BUSINESS BRIEFING / BANKING

Federal regulators adopted a new system of special fees paid by U.S. financial institutions that will shift more of the burden to bigger banks to help replenish the deposit insurance fund.

The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s move cut by about two-thirds the amount of special fees to be levied on banks and thrifts. It followed protests by small and community banks against a plan adopted in February that charged premiums based on the amount of deposits. The smaller institutions insisted they would be unfairly hit even though they didn’t contribute to the financial crisis with reckless lending.

The FDIC board voted 4-1 to approve the new fee system. It is intended to raise $5.6 billion in the face of a cascade of bank failures that have depleted the insurance fund.