A mixed-ownership government corporation established by Congress in 1989 in conjunction with the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC). The two corporations were established to rescue savings and loan (S&L) institutions that failed during the savings and loan crisis. REFCORP provided liquidity to these organizations by issuing bonds.

|||The S&L crisis began in the late 1970s and lasted through the early 1990s. S&Ls engaged in risky activities, such as commercial real estate lending and investing in junk bonds, because their deposits were insured by the Federal Savings and Loan Insurance Corporation (FSLIC). The FSLIC eventually became insolvent, and the government spent over $124 billion in taxpayer dollars and liquidated 747 insolvent S&Ls to end the crisis.