The FDIC had previously reported that the industry had posted a net loss of $26.2 billion - its first quarterly loss since 1990 - but significant amendments showing substantially higher charges for goodwill impairment prompted the agency to update the figures.
The decline in total equity capital was revised to $10.1 billion from a previously reported figure of $3.7 billion. The additional goodwill write-downs had no effect on the industry's regulatory capital, because goodwill is not included in regulatory capital.
The FDIC did not provide the names of the institutions which accounted for the largest losses.
0:00/0:52The bank stops hereThe $32.1 billion loss compared to an industrywide net profit of $575 million in the fourth quarter of 2007.
The FDIC said a few large institutions were behind most of the fourth quarter loss - four institutions accounted for half of the total industry loss - but overall about one-third of banks reported net losses.
A big drag on the banks' earnings was the money they set aside to anticipate future losses as mortgage and commercial loan portfolios continued to deteriorate.
Banks more than doubled their loan loss provisions in the fourth quarter from a year ago as they tried to anticipate future losses. They set aside $69.4 billion in the last three months of 2008, compared with $32.1 billion in the same period in 2007.
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