NEW YORK — The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said Tuesday the list of banks it considers to be in trouble shot up nearly 50 percent to 171 during the third quarter — yet another sign of escalating problems among the institutions controlling Americans’ deposits. That “problem list” encompasses only about 2 percent of the nearly 8,500 FDIC-insured institutions. Still, the increase from 117 in the second quarter makes the current tally the highest since late 1995.
The FDIC said total assets held by troubled institutions climbed from $78.3 billion to $115.6 billion — a figure that suggests the nation’s top 20 banks aren’t on the list — and less than 1 percent of assets held by U.S. banks.
“We’re still talking about a fairly small portion of the industry,” banking consultant Bert Ely said. The Associated Press
Citibank appears to be safe, now that it is receiving federal bailout funds, but about 2 percent of U.S. banks are on the FDIC’s “problem list.” Craig Ruttle, The Associated Press
