FDIC LAUNCHES NEW, IMPROVED WEB SITE

The FDIC today unveiled a new look for its Web site - www.fdic.gov - with the primary goal of making it faster and easier for bankers, financial analysts, consumers and others to use the agency's online services.

"This redesign marks the culmination of many months of work to enhance the look and usability of the FDIC's Web site," said Chairman Don Powell. "Our Web site has always offered a broad range of FDIC products and publications; now it will be easier than ever for the public to obtain those services."

Examples of products and services available on the FDIC Web site include: resources for bankers about their requirements for safe operations and compliance with consumer protection laws; data about individual banks and the banking industry; useful information for consumers about deposit insurance and their rights as depositors or borrowers; and updates on FDIC press releases and other announcements.

The newly designed Web site is primarily intended to:

• Help users find FDIC products and services online;
• Strengthen the site's focus on serving its most frequent users: bankers, consumers, analysts, the media, and prospective purchasers of assets acquired from failed banks;
• Better accommodate new products that may be added to the Web site's offerings; and
• Make the FDIC's online products more accessible to people with disabilities.

"The FDIC is fully committed to making its rich array of publications and other services available to anyone, anywhere, anytime," Chairman Powell added. "The Web site redesign is only the latest step in a long and continuing process of upgrading the FDIC's online services to the public."

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Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits at the nation's 9,267 banks and savings associations and it promotes the safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and addressing risks to which they are exposed.

FDIC press releases and other information are available on the Internet via the World Wide Web at www.fdic.gov and may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center (877-275-3342 or (703) 562-2200).