed banks by private equity investors was consistent with, and in the best long-term

47

Because IndyMac was a thrift institution, the bridge bank was technically a conservatorship due to a gap in
the law that was since addressed.

48

Many of these depositors were later found to be fully insured, but over the closing weekend the FDIC lacked
full information, so funds were held back until the insurance status of these deposits could be determined.
What made the deposit insurance determinations at IndyMac so challenging was the volume of deposit
accounts, including brokered deposits and a large number of trust accounts (the latter are governed by
complex deposit insurance provisions).

49

John F. Bovenzi, Inside the FDIC: Thirty Years of Bank Failures, Bailouts, and Regulatory Battles (2015), 16.

50

Silverton National Bank failed on May 1, 2009, and Independent Banker’s Bank failed on December 18, 2009.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

interests of, the banking industry. The FDIC also sought open discussion and transparency
surrounding the participation of private equity firms in the banking industry.
The FDIC was well aware of the associated risks, but it was also cognizant of the
potential benefits. The risks derive from the nature of banking, which is a unique business
that requires specialized management skills—skills that many private equity investors may
not fully appreciate. Newly chartered banks have historically failed at much higher rates
than well-established banks,51 and the takeover of a failed bank and its troubled assets
introduces additional complications that most de novo banks do not have to face. In
addition, private equity investors generally prefer short-term investments (often seeking to
cash out in three to five years), a preference that could prove problematic in running and
managing a bank. At the same time, however, new investors might increase the number of
bidders for failed banks and infuse capital into the industry, thus potentially increasing the
availability of credit to businesses, consumers, and the overall economy.
On November 21, 2008, the Office of Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) announced
the availability of a “shelf ” charter that would facilitate the purchase of failed banks
by private equity investors.52 A shelf charter allows investors to seek conditional and
preliminary approval of a bank charter that will become active only if the investor
purchases a failed bank. On July 9, 2009, to address the risks posed by private equity
investment, the FDIC published a proposed Statement of Policy on qualifications for
failed-bank acquisitions,53 and on September 2, 2009, the Corporation released a final
Statement of Policy.54 The Statement of Policy addressed requirements related to capital,
source of strength,55 time restrictions on selling the depository institution, ownership
51

Robert DeYoung, “De Novo Bank Exit,” Journal of Money, Banking and Credit 35, no. 5 (2003): 711–28, found
that de novo banks that were established between 1980 and 1985 failed at much higher rates than other banks
during the period after they consumed their start-up capital but before they became mature. In addition, he
found that de novo banks that were established during a period of stress were more likely to fail than other
de novo banks. Yan Lee and Chiwon Yom, “The Entry, Performance, and Risk Profile of De Novo Banks,”
FDIC Center for Financial Research Working Paper 2016-03, 2016, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
cfr/2016/wp2016/2016-03.pdf, found similar results for de novo banks chartered between 2000 and 2008.

52

See Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, “OCC Conditionally Approves First National Bank Shelf
Charter to Expand Pool of Qualified Bidders for Troubled Institutions,” NR 2008-137, November 21, 2008,
https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/news-releases/2008/nr-occ-2008-137.html. The Office of Thrift
Supervision (supervisor of thrifts until 2010, when it was abolished by Dodd-Frank) later announced a
program as well.

53

FDIC, “Proposed Statement of Policy on Qualifications of Failed Bank Acquisitions,” 74 Fed. Reg. 32931–
32934 (Jul. 9, 2009), https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09policyJuly9.pdf.

54

FDIC, “Final Statement of Policy on Qualifications of Failed Bank Acquisitions,” 74 Fed. Reg. 45440-45449
(Sept. 2, 2009), https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09FinalSOP92.pdf. For additional
discussion, see also Frank Righeimer Martin, “Private Equity Investments in Failed Banks: Appropriate
Investors Welcome,” North Carolina Banking Institute 14, no. 1 (2010), http://scholarship.law.unc.edu/ncbi/
vol14/iss1/17.

55

Under a source-of-strength requirement, the owner is required to provide additional capital to the depository
institution if its capital falls below specified thresholds.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

199

structure, and disclosure. On November 26, 2008, the FDIC announced that it had
established a modified bidder qualification process that allowed interested parties that
did not have a bank charter, such as private equity investors, to bid for failed banks.56
From 2008 to 2013, 18 private equity investor groups purchased 60 failed banks (or
12 percent of the banks that failed in those years). These failed banks held $84 billion
in assets (12 percent of all failed-bank assets over the same period), and the investors
purchased $75 billion in assets held by these banks. (Excluding Washington Mutual,
the private equity investor groups purchased 22 percent of all failed-bank assets.) The
investors brought $5.6 billion in capital to the industry.

Aggregate Results for Resolutions during the Crisis

Table 6.3 summarizes the use of the different strategies deployed by the FDIC from 2008
to 2013. The failed banks are grouped into five categories: (1) Washington Mutual Bank
(WaMu), (2) other whole-bank P&A,57 (3) loss-share P&A,58 (4) other P&A,59 and (5)
payout and DINB.60 For failed banks that were placed into bridge banks before resolution,
the final resolution method was used for categorization.
Of the $686 billion in assets resolved over the course of the crisis, $307 billion (45
percent) were the assets of WaMu. The second-largest bank that failed was IndyMac ($30
billion, or 4.5 percent).
Early in the crisis, loss-share transactions increased quickly, going from 2 in 2008 to 91
in 2009, and from 2009 to 2011 they made up a larger number of resolutions than all other
strategies combined. The number of loss-share resolutions peaked in 2010 and dropped
substantially in 2012 and 2013. In every year of the crisis except 2008 and 2012, however,
loss share was used to resolve the majority of failed-bank assets. In all, excluding WaMu,
loss-share transactions were used for 62 percent of the failed banks and 82 percent of failedbank assets. The heaviest use of other P&A and payout/DINB resolutions was made during
2009 and 2010, the most challenging years of the banking crisis.

56

See FDIC, “FDIC Expands Bidder List for Troubled Institutions,” Press Release PR-127-2008, November 26,
2008, https://www.fdic.gov/news/news/press/2008/pr08127.html.

57

WaMu was a whole-bank P&A but is reported separately because of its size and unique characteristics.
“Other whole-bank P&A” is all P&As (WaMu excluded) where 90 percent or more of assets were passed to
the acquirer and no loss-share coverage was provided.

58

P&A where loss share was provided on any assets at resolution, regardless of the share of assets passed to
the acquirer.

59

P&A that was not loss share or whole bank. It includes basic P&As, loan pools, and other combinations.

60

DINBs are described above in the introduction to the section titled “Franchise Marketing: The Bidding
Process and Resolution Options.”

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Table 6.3. FDIC Bank Resolutions by Resolution Type, 2008–2013
(Dollars in Billions)
Resolution Type
WaMu
Other Whole
Bank P&A
Loss Share P&A
Other P&A

Payout/DINB
Total

2008
Number
Assets

2012

2013

Total
$307.0

1

13

14

23

15

12

78

$0.1

$1.7

$2.0

$5.4

$2.3

$1.4

$12.9

2

91

130

58

20

3

304

$16.5

$174.2

$86.8

$26.4

$4.8

$3.4

$312.1

20

25

6

9

12

8

80

$17.7

$12.9

$1.0

$2.3

$3.4

$1.2

$38.4

10

9

2

4

1

26

$6.8

$7.1

$0.9

$1.1

$0.0

$15.9

Number
Number
Number
Assets
Number
Assets

2011

$307.0

Assets

Assets

2010

1

Number

Assets

2009

1

24

139

159

92

51

24

489

$341.2

$195.7

$96.8

$34.9

$11.6

$6.0

$686.3

In terms of resolution costs, the several resolution strategies fared very differently.
Table 6.4 summarizes FDIC losses by resolution type.61
Table 6.4. FDIC Losses by Resolution Type, 2008–2013

Resolution Type

Number
of
Failures

Total
Total Cost
Assets
to FDIC
($ Billions) ($ Billions)

Loss Rate (Cost/Assets)
Weighted
Mean
Mean
Median

P&A
Washington Mutual
Other Whole Bank

1

307.0

0.0

0.0%

0.0%

0.0%

78

12.9

2.2

16.8%

23.0%

23.4%

304

312.1

56.8

18.2%

22.3%

21.6%

Other

80

38.4

9.3

24.3%

33.9%

34.1%

Total P&A

463

670.4

68.3

10.2%

24.4%

23.3%

26

15.9

4.4

27.4%

33.2%

34.7%

489

686.3

72.7

10.6%

24.9%

23.6%

Loss Share

Payout/DINB
Total

Note: Assets are as of the final Call Report filed by the failed bank. Loss estimates are as of year-end 2016.
The weighted mean loss rate is weighted by assets. Systemic failures are excluded.

61

The resolution costs reported here are as of year-end 2016. These estimates include undiscounted activity
through year-end 2016 plus estimated future activity discounted to year-end 2016. For additional discussion,
see Rosalind Bennett and Haluk Ünal, “Understanding the Components of Bank Failure Resolution Costs,”
Financial Markets, Institutions and Instruments 24, no. 5 (2015): 349–89.

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CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

WaMu resulted in no loss to the DIF. Total resolution costs over the crisis were
$72.7 billion and represented 10.6 percent of total assets at failure (including WaMu);
excluding WaMu, losses represented 19.2 percent of total assets.62 Also excluding WaMu,
loss-share P&A had the lowest mean and median loss rates, and whole bank had the
lowest weighted average loss rate. The loss rates for other P&A were similar to those for
payouts and DINBs. Note that studies have found that the relative condition of the failed
bank influences the resolution type that is used at failure. This phenomenon, called
“selection bias,” was documented during earlier periods but has not been estimated for
the 2008–2013 crisis.63 One should therefore interpret the results in Table 6.4 carefully
because some (or possibly all) of these cost differences may be attributable to differences
in financial condition. To gain additional insight, see Table 6.5, which provides selected
financial condition indicators by resolution type.
Table 6.5. Selected Condition Indicators by Resolution Type
(Averages as of Final Call Report Filed before Failure)
Resolution Type

Number of
Banks

Noncurrent
a
Loan Rate

Brokered to Total ADC Loans to
Domestic Deposits Total Loansb

Equity to
Assets

P&A
Washington Mutual

1

4.1%

18.1%

1.8%

7.9%

Other Whole Bank

78

12.7%

3.8%

10.3%

1.3%

304

16.8%

9.6%

21.0%

1.2%

Loss Share
Other
Total
Payout/DINB
a
b

80

19.4%

16.0%

25.7%

1.8%

463

16.6%

9.8%

20.0%

1.3%

26

15.1%

25.7%

23.9%

1.8%

The sum of nonaccrual loans plus loans 90+ days delinquent, divided by total loans.
ADC stands for Acquisition, Development, and Construction.

WaMu had a capital ratio (that is, the ratio of equity to assets) of 7.9% and a noncurrent
loan rate of 4.1%. For the other groups, capital ratios were lower and noncurrent rates

62

If IndyMac were also excluded, the loss rate drops to 17.3 percent. This compares with a loss rate of 12.7
percent for FDIC resolutions from 1980 to 1994, and 25.2 percent for thrift resolutions (by the FSLIC and the
RTC) from 1980 to 1994. Because (1) failed thrifts held more real estate loans than did failed banks during
the 1980–1994 period, and (2) real estate loans were the primary driver of losses during the 2008–2013 crisis,
one might conclude it would be likely that losses during the recent crisis would be similar to thrift losses
during the earlier one. However, this was not the case: the thrift losses in the earlier period were exacerbated
by closure delays on the part of the FSLIC and by the inadequate financial resources of both the FSLIC and
the RTC.

63

See Rosalind Bennett and Haluk Ünal, “The Effects of Resolution Methods and Industry Stress on the
Loss on Assets from Bank Failures,” Journal of Financial Stability 15 (December 2014): 18–31; and James
A. Berkovec and Nellie J. Liang, “Selection in Failed Bank Auction Prices: An Econometric Model of FDIC
Resolutions,” Federal Reserve Board Finance and Economics Discussion Series 93-40, 1993.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

were higher. The whole-bank P&A without loss share had a noncurrent rate of 12.7%,
and brokered deposits constituted 3.8% of deposits. The payout/DINB group had the
highest level of brokered deposits (25.7%), and other P&A had the worst noncurrent rate
(19.4%) and the highest concentration of ADC loans (25.7%). It seems likely, then, that the
condition of the banks within each category contributed to the differences in the FDIC loss
rates shown in Table 6.4. Even so, the FDIC estimated that the loss-share transactions saved
$42 billion, or 13.6 percent of total assets, compared with the estimated cost of a payout.64
As shown in Table 6.4, the loss-share bank failures cost the FDIC an estimated total of
$56.8 billion. As of year-end 2016, the FDIC had paid $29.5 billion in loss-share payments,
and total loss-share payments were expected to be $31.4 billion, or 55 percent of the total
loss. Most of the remaining costs were related to the asset discounts that were part of the
bids submitted by acquirers. Although the total asset discount for the loss-share bank
failures amounted to $30.1 billion (which represents the sum of all acquirers’ bids for
their transactions), the FDIC’s related losses were somewhat lower than that.65 Unlike
the loss share payments, the losses related to the asset discount were insensitive to future
asset price changes. As of year-end 2016, no true-up payments had been made on the 215
transactions with true-up provisions, but the FDIC anticipated receiving $837 million in
true-up payments to offset these losses.66

Receiverships: Staffing and Infrastructure, Interactions and Trade-Offs
Although franchise marketing is a key component of the FDIC’s resolution activities, it is
just the first step in the receivership process that winds up the affairs of failed banks. A few
of the main receivership tasks undertaken during the crisis are the subject of this section
of the chapter. Those activities (plus other activities that are not discussed here) 67 require
64

The cost savings estimate was calculated as the difference between the resolution cost and the payout cost,
divided by the payout cost, based on the least-cost test estimates for the loss-share resolutions at the time of
resolution. Therefore, the estimate does not consider subsequent asset price movements or other changes
that may influence the cost of the loss-share transactions or payouts. It also does not consider the possibility
that the FDIC could have resolved the banks using methods other than loss share or a payout.

65

In many cases, the acquirer would receive cash or would purchase more assets than the liabilities that it
assumed, or both. In other cases, including some of the largest loss-share transactions, the relationship
between the asset discount and the FDIC’s loss was more complicated, but the FDIC’s loss generally
amounted to 80 to 100 percent of the asset discount.

