Number of FDIC-insured commercial banks in the U.S. 2000-2024
The number of FDIC-insured commercial banks in the United States decreased steadily from 2000 to 2024. At the end of 2024, there were 3,928 FDIC-insured commercial banks in the country, down from 4,036 a year earlier. The FDIC, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, is an agency that insures the banking system in the U.S. Despite the dropping number of banks, the number of employees in the banking industry increased in the last two decades.
Why do banks need insurance?
The number of banks is shrinking, but the value of deposits in these banks is growing, amounting to trillions of U.S. dollars. The primary function of the FDIC is to insure these deposits up to 250,000 U.S. dollars. Under stable economic conditions, this task can be performed without particular difficulties. However, during economic uncertainties and recessions, it can be challenging. During the Global Financial Crisis, hundreds of FDIC-insured banks declared insolvency. Account holders were then eligible for compensation for the portion of their accounts that the FDIC insured.
Financial figures of the FDIC-insured banks
Except in times of deep recession, U.S. banks have a positive net operating income. It amounted to over 324 billion U.S. dollars in 2024. The value of funds borrowed by the U.S. FDIC-insured banks reached 1.4 trillion U.S. dollars that year.
