The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) recently issued its quarterly report summarizing how the U.S. banking system performed in the first quarter of the year. Obviously, banks had a difficult quarter because several of them failed in March, which dragged down the sector.

Investors have been carefully monitoring the banking sector to look for further signs of potential trouble and stabilization. "The more lasting effects of the industry's response to that stress may not become fully apparent until we've received the second-quarter results," FDIC Chair Martin Gruenberg said in a press briefing after the report was released.

While more time and data are likely required until there's further stabilization, let's assess what happened in the first quarter and look at where banks stand. Here are four takeaways from the FDIC's first-quarter report.

Continue reading

Source Fool.com