Deposit insurers' financial statements

How large are the insurance pools of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and how can I obtain the financial statements of each? I. H.

The two insurance agencies have nearly $20 billion in their insurance pools. At FDIC, some $12.2 billion is available to protect deposits up to $100,000 each; at FSLIC, there is over $6 billion for the same amount of protection. In both cases, the money comes from assessments on member banks and savings-and-loan associations. The assets are also building through investments. At the FDIC, a spokesman says, more money is coming in as a result of investments in US government securities than from members.

While both agencies have only a small percentage of the money on hand needed to cover all deposits in all institutions, spokesmen for both agencies point out that no depositor has lost any money in FDIC/FSLIC-covered accounts since the agencies were founded in the early 1930s. Also, the spokesmen point out, their agencies can take additional steps -- like arranging mergers between a failing institution and a strong one - to protect depositors' assets.

You can write the FDIC at Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Information, 550 17th Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20429. The FSLIC is at the Federal Home Loan Bank Board, 1700 G Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20552.

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