Capital briefs: Nader Hits FDIC Plan To Cut Bank Premiums

Consumer activist Ralph Nader blasted the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.'s proposal to lower bank premiums as an "unwarranted gift" to the industry that could jeopardize the insurance fund.

Mr. Nader and two affiliated organizations filed a comment letter with the FDIC urging the agency to let premiums continue to grow until the fund reaches an interim level of $1.63 for each $100 of insured deposits.

Over the longer term, Mr. Nader said, the FDIC should create a "prudential zone" that would permit the fund to move up as high as $2 for each $100 of deposits.

The consumer activist said the proposed "bargain basement" rates are "particularly foolhardy at a time when major surgery is being performed on bank regulations in the Congress."

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