66

There were additional expenses and recoveries as well, but these were small in comparison with the lossshare payments and the asset discounts. On true-up payments, see the beginning of the section above titled
“Evolution of FDIC Franchise Sale Offerings.” Some early termination payments were probably influenced
by anticipated future true-up payments. As of year-end 2016, true-up payments were expected from 64
percent of the outstanding loss-share agreements that included true-up provisions.

67

Among the important tasks not discussed are accounting, reporting, deposit insurance determination,
receivership liability management, contract management, legal claims, and enforcement.

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substantial staffing and infrastructure to execute well, and so this section begins with a
discussion of the FDIC’s staff at the onset of the crisis and the process that was followed to
develop the necessary resolution and receivership infrastructure to manage the workload.
The section goes on to discuss strategic considerations: interactions and trade-offs.

Staffing and Infrastructure

As noted above, the events in the last half of 2008 and the corresponding rise in
resolution activity were more severe and—importantly—unfolded more quickly than
the FDIC’s planning efforts had envisioned. The plans anticipated that individual large
banks would fail quickly but did not anticipate either the number of large-bank failures
or the increased speed of small-bank failures. Figure 6.3 compares the 1980–1994 crisis
with the 2008–2013 crisis in terms of the speed and extent of failures.
Figure 6.3. Failed Banks as a Percentage of All Banks by Year from Start of Each Crisis
Percent
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

15

Years from Start of Crisis
1980–1994

2008–2013

Failure rates increased much faster during the 2008–2013 crisis: by 2009, the second year
of the recent crisis, almost 2 percent of banks had failed—a rate that was not reached until
the previous crisis was past its eighth year. The difficulty of keeping pace with the speed
at which the recent crisis unfolded imposed costs on the FDIC. In some cases the costs
were relatively minor, such as when the accounts payable function fell behind in paying
bills, which it did for several receiverships. In other cases, the costs were potentially more
substantial. For example, some assets might have lost value because asset management

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

resources were overtaxed. In addition, the FDIC’s staffing challenges were always kept
in mind when decisions were being made about resolution offerings to potential bidders.
In June 2008, the FDIC increased its authorized staff for the Division of Resolutions
and Receiverships (DRR) from 227 to 339. By September 2008, the total authorized
DRR staff stood at 825, but the actual on-board DRR staff was only 259. The hiring of
additional staff became a priority, and the FDIC dedicated resources to building its staff.68
Even so, it took time to search for, hire, and train new staff while also abiding by the
various procedures and mandates related to hiring federal employees. Looking ahead to
the “Lessons Learned” section, one can see that more-robust pre-crisis readiness planning
may help reduce such delays in the future.69 Figure 6.4 represents total authorized and onboard DRR staff during the first four years of the crisis.
Figure 6.4. Total DRR Authorized and On-Board Full-Time Staff, 2008−2011
Number of Staff
2,750
2,500
2,250
2,000
1,750
1,500
1,250
1,000
750
500
250
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4
08 008 008 008 009 009 009 009 010 010 010 010 011 011 011 011
0
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
Authorized

On-Board

The FDIC eventually reviewed more than 25,000 applications for DRR positions,
and in 2011, when DRR staffing was at its peak, the Division had more than 2,100
employees—an almost tenfold increase from the number at year-end 2007. To reduce
the kind of staff disruption and layoffs that had occurred during and after the 1980–
1994 crisis, the FDIC hired mostly temporary employees. Of the total DRR staff at its
peak, over 80 percent were temporary employees.
68

Note that DRR received critical support from other divisions, especially in the legal and administrative areas.
These other areas, as well as the bank supervision area, were also stretched thin as the crisis ramped up, and
thus the staffing efforts extended beyond DRR.

69

For example, new organization charts and position descriptions could be drafted and approved ahead of
time as part of a readiness plan.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

205

More than 60 of the employees were rehired annuitants. The plan to rehire annuitants
was one part of the FDIC’s readiness planning that proved to be particularly beneficial
because these highly seasoned retirees were able to immediately begin contributing to
receivership activities. In contrast, the Corporate Employment Program did not work as
designed. The CEP assumed that many of the employees who would be shifted to resolution
tasks would come from the supervision area. However, as resolution activity began to
increase, the workload of other divisions—including supervision—also increased, so that
the realignment of resources was inhibited. (See chapter 4 for additional discussion.)
Much like the consolidated offices established during the 1980–1994 crisis, regional
temporary satellite offices (TSOs) were established in the 2008–2013 crisis. Their primary
tasks were managing resolution and receivership activities and selling any retained
assets related to failed financial institutions in their geographic area of responsibility.70
The opening of the first TSO was authorized by the FDIC in November 2008, and took
place three months later, in California. Two additional TSOs were subsequently opened: a
Florida office in August 2009, and an Illinois office in May 2010.
The use of TSOs allowed for easier coordination during bank failures: they improved
FDIC communication with the staff of the failed institution and with acquirers, borrowers,
and creditors; and they reduced travel costs. They also improved the FDIC’s hiring options
because they were located in areas with large numbers of finance professionals seeking
work. In contrast to what had happened during the 1980–1994 crisis, the TSOs were closed
as planned. The temporary staff began to decline in 2011. The California TSO closed in
January 2012, the Illinois TSO in September 2012, and the Florida TSO in April 2014.
Staffing was one concern, and infrastructure was another. Infrastructure here refers to
two things: enhanced information technology (IT) capability, and the use of contractors.
The FDIC’s readiness planning had included building an enhanced IT infrastructure,
and the Corporation improved its ability to market failing depository institutions by
establishing virtual data rooms (VDRs) that streamlined the process of providing
information to potential acquirers of failed banks.71 This change proved to be
instrumental in the effective marketing of failed institutions, and without such a precrisis investment it would have been much harder to successfully sell as many failed
institutions. A new general ledger was introduced in 2005, and in 2007 the FDIC
implemented a new franchise marketing and asset management tool and began
developing a new insurance determination system. Some of these IT investments were
more successful than others. The unexpected size and speed of the 2008–2013 crisis
challenged the design and capacity of some of the updated IT infrastructure, which had

70

FDIC Board Resolution 11-08 No 077274.

71

VDRs are electronically accessed data repositories that provide potential bidders with access to financial
data on the failing institution, legal documents, information on the due diligence process and on bidding
procedures, and descriptions of the resolution transactions being offered.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

been built for a slower-developing and smaller crisis.72 These experiences emphasized
the importance of scalability in the designing of IT systems and the associated business
processes related to resolutions and receiverships.
Another key component of the FDIC’s resolution infrastructure was the extensive
use of contractors throughout the 2008–2013 crisis. Early in the crisis, when staffing
was especially thin, the use of contractors was an essential part of the FDIC’s failureresolution process. However, the contract review process was overtaxed, and it quickly
became apparent that the contracting arrangements in place as of year-end 2007 were
insufficient for the volume and type of work required. In addition, the time frame to
approve new contracts or to modify existing contracts under FDIC’s delegations of
authority was not conducive to supporting the volume of failures that the FDIC faced
early in the crisis. (Delegations of authority define the levels of FDIC management that
are authorized to approve various actions. For example, contracts above $10 million
might require approval by the FDIC Board of Directors.) Thus, several adjustments were
made to provide timely contractor services that could keep pace with the number of
failures. These adjustments included entering into many more contracts, expanding the
sizes of contracts, and adjusting the delegations of authority.
In addition, the FDIC built up its contract oversight process. To manage the rapidly
expanding workload, it was necessary to hire and train Contract Oversight Managers
at a very fast pace. The FDIC developed and implemented new contractor evaluation
metrics, established contractor performance evaluations to assess current contactors
or to award future contract tasks, created automated systems for compiling contractor
metrics, and streamlined the process of getting contractors on board. In 2010, the FDIC
established a central contract oversight group that supervised most of the Corporation’s
receivership contracts.
Once an adequate set of contracts was in place and capacity was increased, the FDIC’s
overall experience with the use of contractors was positive. The contracts supported a wide
variety of tasks, including accounting, financial reporting, investigations, loan servicing,
real estate management, asset sales, specialized asset sales, information technology services,
data analysis, reviews of compliance with loss-share agreements, and asset valuation. Over
the course of the crisis, however, the need for contractors diminished. In 2008, contractor
expenses made up 60 percent of total receivership expenses, but as the FDIC staff was
built up, expenditures on contractors gradually fell. In 2013, contracting costs made up 32
percent of total receivership expenses.
The staffing, IT, and contracting resources that were developed during the crisis
supported numerous resolution and receivership activities, some of the most important
of which were related to the management and disposition of the assets that were
retained in receivership.
72

In addition, there were delays in developing the insurance determination system; it was completed in 2010.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

207

Strategic Considerations: Interactions and Trade-Offs

All assets that are retained in a receivership have to be liquidated (sold) according to the
principles stipulated in FDICIA:
[T]he Corporation shall conduct its operations in a manner which—
(i) maximizes the net present value return from the sale or disposition of such
assets;
(ii) minimizes the amount of any loss realized in the resolution of cases;
(iii) ensures adequate competition and fair and consistent treatment of offerors;
(iv) prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, sex, or ethnic groups in the
solicitation and consideration of offers; and
(v) maximizes the preservation of the availability and affordability of residential
real property for low- and moderate-income individuals.73
Within this broad mandate, the FDIC has considerable flexibility in formulating asset
liquidation strategies, but it also must consider a number of inherently contradictory goals
and make a number of trade-offs. These trade-offs are discussed below. They are always
considered in the context of the need to make the three basic choices that influence the
returns from receivership sales: how quickly to sell; what sales method to use; and how
to service the assets before they are sold. And these decisions are interdependent. For
example, if the FDIC chooses sales methods that require a long preparation time before
the assets are sold, then the FDIC must stand ready to manage a large portfolio of assets
during crisis periods (because as existing assets are prepared for sale, others will come in
and the total number and value of assets in receiverships will build up). Therefore, the
FDIC must consider all three aspects of its asset sale process—how quickly, what method,
and how to service—as it makes decisions about retained asset sales and management
and how best to meet the statutory requirements.
As noted in the “Background” section early in the chapter (in the subsection titled “Past
Strategy”), after its experience in the crisis of 1980 to 1994, the FDIC sought to return retained
assets to the private sector quickly. However, the economic environment in 2008 through
2013 made this hard to do without incurring significant losses. This difficulty highlights an
inherent trade-off when it comes to speed in asset sales. On the one hand, quick sales avoid
potential inefficiencies and costs associated with government asset management; these
inefficiencies could include weaker incentives to maximize asset recoveries (compared
with incentives in the private sector),74 additional loan servicing transfer costs,75 and more73

12 USC § 1821(d)(13)(E). See also 12USC § 1823(d)(3)(D).

74

Researchers have suggested several reasons for weakened incentives if the government manages assets. For
additional discussion, see William L. Megginson et al., “The Choice of Private versus Public Capital Markets:
Evidence from Privatizations,” Journal of Finance 59, no. 6 (2004): 2835–70.

75

A loan servicing transfer is a change in the company that processes loan payments. These companies

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

costly audit and review processes (compared with the private sector).76 Further, as noted
above, the accumulation by the government of a substantial share of assets may cause an
asset overhang problem that could cause private investors to defer asset purchases in the
belief that prices will drop in the future.77 On the other hand, if a liquidating entity like the
FDIC sells assets quickly in a downturn, it may obtain poor prices for even high-quality
assets, as competition for asset sales is weak and potential buyers with the best ability to
maximize asset values might lack the resources needed to bid on the assets.78 Thus, buyers
would be likely to expect to get bargains and would bid accordingly. Moreover, when asset
markets are experiencing fire sales,79 the quick sale of significant amounts of retained assets
by a large entity like the government may worsen market conditions. Because the effects
of quick asset sales vary substantially with market conditions and because the FDIC sells
assets during periods of both good and bad market conditions (but mostly when markets
are weak), the FDIC’s best strategic choices may change as market conditions shift.
In addition to questions about the timing of asset sales, the FDIC must consider the
best method of selling assets. The FDIC relied heavily on competitive auctions for its
sales of retained assets.80 Researchers have found that the best choice of auction format
depends on the situation (e.g., market conditions, asset characteristics) in which the

collect loan payments, maintain loan records, collect and pay insurance and taxes related to loans, and
follow up on loan delinquencies. They charge fees to take on new assets. In addition to the fees, loan
servicing transfers may impose indirect costs, such as lost information or delays or miscommunications in
addressing delinquencies. The number of loan servicing transfers is reduced if assets are sold at or shortly
after resolution.
76

Governments inevitably face more public scrutiny than private companies. For additional discussion, see
Seidman, Full Faith and Credit.

77

See the subsection “Past Strategy” for a description of an asset overhang, and see note 14 for related literature.

78

See Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny, “Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A Market Equilibrium
Approach,” Journal of Finance 47, no. 6 (1992): 1343–66; also Joao Granja, Gregor Matvos, and Amit Seru,
“Selling Failed Banks,” Journal of Finance 72, no. 4 (2017): 1723–84.

79

A fire sale is a sale in which a financially constrained asset holder sells an asset for less than its true
value because the holder needs cash right away. During the 2008–2013 crisis, the prevalence of fire
sales led several types of assets to lose value very quickly. Fire sales were also exacerbated by a lack of
financing options for potential buyers. For more details, see Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny,
“Fire Sales in Finance and Macroeconomics,” Journal of Economic Perspectives 25, no. 1 (2011): 29–
48; Markus K. Brunnermeier, “Deciphering the Liquidity and Credit Crunch 2007–2008,” Journal of
Economic Perspectives 23, no. 1 (2009): 77–100; Turmoil in U.S. Credit Markets: Recent Actions Regarding
Government Sponsored Entities, Investment Banks and Other Financial Institutions, Before the Senate
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee, 110th Cong. (September 23, 2008) (testimony by Henry
M. Paulson Jr., Secretary of the Treasury), https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG-110shrg50400/html/
CHRG-110shrg50400.htm; and Timothy F. Geithner, Stress Test: Reflections on Financial Crises (2014).

