deposit insurance fund operated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), insuring deposits in commercial banks and savings banks up to $100,000 in interest and principal per account.
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) unit providing deposit insurance for banks other than thrifts. BIF was formed as part of the 1989 savings and loan association bailout bill to keep separate the administration of the bank and thrift insurance programs. There were thus two distinct insurance entities under the FDIC: BIF and Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF). In 2005, Congress passed legislation merging the SAIF and BIF into one insurance fund called the Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF). The same law also raised the federal deposit insurance level from $100,000 to $250,000 on retirement accounts and gave the FDIC the option to increase insurance ceilings on regular bank accounts from $100,000 by $10,000 a year, based on inflation, every five years thereafter starting April 1, 2010.
