The FDIC released new rules, of course on Friday when no one was watching. HuffPo:

As the Wall Street Journal reports this morning, in what are called a "loss-share" agreements, buyers of failed banks are getting billions of dollars in government guarantees to snatch up the bank's bad assets. To entice buyers, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation is offering to cover around 80 percent of the losses associated with buying a bank. The result, the WSJ points out, is a massive subsidy to the private equity industry, and a huge risk to the American taxpayer.

As bank failures have mounted this year, much has been made of the FDIC's dwindling Deposit Insurance Fund. But, as the WSJ reports, the FDIC's potential risk through loss-share agreements "is about six times the amount remaining in its fund that guarantees consumers' deposits."

Credit Writedowns went into more detail:

I would argue that at present, the way assets are seized and sold represents a redistribution of income from taxpayers to the acquiring entities

Credit Write downs uses examples to show this is really putting the U.S. taxpayer on the hook for billions and also notes if there is no "V" shaped recovery which they (and most of us) do not believe will occur, it's almost a guarantee to lose billions and notes the FDIC has a $500 Billion dollar Fed credit line.

That much in losses? Good question or maybe I should ask can I get a back and have 80% of the losses guaranteed? Pretty please?

The New York Times has a good overview article on selling off failed banks by the FDIC.