The FDIC board today unanimously adopted a 2026 operating budget that slashes the agency’s staffing levels by nearly 20%, mostly reflecting job cuts that have already been made. Board members also voted to lower the special assessment charged to certain banks to recover losses associated with the protection of uninsured depositors following the Silicon Valley Bank and Signature Bank failures, and they finalized a rule to speed up the bank branch application process.
FDIC budget
According to a staff memo, the $2.5 billion budget for 2026 is roughly $492 million less than what was budgeted for the current year. It authorizes funding for 5,386 full-time employees, down from 6,723 employees in 2025. It also reduces staffing for the FDIC Office of Inspector General from 153 to 130 employees. The FDIC reduced staffing levels by 1,272 positions earlier this year as part of an organizational restructuring, which is reflected in the 2026 budget.
“The proposed budget continues to provide staffing and funding necessary to effectively execute the FDIC’s supervision, insurance and resolution readiness functions to maintain stability and public confidence in the nation’s financial system,” the memo states.
The board also adopted a four-year strategic plan for the agency.
Special assessment
The FDIC in 2023 adopted a special assessment to be collected at an annual rate of approximately 13.4 basis points — 3.36 basis points quarterly — for an anticipated eight quarterly assessment periods. The assessment was only applied to banks with at least $5 billion in uninsured deposits as of the fourth quarter 2022. In a vote today, the FDIC board lowered the assessment to 2.97 basis points for the eighth assessment quarter.
The interim final rule also requires the FDIC to provide an offset to regular quarterly deposit insurance assessments for banks subject to the special assessment if, following the final resolution of litigation between the agency and SVB, the total amount collected through the special assessment exceeds the loss estimates at that time.
“Any offset provided would be an amount proportional to the amount that each bank paid towards the special assessment,” the FDIC said.
Bank branches
The FDIC board finalized a rule streamlining the agency’s process for approving bank branch applications.
According to an FDIC statement, the final rule shortens the approval timeline for applications under expedited processing from 21 to three business days. Other changes nix the newspaper publication requirements for applicants and eliminate all informational filing requirements except for a statement of intent, the exact location of the branch or office, and advanced written notice to customers in the case of a relocation. The final rule extends the expiration period for an approved filing from 18 to 24 months.
