The debt buying industry in the United States began as a result of the savings and loan crisis (S&L crisis) in which from 1986 and 1995, 1,043 out of the 3,234 American savings and loan associations, failed and hundreds of banks were closed by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC) and the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), which insures deposits up to a certain amount, received the assets of the bank to cover the expenses associated with repaying the closed banks' depositors.