80

Other options include selling assets at a fixed price, negotiating with borrowers to recover funds,
negotiating sales with potential buyers, or, for performing loans, holding assets and collecting the
payments.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

209

auction will be held. 81 In practice, it can be hard to identify the ideal auction format, but
the FDIC used a variety of auction formats in response to the circumstances it faced.
The FDIC also faces decisions and trade-offs associated with the terms of the sale. A
basic question is whether to sell the asset outright or retain some risk in hopes of higher
prices. For some of its sales of retained assets, the FDIC set terms that shared risks with the
buyer (that is, where the FDIC and the buyer shared future asset losses and recoveries).
More specifically, the FDIC’s securitizations82 and limited liability companies83 included
risk-sharing provisions. Like the use of P&A agreements with loss share for franchise
sales, these risk-sharing sale methods have the potential to improve prices—but the FDIC
could lose money after the sale if asset values drop or if the assets are not well managed.
In addition, these risk-sharing options require oversight after the sale is complete, and
the costs associated with the oversight function are large enough that asset sales with
risk-sharing are not cost-effective for small amounts of assets. In contrast, selling assets
outright is simpler to execute and reduces the FDIC’s risk exposure immediately, thereby
eliminating the need for oversight.
Several characteristics of the economic environment during the crisis made the risksharing of assets attractive to buyers: the sudden and steep deterioration in some asset
markets at the beginning of the 2008–2013 crisis, the accompanying uncertainty about asset
values,84 and the lack of good information about some failed-bank assets. But if the terms
of these transactions are not properly designed, risk-sharing can weaken the incentive for
buyers to manage assets well. Good contract design and monitoring processes are therefore
vital to the success of this strategy.
The question of how to service assets is primarily focused on loans because most
retained assets are loans and, as described below, the servicing of loans is a complex
task. On the servicing question, the FDIC chose not to hire contractors to do both the
loan servicing and the loan sales (which is a method that was used in the 1980–1994
81

Numerous authors have found connections between asset sale processes (and especially auction formats)
used by sellers of assets and the resulting sales revenue. See, for example, Paul Klemperer, “Auction Theory:
A Guide to the Literature,” Journal of Economic Surveys 13, no. 3 (1999): 227–86; Vijay Krishna, Auction
Theory (2009); and Guhan Subramanian, Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive
Marketplace (2010). However, much of the research involves theoretical analyses that do not fully capture
the circumstances faced by the FDIC as it makes decisions about auction formats.

82

Securitization is the process of creating one or more securities that are collateralized by a pool of
other financial assets and are then sold to investors. The sections below titled “Sales of Securities” and
“Securitizations” describe the FDIC’s securitization activities during the crisis.

83

A limited liability company (LLC) is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features
of a corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. The section below titled
“Limited Liability Companies” describes the FDIC’s LLC activities during the crisis.

84

Nicholas Bloom, “The Impact of Uncertainty Shocks,” Econometrica 77, no. 3 (2009): 623–85, found that
increases in uncertainty have been accompanied by decreases in investment, while Bloom et al., “Really
Uncertain Business Cycles,” NBER Working Paper Series 18245, 2012, found that uncertainty rises during
recessions and could be an important driver of business cycles.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

crisis) because of the challenges of designing good contract incentives.85 The other
options for servicing retained loans are discussed in more detail below (in the section
titled “Asset Servicing”).

Receivership Tasks during the Crisis
Any discussion of receivership tasks during the 2008–2013 crisis must begin with the
dimensions of the FDIC’s receivership responsibilities during that period and then with
the particulars of what was entailed in servicing assets at that time. The environment
and the particulars of what had to be done lead directly to the methods the FDIC used
for selling retained assets and to decisions about which methods would be best for which
asset type: the trade-offs discussed above can be seen influencing the FDIC as it decided
on the best way to manage and sell the assets it held in receivership. Finally, this section
discusses one important receivership task that did not have to do with selling retained
assets but, instead, followed directly from decisions made during franchise marketing:
the administration and oversight of loss-share P&As.86

The Dimensions of the FDIC’s Receivership Responsibilities during the Crisis

As of year-end 2007, the FDIC was managing only $800 million of assets that were
retained in receiverships, but by year-end 2008 that number had risen to $15.1 billion.
Figure 6.5 shows certain key types of assets held for liquidation for the years 2008 through
2013. During that period, the FDIC managed a total of $87.5 billion in assets from 492
failed depository institutions.87
The volume of receivership assets peaked in 2009 and then steadily decreased. The
reduction in receivership assets was the result of several factors. The failure rate stabilized
and then fell after 2010, and compared with 2009, the volume of new assets that were
retained in receivership at resolution dropped somewhat in 2010 and substantially after
2010, as the asset size of the failed banks fell. As the failure rate stabilized, the FDIC
continued to liquidate its previously acquired assets, reducing the total number of assets
in liquidation. Moreover, in more than 60 percent of failures during the 2008–2013 crisis,

85

See FDIC, Managing the Crisis, 333–71, for additional discussion of the importance of incentives in these
types of contracts and the related challenges. See also Resolution Trust Corporation, “Hard to Sell Asset
Review Project,” 1992.

86

As noted previously, a number of important tasks are not discussed in this chapter, including accounting,
reporting, deposit insurance determination, receivership liability management, contract management, legal
claims, and enforcement.

87

In addition to the 489 bank failures during the crisis period, there were a few receiverships from pre-crisis
bank failures that were still open when the crisis began.

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CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

the receiver did not retain any loans from the failed institution.88 From 2008 to 2016, the
FDIC liquidated almost 95 percent of the assets that were retained in the 489 receiverships
created during the crisis, and only $3.2 billion of the assets remained unsold. In addition,
the FDIC had terminated 145 (30 percent) of the receiverships.
Figure 6.5. Loans, ORE, and Subsidiaries in Liquidation, 2008−2013
Billions of Dollars
25

20

15

10

5

0

2008

2009

Multifamily Residential Loans
Subsidiariesa

2010

Consumer Loans
ADC Loans

Year

2011

Other Real Estate
Commercial & Industrial Loans

2012

2013

1-4 Family Residential Loans
Other CRE Loans

ª Defined as companies held as subsidiaries of failed banks.

Asset Servicing

Most of the assets that were retained in receiverships during the crisis were loans, and for
retained loans the FDIC as receiver undertook the associated servicing responsibilities
previously held by the failed institution. Loan servicing included general loan
administration tasks such as collecting payments and managing escrow accounts, but it
also included more resource-intensive responsibilities such as monitoring delinquencies,
managing defaulted loans, and approving loan or line of credit disbursements. Like
private-sector institutions, the FDIC was subject to a large number of statutory and

88

In other words, the acquirer purchased all the loans.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

regulatory requirements that set standards for loan servicing tasks.89 For foreclosed
properties, servicing involved property management tasks such as maintaining the
property, collecting rents, paying local taxes, and so forth.
As part of receivership planning, the FDIC began analyzing loans that required special
attention, such as unfunded and partially funded lines of credit, and ADC loans.90 In
some cases, decisions to extend additional credit were a matter of policy. For example,
the FDIC advanced additional credit to a wilderness farm that would otherwise have
lacked the necessary funds to provide food for its animals. Many funding decisions
were time sensitive, and it was important for the FDIC to have the capabilities to
make prompt decisions about extensions of credit. To that end, the FDIC had explicit
delegated authority for determining whether to extend additional funds under a failed
institution’s credit facility.
In the years between the 1980–1994 crisis and the most recent crisis, the FDIC had
established the internal goal of placing 90 percent of the marketable loans retained in
receivership in a sales initiative within 90 days of the failure date (and another internal
goal of terminating receiverships [in the absence of specific impediments] within three
years).91 In those interim years, when an institution failed, the FDIC generally managed
and sold the loans from a field receivership site that was established at the failed bank’s
location. The FDIC was usually able to sell all, or almost all, of the retained loans from
the receivership site at reasonable prices within three months. The FDIC would continue
to operate the necessary IT systems that had been used by the failed institution and
would retain enough staff members from the failed institution to service the assets
until they were sold. This strategy was economical, and it allowed the FDIC to close the
receivership field site promptly and avoid costly loan servicing transfers.92
As the crisis began to unfold, however, the FDIC no longer received bids that met
its price expectations on its bulk loan sales that occurred immediately after failure. For
example, bidders were offering 30 to 50 cents on the dollar for performing loans that,
in better times, had sold at or close to par. Consequently loans were not sold and field
receiverships remained open for an extended time—upward of a year or even longer.
The accumulation of assets at different receivership sites was expensive, and it became
89

Relevant statutes include (but are not limited to) the Equal Credit Opportunity Act, the Truth in Lending
Act, the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act, the Service Member’s Civil Relief Act, the Fair
Debt Collections Practices Act, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act.

90

FDIC, “A Borrower’s Guide to an FDIC Insured Bank Failure,” https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/
failed/borrowers/.

91

See FDIC, “Annual Performance Goals,” 2008. (“Percentage of failed institution’s assets marketed: 90
percent of the book value of a failed institution’s marketable assets is marketed within 90 days of failure.”)
For details on the FDIC’s current strategic goals, see FDIC, “Strategic Plans,” https://www.fdic.gov/about/
strategic/.

92

See note 75 for a definition of a loan servicing transfer and a discussion of the related costs.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

213

increasingly difficult to manage the overall portfolio or to take advantage of opportunities
to coordinate sales of assets across receiverships.93 Therefore, the FDIC shifted to a policy
of transferring retained loans to national servicers94 within 90 days of an institution’s failure
(at least for loans that were not expected to sell quickly from the receivership field site at
reasonable prices).95 The national servicers collected information on the receivership loans
on-site, which reduced costs and improved data quality. After 2010, the FDIC began to
rely heavily on national servicers as its primary asset managers. As a result of the switch to
national servicers, the average time the FDIC remained on-site at a failure decreased from
more than a year to about 115 days.

Asset Sales by Type of Asset

Because the types of assets that needed to be sold influenced both the FDIC’s decisions
about sale methods and the markets into which the retained assets were sold, the FDIC
generally organized its sales efforts by asset type. The three asset types whose sales are
discussed here are securities, loans, and ORE.
Sales of Securities. In most cases, the acquiring institution assumed the failed institution’s
holdings of U.S. Treasuries, municipal securities, and similar investment-grade securities.
The FDIC usually offered the other securities from the failed institution to potential
acquirers as part of the franchise sale at resolution, but often potential acquirers were not
interested in purchasing risky, illiquid securities and priced them accordingly. Thus the
FDIC retained many illiquid, hard to price, and complex securities in its receiverships.
For disposal of the more liquid securities, competitive auctions to qualified bidders
were conducted by in-house staff, sometimes with the assistance of a financial advisor
under contract to the FDIC. This method was typically used for agency debt, agencyissued mortgage-backed securities, and municipal securities—all of them where
potential bidders could use prices paid for other recent sales to inform their bids.96
93

The average cost of maintaining an open receivership site, including rent, receivership assistance contracts,
and payroll services contracts, was about $500,000 per month. Many of the costs did not decline even as
the number of outstanding assets declined. In addition, failed-bank staff members or general-purpose
receivership contractors were not always highly skilled in asset management. Moreover, it was hard to
develop and maintain accurate, up-to-date asset listings for all the assets in receivership when assets were
being serviced at a large number of open receivership sites.

94

National servicers are servicers and private firms that specialize in loan servicing and have a national (rather
than local) scope.

95

Currently the decision as to whether the loan portfolio can be sold quickly on-site or whether it is moved to
a national servicer for a structured transaction is made on a case-by-case basis. If the FDIC can obtain about
the same price for a loan sale made on-site right after failure as it can with later sales from a national servicer
(possibly using a structured transaction), it is advisable to sell from the receivership site, which—when a
quick sale at a market price is feasible—has lower management costs compared with the cost of using a loan
servicer.

96

Likewise, the FDIC could use recent asset prices to set reserve prices (that is, the minimum price that the

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

In situations where the FDIC liquidated securities with transfer restrictions, or in
cases where there was a limited number of candidate purchasers for a specific asset, a
negotiated sale was arranged.97
The FDIC retained a substantial volume of private label mortgage-backed securities
(PLMBS) that acquirers rejected. Because few investors were purchasing these types of
assets at the time, the FDIC believed that the prices it could obtain in an auction would
fall below the long-term value of the securities. Therefore, the FDIC used the PLMBS
that were retained in receiverships to collateralize eight PLMBS securitizations that
it issued in 2010.98 Seven were residential MBS and one was a commercial MBS. This
strategy improved pricing and marketability because the FDIC provided a guarantee,
backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, for the senior tranche of each
securitization.99 The securitizations had two features to help reduce the FDIC’s potential
exposure under the guarantee. First, the senior tranche was overcollateralized, allowing
the securitization to absorb substantial losses without triggering the FDIC guarantee.
Second, the FDIC used interest earned on the underlying MBS to make payments toward
the principal balance in the senior tranche.
The PLMBS securitizations were considered a successful alternative to auctioning the
securities in 2010. The principal balance of the PLMBS that were used to collateralize the
FDIC securities was $6.35 billion. The FDIC estimated it would net $3.46 billion if it sold
the PLMBS in 2010 through an auction. Providing a guarantee improved the securities’
marketability, and the face value of the securitizations sold was $4.2 billion. Additional
proceeds from the securitizations, such as guarantee fees and increases in the value of
retained interests, resulted in a projected recovery of $5.12 billion,100 which was 48 percent
more than the estimated recovery from an auction at the time. As of year-end 2016, the
outstanding face value of the FDIC securities was $1.06 billion, but the outstanding face
value of the underlying securities was $2.82 billion. Any payments made on the underlying
securities that were not needed to satisfy the FDIC securities would go to the receiverships.
It is impossible to determine with certainty whether the securitizations were more
advantageous than a strategy of holding the PLMBS for future auction would have been.
The securitizations provided a substantial cash recovery in 2010, thus improving the
FDIC’s cash position compared with what it would have been if a holding strategy had
been used, and enabled the FDIC to receive much better prices than the prices that would
FDIC would accept). These securities had low loss rates.
97

For example, negotiated sales could be used for limited partnership interests, closely held securities, and
securities with a “right of first refusal” restriction.

98

After 2010, the FDIC did not acquire enough mortgage-backed securities to warrant further securitizations.

99

A senior tranche is the least risky tranche in a securitization and takes losses only when all the other tranches
have lost their full value. For a detailed explanation of securitization and tranches, see chapter 1.

