Banking Industry Outlook - Bad, And Getting Worse

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. warned Tuesday that the outlook for the ailing banking industry was bad - and getting worse.

The FDIC, which provides cover for U.S. bank deposits, may have to tap Treasury Department funds to carry it through an anticipated wave of bank failures. Its chairwomman Sheila Bairsaid the borrowing would not be to cover any FDIC losses, instead it would provide short-term liquidity to cover bank failures.

The FDIC Tuesday said its "problem list" of banks increased 30 percent in the second quarter to 117 banks as more commercial real-estate loans were overdue. Nine US banks have failed so far this year.