Remember all of the claims the FDIC would never run out of money? Well, they're broke.
The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is asking lenders to prepay three years of premiums, raising $45 billion, to replenish reserves drained by the fastest pace of bank failures in 17 years.
The insurance fund will have a negative balance as of tomorrow after 120 banks were shut in the past two years, and will be positive by 2012, the staff said. Banks failures may cost $100 billion through 2013 with half the cost already incurred, the FDIC said. The agency today rejected options for a second special fee or borrowing from the Treasury Department.
Earlier the FDIC projected 500 bank failures to come and we're only at bank failure Friday 95 for 2009, 120 failures total.
Somehow I don't think $45 billion additional funds for the FDIC obtained by demanding healthy banks pay their deposit insurance premiums 3 years in advance is going to do that much.
Here is a little summary post on FDIC funds burn rate and projected foreclosures from one month ago.
Blackmail.
You're right. It's not going to do that much to have them pay three years ahead. Well, not for the FDIC anyway. It's more like blackmail to me. They're just trying to get what they can be fore the whole house of cards comes down.