The FDIC board today unanimously approved a $3 billion operating budget for the agency in 2025, up $64.2 million or 2.2% from the current year. Higher staff salaries and benefits drove most of the increase.
The budget funds 6,876 staff, a net decrease of seven positions from the current year. Among the staff changes, the budget eliminates 47 examiner and case manager positions, the result of a shrinking number of FDIC-insured institutions. However, it adds 53 new positions to support the implementation of the FDIC action plan for a safe, fair and inclusive work environment, which was adopted earlier this year to remedy widespread workplace culture problems at the agency.
The budget forecasts that the number of FDIC-insured institutions will decline slightly even as the asset size and complexity of those institutions continue to grow. It also forecasts that the number of active FDIC receiverships will decline from 59 to 45 by the end of next year, with assets in liquidation remaining relatively steady at roughly $30 billion.
The FDIC board also took up two items for discussion purposes only, both brought by board member and Consumer Financial Protection Bureau Director Rohit Chopra. The first item was a proposal to give the FDIC the option to initiate deposit insurance termination proceedings against banks criminally convicted of anti-money laundering offenses under the Annunzio-Wylie Anti-Money Laundering Act. The second item would declare bank stock buybacks and paying out dividends an “unsafe and unsound practice” during times when the Federal Reserve has established an emergency lending program, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic. No action was taken on either item
