At the end of Q3 2008, the FDIC was keeping a close eye on 171 banks; at the end of 2008 they had 252 banks on their naughty radar.
Bank deposits grew by $307 in Q4, the largest rise in 10-years. The FDIC raised its limit on deposit insurance to $250,000 per account from $100,000 last fall. Amid trouble in money market mutual fund land, funds were likely pulled out of those funds and plunked in the bank.
In aggregate, the banking industry lost $26.2 bln, the fist loss since 1990.
Markets have gone quite quiet this afternoon with EUR/USD consolidating between 1.2740 and 80. USD/JPY is consolidating between 98.25 and 98.70.
