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Remarks by Ricki Heifer Chairman Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation at the Resolution Trust Corporation Sunset Ceremony Washington, D.C. December 4, 1995 Several weeks after the Resolution Trust Corporation was created in 1989, the prestigious National Journal described its mission as nothing less than “heroic.” The Journal also quoted a major figure in the world o f housing finance who described the task before the RTC in this way: “They’re trying to create the biggest real estate company in the history o f this country in four or five months. As a business proposition, that is impossible Nevertheless, it happened. In fact, the story o f the RTC is how - over six years -- mission impossible became mission accomplished. Many o f the men and women who made the impossible possible are here today to celebrate the accomplishments o f the past. You also cast your shadow forward to where the future will take us all. I am proud to say that many o f you are men and women who came from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. M ore than a thousand RTC veterans have returned to the FDIC and about a thousand more will return at year-end, enriching and enhancing by your experience the unique foundation upon which public confidence in our banking system rests. W e all remember that 1989 marked the turning point in the most significant crisis o f our financial system since the Great Depression. In the 1930s, the men and women o f the FDIC brought stability to the financial system. They began a 60-year history o f public service to the nation rarely matched. That extraordinary contribution to the nation’s welfare has been lauded as the most successful program o f the New Deal. When the crisis o f the late 1980s erupted, it was only fitting and right that the men and women o f the FDIC serve the nation again by bringing stability to the financial system — even if that meant working within a different institutional setting. The RTC established a process to liquidate hundreds o f billions o f dollars o f assets o f failed thrifts while maintaining order in the marketplace, at the same time that your colleagues at the FDIC were grappling with record numbers o f bank failures and record levels o f failed bank assets. A financial system under stress was stabilized — and public confidence in the financial system was maintained -- by the FDIC through supervision, resolutions, and asset disposition, and by the RTC by means o f conservatorships and also by resolutions and asset dispositions. It has often been said that experience is a hard teacher — first you get the test, then you learn the lesson. Neither today nor at year end will the difficult lessons you and your FDIC colleagues learned be forgotten ~ we will remember. Those lessons will continue to enhance the unique role the FDIC plays as the nation’s deposit insurer ~ a role that is, in fact, unique internationally, as well. Further, we saw the creativity and innovative outlook that crisis engendered. For those o f you who have yet to return to the FDIC, you will find that we have a vision that builds upon the strengths o f the past — particularly the outstanding people who have served and continue to serve the FDIC ~ as we prepare for new challenges in the future. I have been told that the saying, “it’s good enough for government work,” harkens back to the early industrial era. At that time, government was -- as it is today — a customer o f private enterprise. In fact, government’s purchasing standards then were as high or higher than those o f business. When contractors produced products that met the government’s standards, they would say that the products were “good enough for government work.” That story suggests an important point. Nothing but the best is good enough for government work. I am here today to express deep admiration for you, and your FDIC colleagues, who have given your best. The nation and all Americans have benefitted immeasurably. At the end o f the year, the RTC story will end, but the contributions o f all who worked at the RTC and the FDIC during the years o f crisis will continue to benefit the nation, just as we will all continue to benefit from ~ and build on -- the heroism all o f you demonstrated. Thank you for all you have done. 3
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