US Bank Profits Back to Pre-Crisis Heights

US bank profits returned to their pre-crisis heights in the second quarter of this year, according to a report released Tuesday by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), the regulatory agency that insures consumer deposits at commercial banks.

Profits reported by the 7,830 banks overseen by the FDIC totaled $21.6 billion for the three months to June, compared to a $4.4 billion loss in the second quarter of 2009. It was the banks’ highest quarterly profit since the third quarter of 2007, when the subprime mortgage market began to collapse.

The profit surge went disproportionately to the nation’s big banks, which have been the main beneficiaries of the bailout policies of the Bush and Obama administrations. The same FDIC survey reported a further increase in the number of failed banks and those at risk of failing, overwhelmingly from among small and mid-sized banks.'

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