U.S. banks overwhelmingly safe, sound-FDIC's Bair

WASHINGTON, Sept 16 (Reuters) - U.S. banks are overwhelmingly safe and sound, and the government fund used to cover insured deposits will be adequate to absorb any losses, Federal Deposit Insurance Corp Chairman Sheila Bair said on Tuesday.

"Banks overwhelmingly are strong. They're safe and sound," Bair said during an appearance on Bloomberg Television.

She also said Congress "would have to think hard" about the trade offs of having government intervene in distressed capital markets by taking over troubled assets in much the same way it did during the savings and loan crisis of the 1980s.

Bair said the model of the Resolution Trust Corp could put a lot of taxpayer funds at risk. (Reporting by Karey Wutkowski and Rachelle Younglai)