100

This figure includes the transaction cost associated with securitizations.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

215

have been achieved with a cash sale. Both approaches (securitization with a guarantee,
and holding) required that the FDIC bear the full risk of further price deterioration, but
holding the MBS might have allowed the FDIC to more fully participate in potential price
improvements, receive slightly higher interest income, and avoid certain transaction costs.
Sales of Loans. The FDIC retained over $50 billion in loans in its receiverships, and therefore
the task of selling them was daunting. Moreover, there were many types of loans (ranging
from small consumer loans to large commercial loans), and the quality of the loans varied
(ranging from loans where the borrowers were routinely paying the loans on time, to loans
that were in foreclosure proceedings). The FDIC used bulk sales to sell loans outright;
in addition, it used two kinds of structured sales. Outright sales are when all aspects of
ownership, including risk, are transferred from one party to another party. Structured sales
are a form of joint ownership where multiple parties share not only the asset management
responsibilities but also the benefits and costs of a pool of assets.101 The two kinds of
structured sales the FDIC used were securitizations (defined in note 82 as “the process of
creating one or more securities that are collateralized by a pool of other financial assets and
are then sold to investors”) and limited liability companies (LLCs), which were the legal
entities used to execute a type of joint venture that was used heavily during the crisis.
—Bulk Sales. The FDIC routinely offered loans for bulk sale, in pools grouped by loan
type, loan performance status, and/or geography; these types of sales are often called
“bulk loan sales” or “whole loan sales.”102 The FDIC used third-party contractors to sell
the loans, usually at an on-line sealed-bid auction.103 The contractor would provide
Internet marketing, due diligence, imaging and indexing of files, pooling, an on-line
bidding platform, and closing services for the sales. To encourage wide participation in
the auctions, the FDIC sought potential buyers through many venues, and assets were
marketed both through the FDIC’s public website and through the loan sale contractor’s
website. Because of the challenges associated with estimating the value of many of these
loans, the FDIC did not usually set reserve prices (that is, the minimum price that
the FDIC would accept). Instead, it would monitor the extent of interest expressed by
bidders (measured by the number of bids or the number of bidders who performed due
diligence) to determine whether the winning bid constituted a true market price.

101

Contracts enumerate the responsibilities, benefits, and costs for each party. Clearly, these sales are more
complex than straightforward asset sales, called here “outright sales.”

102

In locations where there were many loans for sale at the same time, the groups were more homogeneous.
When the FDIC had fewer loans available for sale, the loan pools were more diverse.

103

The FDIC’s sealed-bid process is a form of a “first price sealed bid auction,” where bidders submit bids to the
auctioneer in such a manner that no other bidders know one’s bid—for example, in a sealed envelope. The
bidder submitting the highest bid wins the object and pays what he or she bid.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

The FDIC sold $10.6 billion in retained assets using bulk loan sales; the loss rate for
these loans was 49 percent.104 Bulk loan sales carried no retained risk for the FDIC and
provided quick cash infusions at a time when the DIF’s cash balance was under pressure.
Seller financing was never offered. Prompt loan sales limited the time during which the
FDIC was required to service the retained loans. However, early in the crisis, relatively
few buyers were interested in these loans (which were often viewed as high risk because
they had been originated by failed banks), and the buyers who were interested often
suffered funding constraints or were seeking bargains. Given the loss rates for cash loan
sales of assets related to real estate, the FDIC found structured instruments (such as loan
securitizations and LLCs, discussed below) to be an appealing alternative.
—Securitizations. As the volume of unsold loans held in receiverships increased during
the 2008–2013 crisis, the FDIC explored alternative disposition options, including loan
securitizations. With the securitization market remaining largely frozen at the start of the
2008–2013 crisis, the FDIC began to securitize loans with an FDIC guarantee, backed by
the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, to increase the marketability and prices
of its securitizations. From 2010 through 2013, the FDIC issued eight securitizations
backed by $3.0 billion in loans; six transactions had an FDIC guarantee on the senior
tranches. The total face value of the Class A securities (see next paragraph) was $2.2
billion, or 73.9 percent of the collateral book value.
After the FDIC identified and assembled loans for securitization, an underwriter
recommended a securitization structure. For example, the first securitization issued was
structured with three classes (the senior “A” tranche, the mezzanine “M” tranche, and
the first loss “OC” tranche) as well as with residual certificates. For the securitizations of
performing loans, the senior class (that is, the “A” tranche) typically accounted for 80 to
85 percent of the overall capital structure and carried an FDIC corporate guarantee.105
Generally, subordinate interests on the residential securitizations (all junior classes
below the guaranteed senior tranches) were held by FDIC receiverships, with the
option of marketing them at a later date. Subordinate-class certificates on commercial
property transactions were sold to private investors at issuance. For both residential and
commercial transactions, all residual certificates were retained by the FDIC.
The FDIC Board of Directors approved each securitization before it was marketed.
The FDIC drafted clauses in its securitization trust documents that were designed to
reduce operational risk. Third-party contractors facilitated all aspects of the securitization
transaction, including pricing, marketing, and settlement. Consistent with the improving
asset markets, all of the transactions performed above original expectations. As of the end
104

For additional details, see https://www.fdic.gov/buying/historical.

105

For the two securitizations where most of the collateral was nonperforming loans (that is, loans where the
borrowers were delinquent), the size of the senior tranche was less than half of the collateral balance and no
guarantees were provided.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

217

of 2016, one transaction had been unwound; 106 the outstanding face value of the class “A”
securities had decreased by over 80 percent, to $395 million; and, $928.3 million in collateral
remained outstanding, with payments due to the receiverships. Therefore, it appears highly
unlikely that the FDIC will be required to make payments on any guarantees.
The FDIC’s securitization program, in which a significant volume of loans were sold
quickly, enabled the Corporation to improve its cash position. The FDIC was able to sell
at reasonable prices, even when markets were in disarray, because it used its guarantee
authority and retained the residuals; however, this also meant that the FDIC retained
almost all of the risk exposure. The improving asset markets, as well as careful attention
to contract design, contributed to the recoveries from these instruments and allowed the
FDIC to avoid having to make guarantee payments.
—Limited Liability Companies. As an alternative to bulk sales or securitizations, the
FDIC used what are referred to as equity partnerships, Structured Transaction Sales, or
LLC transactions.107 Whereas most of the loans that were securitized were of relatively
high quality, most of the loans sold into Structured Transaction Sales were subperforming
or nonperforming (that is, borrowers were delinquent or the loans had other problems).
In a Structured Transaction Sale, the FDIC as receiver for one or more failed banks
created a separate entity (the LLC) and then assigned assets to the LLC from one or more
receiverships in exchange for all of the equity interest in the LLC. The FDIC then sold
a portion of the LLC equity interest to a third-party investor that became the managing
member of the LLC. Proceeds from the assets were paid to a custodian/paying agent, which
distributed the proceeds to the FDIC and the investor according to the terms of the specific
LLC agreement. When a large share of the assets had been liquidated, the LLC usually
terminated with a bulk sale or the managing member’s buyout of the FDIC’s LLC interest.
During the 2008–2013 crisis the FDIC entered into 35 Structured Transaction
Sales, disposing of 43,315 assets with a book value of $26.2 billion. These Structured
Transaction Sales disposed of approximately 30 percent of all assets unsold at bank
resolution. The terms of each of the transactions were published by the FDIC.108 Of
the Structured Transaction Sales, 20 (57 percent) held ADC loans, 8 (23 percent) held
other CRE loans, and 7 (20 percent) held single-family mortgage loans.109 The average
106

A transaction is unwound when the buyers of the FDIC securities have been paid in full and the security is
extinguished. If, at that point, any of the loans that collateralized the securities have outstanding balances,
then all the remaining payments made on the loans belong to the residual certificate holders—in this case
the FDIC receiverships.

107

As stated in note 83, an LLC is a hybrid type of legal structure that provides the limited liability features of a
corporation and the tax efficiencies and operational flexibility of a partnership. The private-sector “owners”
of an LLC are referred to as “members.”

108

See FDIC, “Structured Transaction Sales,” https://fdic.gov/buying/historical/structured/index.html.

109

Note that about $1 billion of the assets were ORE rather than loans. Almost all of the ORE related to
foreclosed ADC loans.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

size of the ADC transactions was larger than the average size of the other types: ADC
transactions constituted 65 percent of total LLC assets.
In September 2009, after six sales, the FDIC revised the form of the LLCs to offer
financing as an option. By providing seller financing when such financing was not
generally available from private sources, the FDIC hoped to attract more investor interest
and improve prices. On the basis of feedback from potential acquirers and a preliminary
analysis of bids received, the strategy seemed to be successful.
Table 6.6 provides information about the performance of these transactions. For each
group of LLCs, four estimates of value are compared. The middle two columns aggregate
estimates that were prepared by financial advisors shortly before the LLCs were created:
they estimated the value of the assets if a cash sale were to be conducted or if an LLC were
to be created. The last two columns aggregate estimates prepared by the LLC managing
members (the companies that managed the LLCs). The “Initial” column reports the
estimates that the managing members prepared shortly after each LLC was created, and
the “June 2016” column reports the most recent estimates.
Table 6.6. LLC Recovery Rates
Number
of LLCs

Initial Book
Value
($ Millions)

No

12

Yes

Pre-Close Financial
Adviser Estimate (%)

LLC Managing Member
Estimate (%)a

Bulk Sale

LLC

Initial

June 2016b

5,868.5

23.4

34.5

34.1

33.4

23

20,306.6

31.9

42.5

42.2

51.5

20

17,001.3

24.4

36.1

33.5

43.7

8

4,708.0

38.0

47.0

54.6

54.2

7

4,465.8

42.8

51.5

51.2

54.7

35

26,175.1

30.0

40.7

40.3

47.4

Median

490.7

33.5

41.6

42.0

42.5

Mean

857.6

34.4

42.2

43.8

44.9

828.6

14.5

13.8

14.8

15.5

Category
FDIC Financing

Asset Type
ADC
Other CRE
SFR
Overall LLC Program

Standard Deviation
a

b

Net present value of projected or actual cash flows as of the LLC sale date, divided by the initial asset
balance. The discount rate is adjusted for risk using a method similar to the one used in the FDIC’s
financial statements. Note proceeds are discounted at lower rates than equity distributions.
For the June 2016 estimate, over 90 percent of the cash flows are actuals rather than estimates.

The aggregate across all LLCs showed that, on a program-wide basis, the estimated
recovery from a bulk sale of the assets was 30 percent and the estimated recovery from
an LLC sale was 40.7 percent. The managing members initially estimated a 40.3 percent
recovery. The most recent estimates anticipate a 47.4 percent recovery. For 71 percent

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

219

of the transactions, the current estimates are higher than the original estimates.110
On the basis of the pre-close estimates, the use of LLCs would have saved the FDIC
an estimated $2.8 billion dollars (compared with bulk sale estimates); on the basis of
the most recent estimates, the savings increased to $4.6 billion. Improvements in the
asset markets probably contributed to the increased return. On the basis of this simple
comparison, seller financing did not appear to influence the difference between the
two pre-close estimates (one for whole-loan sales and one for the LLCs); after the sale,
however, the transactions with seller financing showed stronger improvements. ADC
assets provided much lower returns (43.7 percent) than either other CRE (54.2 percent)
or single-family residential assets (54.7 percent). ADC assets also showed the strongest
improvements compared with the initial projections; this may be because of value added
through effective servicing or because ADC loan values are more heavily influenced
by improvements in the real estate market, or both.111 In terms of the number of bids
received or differences in the basic structure of the risk-sharing agreements, no clear
trends in recoveries were readily discernible.
Sales of Other Real Estate (ORE). As with most types of assets in receivership, the number
of ORE assets (that is, foreclosed properties) increased rapidly at the start of the 2008–2013
crisis, and by the end of the crisis more than 13,500 ORE assets had been acquired. To
dispose of its ORE, the FDIC relied primarily on direct sales of the assets by real estate
brokers. If the assets did not sell within established FDIC timelines, the properties were
sold at public auction. One advantage of this strategy was that the brokers aggressively
marketed the property during the listing period, since properties placed in public auctions
were subject to a reduced commission. In addition, the FDIC found that disclosing that a
property was to be included in a scheduled auction often caused a hesitant buyer, fearful of
becoming involved in competitive bidding, to make an offer.
The FDIC’s ORE auctions were held in a location near the properties being sold. In
addition, often there were options that allowed bidders to submit bids by phone or online
as well. The auctions included dozens, and sometimes even hundreds, of properties for
sale from multiple receiverships. The FDIC sought to include a mix of attractive and
less-appealing properties in each auction to increase interest and encourage competitive
bidding. The properties were listed both on the FDIC’s website and on the auctioneer’s
110

Note that more than 90 percent of the most recent estimate has already been realized. All recovery estimates
are discounted to the LLC sale date.

111

The servicing of ADC loans is more complicated than the servicing of other real estate loans. See OCC, “The
Conptroller’s Handbook,” 2013, for a discussion. For evidence that land prices are more volatile than other
real estate prices, see Joseph B. Nichols, Stephen D. Oliner, and Michal R. Mulhall, “Swings in Commercial
and Residential Land Prices,” Journal of Urban Economics 73 (2013): 57–76, and Raphael W. Bostic, Stanley
D. Longhofer, and Christian L. Redfearn, “Land Leverage: Decomposing Home Price Dynamics,” Real
Estate Economics 35, no 2 (2007): 183–208. Land makes up a larger share of the collateral value for ADC
loans than for other types of real estate lending.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

website before the sale. The FDIC set reserves for the properties at these auctions,
based on its assessment of marketability and the length of time the property had been
previously marketed. At least a few absolute auctions112 were included to strengthen
investor interest; these were typically used for the least desirable properties.
The types of ORE sold included bank premises, commercial properties, undeveloped
land, multifamily properties, and single-family residences. The highest recovery rate
(70.4 percent of book value) was for bank premises. These properties tended to be well
maintained and located in well-trafficked areas. Other commercial properties had a
recovery rate of 57.4 percent. The real estate class suffering the lowest total recovery rate
was unimproved land, at 36.4 percent. This class of real estate, with no immediate use
and sometimes located in areas that were overbuilt, often had very little value. The largest
class by number of units of properties auctioned was single-family residential properties,
constituting nearly 50 percent of the number of properties that were auctioned. The
recovery rate for these properties was also higher, at 63.4 percent, than the overall
recovery rate (59.4 percent) for all ORE sales.113

Loss-Share Administration and Oversight

One important task of receiverships does not have to do with selling retained assets
but with following up on a critical decision made during franchise marketing. When
the FDIC entered into loss-share agreements at resolution, the P&A contracts included
a section that laid out the acquirers’ and the FDIC’s responsibilities associated with
the assets that were to receive loss-share coverage. Because the FDIC retained a large
share of the risk exposure from the portfolio of assets under loss-share agreements and
because the FDIC’s loss-share coverage might weaken the acquirers’ incentives to work
aggressively to minimize losses, it was important for the FDIC to protect its interests by
carefully monitoring the acquirers’ performance under those agreements.114
The portfolio of assets under loss-share agreements was dominated by real estate loans.
CRE loans (which included both ADC loans and other types of CRE loans) constituted
45% of portfolio assets ($98 billion), and single-family mortgages constituted 35% ($74
billion). Another 3% ($6.5 billion) was ORE. A total of 1.1 million assets were placed in
the program. On the basis of asset counts, most of the assets were consumer loans: singlefamily mortgages constituted 43% of the assets, and other consumer loans constituted
26%. Figure 6.6 provides details.
112

An absolute auction is an auction where the seller does not set a reserve price (minimum required price).
Buyers are attracted to absolute auctions because they sometimes result in bargain prices.

