FDIC problem list grows to 252 banks

The US Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) now has 252 banks on its 'problem list', and the industry has dipped into the red for the first time in almost two decades.

The FDIC says the deepening financial and economic crisis in the last quarter of 2008 has produced net losses across the banking industry of $26.2 billion, the first quarterly loss since 1990. The full year saw net earnings of $16.1 billion, also the lowest since 1990. The FDIC says the losses were due to "expenses