Signature Bank fall In March 2023, Signature Bank becomes the third-largest bank failure in U.S. history, behind Silicon Valley Bank and Washington Mutual in 2008. It was a commercial bank based in New York City, United States. Founded in 2001, it provided a range of banking and financial services to clients, including individuals, small and mid-sized businesses, and commercial real estate companies. Overview of Deposit Insurance Fund The Deposit Insurance Fund (DIF) is a fund created by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) in the United States. Its purpose is to insure deposits made by customers of FDIC-insured banks. The DIF is funded by premiums paid by FDIC-insured banks and is used to pay depositors in the event of bank failures. How the DIF Works The FDIC insures deposits made by customers of FDIC-insured banks up to a certain amount, currently $250,000 per depositor per bank. The DIF is used to pay out those insured deposits if a bank fails. When a bank fails, the FD