FEDERAL SAVINGS AND LOAN INSURANCE CORPORATION: Abbreviated FSLIC, this was once the federal entity responsible for insuring the deposits at savings and loan associations (S&Ls). It performed the same function for S&Ls that the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) performed for traditional banks. However, when a significant number S&Ls experienced problems in the 1980s and effectively bankrupting the FSLIC, the FDIC assumed the deposit insurance role for any remaining S&Ls, too. See also | Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | deposit insurance | bank failure | bank panic | disintermediation |