113

Source: https://sales.fdic.gov/closedrealestate/. These figures include most, but not necessarily all, sales of
retained ORE from 2008 to 2013.

114

For additional information about the loss-share program, see the section above titled “Loss-Share Purchase
and Assumption.” See also FDIC, “Loss Share Questions and Answers,” https://www.fdic.gov/bank/
individual/failed/lossshare.

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CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

Figure 6.6. Loss-Share Asset Portfolio at Resolution, Number and Dollar Amount
Number of Assets (000s)
81

0

39

Asset Balance ($ Billions)
$1.7 $10.7

94

$19.8

108

$31.5

$4.7
$6.5

$66.5

290
482
$74.2
16

ADC Loans
Other CRE Loans

Consumer Loans
Commercial & Industrial Loans

Total Number of Assets: 1,109

1-4 Family Loans
ORE at Resolution

Securities
Others

Total Asset Balance: $215.6

About 32% of the asset value of CRE loans came from ADC loans that were especially
problematic.115 At resolution, 35% of the ADC loans were in default, whereas 11% of
the other CRE loans were in default. About 9% of the single-family mortgages were in
default at resolution.116
The primary goals of the review program were to minimize the FDIC’s losses and ensure
that the acquirer complied with the terms of the loss-share agreement. If an acquirer had
asset management weaknesses, inaccurate loss reporting, or other compliance problems,
the FDIC could mitigate its losses by quickly identifying problems, asking the acquirer to
address them, and following up with the acquirer appropriately. Two key components of the
monitoring program were regular on-site reviews and the review of standard information
reported by the acquiring banks. The FDIC undertook on-site reviews for most acquirers
annually, although acquirers of the largest portfolios were reviewed semiannually.
The FDIC also required that acquirers with single-family loss-share coverage pursue
a loan modification program. Under this program, the loan terms for delinquent owneroccupied single-family mortgages were modified (to make the loan affordable to the

115

Many failed banks had large ADC exposures. For additional discussion, see chapter 4 and U.S. General
Accountability Office, “Causes and Consequences of Recent Bank Failures,” GAO-13-71, 2013.

116

Calculations are based on asset balances rather than counts.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

borrower)117 if the estimated net present value of the modified loan was higher than the
net present value of foreclosure.118 Acquirers had several options for assisting troubled
borrowers in managing their mortgages, thereby minimizing FDIC costs: the acquirer
could adopt the loan modification program described in the agreement, or other
programs approved by the U.S. Treasury (such as its Home Affordable Modification
Program [HAMP]), or other programs that met the same purpose.119 As of March 2017,
acquiring banks had modified 25,736 owner-occupied first-lien single-family mortgages,
and two-thirds of the loans were still active and under the loss-share program. Almost
80 percent of the modified loans that were active in the loss-share program were current,
and another 6.6 percent were 30 to 59 days delinquent. Compared with other loan
modification programs, these results appear generally favorable. For example, Fitch
reported cumulative-to-date default rates of 30 percent or more for modified loans.120
Because loss share imposes administrative costs on both the acquirers and the FDIC,
it was often beneficial to terminate agreements once the value of the FDIC’s loss-share
coverage fell below the loss-share agreements’ administrative costs. As of year-end
2016, the FDIC had terminated 151 single-family agreements and 156 non-single-family
agreements. In sum, all the agreements at 159 failed banks had terminated.121 In 2017,
early termination activity continued to be brisk.

117

Loans were modified so that the monthly mortgage payment fell below a predetermined percentage of the
borrower’s income. This was achieved by reducing the interest rate, lengthening the term of the loan, and/
or deferring principal and interest payments on part of the loan balance. For a sample agreement, see pages
58-93, and especially pages 92–93, of https://www.fdic.gov/bank/individual/failed/firstfederal-ca-p-and-a.
pdf. Also, note that the FDIC provided loss-share coverage for modifications of noncurrent loans as well as
performing loans with high risk of imminent default—that is, where there was a strong chance that the loan
would default soon because of the loan characteristics.

118

In estimating the net present value of modifications, acquirers were expected to consider the redefault
probability (that is, the probability that the loan might default again) after modification.

119

The FDIC had to approve alternative programs (except the U.S. Treasury programs) to ensure that they met
the program goals.

120

Fitch, “Risk Growing in Mortgage Loan Modifications: Historical Modification Data Review,” Feb. 9,
2017, 5, https://www.loansafe.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Risk-Growing-in-Mortgage-LoanModifications.pdf. These rates were reported nearly six years after modifications, and some of the loan
modifications under the loss-share program are not this mature. However, Fitch also reported that 75
percent of redefaults occurred in the first two years after modification (p. 1).

121

At some banks, loss-share coverage was provided only for single-family assets or only for non-single-family
assets.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

223

Lessons Learned for Resolutions and Receiverships
As the crisis unfolded, the FDIC learned a great deal and kept making adjustments to
improve its results. Some of the most important lessons learned from that experience are
discussed here.

Lesson 1: Readiness Planning Is Essential

Early in the crisis, as the speed and size of failures exceeded expectations, the FDIC’s
infrastructure was challenged (despite the FDIC’s efforts to improve infrastructure
before the crisis), and the Corporation was forced to devote resources to the expansion of
its capacity on a largely ad hoc basis. In hindsight, it might have been more effective if the
FDIC, as part of its readiness planning, had built a larger and more agile infrastructure—
including staff, contracts, and IT systems—during the lull between the end of the
previous crisis and the start of this new one.
The FDIC now has the opportunity to explore options for maintaining readiness in a
low-failure environment with that environment’s concomitant pressures on the FDIC to
streamline its operations.122 The difficulty is that trade-offs are necessary between two
of the FDIC’s responsibilities: to be a steward of the DIF and to maintain preparedness
for a crisis. In other words, budgetary pressures must be balanced against the reality that
the magnitude and speed of banking crises are unpredictable. In its readiness planning
since the end of the crisis, the FDIC has increased its baseline staffing for resolution and
receivership activities and it continues to enhance its systems and processes to bolster
its receivership capabilities. Developing scalable and up-to-date receivership IT systems
is an important aspect of readiness planning because deploying the right technology
contributes to the FDIC’s ability to manage a crisis successfully.
But since crises can occur quickly, it is also helpful to have a roadmap for increasing
key resources and infrastructure when needed. Whether through the use of contractors,
reallocated employees, rehired annuitants, or new employees, the roadmap can make it
easier for the FDIC to build its capacity quickly. Plans to build capacity should remain
broad and focus on scalability and flexibility, but they should also include the technical
and operational details necessary to implement quick capacity-building.
Finally, although the 2008–2013 crisis began quickly, especially in comparison with
the 1980–1994 crisis, the FDIC noticed underlying currents of weakness in depository
institutions well before the failures accelerated. For example, the FDIC’s 2007 Annual
Report stated that “The year posed major challenges to financial institutions and to the
economy as a whole. Slumping housing markets and escalating problems, particularly
related to subprime mortgage lending, were among the chief contributors to increased
122

Maintaining readiness in this kind of environment may include exploring how other agencies or private
companies with highly variable resource demands address their resource challenges. For example, the
Federal Emergency Management Agency has developed readiness capabilities despite the unpredictable
need for disaster relief. The Department of Defense has addressed its need to quickly expand capacity by
using reservists.

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

uncertainty in the financial markets.”123 The FDIC also noticed weaknesses through its
monitoring of the condition of institutions between examinations: the FDIC’s Statistical
CAMELS Off-Site Rating (SCOR) system began to flag an increasing number of
potentially troubled depository institutions in early 2007.124 Going forward, it will be
helpful to examine the possibility of building resolution capacity earlier—that is, when
standard indicators of industry condition (including, for example, the SCOR system),
financial and market indicators, or other signals draw attention to substantial weaknesses
in the banking industry, even if failure projections are uncertain. The risk of possibly
becoming temporarily overstaffed (if bank failures should not materialize) might be a
cost that is justified by the highly cyclical and uncertain workload, but research is needed
to identify which triggers are likely to be most helpful in initiating the build-up of staff.

Lesson 2: Consider Offering More Resolution and Financing Options to Acquirers

As noted above, the loss-share transaction was the FDIC’s dominant resolution offering from
mid-2009 through 2010. In early 2011, the FDIC expanded its regular resolution offerings
to include whole bank without loss share, and the FDIC subsequently supplemented its
regular offerings with other options (especially loan pools) more frequently before it began
to phase out loss share in 2012. The loss-share option was attractive early in the crisis and,
especially, at the height of the crisis. Loss share leveraged the FDIC’s natural advantage
over private parties in absorbing large risks during a period when the market’s appetite for
risk was low. It reduced disruption to bank customers and communities during a period
when the cost of disruption was high,125 and it minimized staff and cash needs during a
period when both were in short supply and future needs were uncertain but potentially
very large. It might, however, have been advantageous for the FDIC to have broadened its
offerings more quickly as its resources improved and as its programs for selling retained
assets became more established.126 For example, the FDIC might have offered loan pools
with and without loss share as well as whole-bank transactions.
123

FDIC, 2007 Annual Report, 4, https://www.fdic.gov/about/strategic/report/2008annualreport/index_pdf.
html.

124

SCOR uses quarterly Consolidated Reports of Condition and Income (Call Report) data to help the
FDIC identify institutions that have worsening financial conditions between examination cycles. For
details, see Charles Collier et al., “The SCOR System of Off-Site Monitoring: Its Objectives, Functioning,
and Performance,” FDIC Banking Review 15, no. 1 (2003): 17–32, https://www.fdic.gov/bank/analytical/
banking/2003sep/2_15n3.pdf.

125

GAO, “Causes and Consequences.” The GAO studied the disruption caused by failures from 2008 to 2011
and stated that “our results suggest that bank failures in a state were more likely to affect its real estate sector
than its labor market or overall economy” (p. 146). Thus, the FDIC’s resolution methods appear to have
resulted in less severe disruption than what had been documented from earlier bank failures.

126

Economic theory and research point to benefits for the FDIC from offering a wide variety of options so that
the markets can determine the most cost-effective option. See Edward J. Kane, “Principal-Agent Problems
in S&L Salvage,” Journal of Finance 45, no. 3 (1990): 755–64; Kormendi et al., Crisis Resolution; and FDIC,
“FDIC Policies for the RTC.”

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

225

In addition, the FDIC might consider broadening its options for funding resolutions.
During the crisis, the FDIC avoided borrowing from the U.S. Treasury or the Federal
Financing Bank (FFB) by imposing prepaid deposit insurance assessments.127 With the
infusion of cash from the industry, resolution and receivership methods that required
working cash became relatively more attractive to the FDIC than they had been before
the prepaid assessment. Another way to improve the cash position of the DIF (and thus
provide more freedom to adopt resolution methods that require working cash) might
have been to offer notes to acquirers instead of, or as an alternative to, cash. This option
raises serious policy questions that would need to be considered, including questions
about the appropriate note terms, when and how to offer notes to acquirers, the risks
associated with this option, and what controls should be put into place.

Lesson 3: Include Use of National Servicers for Large-Scale Crises in Readiness
Plans

Before the recent crisis, the FDIC had been able to sell assets quickly at field sites that
were open for only a few months at each failed-bank location. When the crisis struck
and markets for such assets suddenly dried up, the FDIC retained more assets, its scope
of operations suddenly widened, and its previous strategy became less cost-effective.
Thus the FDIC benefited by shifting to a reliance on national loan servicers. National
servicers made possible stronger and more consistent loan servicing and supported a
more comprehensive asset sales strategy—one that often improved prices by grouping
assets from multiple receiverships into various sales initiatives. However, executing such
a large shift in operations in the middle of a crisis was not optimal, and the FDIC might
have avoided some of the associated disruption had there been an opportunity to make
the change earlier. This experience suggests that readiness plans should include either
the ongoing maintenance of national servicing contracts—even during periods when the
FDIC’s receivership activity levels are modest—or an ability to switch to national servicing
contracts promptly without having to expend scarce resources to set up the program.
Although the cost of retaining national servicers during periods of low activity may seem
high, these costs must be balanced against the value of being able to seamlessly scale up
this key component of receivership operations when activity levels increase, especially with
little lead time.

127

For additional discussion, see chapter 5 as well as FDIC, Prepaid Assessments, 74 Fed. Reg. 59056–59066
(Nov. 17, 2009), https://www.fdic.gov/regulations/laws/federal/2009/09finalad51nov17.pdf. As discussed
in chapter 5, prepaid assessments had benefits beyond the improved liquidity of the DIF. The DIF cash
position was also improved by increased assessment rates, a special assessment in 2009, and the FDIC’s
heavy use of whole-bank resolutions, including loss-share resolutions.

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Lesson 4: Structured Sales Worked Well

The FDIC used two types of structured transactions to sell retained assets during the
crisis: LLCs and securitizations. Both of these asset sale methods allowed the FDIC to
pool similar assets to attract more bidder interest; they were also designed so that the
FDIC retained a significant share of the financial risks associated with the assets (thus
potentially improving the FDIC’s recoveries but leaving the FDIC exposed to additional
losses if markets declined).
Although recoveries varied across individual LLC transactions, the overall recoveries
for the LLC program were materially higher than estimated bulk loan sale recoveries and
original estimates. The strong recoveries were probably influenced by the combination
of well-aligned incentives and the market and asset management expertise of the
managing members. Recoveries for securitized loans were also higher than estimated
recoveries from bulk loan sales. Market improvements probably contributed to the
higher recoveries for both programs.

