Why are Bank Failures Announced on Fridays?

Tuesday August 12, 2008

Bank failures have been in the headlines lately. They seem to always come on Fridays. Why is that? It gives the FDIC time to open for business as usual on Monday.

The Slate Explainer has been busy with the topic of bank failures lately. Most recently they discussed why failures happen on Fridays. They explain that speed is essential because

"If the banking business didn't return to normal at the earliest opportunity, the specter of agitated customers might erode public confidence in the banking system, triggering a wider panic".

In these cases, banker's hours are not so attractive because they have to toil through the weekend. To find out what they do over the weekend, read the Slate Explainer on why bank failures happen on Fridays.