<Li> The Savings Association Insurance Fund (SAIF) replaced the FSLIC as an ongoing insurance fund for thrift institutions . (Like the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), FSLIC was a permanent corporation that insured savings and loan accounts up to $100,000 .) SAIF was administered by the FDIC alongside its sister fund for banks, Bank Insurance Fund (BIF) until 2006 when the Federal Deposit Insurance Reform Act of 2005 (effective February 2006) provided, among other provisions, that the two funds merge to constitute the Depositor Insurance Fund (DIF), which would continue to be administered by the FDIC . </Li> <Li> The Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) was established to dispose of failed thrift institutions taken over by regulators after January 1, 1989 . </Li> <Li> FIRREA gave both Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae additional responsibility to support mortgages for low - and moderate - income families . </Li> <P> The Tax Reform Act of 1986 had also eliminated the ability for investors to reduce regular wage income by so - called "passive" losses incurred from real estate investments, e.g., depreciation and interest deductions . This caused real estate value to decline as investors pulled out of this sector . </P>

What was the original purpose of savings and loan associations