Four years after crashing the global economy as a result of their irresponsible gambling with other people’s money, U.S. banks posted record profits for the first quarter of 2012, according to a report released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). The Quarterly Banking Profile showed bank net income for the first quarter of 2012 was $35.3 billion, up by $6.6 billion from the first quarter of 2011, while total revenues increased for only the second time in the past five quarters.

In other good news for Wall Street, the number of banks on the FDIC’s “problem list” fell from 813 to 772, the smallest number since the end of 2009, and the assets of such institutions fell from $319 billion to $292 billion. Only 16 banks failed in the first quarter, the fewest failures in any one quarter since the fourth quarter of 2008. However, loan balances declined by $56.3 billion (0.8 percent) after three straight quarterly increases, and commercial real estate loans and home equity loans continued to shrink.

Meanwhile on Main Street, unemployment remains stubbornly above 8% for the 39th straight month.

-Matt Bewig

To Learn More:

Bank Profits Surge To $35 Billion, FDIC Says, But Outlook Still Cloudy (by Steve Schaeffer, Forbes)