US banks will have to advance tens of billions of dollars to the cash-strapped fund protecting depositors at the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation under a proposal to be to be put forward by regulators on Tuesday.
The fund, which insures up to $250,000 per depositor in each bank, has been depleted this year after the failure of 95 lenders. It now stands at about $10.4bn, the lowest since the peak of the savings and loan crisis in 1993.
Sheila Bair, FDIC chairman, has said the agency is considering â??all optionsâ??â?? to restore the fund, including tapping its credit line with the US Treasury of up to $500bn, imposing emergency fees on banks and asking banks to pre-pay industry fees.
The FDICâ??s board, which meets on Tuesday to discuss options, is currently leaning towards asking banks to pay three yearsâ?? worth of its fees in advance, say people briefed on the discussions. For 2009, banks are set to pay an annual fee of about $12bn and a one-off emergency charge of $5.6bn.
The plan would allow the agency to get the cash it needs now while allowing the banks to avoid another big one-off charge. The banks would not have to recognise the charges on their balance sheets until the quarter when the fees were due. The proposal, which would be presented for public comment, is still under discussion.
