In a highly unusual development, the FDIC released a statement attacking a recent press report that Bloomberg published under the headline, “FDIC May Need $150 Billion Bailout as Local Bank Failures Mount.” The article “does a serious disservice to your organization and your readers,” Andrew Gray, FDIC Director of Public Affairs, told the Bloomberg organization.

“Let me be clear,” Gray wrote. “The FDIC has all the tools and resources necessary to meet our commitment to insured depositors, which we view as sacred. I do not foresee … that taxpayers may have to foot the bill for a ‘bailout.’”

The facts are, the Deposit Insurance Fund balance is $45 billion, a figure that will be augmented as premiums bring in more income. The FDIC’s ability to raise premiums means that the capital of the whole banking industry — $1.3 trillion — is available for support.

Moreover, if needed, the FDIC has lines of credit with the Treasury Department. There is no chance the government would be “on the hook for uninsured deposits,” as the Bloomberg article had asserted. Current law allows the FDIC to back uninsured deposits only as part of a transaction that is the least-cost solution for the institution being resolved. “And remember,” Gray concluded, “No depositor has ever lost a penny of insured deposits, and never will.”