Lesson 5: Effective Loss-Share Administration Requires Adequate Infrastructure

For three reasons, FDIC oversight of the loss-share agreements was critical to the success
of the loss-share program. First, the risk exposure that the FDIC retained was in this
instance substantial. Second, the program had the potential to weaken the incentive
of acquirers to manage the portfolios in ways that minimized the FDIC’s costs. Third,
some acquirers were unfamiliar with the program requirements. Four elements proved
to be most important for administering the oversight process. The FDIC and the
acquirer needed to move quickly to ensure a mutual understanding of expectations;
the FDIC had to conduct regular on-site reviews to ensure compliance with the lossshare agreements; the FDIC needed to follow up on any areas of disagreement or
noncompliance; and the automated data collection and reporting system, together
with the associated requirements for standardized data reporting, made it possible
to apply FDIC procedures more consistently, and supported effective program-wide
management. To mitigate program losses effectively in the future, it is critical that the
FDIC implement the necessary back-office operations and infrastructure to oversee
the program promptly and effectively.

Postscript: Areas for Future Research and Conclusion
A well-informed staff is invaluable when a crisis erupts. A staff that has a strong
knowledge of the FDIC’s historical resolution experience and a deep understanding
of its options and the legal requirements, operational requirements, costs, and policy
trade-offs for each option improves the FDIC’s ability to make good decisions. During
the 2008–2013 crisis, however, the FDIC made numerous choices based on incomplete

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227

information. Although incomplete information is inevitable during periods with heavy
bank-failure activity, there may be opportunities to reduce the FDIC’s future uncertainties
by using information from the recent crisis (both from the FDIC and elsewhere) and
the available academic research to analyze questions likely to arise the next time bank
failures increase. The next time may be either another crisis or a period of more-moderate
increases in failure activity.
Examples of areas in which additional research may prove helpful are the trade-offs in
resolving failed banks, costs and benefits of prompt asset sales, early-warning tools, the
use of risk-sharing transactions and the incentives embedded in risk-sharing agreements,
the market power of asset buyers, and seller financing options.
Trade-Offs in Resolving Failed Banks. Study the trade-offs among minimizing costs,
minimizing disruption from failures, minimizing operational and financial risk,
minimizing liquidity needs, and encouraging market discipline when failed banks are
sold. How should the FDIC balance these trade-offs as it considers what resolution
strategies to pursue? Should the balance shift in response to industry conditions and
general economic conditions, and, if so, how?128
Costs and Benefits of Prompt Asset Sales. The FDIC’s strategic shift toward swift
liquidation was implemented consistently through all its asset sale programs and was
embodied in Annual Performance Goals for prompt marketing of assets and termination
of receiverships.129 This was a fundamental policy choice with broad effect. It yielded
notable benefits, such as minimizing asset servicing costs, reducing the FDIC’s need for
receivership infrastructure, and reducing potential market distortions from excessive
government holdings of assets. There were also costs. Because assets were sold promptly
during a serious downturn, high risk premiums (and possibly discounts demanded by
asset buyers with market power) were embedded in many of the sale prices.130 Receivership
interest earnings were lower.131 The importance of asset liquidation speed to the resolution
process and the importance of the associated costs to the FDIC—and to society—call for
careful analysis of the effects that follow from this fundamental policy choice.

128

The FDIC’s statutory mandates preclude some potential shifts but allow others.

129

As noted above, the FDIC sought to market all assets within 90 days and to terminate receiverships
(without specific impediments) within three years. The FDIC currently has very similar goals in place.
For details on the FDIC’s current strategic goals, see FDIC, “Strategic Plans,” https://www.fdic.gov/about/
strategic/.

130

The FDIC mitigated the costs by marketing widely and including risk-sharing provisions.

131

This occurred because the earning assets were sold quickly. Had they remained in receiverships, the
receiverships would have collected more interest payments.

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Early-Warning Tools. Investigate the possibility of devising early-warning tools that
could trigger timely increases in resolution staff yet would be relatively unlikely to yield
“false positives” that would lead to excessively high staff levels.
Risk-Sharing. Consider how much risk-sharing is appropriate for the FDIC. How should
factors such as industry condition influence the FDIC’s use of risk-sharing strategies?
In addition, explore how the incentives embedded in the various loss-share, LLC, and
securitization contracts influenced (a) the performance of the underlying assets; (b) the
servicer’s/asset manager’s behavior; and (c) the FDIC’s losses. What are the implications
for future resolution and receivership choices (choice of tools, design for the sharing
percentages, thresholds, true-up, and so forth)?
Market Power of Asset Buyers. Consider how the small number of interested and
qualified buyers influences franchise and asset sales, and thus how the market power
of asset buyers affected the FDIC’s losses. How effective were the FDIC’s strategies for
counteracting the downward pressure on asset prices because of the market power held
by asset buyers? What resolution policies, methods, or practices might reduce the extent
of that market power and therefore reduce the FDIC’s losses?
Seller Financing Options. Consider additional seller financing options for franchise sales,
bulk loan sales and ORE sales. The available evidence shows that asset buyers found it
difficult to obtain financing early in the 2008–2013 crisis and that asset prices drop
materially when financing options are not readily available.132 The FDIC never offered
seller financing for bulk loan sales or ORE sales, and rarely offered it for franchise sales.133
Some analysts have advocated a broader use of seller financing for retained asset sales.134
132

See Andrei Shleifer and Robert W. Vishny, “Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A Market Equilibrium
Approach,” Journal of Finance 47, no. 6 (1992): 1343–66; Joao Granja, Gregor Matvos, and Amit Seru,
“Selling Failed Banks,” Journal of Finance 72, no. 4 (2017): 1723–84; Viral Acharya, Sreedhar T. Bharath,
and Anand Srinivansan, “Does Industry-wide Distress Affect Defaulted Firms? Evidence from Creditor
Recoveries,” Journal of Financial Economics 85, no. 3 (2007): 787–821; and Viral Acharya, Hyun Song Shin,
and Tanju Yorulmazer, “Crisis Resolution and Bank Liquidity,” Review of Financial Studies 21, no. 6 (2011):
2166–205.

133

Seller financing was offered only for the three franchise sales where it was used. Seller financing is irrelevant
for many commonly used franchise sale structures because acquirers do not need cash to close the transaction.
It may be helpful for whole-bank structures where brokered deposits are retained in receivership, for loan
pools, and for other combination structures.

134

See Michael Lea and Kenneth Thygerson, “A Model of the Asset Disposition Decision of the RTC,” Journal
of the American Real Estate and Urban Economics Association 22, no. 1 (1994): 117–33; FDIC, Final Report of
the FDIC/RTC Transition (1995); and FDIC “FDIC Policies for the RTC.” None of these documents suggests
universal use of seller financing; instead, they all recommend it in certain circumstances or for certain
types of assets (such as for commercial ORE or for troubled assets). In contrast, Office of Management and
Budget, “Resolving the Thrift Crisis,” 1993, discusses trade-offs associated with seller financing but does not
advocate its use.

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Despite the credit risk associated with seller financing, it may be worthwhile to consider
whether there might be additional situations where seller financing could yield net benefits,
and, if so, how to manage risk exposure, set appropriate loan terms and borrower vetting
processes, and minimize market distortions.
***
Because every crisis—and every failing bank—is unique, crisis resolution necessarily
involves making judgments in a difficult environment and with a high degree of
uncertainty. During the 2008–2013 crisis, the FDIC successfully resolved 489 bank
failures representing $686 billion in assets. Insured deposit balances were protected
and receivership assets were liquidated, with the net proceeds used to pay creditors as
required by law. The FDIC benefited from (a) a robust set of resolution tools provided
by Congress, (b) its previous experience in applying those tools, and (c) its willingness
to wield those tools in new ways to respond to new challenges. Moreover, the FDIC
considered the various trade-offs in light of the constraints it was operating under and
took decisive actions that proved to be quite successful overall. Particularly important
examples of such actions were offering loss share early in the crisis and switching to
national loan servicing contracts. Nonetheless, there are also lessons to be learned from
the FDIC’s experience in the crisis of 2008 through 2013, as this section has indicated.
Following up on these lessons will further strengthen the FDIC’s crisis preparedness,
enhancing its ongoing contribution to maintaining the nation’s financial stability.

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Institutions.” NR 2008-137, November 21, 2008. https://www.occ.gov/news-issuances/
news-releases/2008/nr-occ-2008-137.html.
———. “The Comptroller’s Handbook.” 2013.
Office of Management and Budget (OMB). “Guidelines and Discount Rates for BenefitCost Analysis of Federal Programs.” Circular A-94. 1992.
———. “Resolving the Thrift Crisis.” 1993.
Office of Personnel Management (OPM). “Hiring Information: Direct Hire Authority.”
https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/hiring-information/direct-hireauthority/#url=Fact-Sheet.
———. “Workforce Restructuring.” https://www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/
workforce-restructuring/reductions-in-force/.
———. “Workforce Reshaping Operations Handbook,” 58–59. March 2017. https://
www.opm.gov/policy-data-oversight/workforce-restructuring/reductions-in-force/
workforce_reshaping.pdf.
Pyhrr, Stephen A., Waldo L. Born, Rudy R. Robinson III, and Scott R Lucas. “Real
Property Valuation in a Changing Economic and Market Cycle.” Appraisal Journal,
January 1996, 14–26.
Reinhart, Carmen M., and Kenneth S. Rogoff. This Time Is Different. 2009.
Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). “Hard to Sell Asset Review Project.” 1992.
———. RTC Statistical Abstract. 1995.

238

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Sachs, Jeffrey D. “Conditionality, Debt Relief, and the Developing Country Debt Crisis.”
In Developing Country Debt and Economic Performance, edited by Jeffrey D. Sachs. Vol.
1, The International Financial System, 255–96. 1989.
Seidman, L. William. Full Faith and Credit: The Great S&L Debacle and Other Washington
Sagas. 1993.
Shirley, Mary, and Patrick Walsh. “Public vs. Private Ownership: The Current State of the
Debate.” World Bank Policy Research Working Paper. 2000.
Shleifer, Andrei, and Robert W. Vishny. “Liquidation Values and Debt Capacity: A
Market Equilibrium Approach.” Journal of Finance 47, no. 6 (1992): 1343–66.
———. “Fire Sales in Finance and Macroeconomics.” Journal of Economic Perspectives 25,
no. 1 (2011): 29–48.
Speigel, Mark M. “The Disposition of Failed Japanese Bank Assets: Lessons from the U.S.
Savings and Loan Crisis.” Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco Economic Review, 2002,
1–15. https://www.frbsf.org/economic-research/files/article1-2.pdf.
Stanton, Thomas H. “Lessons Learned: Obtaining Value from Federal Asset Sales.” Public
Budgeting & Finance, Spring 2003, 22–44.
Subramanian, Guhan. Negotiauctions: New Dealmaking Strategies for a Competitive
Marketplace. 2010.
Turmoil in U.S. Credit Markets: Recent Actions Regarding Government Sponsored Entities,
Investment Banks and Other Financial Institutions, Before the Senate Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs Committee. 110th Cong. (September 23, 2008) (testimony by Henry
M. Paulson Jr., Secretary of the Treasury). https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CHRG110shrg50400/html/CHRG-110shrg50400.htm.
U.S. General Accounting Office (GAO). “1992 Bank Resolutions: FDIC Chose Methods
Determined Least Costly, but Needs to Improve Process.” GAO/GGD-94-107. 1994.
http://www.gao.gov/assets/160/154294.pdf.
U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO). “Report to Congressional Committees,
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Human Capital and Risk Assessment Programs
Appear Sound, but Evaluations of Their Effectiveness Should Be Improved.” GAO-07255. 2007. https://www.gao.gov/assets/260/256532.pdf.

CHAPTER 6: Bank Resolutions and Receiverships

239

———. “Causes and Consequences of Recent Bank Failures.” GAO-13-71. 2013. https://
www.gao.gov/assets/660/651154.pdf.
U.S. House of Representatives. Report Number 102-330. “Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation Improvement Act of 1991, To accompany H.R. 3768.” November 19, 1991.
U.S. Senate. Report Number 102–167. “Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation
Improvement Act of 1991, To accompany S. 543.” October 1, 1991.
U.S. Small Business Administration. “Limited Liability Company.” www.sba.gov/startingbusiness/choose-your-business-structure/limited-liability-company.
Waites, Joe. “Why Lenders Can’t Do Workouts.” American Banker, February 4, 2010.

240

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Index
A
ABCP. See asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP)
absolute auction 220
ABX Index 20, 21
Acquisition, development, and construction (ADC) loans
bank failures and 119–120
defined 105
pre-crisis growth 106
risk management of 141
risks 112–113
sales of (via limited liability companies) 217–219
servicing of 219
adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)
hybrid 11, 12
interest rates for 12
loans structured as 11
option 11, 12
with flexible payment options 11, 71
AGP. See Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
AIG (American International Group) 27, 67
Alternative-A (Alt-A) loans
defined 11
rise in defaults on 13
securitization of 105
Ambac 22
American Bankers Association 160
American Express Bank, FSB 61
American International Group (AIG) 27, 67
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (2009) 84
AmericanWest Bancorporation 134
American West Bank 134
annualized fee, for DGP 45
ARMs. See adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)
assessments. See deposit insurance assessments

242

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

asset-backed commercial paper (ABCP)
about 24
defined 17
market collapse of 25
Asset-Backed Commercial Paper Money Market Mutual Fund Liquidity Facility 28
Asset Guarantee Program (AGP). See Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
assets
bank failures and growth of 120–121
heavy worldwide demand for 9
held in foreign offices 68
markdowns of 25
market power of buyers of 228
of failed banks by year of resolution 183, 200
servicing 211–212
asset sales
by type of asset 213–219
costs and benefits of prompt 227
Associated Bank, National Association 62
Atlanta, real estate lending risks 112–113
auctions 208, 213–215
Aurora Bank, FSB 134

B
backup examination 115–116, 118. See also special examination
Bair, Sheila 37, 59
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria (BBVA) Puerto Rico 62
Banco Popular 194
bank and thrift crisis of 1980s 36, 102, 111, 123, 179
bank examination
adjustments during crisis 125–126
defined 101
importance of on-site review 141
of large banks 108–109
pre-crisis program 107–118
risk-focused 108–109
bank failures
ADC lending and 119–120
as a percentage of all banks 203
asset growth and 121

