21 Mar 2009

Banking industry quarterly loss revised upward

9:52 am on 21 March 2009

Revised statistics issued by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp show the US bank industry posted a net loss of $US32.1 billion in the fourth quarter of 2008.

The FDIC previously reported that the industry posted a net loss of $US26.2 billion - its first quarterly loss since 1990.

However, substantially higher charges for goodwill impairment prompted the agency to update the figures.

The $US32.1 billion loss compared to an industrywide net profit of $US575 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.