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For the eighth straight year, U.S. banks saw record profits in 1999, reaping the benefits of the longest economic expansion in the country’s history. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation reported banks booked net income of $71.7 billion over the year, a 16 percent increase over the previous record set in 1998. The rise in earnings was driven primarily by larger banks, benefiting from continued growth in non-interest revenues and declining expenses related to mergers and restructurings.