FDIC warns 68 banks are in danger of bankruptcy, lenders face $364 billion in unrealized losses

On December 22nd, according to Dailyhodl, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stated in its quarterly banking profile report that the number of US banks on its "problem bank list" increased to 68 in the third quarter. The total assets held by problem banks increased by $3.9 billion to reach $87.3 billion. Problem banks account for 1.5% of the total number of banks, which is within the normal range of 1% to 2% for all banks during non-crisis periods.

At the same time, the amount of unrealized losses on bank balance sheets has decreased. As of the third quarter of this year, banks' book losses reached $364 billion, mainly due to banks' involvement in the residential real estate and government bond markets. Unrealized losses represent the difference between the price paid by banks for securities and the current market value of these assets. In the third quarter, bank book losses decreased by $148.9 billion from $512.9 billion in the second quarter.