INDEX

categories of 199
characteristics of 119–124, 201
equity capital ratios and 123
fraud and insider abuse 124
large banks 114
new banks 123
rates of 203
statistics on 101, 119, 123, 138, 151, 155, 182–183, 199–202
subprime lending and 105
total number during crisis 101, 181–182
wholesale funding and 121–122
bank holding companies (BHCs)
bankruptcies of 132–133
guarantee on debt issued by 37–38
payment of claims on debt issued by 47
supervision of 114, 130
supervisory ratings of 79
supervisory strategies to insulate banks from problems at 129–135
top ten by asset size 70
banking industry 68, 104–106, 160
Bank Insurance Fund 152, 155
Bank of America Corporation
about 86
acquisition of Countrywide Financial by 88
acquisition of Merrill Lynch by 81, 87–88
assistance provided to 28, 85, 88–91, 143
DGP, use of 50, 61
examination of 117, 119
FDIC dedicated examiner program and 117, 119
insured deposits, largest holder of 87
liquidity concerns at 88
material adverse change (MAC) clause 87
problems at 26, 88
SRE and 67–68, 88–91
TARP and 88–91
timelines of events for 86
TLGP and 35, 48
Bank of America N.A 87
Bank of New York Mellon Corporation 48, 62
Bank of the West 51, 62

243

244

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Bank One 117
bank regulation, defined 101
bank resolutions and receiverships. See also receiverships; See also resolutions
about 175–202
condition indicators 201
FDIC responsibilities 176–178
franchise marketing 184–194
lessons learned from 223–226
number of, by year 182
past strategies with 179
readiness planning 180
research and conclusion 226–229
statistics on 181–182, 199–202
tasks during crisis 210–222
bankruptcy code 132, 134–135
bank supervision
applications 101
defined 101
effectiveness of approaches used in crisis 137
importance of expertise 144
lessons of the crisis 139–144
new banks 129, 142–143
statutory framework 102–104
strategies during crisis 125–137
timely corrective action 107–109, 142
BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria) Puerto Rico 62
Bear Stearns 26, 30, 81
BestBank 105, 116
BHCs. See bank holding companies (BHCs)
bidding process, in franchise marketing 185–187
Big Sandy Holding Company 134
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. See Federal Reserve Board (FRB)
bridge banks 182, 184, 196
brokered deposit adjustment 161–162, 169–173
brokered deposits
defined 103
restrictions on 121–122
bulk loan sales 215

INDEX

C
Call Report (Consolidated Report of Condition and Income) 111, 141
CALMA (Capital and Liquidity Maintenance Agreement) 130, 134–135
CAMEL rating 116
CAMELS ratings (or supervisory ratings)
about 70, 105, 116, 154
assessment rates and 154–155, 161, 166–173
backup examination and 116
changed from CAMEL rating 108
downgrades 120–122
enforcement actions and 127
importance of 126
subprime lending and 105
Wachovia and 70–71, 118
Capital and Liquidity Maintenance Agreement (CALMA) 130, 134–135
Capital Purchase Program (CPP). See Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
capital ratios 122, 201. See also Prompt Corrective Action (PCA)
bank failures and 122–123
leverage ratio 26, 92, 143
Capitol Bancorp, Ltd. 133–134
Capmark Bank 134
Capmark Financial Group, Inc. 134
Case Manager position 110
Case-Shiller index. See S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index
CDOs (Collateralized Debt Obligations) 17, 21–23, 132
CDS. See Credit Default Swaps (CDS)
CEP (Corporate Employee Program) 181, 205
Chicago Board Options Exchange 79, 80
CIT Bank 134
CIT Group 134
Citibank N.A. 28, 50, 78
Citigroup
about 77
AGP and 82–83, 85
assistance provided to 82, 84, 143
credit default swaps 81, 85
deposit runoff 81
DGP and 48, 50, 61
dividend restrictions 84

245

246

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

examination of 78, 117, 119
liquidity portfolio 80
loan modification procedures 84
open-bank assistance for 82
perpetual preferred stock 83
problems at 26, 78–81, 85
SRE and 68, 77–84
structured investment vehicles (SIVs) and 79–80
TARP and 80
timelines of events for 77
Wachovia and 72–76, 79
civil money penalties (CMPs) 127
Coastal Community Investments (Coastal) 57
Collateralized Debt Obligations (CDOs) 17, 21–23, 132
commercial paper 24
Commercial Paper Funding Facility (CPFF) 37
commercial real estate (CRE) 71, 106, 113, 119, 183
commonly controlled depository institutions 103
Community Bankers Association 160
community banks, sources of funding for 57
comparative advantage, in insurance markets 191
Competitive Equality Banking Act (1987-CEBA) 130
Conference of State Bank Supervisors 108
Consolidated Report of Condition and Income (Call Report) 111, 141
Continental Illinois National Bank and Trust Company 59, 68
contingent loss reserve 155, 159
contractors, FDIC’s use of 206
Contract Oversight Managers 206
Cooperative Examination Program 115
Corporate Employee Program (CEP) 181, 205
corporate governance, importance of 124–125
Countrywide Bank 117
Countrywide Financial 87
CPFF (Commercial Paper Funding Facility) 37
CPP. See Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
CRE (commercial real estate) 71, 106, 113, 119, 183
Credit Default Swaps (CDS)
about 22–23
ABX Indexes 21

INDEX

pricing of debt guarantees 45–46
risk and 17
spreads on for Citigroup 81, 85
credit ratings. See also Debt Guarantee Program (DGP)
credibility of questioned 20
deterioration in for MBS 19
cross-guarantee provisions, of FIRREA 103, 133, 136

D
debt
eligible for the DGP 44
trends in senior unsecured issuance 40
debt guarantee
determinants of, under Dodd-Frank 60
in other countries 34
mechanisms for 35
policy debate over 35–38
Debt Guarantee Program (DGP)
about 33, 44
challenges of 47–50
debt assigned AAA/Aaa rating 56
debt markets stabilized after 57
debt outstanding 45, 54
decline in issuance of 49
emergency facility 49–50
ground rules and extensions for 44
institutions using the 50
legal issues with 47–50
lowered cost of funding 56
Master Agreement and 49
option to opt out of 43
payment of claims 47–50
pricing and limits on participation in 45–47
statistics on 33, 57
dedicated examiner program 116–118
delegations of authority 206
de novo (new) banks 123, 129, 142–143, 198
Department of the Treasury. See Treasury

247

248

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

deposit insurance assessments
adjustments to 161–162, 166, 169–173
base 152, 162, 164–166, 169–173
credits 153, 165
FDIC’s approach to determining 151–173
for highly complex institutions 165–166, 169–173
for large banks 154–155, 158, 162, 163–166, 169–173
for small banks 154–155, 162–167, 169–173
highly complex institution scorecard 166
large bank scorecard 166
prepayment of 160–161, 225
procyclical 153, 163, 167
rate 152, 155–158, 161–167, 169–173
reforms to 151–173
scorecard 166
special 157–160
surcharge 165
deposit insurance (DI)
about 151
expansion of coverage of 34–38, 52
FIRREA, FDICIA and 102–103
fund management and risk-based assessments 151–173
Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF, or the fund)
balance of the 152, 155–159, 161, 163, 167
Dodd-Frank Act and 163–173
FDICIA and 67, 103
large banks and 114, 164
liquidity of 151, 155, 157, 159–161
management of 151–173
reserve ratio and the 163–164
strengthening of the 160, 163–167
supervisory process and 109
TLGP and 37, 46
Deposit Insurance National Bank (DINB) 184, 185, 199–201
depository institution debt adjustment (DIDA) 166
deposits held in transaction accounts, as sources of funding for banks 57
derivatives 27, 29
defined 18
downgrades 18–22
growth in use of 18

INDEX

249

spread of risk through 5, 18
designated reserve ratio (DRR)
defined 152
Dodd-Frank Act and 163–164
FDIRA and 152–153
long-term fund management plan and 163–164
setting the 153–154, 158, 163–167
DGP. See Debt Guarantee Program (DGP)
DI. See deposit insurance (DI)
DIDA (depository institution debt adjustment) 166
DIF. See Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF, or the fund)
DINB (Deposit Insurance National Bank) 184, 185, 199–201
Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (2010) (Dodd-Frank)
about 92
assessments and 165
capital and 92
credit ratings and 166
deposit insurance reforms 52–53, 60, 151, 163–165, 167
liquidity event determination 60
living wills 92, 144
OLA and 92
reserve ratio and 163, 165
resolutions and 130
SRE and 42, 59–60, 92–93
stress testing 144
DRR. See designated reserve ratio (DRR); See FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance
Corporation): Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR)

E
early-warning tools 228
Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (2008) 52, 84
enforcement actions 127–128
Equal Credit Opportunity Act 212
equity tranches 16
Exchange Stabilization Fund 74

F
failed banks. See bank failures
Fair Credit Reporting Act 212
Fair Debt Collections Practices Act 212

250

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association-FNMA)
about 16
near insolvency of 26
placed into government conservatorship 26, 67
FCIC (Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission) 13
FDIC Banking Review 111
FDIC (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation)
applications to, for deposit insurance 101, 123, 143
assisted acquisition of Wachovia by Wells Fargo 69, 72–73
authority to borrow from Treasury 157
authority to close a failing bank 176
authorized staffing 204
Bank of America and 89
built up contract oversight process 206
Citigroup and 75, 82
Division of Insurance 110
Division of Insurance and Research 110
Division of Research and Statistics 110
Division of Resolutions and Receiverships (DRR) 181, 204
Division of Supervision 115
evolution of franchise sale offerings 195–199
failed bank resolution responsibilities of 176–177
formal actions available to 127
franchise sales options 188–194
implemented franchise marketing and asset management system 205
implemented new on-site supervision processes 108
informal actions available to 127
infrastructure of 203–205
National Risk Committee (NRC) 111, 113
protection of debtholders by 58
regional offices of 110
reliance on auctions by 208
risk-related publications of 111–113
role in determining whether to invoke systemic risk exception (SRE) 36, 67
sealed-bid process of 215
Statistical CAMELS Off-Site Rating (SCOR) system 224
supervisory and regulatory authority of 101, 114
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) 33. See also Temporary Liquidity
Guarantee Program (TLGP)
Wachovia and 70, 117–119

INDEX

251

FDICIA (Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (1991) (FDICIA)
34, 36, 67, 75, 102, 103, 116, 122, 186, 188
FDIRA (Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act) of 2005 152–154, 156–157, 164
federal banking agencies 101, 114
Federal Deposit Insurance Act 127, 130, 188
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Improvement Act (1991) (FDICIA) 34, 36, 67,
75, 102, 103, 116, 122, 186, 188
Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (FDIRA) 152–154, 156–157, 164
Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) 223
Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council 108
Federal Financing Bank (FFB) 157, 225
Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) 80, 190
Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation. See Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan
Mortgage Corporation-FHLMC)
Federal National Mortgage Association. See Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage
Association-FNMA)
Federal Reserve Act 23, 130
Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY)
Bank of America and 89–90
Citigroup and 78, 82–83
Federal Reserve Board (FRB)
authority to close a failing bank 176
bank examinations and 108
liquidity event determination and 60
role in SREs 35–37, 67–69, 74, 82, 87–88
Federal Reserve System
bank holding company ratings 79
emergency actions and programs 23, 26, 27, 28, 41, 81
monetary policy 13
policy debate over debt guarantee 35–38
Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) 103, 201
federal thrifts, supervision of 101, 114
fees
for DGP 45–46
for TAGP 51–52
for TLGP 37, 43, 57–58
FHLMC. See Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation-FHLMC)
Fifth Third Bancorp 62
Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (FCIC) 13

252

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

financial innovation 3, 4, 30
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery, and Enforcement Act (1989) (FIRREA)
102–103
financialization of housing assets 4, 9
financial market disruptions 23–26
financial regulators 35–37
fire sales 23–26, 208
First City Bancorporation of Texas 59
First National Bank of Keystone 105, 116
First Place Bank 134
First Place Bank Corporation 134
first price sealed-bid auction 215
First RepublicBank Corporation 59
Fitch Ratings. See also rating agencies
downgraded monoline bond insurer MBIA 22
on FDIC-guaranteed debt 48
FleetBoston Financial 117
Florida, bank failures in 183
FNMA. See Fannie Mae (Federal National Mortgage Association-FNMA)
foreign investors, affected by U.S. financial crisis 28–29
franchise marketing
about 177, 184
aggregate results for resolutions during crisis 182–183, 199–202
basic purchase and assumption 189
bidding process 185–187
bridge banks 196
defined 177
during banking crisis 194–202
evolution of FDIC sale offerings 195
loan pools 193
loss-share purchase and assumption 191
private equity acquirers 197–198
resolution options 188
whole-bank purchase and assumption 190
franchise sales, compared with retained asset sales 178
franchise value 190
fraud 57, 124
FRB. See Federal Reserve Board (FRB)
FRBNY. See Federal Reserve Bank of New York (FRBNY)

INDEX

Freddie Mac (Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation-FHLMC)
about 16
near insolvency of 26
placed into government conservatorship 26, 67
FSLIC (Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation) 103, 201
fund. See Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF, or the fund)
FYI 113

G
G7 (Group of Seven) 34
GAO (Government Accountability Office) 41
GECC (General Electric Capital Corporation) 51, 61
GE (General Electric) 51
GE Money Bank 51
General Electric Capital Corporation (GECC) 51, 61
General Electric (GE) 51
Georgia, bank failures in 183
global savings increase 9
global trade, decline in 29
GMAC LLC 61
Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. 26, 30, 48, 50, 61
governance, failures of 124
Government Accountability Office (GAO) 41
Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)
conservatorship 26
securitization of 16
Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act (1999) 68, 104
Growth Monitoring System 111
Gruenberg, Martin 41
GSEs. See Government-Sponsored Enterprises (GSEs)

H
Helping Families Save Their Homes Act (2009) 157
Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP). See loan modification program
Home Price Index 14
home prices 3–9, 14
negative equity, because of decline in 13–14

253

254

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

housing market
boom and bust cycle in 3, 7
bubble 7–14, 20, 30
collapse of 5, 13
deregulation of 3, 30
real estate investors’ role in 4, 9, 12
relation to MBS values 20
HSBC Bank USA 51
HSBC USA Inc. (subsidiary of HSBC Holdings, PLC) 61
Huntington National Bank 62
hybrid ARMs. See adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)

I
IDIs (insured depository institutions) 47
illiquidity 23–26
Independent Banker’s Bank 182, 197
Independent Community Bankers Association 160
IndyMac, F.S.B. 67, 84, 117, 155, 182, 197, 201
insider abuse, susceptibility to 124
Inspectors General reports, by subject
ADC lending 141
FDIC community bank examinations 137
impact of bank failures 137
Material Loss Reviews 124
risk monitoring of large banks 144
Washington Mutual 117–118
insurance determination system 206
insurance markets, comparative advantage in 191
insured depository institutions (IDIs) 47
interagency guidance/agreements
on concentrations in commercial real estate lending 113
on coordination of expanded supervisory information sharing and special
examinations 116
on nontraditional mortgage product risks 113
interbank market 39
Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts (IOLTAs) 43, 52, 54
interest-only mortgages (IOs) 11

