Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act
Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act (FIRREA)
(pronounced “fie-ree-ah”) Federal legislation passed in 1989 in response to the banking and savings and loan crisis, the FDIC bailout, and the bankruptcy of the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). It reorganized much of the oversight and regulatory framework for financial institutions and created the Resolution Trust Corporation (now defunct) to receive and liquidate assets from failed financial institutions.