In the next sentence, Mr. White thanked him for "coordinating" with another associate on a proposed bank board regulation "limiting direct investments by insured institutions."

Insurance Not Included And the $745 billion does not include the liabilities the Government faces from losses at insured institutions like savings and loan associations.

When necessary, the KDIC can request insured institutions and the Financial Supervisory Service to provide data.

The total number of insured institutions stood at 320, and the amount of insured deposits totaled KRW 2,037,830 billion.

Of the $4 trillion in total deposits at insured institutions, about $3 trillion was explicity insured as of the end of last year.

"Congress, the Administration and the financial regulators should exercise great caution in considering short-term measures to encourage more liberal lending practices by insured institutions," he said.

To resolve the crisis in the savings industry, the Treasury Department is considering charging a fee on deposits at insured institutions, a Congressional aide said today.

According to the report, judges have only to comply with a rule that the money be placed in an insured financial institution.

The fund's other problem is that the shrinkage of the savings industry has eroded the deposit-insurance premiums it collects from insured institutions.

"It is time for insured institutions to return to old-fashioned standards of safe and sound banking," Mr. Seidman said.