INDEX

interest rates
as a factor in rising house prices 9
for adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs) 12
for hybrid ARMs (short-term ARMs) 11
prolonged period of low 3
interim rule on Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) 42, 43, 47, 48, 51
investment banks, restrictions on 18
IOLTAs (Interest on Lawyers Trust Accounts) 43, 52, 54
IOs (interest-only mortgages) 11

J
Jefferson Bank 134
John Deere Capital Corporation 61
joint resolution of Congress 60
JPMorgan Chase & Company 26, 48, 50, 61, 81, 117

K
KeyCorp 62

L
large-bank risk assessment 114–119
Large Insured Depository Institution (LIDI)
program 115
rating 70
least-cost
alternative 73
bid 186
resolution 36, 67, 73–75, 188
Lehman Brothers
bankruptcy 26–27, 30, 67, 69, 81, 87, 134
lessons learned about resolutions and receiverships 223–226
lessons learned about supervision 139–145
leverage 25–26
leveraged investors 25
leverage ratio 26, 92
thresholds for 143
LIBOR 12, 79
LIDI. See Large Insured Depository Institution (LIDI)
limited liability companies (LLCs) 209, 217–219

255

256

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

liquidity
deterioration at Wachovia 72
event determination 60
portfolio of Citigroup 80
problems 177, 186
living wills. See resolutions: plans
LLC Recovery Rates 218
LLCs (limited liability companies) 209, 217–219
LLC transactions 217–218
loan modification program 91, 221
Citigroup 84
Home Affordable Modification Program (HAMP) 222
loan pools 193
loans
past due by type of 15
real estate 106
sales of 215–219
long-term FDIC fund management plan 163–164
loss-sharing
administration and oversight of 220–222, 226
defined 175
description of the transaction 190–192, 199
dropped by FDIC 195
increased use of 199
restrictions on 222
statistics on 221

M
market discipline 74, 92
Market Volatility Index (VIX) 79, 80
mark-to-market accounting rules 6, 19
Master Agreement 49
material adverse change (MAC) clause. See Bank of America Corporation
Material Loss Reviews (MLRs) 124, 142
Matters Requiring Attention (MRAs) 78
Matters Requiring Board Attention (MRBA) 107
Maximum Efficiency Risk-Focused Institution Targeted (MERIT) examination
program 110
maximum obligation limitation 157

INDEX

257

MBIA 22
MBS. See mortgage-backed securities (MBS)
MCorp 59
MERIT (Maximum Efficiency Risk-Focused Institution Targeted) examination program
110
Merrill Lynch 26, 81, 87, 88
MetLife, Inc. 62
Mile High Banks 134
MLRs (Material Loss Reviews) 124, 142
MMF. See money market fund (MMF)
money market fund (MMF) 24, 27
Money Market Investor Funding Facility 28
monoline insurers 21–22
Moody’s Investors Service 49. See also rating agencies
moral hazard 38, 67–68
Morgan Stanley 26, 30, 48, 50, 61
mortgage-backed securities (MBS)
as building block of more-complex products 16
issuance of 17
private label 16–19, 30
rating of 18
tranches of 4–5, 16–17, 22–23, 214, 216
mortgages
companies, role of in housing boom 4
nontraditional 11, 30, 105, 118
originators, as key players in securitization chain 9, 14
piggyback 11
refinancing 12–13
types 11–14
MRAs (Matters Requiring Attention) 78
MRBA (Matters Requiring Board Attention) 107
multi-bank holding companies 133

N
national banks, supervision of 101, 114
Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations (NRSROs) 19
National Risk Committee (NRC) 111, 113
national servicers 213, 225
negative equity 14

258

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

negotiable order of withdrawal (NOW) accounts 43, 52
New York Community Bancorp, Inc. 62
no-documentation or low-documentation loans 11
non-amortizing interest-only mortgage 12
noncore funding 190
nonprime loans 11
Note Purchase Agreement 157
NOW (negotiable order of withdrawal) accounts 43, 52
NRC (National Risk Committee) 111, 113
NRSROs (Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organizations) 19

O
OCC. See Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
Office of Personnel Management (OPM) 125
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC)
downgraded Wachovia’s CAMELS rating 71, 118
large-bank risk assessment and 114, 115
review of Citigroup 78
“shelf ” charter 136, 198
supervisory and regulatory authority of 101, 114
Office of Thrift Supervision (OTS) 51, 114, 115, 117, 118
off-site analysis
in general 111
large bank 115
OLA (Orderly Liquidation Authority) 92
open-bank assistance 35, 75, 82, 89, 92–93. See also systemic risk exception (SRE)
OPM (Office of Personnel Management) 125
option ARMs. See adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)
Orderly Liquidation Authority (OLA) 92
originate to distribute model 10
Other Real Estate (ORE) 189, 211, 219
OTS (Office of Thrift Supervision) 51, 114, 115, 117, 118

P
Pacific Thrift and Loan Company 105, 116
P&A (Purchase and Assumption) 188–194, 199–202, 209
Paulson, Henry 26
payment-option ARMs. See adjustable rate mortgages (ARMs)
payouts 185, 199, 202

INDEX

PCA (Prompt Corrective Action) 103, 116, 134, 143, 186
PFR (primary federal regulator) 115–118
PLMBS (private label mortgage-backed securities). See mortgage-backed securities
(MBS)
PNC Funding Corp. 62
preferred stock, government purchase of 85, 91
Premier Bank 134
Premier Bank Holding Company 134
prepaid assessments 160–161, 225
primary federal regulator (PFR) 115–118
prime loans 11
private equity acquirers 197–199
FDIC guidance to 136
purchases of failing banks by 136–137
private equity recapitalizations, as a supervisory strategy 136
private label mortgage-backed securities (PLMBS). See mortgage-backed securities
(MBS)
private label securitization 16–19, 30
problem banks 105, 106, 125, 127
FDIC problem-bank list 138
trend in 119
ultimate outcomes for 138
Prompt Corrective Action (PCA) 103, 116, 134, 143, 186
Puerto Rico, bank failures in 183, 194
Purchase and Assumption (P&A) 188–194, 199–202, 209
Putnam Investments 28

Q
qualified financial contract 181
Quarterly Banking Profile 105–106

R
rating agencies. See also Fitch Ratings; See also Standard & Poor’s (S&P); See
also Moody’s Investors Service
about 18
decline in reputation of 20
models 20
monoline insurers and 22
role of 18–22
treatment of FDIC-guaranteed debt 47–48

259

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

readiness planning 180, 223
real estate loans 106
Real Estate Stress Testing (REST) model 111, 112
receiverships
about 210–222
administration and oversight of loss-share 220–222
asset sales by type of asset 213–219
asset servicing 211–213
average cost of maintaining open 213
defined 73, 176
facilitating the conclusion of 177
FDIC responsibilities during crisis 210
strategic considerations for 207–210
tasks during crisis 210–222
reciprocal deposits 162
Regional Outlook 110, 112
Regions Bank 61
regulatory burden 109–110
regulatory capital 131
rehired annuitants 205
Reich, John 116
repurchase agreements (repos) 24
Reserve Primary Fund 27–28
reserve ratio
defined 152
long-term fund management plan and 163, 167
restoration plan for 156–158, 164
surcharges and 165
trends in 156
resolutions
costs for 200
date 177
defined 176
options for 188–194
plans 92, 144
settlement process 177
statistics on 182–183, 199–202
Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) 151, 179
REST (Real Estate Stress Testing) model 111, 112

INDEX

retained asset sales, compared with franchise sales 178
RFI/C ratings 79
Riegle-Neal Interstate Banking and Branching Efficiency Act (1994) 104
risk. See also risk-sharing
analysis processes pre-crisis 102, 110–117
layering 12
risk-based assessments. See deposit insurance assessments
risk-based deposit insurance pricing (or risk-based pricing)
defined 152
during banking crisis 152, 154, 155, 161–162
FDIC’s approach to 151–152, 154–155, 161–163, 165–173
implementing 154–155
reforms to 163, 165–173
statistical analysis 120
updating using data and experience 165
risk-based pricing. See risk-based deposit insurance pricing (or risk-based pricing)
risk-sharing
research on 228
strategic trade-offs 207–209
via limited liability companies 217–219
via loss share 191–192
via securitization 213–214, 216–217

S
Savings Association Insurance Fund 152, 155
SCOR (Statistical CAMELS Off-Site Rating Review) system 111, 224
sealed-bid process, of FDIC 215
second-lien mortgages 11
Sections 23A and 23B 23, 130–131
secured liability adjustment 162
securities, sale of 213–215
securitization
about 4, 9, 15–18, 105, 216
chain 4, 14–16
defined 10, 209
FDIC usage of 213–214, 216–217
nontraditional mortgage products 30, 105
role in financial crisis 15
selection bias 201

261

262

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

self-liquidation 128
seller financing 194, 228
senior tranche 214, 216. See also securitization
senior unsecured debt 43
Service Member’s Civil Relief Act 212
shadow banking system 24
shelf charter 136, 198
short-term funding vehicles 24
short-term instruments, decline in demand for 24
Silverton Bank 182
SIVs (structured investment vehicles) 17, 25, 79, 80
small bank earnings pre-crisis 106
Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act 212
source-of-strength requirement 198
Sovereign Bancorp, Inc. 62
S&P/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index 113, 119
special examination 115–116, 118
specialty examinations 126
SRE. See systemic risk exception (SRE)
staffing 203–206
Standard & Poor’s (S&P). See also rating agencies
downgraded monoline bond insurer MBIA 22
on FDIC-guaranteed debt 48
state-chartered banks, supervision of 101, 114
state member banks, supervision of 101, 114
Statement of policy on qualifications for failed bank acquisitions 136, 198
state nonmember banks, supervision of 101, 114
State Street Corporation 61
state thrifts 114
Statistical CAMELS Off-Site Rating Review (SCOR) system 111, 224
stress testing 144
structured investment vehicles (SIVs) 17, 25, 79, 80
structured sales 226
Structured Transaction Sales 217
subprime loans
defined 11
rise in defaults on 13
risks of 105–106, 111–112
Washington Mutual 118

INDEX

SunTrust Banks, Inc. 62
Superior Bank, FSB 105, 116
supervisory ratings. See CAMELS ratings (or supervisory ratings)
supervisory strategies
about 125–136
effectiveness and appropriateness of 137
enforcement actions 127
examination letters 129
examination program 125
private equity recapitalizations 136
supervision of new institutions 129
to insulate banks from problems at BHCs 129–135
surcharge 165
synthetic CDOs 21, 23
systemic risk 67
systemic risk exception (SRE)
about 36, 67–68
Bank of America 68, 86, 88–91
Citigroup 77–85
Dodd-Frank Act and 42, 60, 92–93
special assessment possible 46, 57, 83
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP) 35–42
Wachovia 69–76

T
TAGP. See Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP)
Tanoue, Donna 116
Targeted Investment Program (TIP) 82, 85, 88, 91
TARP. See Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP)
TED (Treasury-Eurodollar) Spread 39, 79
Temporary Guarantee Program for Money Market Funds 74
Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP)
about 33–34
announcement of 37
creation of 42
details of 37
effects and costs of 54–58
eligible entities for 43
fees for 57
initial participation in 42

263

264

CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

maturities of debt outstanding 55
policy debate 34–42
stability to U.S. financial markets brought by 59
statutory authority for the 41
surcharge on senior unsecured debt guaranteed under 46, 158
systemic risk exception (SRE) and 35
TLGP debt versus non-guaranteed debt 55–56
temporary satellite offices (TSOs) 205
term employees 126
third-party contractors, securitization and 216
thrift losses 151, 201
TIP (Targeted Investment Program) 82, 85, 88, 91
TLGP. See Temporary Liquidity Guarantee Program (TLGP)
Transaction Account Guarantee Program (TAGP)
about 33
amounts guaranteed by (2008–2010) 53
costs of 58
effect on FDIC resolutions of 57
failures with highest resolution costs attributable to 58
fees for 52
option to opt out of 43
purpose, fees, and extensions 51–53
statistics on 33
Treasury
capital injections into banks under TARP from 37
capital injection to Bank of America by 89
Citigroup and 82
FDIC’s statutory authority to borrow from 157
role in determining whether to invoke SRE 36, 67
Treasury-Eurodollar (TED) Spread 39, 79
Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) 35, 37, 79, 80
Asset Guarantee Program (AGP) 82
Capital Purchase Program (CPP) 79, 84, 85
Targeted Investment Program (TIP) 82
true-up feature 191, 195, 202
Trust Preferred Securities (TruPS) 85, 131–132
Truth in Lending Act 212
TSOs (temporary satellite offices) 205

INDEX

U
undercapitalized banks 176
underwriting standards survey 107
Uniform Financial Institutions Rating System 108
Union Bank 51, 62
unsecured debt adjustment 161–162, 169–173
U.S. Bancorp 61

V
virtual data rooms (VDRs) 205
VIX Index 79, 80

W
Wachovia Corporation
about 69–76
Citigroup and 72–76, 79
examination of 117, 119
exposure to payment-option ARMs 71
liquidity crisis at 28, 71–72, 118
open-bank assistance for 75
problems at 69–72
SRE and 59, 68–69, 72–76, 81
timeline of events for 69
TLGP and 35
Washington Mutual and 71–72
Wells Fargo and 71–72, 76, 81, 118, 143
WaMu. See Washington Mutual (WaMu)
Washington Mutual (WaMu)
acquisition of 30
bankruptcy of 71
examination of 117–118
exposure to ARMs 71–72
failure of 28, 67, 69, 71, 81, 182, 199–201
Wachovia and 71–72
Wells Fargo
Citigroup and 76
examination of 117–118
TLGP and 48, 61
Wachovia and 28, 59, 72–76, 81, 143

265

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CRISIS AND RESPONSE: AN FDIC HISTORY, 2008­–2013

whole-bank purchase and assumption (P&A) 189–191. See also Purchase and
Assumption (P&A)
whole loan sales 215
wholesale funding. See also noncore funding
bank failures and 121–122
defined 120
Wilmington Trust Company 62
Woodlands Commercial Bank 134
wound down banks 134. See also self-liquidation

Z
Zions Bancorporation 62